Applied Economics, Business and Society

Preliminary Core:
BA 101, EC 201, EC 202

Specialization Requirements: Must take 7 of the following courses, at least two of the courses must be outside of Economics and Business. [Note: students who enrolled in this GSS track before January 2012 need to take 5 specialization courses.]
BA 316, 317, 318
EC 311, 313, 327, 330, 333, 340, 350, 360, 370, 380, 390 , 399
ENVS 335, 345
GEOG 342
HIST 363, 463
J 340 , 350
LAW 199, 199 [Note: temporary courses, offered only spring 2012]
PHIL 120
PS 275, 321, 337, 340
SOC 346, 347
WGS 341

Course Descriptions for Applied Economics, Business and Society

Preliminary core: Must take BA 101, and EC 201 and 202

BA 101 Introduction to Business Historical, social, political, economic, and legal environments within which business operates. Interrelationships of the functional areas of management, finance, marketing, accounting, and international studies.

EC 201 Introduction to Economic Analysis: Microeconomics Examines how consumers, firms, and governments make decisions when facing scarce resources and how those decisions affect market outcomes, such as prices and output. MATH 111 recommended.

EC 202 Introduction to Economic Analysis: Macroeconomics Examines the aggregate activity of a market economy, the problems that arise, such as inflation and unemployment, and how the government can use macroeconomic policy to address these problems. EC 201 strongly recommended.

Methodology requirement: Must take BA 215 and MATH 243.

BA 215 Accounting: Language of Business Decisions How the accounting model reflects business transactions or events. Interpretation and analysis of financial statements. Understanding cost and revenue information, organization, and decisions. Prereq: BA 101.

MATH 243 Introduction to Methods of Probability and Statistics Discrete and continuous probability, data description and analysis, sampling distributions, emphasizes confidence intervals and hypothesis testing. Prereq: MATH 95 or satisfactory placement test score; a programmable calculator capable of displaying function graphs. MATH 111 is recommended. Students cannot receive credit for both MATH 243 and 425.

Specialization requirements: Must take 7 of the following courses:

BA 316 Management: Creating Value through People Management systems for planning, controlling, organizing, and leading; how they influence human behavior in organizations. Selecting, training, retaining, and motivating the human resource in organization. Prereq: BA 101.

BA 317 Marketing: Creating Value for Customers Market analysis, target customer identification, and development of marketing-mix strategies to deliver superior customer value and contribute to the performance of the organization. Prereq: BA 101.

BA 318 Finance: Creating Value through Capital Financial statement analysis, pro forma statements and capital budgeting, time value of money, net present-value analysis, risk and cost of capital. Prereq: BA 101; BA 215 or ACTG 211.

EC 311 Intermediate Microeconomic Theory Consumer and firm behavior, market structures. General equilibrium theory, welfare economics, collective choice, rules for evaluating economic policy. Prereq: EC 201, MATH 111. Students cannot receive credit for more than one of EC 311, FIN 311, and FIN 311H.

EC 313 Intermediate Macroeconomic Theory Determination of aggregate income, employment, and unemployment; evaluation of macroeconomic policies. Prereq: EC 202. EC 311 strongly recommended.

EC 327 Introduction to Game Theory Introductory course in game theory. Develops game-theoretic methods of rational decision making and equilibriums, using many in-class active games. Prereq: EC 101 or 201.

EC 330 Urban and Regional Economic Problems Topics may include urban and metropolitan growth, land use, race and poverty, education systems, slums and urban renewal, transportation, crime, and pollution and environmental quality. Prereq: EC 201.

EC 333 Resource and Environmental Economic Issues Economic analysis of replenishable and nonreplenishable natural resources; environmental issues and policies. Prereq: EC 201.

EC 340 Issues in Public Economics Principles and problems of government financing. Expenditures, revenues, debt, and financial administration. Production by government versus production by the private sector. Tax measures to control externalities. Prereq: EC 201.

EC 350 Labor Market Issues Topics may include the changing structure of employment, the minimum wage, the dual labor market hypothesis, collective bargaining, discrimination, and health and safety regulation. Prereq: EC 201.

EC 360 Issues in Industrial Organization Topics may include analysis of market power, trends in industrial structure, the role of advertising, pricing policies and inflation, impact of social regulation (e.g., OSHA, EPA), and international comparisons. Prereq: EC 201.

EC 370 Money and Banking Operations of commercial banks, the Federal Reserve System, and the Treasury that affect the United States monetary system. Prereq: EC 202.

EC 380 International Economic Issues Exchange across international boundaries, theory of comparative advantage, balance of payments and adjustments, international financial movements, exchange rates and international financial institutions, trade restrictions and policy. Prereq: EC 201.

EC 390 Problems and Issues in the Developing Economies Topics may include the role of central planning, capital formation, population growth, agriculture, health and education, interaction between economic and cultural change, and the “North-South debate.” Prereq: EC 201.

EC 399 Special Topics

ENVS 335 Allocating Scarce Environmental Resources Considerations for the design of environmental and natural resources policies and regulations: balancing society’s preferences and the costs of environmental protection and resource conservation. Prereq: MATH 105 or higher.

ENVS 345 Environmental Ethics Key concepts and various moral views surveyed; includes anthropocentrism, individualism, ecocentrism, deep ecology, and ecofeminism. Exploration includes case studies and theory.

GEOG 342 Geography of Globalization Historical and geographical dimensions of globalization; emphasizes economic and social factors. Topics include multinationals, trade agreements, sustainability, global inequalities, and racial and gender divisions of labor. Sophomore standing required.

HIST 363 American Business History American businesses from their colonial origins to the present. Interaction between the political, social, economic, and ideological environment and the internal structure and activities of business enterprises.

HIST 463/563 American Economic History Varying topics on the economic development of the United States as a preindustrial, industrial, and postindustrial society. I: The Great Depression. II: Industrialization.

J 340 Principles of Advertising Role of advertising in the distribution of goods and services; the advertising agency; the campaign; research and testing; the selection of media: print, electronic, outdoor advertising, direct mailing. Frazer, Morrison, Sheehan.

J 350 Principles of Public Relations Overview of public relations practice in a diverse global society, including theory, career opportunities, history, communication forms and channels, and legal and ethical concerns.

LAW 199 Introduction to American Law and Legal Studies Introduction to the structures and methodology of the American legal system. Areas of law covered include constitutional, criminal law and procedure, environmental and natural resources, torts and personal injury, contracts and business, and family.

LAW 199 Environment, Law, and Policy Introduction to environmental policy and law, with an overview of the major themes and regulatory framework. Students will gain the skills to analyze current environmental issues and identify options for resolution.

PHIL120 Ethics of Enterprise and Exchange (4) Moral examination of business by considering the nature of enterprise and exchange. Topics include corporate and consumer responsibility, meaningful work, and leadership.

PS 275 Legal Process Overview of the United States legal system. Covers a range of sociolegal writing and provides a context for the legal system under which the U.S. operates.

PS 321 Introduction to Political Economy Systematic comparison of markets and political processes and their outcomes.

PS 337 The Politics of Development Presents alternative perspectives on key north-south issues: trade, aid, foreign investment, debt, and the environment. Includes such institutions as the International Monetary Fund, World Bank, and World Trade Organization.

PS 340 International Political Economy Links between economics and politics in the international system. Basic concepts include power, dependence, inequality, imperialism, and development. EC 201, 202 recommended.

SOC 346 Work and Occupations Characteristics of work and occupational careers in modern societies; relationships of those to family, the economy, bureaucracy, technology, and alienation. Prereq: SOC 204 or 207.

SOC 347 Complex Organizations Nature of organizations in modern societies (e.g., specialization, impersonality, formalization, authority, and power); relationship of organizations to work and careers, stratification, democracy, discrimination, and deviance. Prereq: SOC 204 or 207.

WGS 341 Women, Work, and Class Explores contexts and cultural attitudes shaping the women’s market and domestic labor including race, sexuality, age, and class as well as occupational segregation and control.