Newsletter

Each spring several students fail to graduate with the degree that they were planning on, because they did not complete their major requirements. In order for you to graduate, the department must certify that you have completed your declared program in economics in accordance with the requirements and rules as specified in the bulletin. We will check your Columbia transcript as well as any transfer credits that have been approved by the department. Transfer credits that are not approved by the department are not counted towards the major requirements. It is your responsibility to make sure that you have completed all requirements of your economics major, and that your student records are up to date.

You should complete a checklist for your program (available here online), and if you have any questions or concerns about your completed checklist, then you should contact econ-advising@columbia.edu. Extra office hours of the econ advisors will be held during the advising period. The days, times and locations of these additional office hours are posted on the undergraduate Advisors page in the department’s website. You should not rely on your DAR or on your College or GS advisor to confirm that you have completed your economics program.

Four of the most common problems that we find are:

• AP, IB or GCE credits not listed on the transcript: All economics and math advanced placement credits must be posted on students’ SSOL transcripts for CC students; and noted in student files for GS. If these credits are not posted or noted, then the department will not exempt students from ECON UN1105, MATH UN1101, MATH UN1102.  Students will then be officially missing those required courses, and the department will NOT approve their economics requirements for graduation.  CC students are advised to check their SSOL transcript asap to ensure that all relevant AP, IB, GCE credits are listed at the bottom of the transcript.  GS students are advised to check with their school advisors that their student file lists proper notation of these credits.
• Math High School credits: If you took a high school math course that exempted you from Calculus I, then you must obtain written certification from the math department, and have that sent to the Economics department (ly38). Students who did not receive college credit for their calculus course must take an additional course in math, statistics, computer science or economics to replace the missing 3 credits. See the department’s Requirements and Forms/Math Requirements page for details on the required additional course.
• Transfer credits: All economics transfer credits used for an economics program must be approved in writing by the Economics department. See the Transfer Credit Info page on the department website for information on how to apply for departmental transfer credit approval. All math (except Calculus-I and statistics) transfer credits must be approved by the math /statistics department, and a copy of that approval(s) sent to the economics department (ly38).
• Course Sequencing: The department does not count credits from courses that were taken prior to the completion of the course pre-requisites. All course pre-requisites are posted in the bulletin and on the Registrar’s Directory of Classes If you have taken a course prior to, or concurrently with its pre-requisites, then you will be required to take at least one additional course in economics, and you should contact Laura Yan (ly38) ASAP to discuss what additional course (or courses) that you will be required to take.

The earlier that you find any of these issues, the easier it is to take care of them. The department will not give graduation clearance to any student who has not satisfied the major or concentration requirements due to any potential problems caused by the above points.

When choosing courses, be mindful of the rules on the number of courses that you may take outside of the Columbia department to fulfill your major requirements. All majors including Financial Econ and joint majors must take a minimum of 5 lecture courses in the department. Concentrators must take a minimum of 4 lecture courses. You can find more information on the Transfer Credit Information page of the website.

The graduate student advisors will hold additional office hours during the advising period. You can discuss with them your major requirements as well as course selection. Their office hours are posted on the Advisors page in the department website. You may also contact them by emailing them at econ-advising@columbia.edu.

GU4280 Corporate Finance
Students interested in taking Corporate Finance in the spring must sign up for the waitlist for the course. Students will be admitted to the class from the waitlist in accordance with the rules posted on the Registration Information page on the department website. If you sign up for both sections, then you must complete the very short survey to indicate which section you prefer. Follow the link to the survey in the wait list message in SSOL.

Accounting and Finance
Outside of the major in Financial Economics, economics students may not take accounting for major credit.  Students in the Financial Economics major may take either BUSI UN3013 or IEOR E2261 to fulfill the accounting requirement for their major. If you have questions about these accounting courses, please contact BusinessManagement@gsb.columbia.edu at the Business School or Jenny Mak (jsm46) in the IEOR department.  Online registration for IEOR E2261 is restricted to declared majors in Financial Economics.

College Business Courses
Columbia College offers several business oriented courses. The department does not oversee these courses, and does not have any information about them. If you have questions about these courses, you may send email to BusinessManagement@gsb.columbia.edu in the Business School. Finally, note that you may NOT take these courses for elective credit towards any major in economics other than Financial Economics. Financial economics majors should check their major requirements for details on which courses may be taken for elective credit.

5000 and 6000 Level Courses
Graduate level courses in economics (courses numbered 5000 and above) are closed to online registration to undergraduates. All 5000 level courses are limited to Masters students only. Undergraduates wishing to take a 6000 level class must receive approval from both the Director of Undergraduate Studies and the Director of Graduate Studies.

All students wishing to take a senior seminar (4911, 4913 or 4918) in the spring semester must register for GU4911 Section 000, ECONOMICS SEMINAR REGISTRATION. Students who are eligible to register for GU4911 sec 0 are students in his/her senior year who are majoring in economics, financial economics and economics-math. Students who have completed an economics seminar, or are currently taking an economics seminar may not register for GU4911 sec 0.  Details about the senior seminar registration procedure can be found on the department Senior Seminar Registration page.  Students who are taking a seminar this spring must read the posted information, and participate in accordance to the outlined procedures and deadlines.

In the case of the seminars required of joint majors, the students in these majors (joint majors with political science, philosophy and statistics) have priority registration and will be contacted directly by Laura Yan.  Students in the said joint majors will not be allowed to register for GU4911 sec 0. Spaces in these seminars remaining after the joint majors have registered will be made available for general registration.

Finally, note that if you are not a senior economics major, you may still take a senior seminar (availability permitting), provided that you have satisfied all the pre-requisites. Although only senior economics majors may register for and participate in the seminar lottery, the department will open seminar registration to other qualified students at the beginning of the second week of classes.

The following seminars have been scheduled for the spring semester. We anticipate scheduling additional seminars shortly.

 Course

Students in the joint majors with Political Science, Philosophy or Statistics who are considering graduating in the Fall of 2019 must take their senior seminar this spring. If you are planning on graduating in the Fall of 2019, contact Laura Yan to let her know that you will need to register for the political economy seminar, econ-philosophy or the econometrics seminar.

You must complete the pre-requisite courses before you can take an economics course.

* A co-requisite may be taken prior to or concurrently with the class.

The department is offering the following courses in the spring semester that may be taken for credit for the economics-philosophy joint major:

• GU4211 Advanced Micro
• GU4230 Economics of NYC
• GU4321 Economic Development
• GU4415 Game Theory
• GU4500 International Trade
• GU4750 Globalization and It’s Risks

The department is offering the following courses in the spring semester that may be taken for credit for the financial economics major:

• UN3265 Money and Banking
• GU4251 Industrial Organization
• GU4260 Market Design
• GU4413 Econometrics of Time Series and Forecasting
• GU4415 Game Theory
• GU4500 International Trade
• GU4505 International Macro
• GU4710 Finance and the Real Economy
• GU4860 Behavioral Finance

Students interested in working with a faculty member should read the Opportunities page on the department website. In January the department will send out a list of which faculty members are looking for research assistants.  The list will also be posted on the departmental wiki space, Econ Info for Students. There is no November registration for these research positions. See the Registration Information page for more details.

All students who are planning on studying abroad in the spring must see Sunil Gulati during the fall semester to get preliminary approval for any economics courses that they are planning on taking abroad.  Please see the Transfer Credit Info page on the departmental website for more information regarding the transfer credits that the department will accept.