Bachelor of Economics (Honours)
Chair’s Welcome:
Professor Hashmat Khan
Chair, Department of Economics
Congratulations on your excellent decision to pursue the Bachelor of Economics (Honours) degree here at Carleton. It is a unique degree in Canada relative to a standard B.A. degree, with an enhanced focus on student training, experiential learning, Co-Ops, student supports and advising, networking, and research assistantships with faculty members. The B. ECON (H) offers four highly flexible pathways allowing students to choose from eight concentrations. For example, you can do Honours with one or two concentrations.
As we emerge from the pandemic, the relevance of economics in almost every aspect of our lives cannot be overstated. At its core, economics is the study of decision-making in the face of scarce resources and competing interests. The need to make these prudent choices pervades our day-to-day lives – as individuals, as a community, and as a society.
Why is it fun and highly advantageous to do a degree in Economics?
The work of an economist is in many ways like that of a detective. With our economics lens in hand, we look for clues in the data, and mixed with some creative thinking and critical reasoning, uncover the underlying causes of some seemingly odd outcomes that we observe around us. The availability of bigger and more detailed datasets and “super-super” computers has added great optimism about solving the major challenges of the 21st century like global inequality and hunger, economic development through empowerment of women, education, health, immigration, and climate change.
Economics provides causal insights backed by rigorous analysis into important societal issues such as health care, protecting the environment, reducing inequality, universal basic income, the design of social programs, tax systems, monetary and fiscal policies, trade agreements, among others. Further, technical knowledge gained through the study of economics is portable and highly valued by employers in many areas, including: the banking and financial sectors, labour relations, international trade, entrepreneurship, corporate and climate finance. It can also provide a unique leadership edge in your career.
While education in economics is relevant for careers in business and management, its scope and impact are much broader. Economics is a social science; as an intellectual discipline, economics seeks to measure, analyze, and understand a wide range of social phenomena using a rich set of technical tools and methods. The focus of an education in economics is on intellectual growth and development. It fosters critical thinking, which is one of the most valued skills for Canadian employers. This is also reflected in higher salaries and wages for economists in the job market relative to many other social sciences. I look forward to welcoming you all in-person at the start of the Fall 2022 term!
Bachelor of Economics (Honours)
The Department offers four pathways that lead to a Bachelor of Economics (B.Econ.) Honours degree: 1) Honours without Concentration, 2) Honours with one Concentration, 3) Honours with two Concentrations, and 4) Honours with a Double Major.
The core of the Major part of these programs comprises 6.5 credits: 0.5 credit in Introduction to Microeconomics (ECON 1001) and 0.5 credit in Introduction to Macroeconomics (ECON 1002) together with eleven 0.5-credit courses—in Elementary Mathematics for Economics I (ECON 1401), Elementary Mathematics for Economics II (ECON 1402)(or equivalent pair of first year linear algebra and calculus courses), Intermediate Microeconomics I: Producers and Market Structure (ECON 2020), Intermediate Macroeconomics I (ECON 2102), Introductory Statistics for Economics (ECON 2210), Intermediate Microeconomics II: Consumers and General Equilibrium (ECON 2030), Intermediate Macroeconomics II (ECON 2103), Introductory Econometrics (ECON 2220), Research Methods in Economics (ECON 3900), Professional Practice of Economics (ECON 3920), and Honours Capstone Seminar (ECON 4905).
The Honours without Concentration Major requires 4.0 Economics elective credits: 2.0 credits in 3000-level Economics electives and 2.0 credits in 4000-level Economics electives.
The Honours with Concentration Major requires 4.0 credits in specific courses required to satisfy one of the eight available concentrations, 1.0 credit in 3000-level Economics electives, and 1.0 credit in 4000-level Economics electives.
The Honours with Concentrations Major requires 8.0 credits in specific courses required to satisfy both chosen concentrations,: 4.0 credits in each of two of the eight available concentrations.
Electives not in Economics together with free electives make up the non-Major balance of each Honours program for a total of 20.0 credits.
Recommended Course Pattern
B.Econ. Honours (without concentration)
| Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Year 4 | ||||
| Fall | Winter | Fall | Winter | Fall | Winter | Fall | Winter |
| ECON 1001 | ECON 1002 | ECON 2020 | ECON 2030 | ECON 3900 | ECON 4905 3 | ||
| *ECON 1401 | *ECON 1402 | ECON 2102 | ECON 2103 | ECON 3920 | |||
| *Students who have completed 1000-level MATH courses may consider the following MATH SUBSTITUTIONS |
ECON 2210 | ECON 2220 | 2.0 credits in ECON at the 3000-level |
2.0 credits in ECON at the 4000-level |
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| 1.5 credits in electives not in economics 1 |
1.5 credits in electives not in economics 1 |
1.0 credit in electives not in economics 1 |
1.0 credit in electives not in economics 1 |
2.0 credits in free electives 2 |
2.5 credits in free electives 2 |
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The 9.5 credits not Included in the major CGPA are comprised of 5.0 credits in electives not in economics, and 4.5 credits in free electives.
1 Students are strongly encouraged to take PSYC 1001, ENGL 1020, COMP 1005, PSCI 1100 among their first year non-economics electives.
2 Students may choose to take up to a maximum of 4.5 credits in ECON courses (not required in the major) to count towards their 4.5 credits in free electives.
3 Students may replace the ECON 4905 requirement, together with a 0.5-credit ECON elective, with a 1.0-credit Honours Essay (ECON 4908) assigned a grade of B- or higher. To qualify for this option, students must have overall and major CGPAs of 9.50 or higher, good research and writing skills, and be able to select the topic, conduct the research, and write the essay with a minimum of supervision. See The Honours Essay guidelines maintained by the Department for further details.