Economics

What is Economics Pre-Major?

First, what is Economics? An Economics textbook used at St. Philip’s College provides a concise definition. The fifteenth edition of The Economy Today by Bradley R. Schiller and Karen Gebhardt defines Economics as “The study of how best to allocate scarce resources among competing uses” (page 5).  Economics is relevant to a broad range of resource allocation decisions made daily by governments, business firms, and individual consumers. The Economics Pre-Major prepares the student to transfer to a university and major in Economics. St. Philip’s College provides Transfer Advising Guides, which are recommended plans of coursework, for the Economics Pre-Major. Students pursuing the Economics Pre-Major may utilize the Transfer Advising Guides to tailor the plan of coursework to the specific transfer institution. Transfer Advising Guides include a recommended semester-by-semester plan of coursework with important notes regarding transfer to that specific institution.

What will I learn?

Coursework varies among Transfer Advising Guides, but all of the Economics Pre-Major Advising Guides recommend the two courses in the Principles of Economics. The Principles of Economics are subdivided into courses in Macroeconomics and Microeconomics. The content of these courses is well summarized by the course descriptions from the Spring 2018 edition of the Lower Division Academic Course Guide Manual provided by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. Principles of Macroeconomics is described as “An analysis of the economy as a whole including measurement and determination of Aggregate Demand and Aggregate Supply, national income, inflation, and unemployment. Other topics include international trade, economic growth, business cycles, and fiscal policy and monetary policy” (page 115). Principles of Microeconomics is described as “Analysis of the behavior of individual economic agents, including consumer behavior and demand, producer behavior and supply, price and output decisions by firms under various market structures, factor markets, market failures, and international trade” (page 115). Both of these Economics courses, as part of the Social and Behavioral Sciences core curriculum, also promote the development of critical thinking, communication, social responsibility, and empirical and quantitative skills.    

What can I do with this course of study?

Students may prepare to transfer to a university and major in Economics. In some cases, the recommended plan of coursework in the Transfer Advising Guide leads to an Associate of Arts degree from St. Philip’s College before transfer.

What's special about the program?

Economics Pre-Majors may prepare for transfer into either the Bachelor of Arts in Economics or the Bachelor of Business Administration in Economics. Economics Pre-Major Transfer Advising Guides are available for both the Bachelor of Arts in Economics and for the Bachelor of Business Administration in Economics.