Economics, AA-T
Program Description
Economics is the study of how society allocates scarce resources—such as land, labor, and capital—in an attempt to satisfy unlimited wants. It is broadly divided into two branches: macroeconomics and microeconomics. Macroeconomics is concerned with the workings of the economy as a whole. It is the study of broad measures of economic performance: Gross Domestic Product, unemployment, and inflation. Microeconomics focuses on the role of individual decision-makers—consumers and firms—and analyzes the efficiencies and failures of a market system. The two branches approach the fundamental questions of resource allocation from opposite sides: one from the perspective of the economy as a whole and one from the perspective of the individual agents in the economy.
The Associate in Arts in Economics for Transfer degree prepares students for transfer to California State Universities (CSUs). Students who complete the Associate in Arts in Economics for Transfer degree will be ensured preferential transfer status to CSUs for economics majors and majors in related disciplines. The Associate in Arts in Economics for Transfer degree requirements will fulfill the lower division major requirements at many CSUs. Students are advised, however, to meet with a counselor to assess the course requirements for specific CSUs.
Learn more about the program on the Economics website.
Program Learning Outcomes
- Students will have a working understanding of the role of prices in a market economy, the benefits of trade, economic growth and stability, market structures and competition, market failures, and the economic role of government.
- Students will be able to employ economic reasoning to explain the world around them and make objective decisions based on assessments of costs and benefits.
Units Required
- Major: 28.5-45
Associate Degree Requirements
Associate in Arts in Economics for Transfer requires completion of a minimum of 90 units, including:
- Core and support courses for the major (28.5-45 units)1
- California General Education Transfer Curriculum (Cal-GETC)2 (45 units) (full certification is required)
- Transferable electives necessary to meet the 90-unit minimum requirement
- 1
Some units from the core and support courses may be used to satisfy the GE requirement. Please see a counselor for more information.
- 2
Cal-GETC began in Fall Quarter 2025. Students with catalog rights for Summer Session 2025 and previous catalog years may be able to use IGETC or CSU GE Breadth. Please see a counselor for more information.
Note: All courses pertaining to the major must be completed with a grade of "C" (or "P") or better. In addition, the student must obtain a minimum GPA of 2.0.
Core and Support Courses
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| Core Courses | ||
| ECON C2001 | PRINCIPLES OF MICROECONOMICS | 5 |
| ECON C2002 | PRINCIPLES OF MACROECONOMICS | 5 |
| STAT C1000 | INTRODUCTION TO STATISTICS | 5 |
| or MATH 17 | INTEGRATED STATISTICS II | |
| or PSYC 7 | STATISTICS FOR THE BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES | |
| or SOC 7 | STATISTICS FOR THE BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES | |
| And complete one of the following: | 5-15 | |
| CALCULUS FOR BUSINESS & ECONOMICS | ||
| CALCULUS and CALCULUS 1 | ||
| CALCULUS and CALCULUS and CALCULUS 2 | ||
| CALCULUS and HONORS CALCULUS II 1 | ||
| CALCULUS and HONORS CALCULUS II and CALCULUS 2 | ||
| HONORS CALCULUS I and CALCULUS 1 | ||
| HONORS CALCULUS I and CALCULUS and CALCULUS 2 | ||
| HONORS CALCULUS I and HONORS CALCULUS II 1 | ||
| HONORS CALCULUS I and HONORS CALCULUS II and CALCULUS 2 | ||
| Support Courses | ||
| List A | ||
| Complete one course from List A: | 4.5-10 | |
| FINANCIAL ACCOUNTING I and FINANCIAL ACCOUNTING II 1 | ||
| FINANCIAL ACCOUNTING I and HONORS FINANCIAL ACCOUNTING II | ||
| MANAGERIAL ACCOUNTING | ||
or ACTG 1CH | HONORS MANAGERIAL ACCOUNTING | |
| INTRODUCTION TO INFORMATION SYSTEMS | ||
or BUSI 11H | HONORS INTRODUCTION TO INFORMATION SYSTEMS | |
| BUSINESS LAW I | ||
| PRINCIPLES OF BUSINESS | ||
or BUSI 22H | HONORS PRINCIPLES OF BUSINESS | |
| OBJECT-ORIENTED PROGRAMMING METHODOLOGIES IN JAVA | ||
| OBJECT-ORIENTED PROGRAMMING METHODOLOGIES IN C++ | ||
| OBJECT-ORIENTED PROGRAMMING METHODOLOGIES IN PYTHON | ||
| CALCULUS and CALCULUS 1, 3 | ||
| HONORS CALCULUS II and CALCULUS | ||
| AMERICAN GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS | ||
| List B | ||
| And complete one course from List B: | 4-10 | |
Any course not used in List A | ||
| CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY | ||
or ANTH 2AH | HONORS CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY | |
| INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY | ||
or POLI 9 | INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY | |
or ECON 9H | HONORS INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY | |
or POLI 9H | HONORS INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY | |
| THE GLOBAL ECONOMY | ||
| INTRODUCTION TO ETHNIC STUDIES | ||
| INTRODUCTION TO AFRICAN AMERICAN STUDIES | ||
| INTRODUCTION TO LATINX STUDIES | ||
| INTRODUCTION TO NATIVE AMERICAN STUDIES | ||
| INTRODUCTION TO ASIAN AMERICAN STUDIES | ||
| INTRODUCTION TO GLOBAL STUDIES | ||
or GLST 1H | HONORS INTRODUCTION TO GLOBAL STUDIES | |
| CALCULUS and CALCULUS 1 | ||
| LINEAR ALGEBRA | ||
| INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOLOGY | ||
or PSYC C1000H | INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOLOGY - HONORS | |
| INTRODUCTION TO SOCIOLOGY | ||
or SOC 1H | HONORS INTRODUCTION TO SOCIOLOGY | |
| Total Units | 28.5-45 | |
- 1
Both courses must be completed to fulfill the requirement.
- 2
All three courses must be completed to fulfill the requirement.
- 3
If not used to satisfy the core requirement.