<p>UCLA has 4 econ related majors: </p>
<p>Bus Econ
Econ
Econ international
Math / Econ</p>
<p>What differences between them, and what considerations should I take before I choose one to apply for? </p>
<p>P.S. I'm a senior applying for a freshman student.</p>
<p>Bus Econ is Econ with accounting. In addition to the econ classes, you also take management/accounting electives. The major is somewhat competitive, a 3.3 primary score is needed (like GPA, but Econ 11 and 101 are weighted 3x as much). This major also coincides with the accounting minor since you only have to take an additional 4 classes or so if you plan it right, but the minor is VERY competitive. Bus Econ is the most popular econ major, mostly because people read the name and infer “business” but it is infact, accounting.</p>
<p>Econ is Econ. Its a pretty quick major to finish, only 6 lower division (plus writing II) and then 9 upper divisions… I would do this if I had a crapload of cc credits and wanted to graduate like 1.5 years early, or wanted to double major (like with math/applied sciences) Only requirement is a 2.5 I think.</p>
<p>International Econ is just like the name, its Econ but with a foreign language and social studies requirement specific to a certain area (there’s like a list of 6 or something, like Middle East, Europe, Latin America). This major is really alot of work, but well worth it if you are considering something with international/global politics or business.</p>
<p>Math/Econ is technically run through the math department… Its really math intensive and alot of work, so if you’re not a math person, get out now… plus, why would you even take this major? You could, for a few more units, just double major in regular econ and regular math…just my 2 cents.</p>
<p>As said, most choose BizEcon at first, but then many transfer (I think only 40% stick with it or something like that) to regular econ (either for the fact they don’t like accounting or can’t meet the primary score).</p>
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<p>Math/Econ is (if what you said above is true) 6/7 less Econ classes and I know it’s 6/5 less Math classes. In total, that’s about 48 units different.</p>
<p>binks09: thanks a lot for all the details. Very helfpul. </p>
<p>I’m not particularly fond of accounting, so I guess I can pass Bus Econ. Econ Int sounds interesting. But then, if I choose Econ, and then possibly do a double major, then that might be a more flexible way since I’m not entirely sure what I want to do. A double major in Stat is the current inclination since it seems allowing me go on to work on a lot of fields requiring data analysis skills like finance, insurance, banking, or just an economist. </p>
<p>but any other thoughts are appreciated.</p>
<p>Generally speaking, in terms of marketability (this depends on what you want to do when you graduate), biz econ is the best. </p>
<p>Just curious but how do you know you are not fond of accounting? You took a class or something?</p>
<p>^^^ True, most advise you take Mgmt 1a and then possibly try and get through Ravetch in 1b to assess your acconting skills…
And yes, bus econ is usually regarded a little higher then econ in the job market.</p>
<p>Altema: I never took any accounting classes, but made the statement based on a perception which could be way off. Accounting studies may require a lot of learning about regulations / rules / laws, etc, which sort of asks for a lot of memorizing sometimes tedious facts, not unlike say learning history. I’m not good at these things, and also more enjoy something like math in which everything seems having a coherent logic. Once you learn it, you get it (while about accounting rules, you either remember it or not). </p>
<p>Accounting may give you some practical knowledge, so students are likely more marketable. But Bus Econ students are regarded more highly than an Econ student? What I mean is that a math major may not necessarily help you find a good job right away, but people may still think you must be a smart kid academically at least. Do you see what I mean?</p>
<p>^Generally speaking, recruiters in certain fields who have gone to UCLA know biz econ is the more prestigious major, so unless you flat out tell them “Yeah I decided not to do biz econ despite being able to and went econ bc I really like the pure accounting,” it’s not gonna look good being econ. </p>
<p>I mean they will see your major but if you have like a high GPA, they are gonna view you as smart. The thing is that for most people, if you are in econ, your GPA is going to be lower than a person in biz econ because the person in biz econ had to keep up a higher GPA. Generally speaking of course. </p>
<p>As to your perception, it is WAY off. It’s nothing like studying history. I also hate studying tedious facts (I have a good memory though), so if accounting was like history, I would HATE it. It’s more conceptual. Math still has rules to memorize though. It’s not so much rules as a step by step procedure to approach a problem. Accounting is pretty similar, but it does have rules to follow (though it’s not as bad as you make it out to be). But for sure, accounting is NOTHING like studying history. You can’t simply memorize tedious facts and walk out with an A. You’ll get a C (the facts alone don’t help!)</p>
<p>Altema: thanks! I probably want to give a bit more thoughts about accounting. You’re right a perception could be very wrong. binks09 did mention some left Bus Econ because they didn’t like accounting though. I guess if I can get in to Bus Econ, it’s always fairly easy to transfer to Econ in case this is the way I want? </p>
<p>rshaan: your link didn’t work. not sure what it is.</p>
<p>From a UCLA econ student:</p>
<p>BusEcon: Hardest to get into, best for accounting, good for job prospects.
