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Majoring
in Economics
General Information
African-American Studies and Area Studies
Degree With Honors
Graduate Courses in Development Economics
Thinking Ahead to PhD
programs in Economics
MAJOR
Students who are beginning their
sequence with Economics 110 or Economics 120 should follow the
following sequence:
Economics 110 Principles
of Microeconomics
Economics 120 Principles
of Macroeconomics
(Economics 110 and 120 may be taken separately and in any order)
Economics 251 Price
and Allocation Theory
or Economics 251M Price and Allocation
Theory (This section of the Price and Allocation Theory course
will employ a somewhat more mathematical exposition of microtheory.)
Economics 252 Macroeconomics
One statistical methods course,
Economics 253 or 255, or Statistics
201 and 346. (The statistical methods
course should be taken before 401.)
Three Economics electives, of which
at least two must be selected from advanced electives numbered
350 to 394
Economics 401 Senior
Seminar
To complete the major, economics
students must receive a passing grade on the oral examination
given in the course of Economics 401. A student who fails the
oral examination must re-take the exam and receive a passing grade.
The primary objectives of the major
are to develop an understanding of economic aspects of contemporary
life and to equip the student to analyze economic issues of social
policy. The introductory courses stress use of the basic elements
of economic analysis for understanding and resolving such issues.
The two required intermediate theory courses then provide a more
thorough grounding in economics as a discipline by examining the
strengths and weaknesses of the price system in allocating economics
resources and by examining the aggregate processes which determine
employment, inflation, and growth. A course in statistical methods
(253 or 255, or alternatively, Statistics 201 plus Statistics
346) equips the major to understand and apply the basic tools
of quantitative empirical analysis. Majors must take three electives,
in at least two of which they apply parts of the theory learned
in the required intermediate theory courses. In the senior seminar,
the student studies a series of current theoretical or policy
problems, applying analysis and research methods.
For students who have already taken
Economics 101, your course sequence should be Economics 101, any
Economics course numbered 201 to 240 prior to taking Economics
251 or 251M, 252, and a statistical methods course (either 253
or 255, or Statistics 201 and 346) which should be taken before
401, plus any three economics electives of which at least two
must be selected from advanced electives numbered 350 to 394,
and Economics 401.
(Please note that students who have
taken Economics 101 cannot take Economics 110 or 120. Note that
Students cannot take Economics 110 or 120 without having passed
the quantitative studies exam or the equivalent.)
The normal requirement that nine
economics courses be taken at Williams will usually be waived
only on the basis of transferred credit deemed acceptable by the
department. Credit is granted based on grades consistent with
college policy on various examinations:
* Students who receive a 5 on the
Microeconomics AP or Macroeconomics AP exam, or a 5 on each, may
place out of Economics 110 or 120, or both, respectively, but
major credit will be given for only one course.
* The Department will grant major
credit for both Economics 110 and 120 to a student who receives
a 6 or 7 on the higher-level Economics IB examination, and that
student can place into any 200-level course or intermediate-level
micro or macro course.
* For A levels credit, the Department
will grant major credit for both Economics 110 and 120 to a student
who receives a grade of A or B.
Prospective majors please note that
instructors in all sections of Economics 251, 252, 253, and 255
feel free to use elementary calculus in assigned readings, lectures,
problem sets, and examinations; therefore, Economics 110 and 120
and Mathematics 103 or its equivalent are required as prerequisites
for these courses except for 251 which only requires Economics
110 and Mathematics 103 as a prerequisite. By elementary calculus
is meant differentiation of single variable polynomial functions
and conditions for a maximum or minimum; it does not include integration
or multivariable calculus. Instructors in advanced electives (courses
numbered 350-394) may also use elementary calculus in assigned
readings, lectures, problem sets, and examinations. Students interested
in graduate study in economics should consider studying more advanced
mathematics; see your advisor for specific suggestions. Students
are also reminded that some courses now have specific mathematics
requirements; see course descriptions.
