Program description
The study of economics helps us understand our world: wages and employment, economic growth, productivity, wealth and poverty, government budgets and taxation, resource exploitation, business practices, inflation, recession, regional economic differences. In the undergraduate program in economics we study the history and current reality of these issues, and the principles and techniques necessary to gain a sound understanding of the choices and problems facing us during our lifetime.Students earning a general BA degree in economics can take a wide variety of economics courses while still pursuing interests in other fields. The advanced BA degree in Economics provides greater specialization. The Honours program is intellectually stimulating and offers smaller classes.
Program options
Degree options
B.A. Bachelor of Arts, Economics - 3 years
B.A. (Adv.) Bachelor of Arts, Economics, Advanced - 4 years
B.A. Minor, Economics
Interesting courses and unique opportunities
Interesting courses
- Economics of Sports and Leisure
- Canadian Economic History
- Industrial Relations
- Economics of the Financial System
- International Trade
- Sustainable Development: Issues and Policy
- Game Theory
- History of Economic Thought
Professional opportunities
- Government
- Research
- Private businesses
- Non-profit
- International business
- Lawyer
- Journalist
Admission requirements & prerequisites
Direct entry option
Direct entry is not an option for this program. Please review the Advanced entry option section for more information.Advanced entry option
24 credit hours in U1 (or approved bachelors program)This entry option is open to students who have completed a minimum of 24 credit hours of university level study. Specific program requirements will vary; details of these requirements are available on each program’s application page.
High school prerequisites
High school prerequisites: none
Many programs will require or recommend specific high school courses over and above their admission requirements. These high school prerequisites are not always required to enter the program, but they must be completed to enrol in certain university courses within it. If a student does not have a particular prerequisite when they enter the program, they may complete an equivalent upgrading course at university that will satisfy the prerequisite requirement.
More details on admission requirements, application dates and how to apply is available on the Faculty of Arts apply for admission page.
What is unique about this program at the U of M?
The Department is committed to the interaction of ideas and intellectual discussion of Economics from a variety of perspectives. The regular Friday afternoon seminar series has been running for 35 years and is the oldest in the faculty. Many faculty members have won recognition for their research at the university and national level. In recent years, we have hired a number of new and enthusiastic faculty with diverse interests and a commitment to teaching and scholarship.
A particular strength of our BA Advanced and Honours program is that, in addition to providing a deeper and specialized knowledge of the discipline, it imparts to the students an appreciation of its breadth and richness, in particular, of the range and nature of the debates and of the evolving approaches within economics, of the role of institutions, and of the implications of all of the above for policy. The Honours program is especially unique in this respect, and is interesting, as well as intellectually challenging, to our students. Small Honours classes give students a better opportunity to establish contact with each other, and give professors more opportunity to pay individual attention to students. The general program provides a broader education that is useful to students interested in completing their degree in three years.
Important links
Faculty of Arts
Department of Economics
Graduate Programs
