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Department of Economics | Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences Simon Fraser University Calendar | Summer 2025

Economics Major

Bachelor of Arts

Declaration Requirements

Students are eligible to apply for entry to the program once 30 units have been completed, ECON 201 is completed with at least a C- grade, the minimum cumulative grade point average (CGPA) is met and the ECON program GPA is met.

The department announces the minimum CGPA below which students will not normally be considered for entry to the program.

Students should contact a departmental advisor to apply. Students not accepted upon initial application may reapply.

Continuation in Program

To continue in an economics program, students must maintain a 2.0 cumulative grade point average.

Course Information

For a course to fulfil a prerequisite, or for a required course to be accepted in a student’s economics program, a grade of C- or higher must be obtained.

Access to ECON 402, 403, 435 and 499W is restricted to students who have excelled in their studies (see ECON course descriptions). These advanced courses are recommended for students wishing to pursue more challenging work or who plan to complete an additional degree.

Program Requirements

Students complete 120 units, as specified below.

In order to graduate from any ECON major, joint major, minor, or extended minor program, students must have a minimum ECON cumulative grade point average (CGPA) of 2.0 and a minimum ECON cumulative upper division grade point average (CUDGPA) of 2.0, calculated on all ECON courses completed at SFU.

All major students must meet BA degree requirements as described in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences section.

Lower Division Requirements

Students complete the following prior to program declaration with at least a C- grade (unless otherwise indicated).

ECON 103 - Principles of Microeconomics (4) or ECON 113 - Introduction to Microeconomics (3) *
ECON 105 - Principles of Macroeconomics (4) or ECON 115 - Introduction to Macroeconomics (3) *
ECON 201 - Microeconomic Theory I: Competitive Behavior (4)

and one of

MATH 150 - Calculus I with Review (4)
MATH 151 - Calculus I (3)
MATH 154 - Mathematics for the Life Sciences I (3)
MATH 157 - Calculus I for the Social Sciences (3)

Students must also complete

BUS 232 - Business Statistics (3) or ECON 233 - Introduction to Economic Data and Statistics (3)

and

ECON 220W - Communication in Economics (4)

and one additional 200 division ECON course (other than ECON 201, 220W, and 233)

Students who earn a grade of A- or better at Simon Fraser University on their first attempt in ECON 201 are exempt from the requirement of one additional 200 division ECON course. These students should see Early Access to Upper Division Courses below for additional program information.

* ECON 113 and ECON 115 with a minimum grade of A- on first attempt

Upper Division Requirements

Normally, major students will include 45 upper division units in their last 60 units of work that is counted towards the degree.

At least 30 upper division units in economics is required, including

ECON 302 - Microeconomic Theory II: Strategic Behavior (4)
ECON 305 - Intermediate Macroeconomic Theory (4)
ECON 333 - Statistical Analysis of Economic Data (4)

and at least one 400 division ECON course.

Early Access to Upper Division Courses

Students normally cannot enter ECON upper division courses during the first 60 units, but for those who have the minimum Simon Fraser University grade point average required to access upper division ECON courses, the following exceptions are permitted.

Students who earn a grade of A- or better at Simon Fraser University on their first attempt in ECON 201 may enroll in ECON 302 and 305, and all courses for which they have satisfied the prerequisites, once 30 units is completed.

Students who earn an A- grade or better at Simon Fraser University on their first attempt in ECON 233 or BUS 232 or STAT 270 may enroll in ECON 333 once they have completed 30 units. These upper division courses will count towards Department of Economics and Simon Fraser University upper division requirements. See ECON course descriptions for access information.

Concentration in Economic Data Analysis

Students qualify for this concentration by completing six required courses of which at least four must be ECON courses.

Students complete

ECON 333 - Statistical Analysis of Economic Data (4)

and one of

BUS 232 - Business Statistics (3)
ECON 233 - Introduction to Economic Data and Statistics (3)
STAT 270 - Introduction to Probability and Statistics (3)

and at least four of

CMPT 129 - Introduction to Computing Science and Programming for Mathematics and Statistics (3)
ECON 334 - Data Visualization and Economic Analysis (3)
ECON 335 - Cause and Effect in Economic Data (3)
ECON 428 - Seminar in Experimental and Behavioural Economics (3)
ECON 433 - Financial and Time Series Econometrics (3)
ECON 434 - Seminar in Applied Market Design (3)
ECON 435 - Econometric Methods (5)
ECON 436 - Seminar in Economics and Social Network Analysis (3)
ECON 480 - Seminar in the Economics of Labor Market Policy (3)
STAT 260 - Introductory R for Data Science (3)
STAT 310 - Introduction to Data Science for the Social Sciences (4) *
STAT 342 - Introduction to Statistical Computing and Exploratory Data Analysis - SAS (2)
STAT 445 - Applied Multivariate Analysis (3)
STAT 452 - Statistical Learning and Prediction (3)
STAT 475 - Applied Discrete Data Analysis (3) *
STAT 485 - Applied Time Series Analysis (3) *

Other courses with appropriate content can be used for credit upon prior application to the advisor.

* Allows ECON 333 as prerequisite

Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences Degree Requirements

For all bachelor of arts (BA) programs, students complete 120 units, which includes

  • at least 60 units that must be completed at Simon Fraser University
  • at least 45 upper division units, of which at least 30 upper division units must be completed at Simon Fraser University
  • at least 60 units (including 21 upper division units) in Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences courses
  • satisfaction of the writing, quantitative, and breadth requirements
  • an overall cumulative grade point average (CGPA) and upper division overall CGPA of at least 2.0, and program CGPA and upper division program CGPA of at least 2.0 on the course work used to satisfy the minimum program requirements. FASS departments may define additional GPA requirements for their respective programs.

Writing, Quantitative, and Breadth Requirements

Students admitted to Simon Fraser University beginning in the fall 2006 term must meet writing, quantitative and breadth requirements as part of any degree program they may undertake. See Writing, Quantitative, and Breadth Requirements for university-wide information.

WQB Graduation Requirements

A grade of C- or better is required to earn W, Q or B credit

Requirement

Units

Notes
W - Writing

6

Must include at least one upper division course, taken at Simon Fraser University within the student's major subject; two courses (minimum three units each)

Q - Quantitative

6

Q courses may be lower or upper division; two courses (total six units or more)
B - Breadth

18

Designated Breadth

Must be outside the student's major subject, and may be lower or upper division:

Two courses (total six units or more) Social Sciences: B-Soc
Two courses (total six units or more) Humanities: B-Hum
Two courses (total six units or more) Sciences: B-Sci

6

Additional Breadth

Two courses (total six units or more) outside the student's major subject (may or may not be B-designated courses, and will likely help fulfil individual degree program requirements).

Students choosing to complete a joint major, joint honours, double major, two extended minors, an extended minor and a minor, or two minors may satisfy the breadth requirements (designated or not designated) with courses completed in either one or both program areas.

Residency Requirements and Transfer Credit

  • At least half of the program's total units must be earned through Simon Fraser University study.
  • At least two thirds of the program's total upper division units must be earned through Simon Fraser University study.

Elective Courses

In addition to the courses listed above, students should consult an academic advisor to plan the remaining required elective courses.