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THE DEGREE WITH HONORS IN ECONOMICS
For detailed instructions for academic year 2003/04
click here
Our honors program
is designed to provide an opportunity for especially motivated
and qualified majors to conduct sustained, independent research
on a topic of interest to them. To get honors you need to do some
original and independent research and to complete an honors thesis
reporting the research. The key here is "original and independent,"
but those words do not necessarily imply "theoretical" or "mathematical"
or "econometric;" some of our most successful honors graduates
have worked on case studies, historical analysis, economic philosophy,
and the history of economic thought.
There are two routes to honors.
One involves research beginning in October of the senior year
and extending through the rest of the fall semester, Winter Study,
and the spring semester. The other involves research over the
entire senior year, and requires some initial student planning
late in the junior year. Both require a substantial written thesis
for successful completion. Both require one additional course
in the major, so that an honors major must complete at least ten
courses in economics rather than nine. Your choice between the
two routes will depend on a variety of factors, such as the nature
of your faculty adviser's involvement and the time required to
do research adequately on your topic; some projects, for example,
may require an extensive period of data development, or extensive
preliminary reading of unfamiliar literature, that makes the longer
period advisable. The advantages and disadvantages of each route
should become clearer below. (The first, shorter route is sometimes
called, colloquially, the "mini-thesis route," but this is, frankly,
a misnomer: the thesis in the shorter route must be a substantial
written product.)
A. Shorter Route
In this route you
will use the second half of Economics 401 to work on an honors
proposal, under the guidance of a sponsoring faculty member. You
will be excused from the normal work of Economics 401 in the last
five weeks in order to work on the proposal (although you may
find it valuable to audit 401 during the period). Your proposal
is included as part of the basis for your grade in 401. The proposal
must be a paper about 20 pages long which includes a clear statement
of the goals of the research and a defense of the value of the
research, a review of relevant literature, a statement of hypotheses
you will test (if you are proposing empirical research) and a
description of methods of testing, a discussion of available data
(again, if relevant), and related topics.
An advantage of
the shorter route is that at the time you begin work on the proposal,
you need not have a concrete topic fully worked out. What you
must demonstrate are interest and some background in a promising
area of research, and that a faculty member is willing to work
with you on the proposal. It clearly is highly advantageous for
you to propose a topic for which one or more of your prior courses
has prepared you. We encourage students who have at least a 3.5
GPA to apply for this route, but we will consider strong proposals
from students with lower GPAs.
At the end of 401,
the sponsoring faculty member and the coordinator of the honors
program will read your proposal and will make a decision on whether
to permit you to proceed with further research. They make the
decision primarily on the potential for original research, as
revealed by the proposal and your efforts during the period just
ended. If the department does not permit you to proceed, or if
you voluntarily abandon the pursuit of honors, then you'll receive
credit for 401 and the process is ended.
Assuming you proceed,
you then work independently with the sponsoring faculty member
during Winter Study, and, if acceptable progress is made by the
end of Winter Study, during the spring semester. You will enroll
in Economics 30 in Winter Study and in Economics 404 during the
spring; these courses do not meet regularly in the style of regular
courses but all the students meet occasionally in a group and
everyone makes periodic oral reports to the group. Economics 404
is the extra course required of honors majors; it may not substitute
for any elective.
Safety Valves.
Note that in this route you must show satisfactory progress at
two specific points in time -- the end of Economics 401 and the
end of Winter Study -- in order to continue. At either point,
the department might not permit you to go on, or you may decide
you don't want to continue. In that case, you'll receive credit
for work already done -- either in the form of a grade on the
proposal that enters into the Economics 401 grade or in the form
of a passing grade in Winter Study. We have devised this honors
program with the explicit goal of encouraging students to begin
honors research even if they are somewhat uncertain whether they
will continue on through the spring.
B. Longer Route
This route is open
to students who are well qualified by preparation and interest
to pursue a narrowly specialized topic for an entire year, and
who have identified a promising topic by the end of the junior
year.
