Undergraduate Program Overview

Why Study Economics?

Economics provides causal insights into important social issues such as:

• Health Care
• Protecting the environment
• Reducing inequality, and the design of social programs and tax systems

While education in economics is relevant for business or management, its scope and rigour 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.

Hear more about why you should pursue Economics from Professor Hashmat Khan from the Department of Economics.

ECON 0005 – Conditional Offer of Admission

Students admitted with a conditional offer to the B.Econ (Honours) with an additional requirement in economics, must complete ECON 0005: Preparatory Mathematics for Economics in their first term of study with a minimum grade of C- or higher to be eligible to continue in their current program and continue with courses like ECON 1401: Elementary Mathematics for Economics I in the subsequent term.

Students must check their Offer of Admission letter for any existing conditions on the OUAC website under the “View Offers” tab or on Carleton360.

B.ECON Honours, 20-credit Program

The B.ECON Honours is a 20.0 credit program. Students can pursue the B.ECON Honours, with no concentration or between the following eight concentrations:

1. Computational Analysis
2. Economic Data Science
3. Advanced Economic Analysis
4. Development
5. Financial Economics
6. International Political Economy
7. Mathematics and Quantitative Economics
8. Natural Resources, Environment and Economy

B.ECON General, 15.0-credit Program

The B.Econ is a 15.0 credit General program, designed for students who may wish to obtain a solid grounding in Economics at the university-level, but who at the same time prefer to pursue a somewhat abbreviated, less theoretical and less mathematical program than the B.Econ. Honours.

B.ECON 15.0 Credit vs 20.0 Credit Honours

Students in the 15.0 credit program who would like to transition into our 20.0 credit Honour’s program should strongly consider taking the following courses as part of their 15.0 credit degree:

• ECON 3020 – Intermediate Microeconomics II: Consumers and General Equilibrium
• ECON 3102 – Intermediate Macroeconomics II
• ECON 3210 – Introductory Econometrics

Post-Baccalaureate Diploma in Economics

The post-bac diploma can be completed in eight months with intensive training in economic theory, econometric methods, and applied economics. Furthermore, there is English-language training for students who are not yet fluent in English and a structured and clearly defined course of study.

It is intended for:

• People who have already completed an undergraduate degree in another discipline and would like a rigorous and structured introduction to economics
• Those with a degree from outside Canada, whether in economics or another discipline, who are looking for a one-year, recognized, Canadian qualification in economics
• Anyone who would like additional preparation for graduate education in economics.

The post-bac diploma is also an excellent transitional program into our M.A. in Economics.

Core Courses in B.ECON Honours’ Program

Combined Honours

Students have the option of pursuing a combined Honours in Economics either:

Minor in Economics

The Department offers two different (4.0-credit) minors: the Minor in Economics and the Minor in Industrial Economics. The latter is open to all B.Eng. students and comprises 3.5 required credits and a 0.5-credit Economics elective, whereas the former is open to all undergraduate degree students not pursuing a Major (Honours or 15.0 credit degree) in Economics (B.Econ. or B.A.) and comprises 2.0 required and 2.0 elective Economics credits.

Important Information about Pursuing a Minor in Economics

Students who pursue a minor in Economics commonly come from programs such as:

• Bachelor of Commerce (B.Com.)
• Bachelor of Computer Science (B.C.S.)
• Bachelor of Engineering (B.Eng.)
• Bachelor of Industrial Design (B.I.D)
• Bachelor of Information Technology (B.I.T)
• Bachelor of Mathematics (B.Math.)
• Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.)

Please note that students in the minor have the option of earning credit in either:

• 0.5 credit earned from ECON 2001 or ECON 2009 or ECON 2020
• 0.5 credit from ECON 2101 or ECON 2102

Please note that students in any of the above programs CANNOT register in ECON 2001 or ECON 2101. This is due to the fact that these courses are intended for non-mathematical majors.

If you are looking to fulfill credit in ECON 2020 or 2102, ECON 1401 and ECON 1402 are prerequisites required in BOTH courses. We accept some math substitutions in place of ECON 1401 and ECON 1402 (see below).

• MATH Substitutions for ECON Courses

We also accept some STAT courses in place of ECON 2210 and ECON 3210 (formerly ECON 2220). Please see the prerequisite chart our department has prepared for the upcoming academic year.

