Combining Economic Theory and Accounting Practice
The combined economics/accounting major is designed to integrate the most important aspects of economic theory and accounting practice to provide the foundation and advanced knowledge you will need to succeed in business. It's an excellent undergraduate major for students wishing to pursue graduate study in law or business.

Why Economics and Accounting?
This degree provides students with a strong background in both economics and accounting. It is an excellent degree for students intending to pursue a career in business or to prepare for an MBA. With this major, numerous career options are available such as:
- Actuary
- Accountant
- Corporate Attorney
- Corporate Financial Management
- Financial Analyst
- Insurance Consultant
- Real Estate
For more information please see a video made by the American Economics Association: "A Career in Economics...it's Much More Than You Think"
Plan Your Course of Study
For the official Program of Study, see the Economics/Accounting, BA from the university catalog.
Your faculty advisors and the department managers are here to help you create a plan of study or to just confirm that you are on the correct path to reach your goals. Schedule an appointment by email or stop by during office hours.
Course Layout
Please download and read carefully the Economics/Accounting 2021-22 Plan of Study/Advising Form. This includes a flowchart for the required courses and will also serve as your planned course schedule when submitting your paperwork for your senior evaluation for graduation.
Accounting | Economics | Math & Statistics* | Management | Business Computer Skills |
---|---|---|---|---|
ACCT 240 | ECON 206 | MATH 157 | MGMT 271 | MIS 220** |
ACCT 245 |
ECON 20 |
*or equivalent
** students can test out of MIS 220
For the complete plan of study see the official Program of Study on the university catalog page.
The foundation courses consist of 28-30 credits and ideally should be completed by the end of your sophomore year. They provide the groundwork in basic business computer skills, accounting, economics, business calculus, statistics and business law the you will need before becoming a full economics/accounting major. You MUST complete all of the foundation courses before taking any junior or senior-level accounting courses.
Pre-Major Advising for Economics/Accounting Students
The accounting department recommends that students take ACCT 240 and ACCT 245 during their sophomore year to lessen the time gap between those courses and the junior-level accounting courses.
Since MATH 157- Business Calculus (or MATH 124) is a prerequisite for other courses and one of the foundation courses, we recommend that students work toward completing their MATH sequence as early as possible.
General University Requirements (GUR)
Several of your prerequisite and foundation courses also count as GURs. Look for classes that are labeled as "GUR." By planning your schedule properly you can reduce the total number of classes needed.
The core courses incorporate the base knowledge you gained in your foundation courses and expand that knowledge through more advanced financial, marketing, operations and management topics and are usually completed by one's junior year. One Communication Focus (CF) course as well as a minimum of three Writing Proficiency (WP-3) points with a minimum of C- is required. The CF and WP-3 courses must be taken within CBE. These requirements can be met as part of required or elective courses.
The economics and accounting combined major requires completion of 16 credits of upper-division required courses in both economics and accounting. Furthermore you are required to complete an additional 16 credits of elective coursework with departmental advisement - eight of these credits must be in upper-division economics courses and eight credits must be in upper-division accounting courses.
Course List
ACCT 321 - Accounting Information Systems I Credits: 4
ACCT 341 - Intermediate Accounting Theory and Practice I Credits: 4
ACCT 342 - Intermediate Accounting Theory and Practice II Credits: 4
ACCT 343 - Intermediate Accounting Theory and Practice III Credits: 4
ECON 303 - The History of Economic Thought Credits: 4
ECON 306 - Intermediate Microeconomics Credits: 4
ECON 307 - Intermediate Macroeconomics Credits: 4
ECON 311 - Money and Banking Credits: 4
FIN 341 - Principles of Finance Credits: 4
MGMT 311 - Introduction to Management and Organizational Behavior Credits: 4
MGMT 382 - Business and Its Environment Credits: 4
MKTG 380 - Principles of Marketing Credits: 4
OPS 360 - Operations Management Credits: 4 open_in_new(opens in new window)
Accounting Electives
Select 8 additional credits under advisement from this list:
ACCT 375 - Taxation and Business Decisions
ACCT 421 - Accounting Information Systems II
ACCT 431 - Topics in Management Accounting
ACCT 435 - Seminar in Cost Management
ACCT 441 - Advanced Financial Accounting
ACCT 443 - Financial Accounting Research & Communication
ACCT 444 - Financial Statement Presentation and Analysis
ACCT 447 - Accounting in Not-For-Profit Organizations
ACCT 451 - International Accounting
ACCT 461 - Auditing Theory and Practice
ACCT 462 - Advanced Auditing
ACCT 466 - Seminar in Fraud Examination & Forensic Accounting
ACCT 470 - Law of Commercial Transactions
ACCT 475 - Income Taxation II
ACCT 477 - Tax Research and Planning
ACCT 479 - Introduction to Estates and Trusts
ACCT 484 - Environmental Accounting/ Sustainability Reporting
ACCT 488 - Business Valuation
Economics Electives
Select 8 additional credits from this list:
ECON 301 - Economics Issues
ECON 308 - Sports Economics
ECON 310 - Public Sector Economics
ECON 315 - Health Economics
ECON 317 - European Economic History
ECON 325 - Labor Market Economics
ECON 333 - Introduction to Game Theory
ECON 337 - Economics Study Abroad
ECON 340 - Economics of Regulation
ECON 343 - Population, Environment, and World Agriculture
ECON 355 - The Political Economy of Language and Culture
ECON 360 - Introduction to International Economics
ECON 361 - Introduction to International Economics and Business
ECON 364 - Topics in Canadian Economic History
ECON 365 - The Canadian Economy
ECON 366 - Canadian Business Environment
ECON 375 - Introduction to Econometrics
ECON 380 - Urban Economics
ECON 381 - American Economic History
ECON 383 - Environmental Economics
ECON 384 - Energy Economics
ECON 385 - Comparative Economic Systems
ECON 386 - The Economics of Electricity Markets
ECON 388 - Economics of the European Union
ECON 389 - Economies of the Pacific Rim
ECON 406 - Topics in Microeconomics
ECON 407 - Topics in Macroeconomics
ECON 410 - Benefit-Cost Analysis
ECON 411 - Monetary Economics
ECON 412 - Economics of Tax Policy
ECON 430 - Experimental Economics
ECON 435 - Behavioral Economics
ECON 442 - Industrial Organization and Public Policy
ECON 445 - Economics of Education
ECON 462 - International Trade
ECON 463 - International Finance
ECON 465 - Development Economics
ECON 470 - Economic Fluctuations and Forecasting
ECON 475 - Econometrics
ECON 482 - Advanced Topics in Environmental Economics
ECON 483 - Resource Economics
ECON 484 - Economics of Alternative Energy
ECON 495 - Seminar in Applied Econometrics
Choose one option.
The advanced core consists of a capstone class in either Strategic Management (MGMT 495), OR Small Business Entrepreneurship (MGMT 491) and Entrepreneurial Problems (MGMT 492).
Course List:
- MGMT 491 - Small Business Entrepreneurship
- MGMT 492 - Entrepreneurial Problems
- MGMT 495 - Strategic Management