If you want to
start on this route, you must apply to the department by May 1
of your junior year, submitting a careful and detailed proposal
for work under the supervision of a specified faculty member who
has agreed to work with you. Thus this route requires you to identify
and justify a topic much earlier than the shorter route does.
Many department members typically require the proposal to fit
more closely with their own research than they do for a shorter-route
proposal. If we approve your application, then you will register
for Economics 493 in the fall of the senior year, and that course
may substitute for an elective (lower-level, middle-level, or
advanced)--if you go on to complete the thesis, that is. If you
make satisfactory progress in the fall, you'll go on to register
in Economics 31 in Winter Study, and -- again assuming progress
-- for Economics 494 in the spring. Economics 494 is the extra
course required for honors and it may not substitute for an elective.
In this route you are not excused from any part of 401.
In this route also
you have safety valves. Even if you do not continue beyond the
fall, or beyond Winter Study, you will receive credit for satisfactory
work done up to that time, in the form of a grade for Economics
493 and Economics 31. However, if you drop out without completing
Economics 494, then you cannot substitute Economics 493 for an
elective in the major.
In both routes,
the department makes a final determination of honors at the end
of the spring semester, based on the written thesis and an oral
defense before a department committee and other faculty and students
-- this oral defense is an event open to the public. The honors
coordinator will assist you in making effective oral presentations
and in anticipating questions from faculty and students, and in
fact will require you to make a "dry run" of an oral presentation
before the actual defense. The honors coordinator takes the quality
of your thesis and oral defense into account in determining your
grade for Economics 404.
The department
awards honors for an original and effective thesis, and highest
honors for one that is unusually so in both respects.
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AFRICAN-AMERICAN STUDIES AND AREA STUDIES
A major in economics
who concentrates in African-American or Area Studies may substitute
the non-economics courses in the concentration for one lower-level
elective in the Economics major, but not for an advanced elective
(350-394).
Note on Course
Numbers: Courses between 201 and 240 are lower-level electives
and are open to first-year students who have taken 101. Courses
between 260 and 349 are intermediate electives which do not build
on specific prior experience, but do require some maturity, so
they have any two economics courses or permission of the instructor
as prerequisites. Courses 350 and above are advanced electives
primarily designed for Economics and Political Economy majors
and have theory prerequisites.
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GRADUATE COURSES IN DEVELOPMENT ECONOMICS
Juniors and seniors
majoring in Economics or Political Economy may, with the permission
of the instructor, enroll in graduate courses given by the Center
for Development Economics. A Center course may substitute
for an advanced elective in the major with permission of the chair
of the department.
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Notes for students
interested in pursuing a PhD in Economics:
Graduate training in economics requires much
more mathematical sophistication than undergraduate economics
does. Multivariable calculus (Math 105), linear algebra (Math
211) and real analysis (Math 301) are essential. Other math, statistics,
or computer science courses may also be useful as preparation
for certain fields in economics. In general, good grades in Math
classes will boost your chances of getting into a top Economics
PhD program.
We encourage you to take Econ 251M instead of
Econ 251 and Econ 255 instead of 253. To get an idea of what economics
research is all about (and to get to know a faculty member well),
you should consider writing a senior honors thesis.
Where should you apply? There are several rankings
available on the web, but these are out-dated (since faculty move
between departments so often). Most departments are stronger in
some fields than in others. Talk to your professors for advice
on where to apply.
Stanford Professor Susan Athey has extremely
useful tips here.
This table of recent
outcomes (not a random sample) gives a rough idea of how competitive
the process is:
The NSF
and Javits offer generous
outside fellowships (you must be a US resident to apply).
Mark Foley at Davidson College hosts a page with
these and other useful links here.
Graduate programs look for a high score in the
quantitative GRE.
Recent Williams graduates who are currently in
Economics PhD programs and have graciously agreed to dispense
advice are:
Saumitra Jha, Stanford
Lock Reynolds, Michigan
Dan Rosenblum, Yale
Send comments or questions to Professor Ashok Rai, Graduate School Adviser.
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