Econ: Good if you want to double major, not competitive and can graduate in 3 years.
International: Requires a language, not that different from regular econ otherwise.
MathEcon: Hardest to graduate, best for grad school and job prospects. </p>
<p>If you want to do accounting the best thing is to do the accounting minor. BusEcon has the most overlapping coursework, but you can minor in accounting with any major even if it’s not econ. Keep in mind BusEcon by itself doesn’t even qualify you to be a CPA. </p>
<p>UCLA has more recruits to the accounting big 4 than any other school, but from what I’ve heard it is still very competitive.</p>
<p>^^^ just wondering how you say you can graduate in 3 years. Isn’t the CLAS unit requirement 180? Unless you have a substantial amount of AP/CC credits, isn’t it rather tough to graduate in 3 years?</p>
<p>Beepoo: I was surprised you said Math Econ has the best prospect for grad school or jobs. What grad schools do a typical MathEcon go to? I don’t know many grad degrees in MathEcon, but either in Econ or in Math. So I would think Econ phd program would prefer a student major in Econ, and Math phd program in Math. So what advantage does a MathEcon undergraduate have over Econ or Math majors? </p>
<p>Also care to talk about a typical job for a UCLA MathEcon deree holder? Many thanks!</p>
<p>Is there a significant difference in how hard it is to get into BusEcon vs Econ?</p>
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<p>I think econ grad programs prefer math/econ majors because of the increased need for mathematical models in graduate level work. But that’s just what the Math department says.</p>
<p>@Collegeboss</p>
<p>Yes, the Bus Econ program requires, as has been stated, a higher GPA and is significantly more competitive to get in, whereas Econ doesn’t have any minimum (2.0 or 2.5, like most other majors, I believe)</p>
<p>I’m talking about transfers. BusEcon let in 14.83% and Econ let in 8.81%
so how does that make sense?</p>
<p>Not sure how that makes sense, but as a transfer, you do not get into biz econ through applying. You are listed as pre-biz econ and you have to take courses and do well enough to get into the major.</p>
<p>Not sure why biz econ is higher, but oh well.</p>
<p>binks: Yes, there is a unit requirement to fulfill. You can graduate in three years because the coursework is not intense and it is a short major, so you can take more classes at once.</p>
<p>bluerock: I must first start with the disclaimer that one can attend virtually any graduate program with any given major, provided they satisfy the required coursework (e.g. a philosophy major could go to medical school given he or she took the required science courses).</p>
<p>Mathecon majors are well prepared for graduate work in economics, mathematics, and business. I would think MBA, MFE (masters in financial engineering), and PhD econ are some of the more popular pursuits, given few people do graduate studies in mathematics. Any graduate program involving quantitative economics is essentially the “graduate version” of mathecon.</p>
<p>The UCLA mathecon program was designed for graduate preparation because graduate programs related to economics always stress strong math skills as a prerequisite for admission and performing well in the program. </p>
<p>Jobs areas for mathecon majors are the same as all of the other econ majors. All econ-related employers are always short of people with strong math skills. Overall a math degree looks good on a resume for any job both because of skill set demand and employer’s perception that math is typically one of the most difficult subject areas (and, believe me, it is at UCLA). </p>
<p>If you’re looking for one of those “top Wall Street jobs that pay mad money”, go to grad school. Your personal connections, degree level, and prior work experience will count a million times more than what undergraduate major you chose. And no, you do not need to graduate summa cum laude from Harvard MBA to work there despite what everyone on this forum posts.</p>
<p>Collegeboss: Busecon does have an admit limit, whereas regular economics does not. Despite this, there is little difference between the two other than those differences aforementioned.</p>
<p>oops sorry duplicate post!</p>
<p>^^^ Sorry, but could you expand on your graduating in 3 years. I know the major is short, easy to complete, and classes are much easier than if adding the accounting portion, but what type of course load are we referring to? are we talking about maxing out units for years 2 and 3?</p>