What LAC’s with acceptance rates less than 40% have very strong Undergraduate Economics programs? I can’t seem to find much information about good Undergrad economics programs on CC or elsewhere. Please link if you find a post about economics in LAC’s
By one indicator of quality, faculty scholarship, these are a few undergraduate focused colleges that have excellent economics departments: Williams, Wellesley, Middlebury, Wesleyan, Hamilton, Claremont McKenna, Colgate, Vassar, Holy Cross, URichmond. Of these, Williams, Wellesley and Hamilton have recently established a relationship with a Harvard Business School online certificate program, which will serve to diversify their curricula beyond straight economics.
(Sources: “Economics Departments at Liberal Arts Colleges,” IDEAS; “Harvard Business School Expands Online Initiative,” WGBH)
I would think most of the top LACs would have a strong economics program. One thing you can do is to look online at the courses offered at schools you are considering.
if you look up best economics programs at LAC there are a few rankings.
Holy Cross and Colgate also have good corporate and Wall Street alumni networks.
One reason that you can’t find good information on this is because few people rank undergraduate programs other than pre-professional ones in business and engineering. There are a variety of reasons for this. One reason is because undergrads aren’t supposed to be picking a specialized course of study like graduate school; most of your coursework will actually take place out of your major department, and you should select a college that can give you the strongest broad education. Secondly, undergrads change their major so frequently that selecting a college primarily on the basis of a major might not be a great idea.
Most graduate program rankings factor in criteria that are less meaningful for undergrads. And rankings like the one RePEc has also have less meaningful information for undergrads. Those are based on publications in economics journals, which measures the research output of professors. However, 1) research output of professors has a lot to do with the funding level and tenure expectations there are at a college. The reason why schools like Williams and Wesleyan are at the top is that their professors teach 4 classes a year and are expected to do significant scholarship to get tenure. Professors also have more institutional support for their research - like funding to perform it, a good office to help them get grants, etc. Schools further down, like Spelman and Furman, may require 5-6 classes per year and less scholarship from their professors.
- the amount of research output isn’t necessarily strongly correlated with the quality of education you’ll get. Many professors who are great teachers aren’t great researchers and vice versa. (And many professors are both.)
Besides, that ranking is only based on professors who registered with a certain author service.
The bottom line is that if you pick a good solid LAC with an economics department, chances are you’ll have a good solid economics department. You can flip through the course catalog of the economics department to get a feel for the kinds of courses that are offered, how often, and how many sections. I’m not saying that some aren’t better than others - that’s probably true - but for now, no one’s ranking them, and for good reason.
You should check out Tufts. It was a LAC (and still feels like a LAC) because it is small and undergrad focused.
Tufts Econ department does not have a Phd program, so it does not appear in the research university Econ ratings.
It does offer a masters program (as does Williams) and therefore offers lots of advanced courses that are available for undergrads to take.
Tufts also offers a Quantitative Economics degree which is good preparation for some of the higher paying career options. Williams does not offer Quant Econ, but Colgate does.
If you are interested in Finance, then Tufts offers a minor in Finance, “with professors of the practice” who have industry experience.
For additional learning experiences, Tufts sponsers two Finance speaker series.
If you are interested in Entrepreneurship, then Tufts offers an undergrad minor in Entrepreneurial Leadership that can be combined with an Econ Degree. This minor is offered through Tufts’ Gordon College which won a National Academy of Engineering prize for teaching Engineering Leadership. All the professors have industry experience and there is an option for a COOP or a consulting project with a startup.
For additional learning experiences, Tufts sponsors two Entrepreneurship speaker series.
If you are interesting in investing, then Tufts has one of the top investment clubs in the country. It invests real money which potential employers like. The investing club recently won a national investing competition that included all the big name research universities.
Alums are active and include the CEO of JP Morgan.
Research output per RePEc is about the same as Williams and there is a pretty big gap between Williams/Tufts and the others. Research can be valuable if it is integrated into the undergrad curriculum and does not get in the way of teaching.
Here is a quote from Eugene Fama, a recent Economics Nobel Laureate from Tufts/U Chicago who did undergrad research in the same area that he won his Nobel Prize:
iirc, Williams’ grad program is the Center for Developmental Economics, which is solely attended by international scholars, mainly from Africa. I remember a spirited evening at the Purple Pub back in the day, playing darts with a couple of CDE guys from Swaziland.