• Prerequisite Chart – Fall 2025 and Winter 2026

Switching to Economics from Another Program

If you have switched over from another program (within Carleton), you might have earned credit from other courses that our department may accept that can help fast-track your progress within the program. Our department accepts combinations of mathematics courses in place of our elementary mathematics courses (ECON 1401 and ECON 1402) and statistics courses.

Please see our acceptable mathematics combinations in place of ECON 1401 and ECON 1402.

Changing Your Program Elements

• Changes to your program are made through the “Change of Program Elements” feature of Carleton Central.
• Changes require up to 3 days for processing. Processing time may vary throughout the school year.
• Term specific deadlines are posted within the Carleton Central application.
• Requests to change your Degree should be directed towards the admissions office via the internal application
• Requests to remove the Co-Op option from your program should be directed to the co-op office website via their online submission form.

Running Your Audit

If you are thinking of changing your major, minor or specialization, the ‘what-if’ audit can be very beneficial for you. It will help you see how your audit will change once you switch your program elements. This is a useful tool in determining where your previous courses would count in the new degree to see if you are on the right track towards graduation.

The Academic Advising Centre has all the information on running your audit you will need.

Pursuing an M.A in Economics after Undergraduate Studies

If you are interested in furthering your post-secondary education and pursuing an M.A. in Economics, our department strongly encourages students to consider choosing our more rigorous concentrations in Advanced Economic Analysis and Mathematics and Quantitative Economics.

If you have not chosen these concentrations, please note the following courses (or equivalent) with a minimum passing grade of B+ must be taken either in the E.M.A (Extended M.A. in Economics) or prior to pursuing an M.A. in Economics:

• ECON 3001 – Mathematical Methods of Economics
• ECON 4001 – Mathematical Analysis in Economics
• ECON 4002 – Statistical Analysis in Economics
• ECON 4020 – Advanced Microeconomic Theory
• ECON 4021 – Advanced Macroeconomic Theory
• ECON 4706 – Econometrics I

Managing Your Course Load

Our department strongly recommends prioritizing the core courses and concentration courses required for completing your Honour’s program degree over taking electives. Electives should be paired alongside the core and concentration courses.

CO-OP

Co-operative Education combines traditional, in-class education with hands-on experience to get a head start on a career. Co-op work terms allow for the development of key employability skills, exploration of career options and graduation with tangible, workplace experience—giving students a competitive edge in the job market after graduation.

Visit our CO-OP page with recent placements from our students.

Read about the Admissions and Participation Requirements in the Undergraduate Calendar.

Contact our department if you have questions, or check out the Carleton University Co-op Website.

Elective Suggestions

Students often ask for recommendations about elective courses. Students are in the best position to choose their elective courses based on their own interests, strengths, career goals, learning style, etc.

Our department recommends the following electives:

Minimum Prerequisite Grade

All ECON course outlines list the minimum prerequisite grade required to progress to upper-year level ECON courses. The official listing for ECON courses is posted on the Undergraduate Calendar. The grade required to obtain credit in a course (50% or above, or a letter grade of D-) may be different than the minimum prerequisite grade.

For example, ECON 2210 requires a minimum prerequisite grade of C- to get into most upper level ECON courses such as ECON 3210 (formerly ECON 2220). However, other ECON courses may not have this requirement (such as for ECON 2708, you need a minimum prerequisite grade of C+ in ECON 2210). Elective courses outside ECON may have their own requirements.

Students may be de-registered from course(s) if they are not meeting the minimum prerequisite grade.

Our department runs prerequisite checks every semester. This means we check to see that students are correctly registered in their courses and fulfilling the necessary requirements. If you are not, you may be deregistered in the course you were previously registered in.

• If you defer a final exam that is in sequence to a subsequent course, you may be deregistered in the subsequent course.
  • For example, if you are currently registered in ECON 1401 and defer the final exam, if you do not have a passing grade (not including the final exam grade) at that point in the course, you may be deregistered in ECON 1402.
• Prerequisite grades determine access to other courses. However, students may need to achieve higher grades to be eligible to continue in their program. For more information about the Academic Continuation Evaluation (ACE) and CGPA requirements for graduation, students should contact the Academic Advising Centre.

Tips and Resources

• Check your Carleton email for important program information from our department.
• Prioritize TA and instructor office hours!
• Our department has prepared some registration tips for undergraduate students in our program.

When building your timetable or choosing courses, always check: