Quantitative Economics
B.A. Department of Economics · UC Irvine · 2026-2027 Catalog
The Department strongly urges students to consider the major in Quantitative Economics, which best prepares them for careers in business and finance, for law school, for M.B.A. programs, and for graduate studies in the social sciences.
The Honors Program in Economics is open to high-achieving students in all Economics majors.
NOTE: Students may complete only one of the three Economics majors.
Admission
Freshmen: Preference will be given to those who rank among the highest using the selection criteria as stated in the Undergraduate Admissions section of this Catalogue.
Transfer Student Applicants: Transfer applicants with the highest grades overall who satisfactorily complete course prerequisites will be given preference for admission. All applicants must complete one course in microeconomics, one course in macroeconomics, and two semesters/two quarters of approved first-year calculus. Applicants interested in the major of Quantitative Economics must also complete one quarter/one semester of approved linear algebra.
Change of Major: Information about change-of-major requirements, procedures, and policies is available in the School of Social Sciences Undergraduate Student Affairs Office and at the UCI Change of Major Criteria website.
Requirements
Departmental Requirements for the Major in Quantitative Economics
The Department strongly urges students to consider the major in Quantitative Economics, which best prepares them for careers in business and finance, for law school, for M.B.A. programs, and for graduate studies in the social sciences. University and School requirements must be met and must include 19 courses as specified below.
| Course | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| A. Lower-division: | ||
| ECON 20A & ECON 20B | Basic Economics Iand Basic Economics II | |
| MATH 2A & MATH 2B | Single-Variable Calculus Iand Single-Variable Calculus II | |
| MATH 3A | Introduction to Linear Algebra | |
| B. Upper-division: | ||
| ECON 105A & ECON 105B & ECON 105C | Intermediate Quantitative Economics I and Intermediate Quantitative Economics II and Intermediate Quantitative Economics III | |
| ECON 123A & ECON 123B | Econometrics Iand Econometrics II | |
| C. Select one of the following series: | ||
| STATS 120A & STATS 120B & STATS 120C | Introduction to Probability and Statistics Iand Introduction to Probability and Statistics IIand Introduction to Probability and Statistics III | |
| MATH 130A & MATH 130B & MATH 130C | Probability Iand Probability IIand Stochastic Processes | |
| D. Complete five additional four-unit upper-division Economics electives. One course must satisfy the upper-division writing requirement. Two courses must be selected from the list below. | ||
| ECON 107 | Economics of Asymmetric Information | |
| ECON 113 | Game Theory of Human Cooperation and Morality | |
| ECON 116 | Game Theory | |
| ECON 122CW | Data Analysis Writing | |
| ECON 123CW | Econometrics III | |
| ECON 126 | Computational Macroeconomics | |
| ECON 128 | Machine Learning for Economists | |
| ECON 129 | Special Topics in Quantitative Methods | |
| ECON 131A | The Economics of Risk and Uncertainty | |
| ECON 135 | Mathematics of Finance | |
| E. A maximum of three four-unit courses selected from ECON 190–199 may be counted toward the major. | ||
Honors Program
Undergraduates in any of the three Economics majors may complete the Honors Program in Economics. Entry into the program requires a 3.4 GPA or better in upper-division Economics courses and an overall GPA of 3.2 or better. Undergraduates hoping to enter the program must apply no later than the spring quarter of their junior year. Students in the Honors Program must complete an honors thesis and the two-quarter Economics Honors Colloquium (ECON H190A-ECON 190BW; satisfies the upper-division writing requirement).
Sample Program
Freshman
| Fall | Winter | Spring |
|---|---|---|
| ECON 20A | ECON 20B | Intro. Soc. Sci. course |
| MATH 2A | MATH 2B | General Education |
| Lower-Division Writing | Lower-Division Writing | MATH 3A |
| General Education |
Sophomore
| Fall | Winter | Spring |
|---|---|---|
| ECON 105A | ECON 105B | ECON 105C |
| STATS 120A | STATS 120B | STATS 120C |
| SOC SCI 3A | Intro. Soc. Sci. course | General Education |
| General Education | General Education | General Education |
Junior
| Fall | Winter | Spring |
|---|---|---|
| ECON 123A | ECON 123B | U-D Econ. course |
| U-D Econ. course | General Education | U-D Econ. course |
| U-D Econ. course | U-D Econ. course | Electives |
| General Education | Electives | Electives |
Senior
| Fall | Winter | Spring |
|---|---|---|
| U-D Econ. course | U-D Econ. course | U-D Econ. course |
| Electives | Electives | Electives |
| Electives | Electives | Electives |
| Electives | Electives | Electives |