Oct 20, 2025  
2025-2026 Undergraduate Catalog 
    
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2025-2026 Undergraduate Catalog

Economics

www.smu.edu/economics

Professor Daniel Millimet, Department Chair

Professors: Nathan Balke, Bo Chen, Klaus Desmet, Daniel Millimet, Santanu Roy, Tim Salmon 
Associate Professors: Hao Dong, Thomas Osang, Omer Ozak, Saltuk Ozerturk (Director of Undergraduate Studies), Nathaniel Pattison, Michael Sposi
Assistant Professors: Stepan Aleksenko, Alipio Ferreira, Zhan Gao, Wookun Kim, Rocio Madera, Luis Perez, Prasanthi Ramakrishnan, Yichen Su
Senior Lecturer II: Helen Reynolds, Elizabeth Wheaton
Senior Lecturers: Mea Ahlberg, Marcela Giraldo
Lecturers: Kathy Li, Ryan McGregor

General Information

An undergraduate degree in economics from Southern Methodist University equips students with specialized analytical, problem-solving, and critical-thinking skills and an understanding of how human behavior influences the production and distribution of wealth. Economics majors can capitalize on our rigorous curriculum by choosing from a broad array of advanced economics courses to tailor their studies to their personal interests and career aspirations.

Students majoring in economics may choose among four degree plans. Under each degree plan, students are expected to take ECO 1311  and ECO 1312 , MATH 1309  or MATH 1337 , and STAT 2331  during the first or second year. Once the major is declared, due progress must be made in terms of course enrollment. Finally, under each degree plan, students must have a GPA of at least 2.000 in economics courses attempted and must receive at least a grade of C- in all classes counting toward the major.

Department Transfer Credit Policy

Once students have matriculated at SMU, the economics department will not accept transfer credit for online courses. For general University transfer course policies, students should refer to the transfer policies found on the Enrollment and Academic Records  section of this catalog.

Notes for All Economics Majors:

  1. ECO 3301  and ECO 3302  require prior completion of MATH 1309  or MATH 1337 .
  2. All economics courses at the 4000 level or above require prior completion of STAT 2331  or STAT 4340 .
  3. Additional recommended or required preparation for courses is indicated within the course descriptions.
  4. Questions concerning specific courses and the undergraduate program in general should be directed to the economics undergraduate adviser and the director of undergraduate studies.
  5. Students majoring in economics are urged to consult a departmental adviser periodically to review their degree plans and progress.

Admission of SMU Students to an Economics Major

Students interested in majoring in economics must satisfy the criteria listed below: 

  1. Completion of 24 credit hours in good academic standing
  2. Completion of economics subset courses with no grade below C-, a minimum subset GPA of 2.7, and a minimum all-college cumulative GPA of 2.7. The all-college cumulative GPA must be at least 2.7 at the end of the semester in which the final subset courses are completed.

The economics subset includes: 

Exceptions:

  1. If the same course is repeated under the Grade Replacement Repeat policy (first attempt was a D+ or lower), the grade from the second attempt will be used for computing both the subset and the all-college GPAs and it will also be the one counted to determine if the minimum grade requirement for that class is met. Subsequent retakes will not be considered for satisfying either requirement.
  2. If the same course is repeated but the first attempt was a C- or higher, the grade from any subsequent attempt will not be used for calculating the GPA for the Economics subset.
  3. If both WRTR 1312  and WRTR 1313  are taken, the higher of the two grades will be used to calculate the Economics subset GPA. If both MATH 1309  and MATH 1337  are taken, the higher of the two grades will be used to calculate the Economics subset GPA. If both STAT 2331  and STAT 4340  are taken, the higher of the two grades will be used to calculate the Economics subset GPA. In all three cases, the grades from both courses will be used to calculate the all-college GPA.

Note: 

For declaration purposes, the subset GPA and all-college cumulative GPA are recorded at the end of the term the student completes the Economics subset AND has at least 24 cumulative credit hours. If a course is repeated under the Grade Replacement Repeat policy, then the subset and all-college GPAs will be taken at the conclusion of the term in which the repeat is completed.

Departmental Distinction

The student majoring in economics with sufficiently high standing may graduate with departmental distinction by pursuing a rigorous independent research project under the direction of a faculty sponsor. The research will occur while enrolled in ECO 4398 . The project will be presented to the faculty sponsor and director of undergraduate studies at the end of the term. The course prerequisites for ECO 4398  are: ECO 3301 , ECO 3302 , ECO 4350 , two advanced economics courses, a minimum GPA of 3.700 in economics classes, 3.500 GPA overall, and one of the following: STAT 2331  or STAT 4340 ,

Programs

    Major(s)Minor(s)

    Courses

      Economics