Program Description
The field of Economics studies the creation and distribution of value by people, organizations, and whole societies. It involves understanding the subtle interplay between these two processes of creation and distribution, as they are affected by factors such as the competitive and cooperative aspects of behavior by the participants in an economic system, by institutional arrangements, by government policies, and by normative considerations such as fairness and ethicality.
The study of Economics at NYU Shanghai will enhance your fundamental analytical and quantitative skills. The curriculum strives not only to provide a cutting-edge undergraduate education for students interested in Economics but also to provide the toolkit needed to pursue a wide variety of careers in both the private and public sectors. These careers include business, consulting and research positions, law, and policy making. Students who wish to attend graduate school in Economics can augment the requirements of the Economics major with additional courses in mathematics and other areas. The Economics Student Mentor Program offers further support for our students in doing research, in the form of independent studies or under the auspices of the NYU Shanghai Dean's Undergraduate Research Fund.
Admissions
New York University's Office of Undergraduate Admissions supports the application process for all undergraduate programs at NYU. For additional information about undergraduate admissions, including application requirements, see How to Apply.
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of the program, students will display:
- Proficiency in critical thinking. Students are able to work in an independent fashion to analyze the logical essentials of a problem. They understand basic microeconomic and macroeconomic concepts and can apply them to analyze real-world events.
- Proficiency in written and oral communication. Students are able to write coherent and accurate reports when analyzing current economic events and when interpreting their own findings. They can deliver effective oral presentations that explain economic concepts, and they know how to justify their economic analysis carefully and accurately. They demonstrate computer literacy in the preparation of reports and presentations.
- Proficiency in neoclassical economic analysis. Students are sufficiently prepared to be able to understand the contributions of current research papers and of other current work in neoclassical microeconomics and macroeconomics. They are able to use the concepts they encounter to analyze contemporary economics events and policies.
- Proficiency in behavioral Economic analysis. Students are able to articulate the limitations of neoclassical economic analysis and can also appreciate how insights from psychology, neuroscience, and other cognitive sciences can expand the explanatory power of economic analysis and can reshape the design of public policies.
- Proficiency in empirical analysis. Students understand how to turn economic theories into testable hypotheses. They can work independently to collect and use economic data from a wide variety of sources and can conduct empirical tests of hypothesized relationships. They have familiarity with a range of research designs that can help uncover causal relationships in data. Students have achieved an effective working knowledge of current statistical software and data management tools.
- Interpret data through various forms of evidence by employing qualitative and quantitative methods by means of appropriate research design, rigorous investigation, and critical analysis of a wide range of social phenomena.
Policies
Prerequisite Courses for Declaring a Major
Final grade of C/current semester midterm grade of B or higher in Microeconomics.
Calculus Requirement
Economic major students must either take MATH-SHU 131 Calculus, place out of Calculus, or take Honors Calculus, in order to satisfy the Mathematics requirement in the core curriculum.
Economics and Data Science Double Major Guidelines
Students who are interested in pursuing a Data Science major along with an Economics major have the option to double-count more than two courses between the majors. To complete both majors successfully, students would need to complete the course requirements for both majors. However, the following courses are allowed to be double-counted toward both majors:
Economics and Data Science (Concentration in Economics)
Economics and Data Science (Concentration in Finance)
NYU Policies
University-wide policies can be found on the New York University Policy pages.
NYU Shanghai Policies
Additional academic policies can be found on the NYU Shanghai Academic Policies page.