Please note:

To view the Spring 2025 Academic Calendar, go to www.sfu.ca/students/calendar/2025/spring.

Business and Economics Joint Major

Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Business Administration

Students may opt for a bachelor of arts degree from the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, or a bachelor of business administration from the Beedie School of Business. Faculty requirements will be governed by the faculty from which the student chooses to complete a degree.

Admission Requirements

Beedie School of Business Admission Requirements

Joint major applicants should apply to Beedie through the Internal Transfer process, which is outlined on the Beedie School of Business website, after completing 24 units, of which at least 12 units must have been completed at SFU, and the required courses for joint major program admission with a minimum C- letter grade. Students must already be accepted to the economics portion of the joint major or be eligible for admission that term.

Admission to the Beedie School of Business is competitive. Applicants must meet minimum GPA requirements to be considered; attainment of minimum admission requirements does not guarantee admission. Applicants are encouraged to review admission policies and requirements specified on the Beedie School of Business admission website.

Supplemental Application

The Beedie School of Business requires all applicants to submit a supplemental application as part of their admission evaluation. The supplemental application will be used to assess factors beyond academics such as engagement, achievement, and additional qualities. For further information on the supplemental application, please visit: https://beedie.sfu.ca/programs/undergraduate-2/bba-major/how-to-apply.

The supplemental application may include:

  • An explanation of extra-curricular experience (i.e. in the areas of: athletics, arts, community leadership/involvement, work experience, and/or entrepreneurship)
  • Short answer questions
  • Online video interview
  • References with at least one being academic in nature
  • Any additional information in support of the application

Application Procedures

Internal transfer applicants (current SFU students) should apply for admission to the faculty upon completion of the admission requirements.

Students not accepted upon initial application may reapply. Unsuccessful applicants are permitted to appeal.

Students applying for a second degree in business must consult with a Beedie Academic Advisor. Students who have a business degree (e.g. BBA, BCom, business major/joint major, MBA, etc.) or have significant curriculum overlap will not be eligible for admission to the BBA program.

Application Deadlines

Visit https://beedie.sfu.ca/programs/undergraduate-2/bba-major/how-to-apply for application deadlines.

Economics 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 of Economics 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 Economics Program

To continue in an economics program, students must maintain a 2.0 CGPA.

Grade Requirements

In addition to normal university grade point average requirements, the Beedie School of Business requires a minimum 2.30 overall SFU Business course grade point average for entry into all 300 and 400 division business courses.

A minimum 2.30 overall SFU Business course grade point average is required for graduation from a business major, joint major, or double degree program.

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.

For a course to be accepted as fulfilling a prerequisite, or for a lower division requirement, or for a core course to be accepted in a student’s program in business, a student must have obtained a minimum grade of C- (C minus).

Letters of Permission

The Beedie School of Business Administration does not normally approve letters of permission for students already enrolled at Simon Fraser University.

Program Requirements

Students complete 120 units, as specified below.

Lower Division Requirements

Students complete one of

BUS 217W - Critical Thinking in Business (3)
ECON 220W - Communication in Economics (4)

and all of

BUS 237 - Introduction to Business Technology Management (3)
BUS 251 - Financial Accounting I (3)
BUS 254 - Managerial Accounting I (3)
BUS 272 - Behaviour in Organizations (3)
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)

One additional 200 level ECON course

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.

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 one of*

ENGL 111W - Literary Classics in English (3)
ENGL 112W - Literature Now (3)
ENGL 113W - Literature and Performance (3)
ENGL 114W - Language and Purpose (3)
ENGL 115W - Literature and Culture (3)
ENGL 199W - Writing to Persuade (3)
PHIL 100W - Knowledge and Reality (3)
PHIL 105 - Critical Thinking (3)
PHIL 110 - Introduction to Logic and Reasoning (3)
PHIL 120W - Moral and Legal Problems (3)
PHIL 150 - Great Works in the History of Philosophy (3)
WL 101W - Writing in World Literature (3)
WL 103W - Early World Literatures (3)
WL 104W - Modern World Literatures (3)
WL 105W - World Literature Lab (3)

* Any one of these courses may be replaced by any three unspecified transfer units in English or in ENGL-Writing at the 100- or 200-level.

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

Business Upper Division Requirements

Core Courses

Students complete

BUS 312 - Introduction to Finance (3)
BUS 343 - Introduction to Marketing (3)
BUS 393 - Commercial Law (3)
BUS 478 - Strategy (3) ^

and one of

BUS 374 - Organization Theory (3)
BUS 381 - Introduction to Human Resource Management (3)

BUS 360W is recommended but not required. BUS 360W will be waived as a prerequisite for 400 division business courses for those in approved business joint programs, provided that an alternative approved upper division W course is in progress, or has been completed. Students should consult with a Beedie School of Business Academic Advisor for further information on obtaining a waiver.

BUS 360W must be completed at Simon Fraser University in accordance with the WQB requirements.

^ Must be completed at Simon Fraser University.

Business 400 Division Requirement

Students complete two 400 division BUS courses, each worth a minimum of three units (excluding BUS 478 and practicum courses).

Business Concentration

Beyond the core course requirements listed above, students must complete at least three courses within a single area of concentration.

Students may choose to complete one or more business concentrations by meeting the requirements listed under the business major program.

Economics Upper Division Requirements

Students complete at least 25 upper division units in ECON courses including all of

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.