I think the information the OP has requested in this case is not in a misguided effort, provided any data obtained is used as just one of many factors when selecting a college. Unlike ratings for graduate departments that are often provided when a student asks about undergraduate departments, some of the information provided on this thread pertains to the professors who are the primary instructors and mentors for undergraduates.
Regarding the MyIDEAS analysis, when cross-referenced with some older, more comprehensively scholarly data, it tends to confirm that some colleges are perennially strong in economics. Beyond that, the authors’ of the older study themselves comment on the relationship between teaching and research: “Teaching the latest discoveries in classes, supervising student theses, and preparing students for graduate school are some of the teaching activities that may be enhanced by faculty research.”
The older study’s overall top ten:
- Williams
- Wellesley
- Colby
- Trinity
- Wesleyan
- Colgate
- Middlebury
- Hamilton
- Claremont McKenna
- Bowdoin
- Hobart & William Smith
- Union
When adjusted for department size:
- Hendrix
- Colby
- Trinity
- Hamilton
- Claremont McKenna
- Grinnell
- Wesleyan
- Middlebury
- Swarthmore
- Agnes Scott
Note the similarities to the current MyIDEAS analysis:
- Williams
- Wellesley
- Middlebury
- Wesleyan
- Hamilton
- CMC
- CMC (listed as a distinct department)
- Colgate
- Vassar
- Holy Cross
(Hartley and Robinson; Economics Research at National Liberal Arts Colleges: School Rankings; 1995.)
The Tufts “quantitative” intermediate economics courses (Econ 16 and 18) require calculus 1 and 2 (Math 32 and 34). Other Tufts economics courses for undergraduates do not appear to require more math.
http://ase.tufts.edu/economics/courses/
The Williams intermediate economics courses (Econ 251 and 252) require calculus 1 (Math 130), but it offers an advanced microeconomics theory course (Econ 475) that requires calculus 3 (Math 150).
http://econ.williams.edu/students/courses
The Colgate intermediate economics courses (Econ 251 and 252) require calculus 1 (Math 111), but the mathematical economics major also requires a mathematical economics course (Econ 378) that requires calculus 3 (Math 113).
http://www.colgate.edu/academics/university-catalogue/economics
In any case, a student interested in PhD study in economics would generally prepare by taking many more advanced math and statistics courses (e.g. real analysis, proof-based linear algebra, calculus-based probability theory, etc.) in addition to the most math-intensive economics courses that are offered.
Middlebury does a particularly good job placing graduates in Investment Banking. LinkedIn ranked colleges and universities by placement in particular fields. Here’s a link:
https://■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■/edu/rankings/us/undergraduate-investment-banking
Thanks for the information, guys. I visited CMC last week and I am definitely going to apply there. Come October I am going to visit Tufts, Williams, and Holy Cross in Massachusetts.
It differs politically and socially from the above LACs, but W&L is quite good for economics and business and has excellent placement in DC and NYC – it certainly belongs on any list of good LAC programs.
While it’s not always equivalent to department quality, the number of majors in a department is often interesting to note. Here’s the most recent number of graduating econ majors (among schools with 20+ majors):
119 USNA
115 Trinity (CT)
99 Holy Cross
90 Lafayette
89 Wellesley
83 Middlebury
80 Colgate
79 DePauw
76 Bucknell / Denison
73 St. Olaf
72 Bowdoin
70 Amherst / Colorado College
69 Occidental
67 USMA
64 Colby
61 Union
59 Hamilton / Williams
58 CMC
55 Allegheny
54 Smith / VMI
53 Centre
52 Ursinus
51 Wesleyan
50 SLU
49 Conn College
47 Barnard / Davidson
43 Gettysburg / Washington & Lee
42 Mount Holyoke / USAFA
41 Bates / Hobart & William Smith / Macalester / Pomona
39 Vassar
38 Carleton / Sewanee / Willamette
37 Hampden-Sydney
36 Grinnell / St. Mary’s College of Maryland / Swarthmore
34 Kenyon / Richmond
32 Wheaton
31 Dickinson / F&M / Washington College
30 Albion / Siena
29 Spelman
28 Gustavus Adolphus
27 Drew / Haverford / Randolph-Macon
25 Morehouse / Whitman
24 Washington & Jefferson
23 Lawrence
22 Calvin / Cornell / Knox / Lake Forest / Lewis & Clark
21 Beloit / Wooster
20 Oberlin / Rhodes / Wabash
Some of these would have much higher numbers if you added business majors. Number of business majors at the above:
– Bucknell (127)
– Franklin & Marshall (72)
– Furman (94 biz, 19 econ)
– Gettysburg (71)
– Rhodes (53)
– Richmond (339)
– Siena (316)
– Skidmore (78 biz, 18 econ)
– USAFA (109)
– USMA (69)
– W&L (103)
@warblersrule I assume when you say business you mean majors that might typically be in a business school. For instance USAFA does not have a business major nor a business program. They do have a management major.
