What Economists Do?
Economists study how people and societies decide what goods and services to produce, how to allocate resources for production, and how to divide the income created in the process. Economics courses deal with national economic health and the behavior of industries and individual firms, as well as the decisions made by individuals in households and families.
Economics majors who plan to enter the job market immediately after college find the degree useful in obtaining jobs many fields of business and other areas where training in systematic thinking and empirical analysis are prized. A degree in economics is excellent preparation for law school, MBA programs, teaching or graduate work in economics or other social sciences.
Boise State offers three main paths to an undergraduate degree in economics: 1) a Bachelor of Arts, which includes economics and elective courses in social sciences; 2) a Bachelor of Arts in Quantitative Economics, which include economics and elective courses in math; 3) a Bachelor of Business Administration, which includes economics and standard business courses.
Degrees Offered by the Department of Economics are:
- Bachelor of Arts in Economics Requirements
- Bachelor of Arts in Quantitative Economics (STEM designated degree)
- Bachelor of Business Administration in Business Economics Requirements (*Qualifies for Idaho LAUNCH)
- Bachelor of Science in Business and Economic Analytics Requirements (STEM designated degree and *Qualifies for Idaho LAUNCH)
- Minor in Economics Requirements
- Minor in Sustainability Requirements
- Teaching Endorsement in Economics Requirements
*Idaho LAUNCH by Next Steps Idaho, is an education and training grant program that provides Idaho students a one-time scholarship for 80% of the tuition and fees for select in-demand career programs – up to a maximum amount of $8,000.
Which economics degree is right for me?
Bachelor Programs
A Bachelor of Arts in Economics will prepare you for many career paths including government and many industries. And, if you plan to go to graduate school in economics, opt for the Bachelor of Arts in Quantitative Economics. Econometrics and Quantitative Economics is the second fastest-growing undergraduate program in the nation as reported by Hanover Research.
If you want to pursue employment opportunities in business fields, a Bachelor of Business Administration in Business Economics may be right for you.
Love the thought of working with big data? The Bachelor of Science in Business and Economic Analytics will provide you with the skill set necessary to turn big data into actionable information that supports strategic business decisions.
Stem-designated Degrees
Both the Bachelor of Arts in Quantitative Economics and the Bachelor of Science in Business and Economic Analytics degrees are STEM-designated degrees. A STEM-designated program is an academic program recognized by the government for its focus on science, technology, engineering or math. Organizations and businesses across all industries are discovering a need for business leaders who have an understanding of STEM subjects. STEM occupations are high earning, and there is a need for STEM talent in the U.S.
Minors
Not majoring in economics? Consider an economics minor. A minor in economics will enhance many business and social science majors because you will gain a big-picture perspective on business and the economy. The critical thinking and analytical skills that you will learn are useful in every job.
The sustainability minor is a 22 credit interdisciplinary minor that focuses on courses at the confluence of environmental science, social science and business. The sustainability minor will prepare you to help organizations change the ways in which they design policies, processes, products. services and allocate resources.
Economics Program Learning Outcomes
See the learning outcomes of all our economics programs on the Program Assessment Reporting (PAR) site.