Overview
The economics program at UMN Morris will prepare you for a wide range of careers in the field of economics or to pursue graduate studies related to economics. It can also give you a solid foundation for other careers, whether it be in government, private business, or the nonprofit sector. Often, students combine an economics major with another major, such as business and management, which requires many of the same courses as an economics major.
The economics discipline focuses on the economic environment as a social science. As a student majoring or minoring in economics, you’ll explore how the productive life of society is organized, how it came to be, and what might be done to make it better. You’ll study markets and institutions that make up the modern economy. You’ll learn the ways that competition and free markets can be beneficial, and the circumstances under which they can lead to undesirable outcomes. You’ll examine how the US and other nations function, taking a look at how other nations have managed tensions between state and private sector control of the economy. You’ll gain a better understanding of historical phenomena, such as the Great Depression, the Great Recession, stagnating wages, and rising inflation.
Degree Requirements
Student Learning Outcomes
By completing a degree in economics, you will be able to
- illustrate how the methods of social science are applied by economists to problems of human interaction;
- describe and analyze market structures and other key economic institutions;
- explain how the United States and world economies function;
- apply both economic theory and the quantitative tools of economics to specific problems or questions; and
- find economic data and interpret applied economic research.
General Education Requirements
The University of Minnesota and its faculty are committed to providing an education that invites you to investigate the world from new perspectives, learn new ways of thinking, and grow as an active citizen and lifelong learner. The University’s general education requirements are designed to be integrated throughout your four-year undergraduate experience. These courses provide you an opportunity to explore fields outside your major and complement your major curriculum with a multidisciplinary perspective.
Transferring Credit
Put your credits to work for you at UMN Morris, where you’ll earn a degree from a highly ranked public liberal arts university.
Careers & Graduate School
Careers
Recent economics graduates from UMN Morris have gone on to secure occupations with these employers.
- Energy services manager, Arrowhead Electric Cooperative
- Actuarial analyst, Farm Bureau Financial Services
- Business analyst, Northern Wholesale Supply
- Project manager, Epic
- Loan operations specialist, Boundary Waters Bank
- Financial operations analyst, SS&C Technologies, IBM
- Principal analytics consultant, Fairview Health Services
- Senior financial analyst, FP&A at Endeavor Air
- Financial advisor, Northwestern Mutual
- Financial analyst, Management Insight Global
- Field compensation specialist, Ecolab
- Manager, Fastenal
- Program manager, Ampact
- Quantitative analyst, FIS
- Underwriter, Delta Dental of Minnesota, Prime Therapeutics
- Associate national bank examiner, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency
- Tax analyst, Sysco
- Strategic sourcing manager, Prime Therapeutics
Graduate School
Our economics alumni have gone on to pursue graduate degrees at many of the most prestigious universities, such as:
- American University
- Cornell University
- London School of Economics
- Michigan State
- Ohio State University
- St. Thomas University
- University of Minnesota Twin Cities
- University of Massachusetts at Amherst
- University of Toronto
- Washington University, St. Louis
Costs & Aid
The University of Minnesota Morris is a national public liberal arts college committed to making a high-quality education available to students from across the country. Expenses for housing, meals, books and supplies, transportation, loan fees, and personal expenditures can vary.
Learn more about the cost of attendance
Use our net price calculator to estimate your cost of attendance
Research & Engagement
As a UMN Morris student, you are strongly encouraged to take part in academic opportunities outside the classroom. This includes participating in directed studies and research projects. You’ll have access to programs that make research opportunities possible.
In addition, the McNair scholar program is a paid undergraduate research experience through which you would work closely with a faculty mentor to develop a scholarly research proposal, then carry out that work and present your results.
During your senior year in the business and management program, you’ll have the opportunity to pursue a senior research seminar.
Truckers and Turnover Project
As an economics student, you may also have the option to participate in the ongoing Truckers and Turnover research project. This research project is being conducted over multiple years by a team of faculty and students at UMN Morris, as well as faculty at other institutions, in cooperation with several motor carriers. The project studies both the economics of the U.S. trucking industry and the behavioral and personnel economic of truck drivers. Involvement by Morris undergraduate research students has been and still is critically important to the success of the project.
Engagement
As a UMN Morris student, there are many ways to engage in your field of study—or outside of it. Regardless, you’ll be able to apply what you’re learning in the classroom in various ways, whether it’s through mentoring other students, working an internship, or getting involved with a club or student organization.