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As said, most colleges are going to have strong Economics departments. It’s a perennial top major choice for students. I would start with the school culture, the types of students it attracts and your sense of how you’d like to apply what you’ve learned in the world. Then, i’d look at the Economics department as well as other related learning opportunities and student activities each school provides.
here’s the link to the Harvard Business School program: http://www.hbs.edu/news/releases/Pages/hbx-liberal-arts-colleges.aspx. The six schools are: Amherst, Carleton, Grinnell, Hamilton, Wellesley and Williams.
However, there is variation in the math-intensity of the economics courses. Students intending to go on to PhD study in economics should look for higher math-intensity, and good math and statistics offerings.
Typical math intensity is that intermediate microeconomics and econometrics courses require a semester to year of single variable calculus. Higher math intensity is that these courses require math beyond that (e.g. multivariable calculus) and/or additional mathematical economics electives are offered. Lower math intensity is that these courses do not require calculus at all. Some schools offer more options of different levels of math intensity in these courses.
@sdoncc- Harvard’s hbx core is new online program designed to bridge the gap between a traditional liberal degree and the working world, thereby making it easier to land a first job. Econ majors are not the primary target, but if they were, then the need for this program would indicate a deficiency in the participating colleges ability to prepare students for landing their first job - which would not be a positive thing.
@ucbalumnus - Not sure what the quotation marks are supposed to mean, but by my calculation 2(1+2) > 2 x1+3 which would make Tufts more quantitative than Williams or Colgate 
What might be more important though, is that you are only looking at the lowest level of courses at Tufts. There are two more levels available to undergrads. EC 105 teaches linear algebra and differential equations as applied to Economics. EC 107, EC 108, EC 109 and EC 185 require linear algebra or abstract linear algebra. The 200 level courses don’t list prereqs, but they are more quantitative than the 100 level courses. Advanced/mathematically inclined students tend to pursue a joint BA/Masters degree or substitute 100 and 200 level courses for some of the intro courses.
http://ase.tufts.edu/economics/courses/coursesUndergradGrad.htm
http://ase.tufts.edu/economics/courses/coursesGrad.htm
Tufts undergrads can also enroll in Fletcher courses in International Business
http://fletcher.tufts.edu/Academic/Courses/Divisions/eib-courses
and the Gordon Institute classes for Entrepreneurship or Engineering Management
http://gordon.tufts.edu/programs/entrepreneurial-leadership-studies-courses
http://gordon.tufts.edu/programs/engineering-management-minor/courses
“Harvard’s hbx core is a new online program designed to bridge the gap between between a traditional liberal arts degree and the working world . . . Econ majors majors are not the primary target, but if they were, then the need for this program would indicate a deficiency in the participating colleges’ ability to prepare students for landing their first job – which would not be a positive thing.” (#17)
If any part of this deficiency is the case, then the same would be true for at least one undergraduate college at a research university. That school is Harvard College, where the program is also available.
From “Harvard Business School Expands Online Initiative to Liberal Arts Colleges,” WGBH:
“HBS says it has reached agreements with five elite liberal arts colleges . . . [Hamilton, Williams, Wellesley, Grinnell and Carleton]. The business school had previously formed a partnership with Amherst College, and the online program is already available to Harvard undergraduates.”