economics students in a lecture hall at saint joseph's university

Department of Economics

The Department of Economics offers traditional courses as well as extensive student-professor interaction, a friendly and supportive environment for all students and experiential learning opportunities in the form of internships, independent research and service-learning.

The Department of Economics provides students with the strong analytical skills required for assessing a full range of public policies and understanding the global, national and local economic issues in a broad context. These skills will enable students to analyze particular economic questions such as identifying and assessing tradeoffs in the context of limited resources, using data to evaluate economic events and testing hypotheses about how consumers and producers make decisions.

Our economics program offers two curricular tracks, standard and quantitative, to prepare students for graduate study or careers in an array of fields. Introductory courses give students an appreciation of the way economists view the world and offer insight into the techniques used to analyze problems. Meanwhile, our small upper-level courses allow students to select a set that matches their individual interests and provides appropriate preparation for individual classes.

 

Explore Our Department

Explore Our Department

two Saint Joseph's students in the Wall Street Trading Room

Economics Degree Programs

Economics Degree Programs

Our major and minor in economics offer flexibility in course selection, giving students exceptional opportunities to pursue other interests in related disciplines.

Laura M. Crispin SJU

Our Faculty

Our Faculty

Economics department faculty are deeply dedicated to supporting students in achieving their academic and career goals.

student typing on a laptop

Internships

Internships

The economics department offers an academic internship program for all economics majors and minors with a minimum GPA of 3.0.

Alumni Spotlight

Katelyn Swartzentruber '20

SJU’s intensive curriculum, helpful professors, and deep hands-on approach helped to guide me to the right position as a private equity analyst at DuPont Capital Management."

Katelyn Swartzentruber '20

Katelyn Swartzentruber '20

Private Equity Analyst, Dupont Capital Management

Charles Gallagher '19

Economists can do a lot of good if they know how to help people. It’s the study of all choices, not just the choices you make with your money."

Charles Gallagher '19

Charles Gallagher '19

Data Analyst, Ixis Analytics

Christopher Blewitt '18

Saint Joseph’s has given me a greater depth of perception that enabled me to look at the world differently."

Christopher Blewitt '18

Christopher Blewitt '18

Marketplace Analyst, Forge Global

News & Announcements

3 Major Issues Facing the U.S. EconomySaint Joseph’s expert faculty, Laura Crispin, Ph.D., associate professor of economics, and Eric Patton, Ph.D., associate professor of management, tease out some of the larger issues facing the U.S. economy and how employers can start to get the country back to work this fall.

Understanding Hate and Anti-Asian RacismDivya Balasubramaniam, Ph.D., associate professor of economics and director of the Asian studies program, participated in a panel discussing the social, political and economic legacies that have contributed to the prejudice against Asian Americans. 

How a Saint Joseph's Education Started One Alum on the Path to Becoming an Entrepreneur: Kyle Chalmers ’17, who double-majored in economics and decision and system sciences, discusses how his classes in economics, political science, psychology, finance and general business helped him secure a position with Jornaya, a firm that uses data to help guide companies to motivated consumers. The quick pace of the startup culture fit Chalmers’ drive and helped spark his interest in starting his own company one day.

Bringing the Election to the Classroom: Nancy Fox, Ph.D., an associate professor of economics, took major economic topics of the 2020 election and turned them into a class that focuses on economic theory lessons. The class, titled “Electionomics: Economics of the 2020 Elections,” delves into the second set of proposed relief packages, going over the pros and cons as well as tax proposals and the economics of climate change.

Summer Scholar Takes an Economic Survey of Student DebtCharles Gallagher ’19, an economics major, dedicated his summer to researching the relationship between student loans and the behavior of recent college graduates in the job market through the Summer Scholars Program. Gallagher focused on how the financial burden of loans affects the job market behavior of students once they’ve graduated, including a hypothesis that those who are deeply in debt take jobs sooner than people who are not and have less satisfaction at work.

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