Department of Economics

Bachelor of Science in Commerce in Economics

Economics is both a social science discipline and a decision framework for analyzing production, consumption, distribution, and efficiency. The goal of the undergraduate curriculum is to offer students the theoretical background necessary to understand business and policy issues, as well as the quantitative and analytical skills necessary to evaluate these issues independently. Courses offered by the Department of Economics provide students with an understanding of the principles of microeconomic and macroeconomic topics such as unemployment, inflation, income distribution, price determination, consumer choice theory, profit maximization, and market structure. The principles of economics are applied to a wide range of topics in the curriculum such as economic development, environmental issues, poverty, urban and regional development, international trade, labor issues, and economic history.

Graduates with a background in economics are solidly prepared for employment in the private, public, and non-profit sectors, or for advanced studies in business, law, and economics. The economics major in the Driehaus College of Business combines the study of economics with the related business fields of accountancy, finance, marketing and management. The department also offers an undergraduate major in economics through the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

Major Declaration Requirements


To declare a major in Economics, a student must meet the following requirements:

  • Completion of 28 hours at DePaul University 
  • Completion of the Introductory Commerce courses with 
    • A minimum grade of C- in each course 
    • A minimum grade point average of 2.0 for the combined courses 
  • A minimum cumulative DePaul grade point average of 2.0 
  • A minimum Economics grade point average of 2.0 
  • No grade of IN, R, M or lower than C- in any ECO course or course used toward the Economics major 
  • Completion of ECO 105, ECO 106 and ECO 315 with minimum grades of C- 

The major is declared by completing an application through the Commerce Undergraduate Program Office.

Course Requirements



In addition to ECO 105, ECO 106 and ECO 315, a student majoring in Economics is required to complete the following seven courses for the major:

  1. ECO 305 Intermediate Microeconomics
  2. ECO 306 Intermediate Macroeconomics
  3. ECO Elective
  4. ECO Elective
  5. ECO Elective
  6. ECO Elective
  7. FIN 202 Quantitative Reasoning

Electives must be chosen from ECO 307 Managerial Economics, ECO 310 Urban Economics, ECO 311 Business and Economic Forecasting, ECO 312 The Chicago Economy, ECO 313 Social Control of Business, ECO 314 Economics of the Public Sector, ECO 316 European Economic History, ECO 317 American Economic History, ECO 318 Labor Economics and Organization, ECO 319 Economics and Gender, ECO 320 Economics of Religion, ECO 325 The Economics of Poverty, ECO 330 The Economics of Socialism, ECO 333 Topics in Global Economies, ECO 334 Understanding China's Economy, ECO 335 Energy and Environmental Economics, ECO 340 Development of Economic Thought, ECO 342 Statistics for Economics, ECO 360 Economics of Low-Income Countries, ECO 361 International Trade, ECO 362 International Monetary Economics, ECO 375 Introduction to Econometrics, ECO 380 Mathematical Economics, ECO 398 Special Topics (multiple topics may be used), and ECO 399 Independent Study.

ECO 375 Econometrics may be taken in place of FIN 202.  Students selecting this option will earn an additional 2 quarter hours to toward their program of study.

ECO 395 Capstone Seminar in Economics may not be used as an Economics Elective.

Degree Conferral Requirements


All ECO courses and any courses used toward the ECO major must be completed with a minimum grade of C-.
All ECO courses and any courses used toward the ECO major must equal a minimum grade point average of 2.0 when combined.

For complete information, visit Undergraduate Programs.