Degrees and Certificates Information (College Catalog)
Why Economics?
Although economic problems are universal, roughly 90 percent of the world's population was relatively sheltered from distant events for over 95 percent of human history. This isolation, however, is no longer possible or necessarily desirable. At least two revolutions, the information revolution and globalization of economic activity, are changing the world. During today's information revolution, people who have the ability and opportunity to embrace the new technologies are prospering. The incomes and living standards of the less educated are falling behind. Today's revolution has a global dimension. The prices of the food we eat and the fuel we use, the occupations we pursue are among the myriad activities that may be affected by events half a world away. You live in a world of economics - of inflation, unemployment, interest rates, exchange rates, fiscal policy, monetary policy, budget deficits, international trade, competition and monopoly, taxation, and environmental degradation. Economics is the study of the world in which we live.
A degree and or study of economics gives the best training available in problem solving, offers lots of opportunities to develop conceptual skills, and opens doors to a wide range of jobs and graduate courses.
What Is Economics?
Economics is the study of how we work to transform scarce resources into goods and services to satisfy the most pressing of our infinite wants, and how we distribute these goods and services among ourselves. The basic economic problem confronting you, if you are typical, is that you would like far more than you can afford. Your limited budget and time require decisions about how you will spend your time and money. Businesses, governments, and all societies must choose among alternatives. How individuals and societies choose, and the effects of these choices, are the focal point of economics.
Careers In Economics:
Finding enjoyment and intrigue in the study of economics is a wonderful surprise for many students. A paramount question though, is whether this is a practical field of study and whether one can get a good job with a degree in economics. We live in a world of risk and uncertainty, but economics graduates have job opportunities in such areas as public administration, operations analysis, sales, insurance, investment and financial analysis. Economists are employed in most large business firms, government agencies, and non-profit organizations. Other employment opportunities include teaching, consulting, and research.
USA Today, Money, and CNN have all reported that individuals with a bachelor's degree in economics and finance are consistently among the highest paid college graduate in fields outside of engineering. In business, executives are aware that business strategies and policies require economic reasoning. More than 20 percent of economists work for government. Local, state, and federal agencies offer job opportunities for people with training in economics. Budgeting, cost-benefit analysis, tax policy, environment and natural resource concerns, fiscal and monetary policy are some of the concerns for the government economist. About one-half of economists with advanced degrees in economics are teachers-researchers employed by colleges and universities.