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

Business and Economics Joint Honours

Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Business Administration

Students must qualify for, and receive admission to the program, must remain qualified for continuance in the Beedie School of Business, and must be accepted as a joint honours in the Department of Economics.

Students may opt for a bachelor of arts 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

Admission Requirements - Beedie School of Business

Students who wish to pursue the joint honours program must first be admitted to the joint major program. Upon completion of nine upper division business units at SFU, students may apply for admission to the joint honours program. For entry and continuance, please see the grade requirements below.

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. Student 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

For entry, continuance and graduation with a bachelor of business administration with a business and economics joint honours, the following grade point averages will be used:

  • minimum 3.33 cumulative grade point average
  • minimum 3.33 cumulative upper division grade point average
  • minimum 3.33 grade point average for upper division BUS courses 
  • minimum 3.33 cumulative grade point average on all BUS courses 

For graduation, students must also meet the required minimum GPAs in accordance with the university and both the Beedie School of Business and Department of Economics.

Course Access

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.

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 does not normally approve letters of permission for students already enrolled at Simon Fraser University.

Program Requirements

Students complete a minimum of 126 units, including a minimum of 60 upper division units. 

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)
ECON 105 - Principles of Macroeconomics (4)
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-level 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.

Upper Division Requirements

Students complete a minimum of 60 upper division units, of which a minimum of 50 units must be within the joint honours subjects.

Business Upper Division Requirements

Core Courses

Students complete all of

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 must complete at least two 400 division BUS courses, each worth a minimum of three units (excluding BUS 478 and practicum courses). At least one 400 division courses must be completed at Simon Fraser University. The business honours program requires six additional units of 400 division courses in BUS within a declared concentration area(s).

Business Concentration

Students also complete the requirements for at least one area of concentration listed under the business major program.

Economics Upper Division Requirements

Students also complete at least 29 upper division ECON units including all of

ECON 302 - Microeconomic Theory II: Strategic Behavior (4)
ECON 305 - Intermediate Macroeconomic Theory (4)
ECON 331 - Introduction to Mathematical Economics (5) *
ECON 333 - Statistical Analysis of Economic Data (4)

and one of

ECON 402 - Advanced Microeconomic Theory (4)
ECON 403 - Advanced Macroeconomic Theory (3)

and either

ECON 435 - Econometric Methods (5)

or

ECON 494 - Honours Research Proposal (3) and ECON 499W - Honours Research Project (6)

* ECON 331 is not required if students have successfully completed MATH 251 and either MATH 232 or MATH 240. However, at least 29 upper division units in economics must still be completed.

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 Honours Degree Requirements

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

  • at least 60 units that must be completed at Simon Fraser University
  • satisfaction of the writing, quantitative, and breadth requirements
  • students complete at least 60 upper division units, which must include at least 48 units in upper division courses in a Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences honours program; no more than 15 upper division units that have been transferred from another institution can be used toward this requirement
  • at least 60 units (including 21 upper division units) in Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences courses
  • students complete lower division requirements for at least one Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences honours program
  • students are required to achieve an overall cumulative grade point average (CGPA) and upper division CGPA of at least 3.0, and an honours program CGPA and upper division CGPA of at least 3.0

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.