There are three undergraduate degree programs offered to economics majors at the University of South Carolina — a B.S. and B.A. in offered through the College of Arts and Sciences, and a B.S. in Business Administration through the Darla Moore School of Business. Students earning a degree from the Moore School take additional business core courses, while students earning a degree from the College of Arts and Sciences take more courses in nonbusiness subjects.

All three degree programs are managed by the economics department in the Darla Moore School of Business, and all economics courses are taught by faculty at the Moore School. 

Economics majors in the College of Arts and Sciences may earn the B.A. by completing the 24-hour major requirement along with the college core, distribution requirements and cultural-awareness and writing-emphasis requirements as described in the basic degree requirements in liberal arts. Bachelor of Arts degrees require an additional nine in the fine arts or humanities above Carolina Core requirements.

In addition to courses within your major, students in the College of Arts and Sciences must fulfill a cognate or minor. The cognate is intended to support the course work in the major, and must consist of 12 hours of courses at the advanced level, outside of, but related to the major. In place of the cognate, B.A. students can choose a minor consisting of at least 18 credit hours of prescribed courses. (Some minors in the sciences require a minimum of 16 hours.)

Careers

A major in business economics or economics can prepare you for careers in:

  • banking
  • manufacturing
  • insurance
  • investment analysis
  • retailing
  • economic research