The Public Policy and Sustainability option within the Economics major at UNH shows you how money and laws can help or hurt the environment.
You'll study ways to solve big problems like climate change and unfair pay. Become someone who can leverage their business skills to make positive changes in the world!
What is the public policy and sustainability option in the B.A. economics major?
This option examines the factors that influence economic, social and environmental outcomes, such as unemployment, poverty, economic inequality, health disparities, technological innovation and pollution.
Why study public policy and sustainability at UNH?
In this option in the B.A. economics major you’ll develop the institutional knowledge and theoretical perspective to understand the impact that decisions of individuals, firms, communities and governments have on economic, social and environmental outcomes. You’ll analyze the impact of specific government policies and potential reforms, theoretically and realistically. Required courses cover law and economics, labor economics, economics of climate change, and natural resource economics.
Potential careers
Policy analysis and research positions with:
- Consulting firms
- Government agencies
- Nongovernmental organizations
- Think tanks (e.g., RAND Corporation, Urban Institute, Mathematica Policy Research)
Curriculum & Requirements
The Option in Public Policy and Sustainability (B.A. degree) examines the factors that influence economic, social, and environmental outcomes, such as unemployment, poverty, economic inequality, health disparities, technological innovation, and pollution. Students will develop the institutional knowledge and theoretical perspective to understand the impact that decisions of individuals, firms, communities, and governments have on such outcomes. Students will analyze the impact of specific government policies and potential reforms, theoretically and empirically.
This option is designed for students seeking careers in policy analysis and research positions at government agencies; think tanks such as RAND Corporation, Urban Institute, and Mathematica Policy Research; consulting firms such as Abt Associates; and non-governmental organizations.
Sample Degree Plan
This sample degree plan serves as a general guide; students collaborate with their academic advisor to develop a personalized degree plan to meet their academic goals and program requirements.
First Year | ||
---|---|---|
Fall | Credits | |
ECON 402 or ECON 401 | Principles of Economics (Micro) or Principles of Economics (Macro) | 4 |
ECON 501 | Business and Economic History | 4 |
ENGL 401 | First-Year Writing | 4 |
MATH 422 or MATH 424A | Mathematics for Business Applications or Calculus for Social Sciences | 4 |
PAUL 405 | Freshman Academic Experience I | 1 |
ADMN 403 | Computing Essentials for Business | 1 |
Credits | 18 | |
Spring | ||
ECON 401 or ECON 402 | Principles of Economics (Macro) or Principles of Economics (Micro) | 4 |
PAUL 406 | Freshman Academic Experience II | 1 |
Discovery Course | 4 | |
Discovery Course | 4 | |
Discovery Course | 4 | |
Credits | 17 | |
Second Year | ||
Fall | ||
ECON 611 | Intermediate Macroeconomic Analysis | 4 |
ADMN 510 | Business Analytics and Statistics | 4 |
Foreign Language | 4 | |
Discovery Course | 4 | |
Credits | 16 | |
Spring | ||
ECON 605 | Intermediate Microeconomic Analysis | 4 |
Foriegn Language | 4 | |
Discovery Course | 4 | |
Discovery Course | 4 | |
Credits | 16 | |
Third Year | ||
Fall | ||
ECON 565 | Predictive Modeling: Data Driven Economic Analysis | 4 |
Economics Elective 2 | 4 | |
Course selected in consultation with advisor 1 | 4 | |
Course selected in consultation with advisor 1 | 4 | |
Credits | 16 | |
Spring | ||
Economics Elective 2 | 4 | |
Course selected in consultation with advisor 1 | 4 | |
Course selected in consultation with advisor 1 | 4 | |
Course selected in consultation with advisor 1 | 4 | |
Credits | 16 | |
Fourth Year | ||
Fall | ||
Economics Elective 2 | 4 | |
Economics Elective | 4 | |
Course selected in consultation with advisor 1 | 4 | |
Course selected in consultation with advisor 1 | 4 | |
Credits | 16 | |
Spring | ||
ECON 774 | Senior Economics Seminar | 4 |
Course selected in consultation with advisor 1 | 4 | |
Course selected in consultation with advisor 1 | 4 | |
Course selected in consultation with advisor 1 | 4 | |
Credits | 16 | |
Total Credits | 131 |
- 1
Students can explore a second option, second major, minor, or general electives.
- 2
Students can use three ECON elective courses to satisfy both the Public Policy and Sustainability option and the Economics Elective requirement for the core major required courses.
Degree Requirements
All Major, Option and Elective Requirements as indicated.
*Major GPA requirements as indicated.
Major Requirements
Economics majors must complete eleven courses in economics plus ADMN 510 with a grade of at least C- (1.67) in each Paul College major course and an average grade of 2.0 or better in major courses.
B.A. economics majors may choose to focus their major electives to satisfy the requirements of the option.
Code | Title | Credits |
---|---|---|
Required Courses | ||
ADMN 403 | Computing Essentials for Business | 1 |
ADMN 510 | Business Analytics and Statistics | 4 |
ECON 401 | Principles of Economics (Macro) | 4 |
ECON 402 | Principles of Economics (Micro) | 4 |
ECON 501 | Business and Economic History | 4 |
ECON 565 | Predictive Modeling: Data Driven Economic Analysis | 4 |
ECON 605 | Intermediate Microeconomic Analysis | 4 |
or ECON 606 | Intermediate Microeconomics with Calculus | |
ECON 611 | Intermediate Macroeconomic Analysis | 4 |
MATH 422 | Mathematics for Business Applications | 4 |
or MATH 424A | Calculus for Social Sciences | |
PAUL 405 | Freshman Academic Experience I | 1 |
PAUL 406 | Freshman Academic Experience II | 1 |
Business in Practice | ||
PAUL 670 | BiP-Analytical Intelligence Topics | 2 |
Select one additional BiP course from the following: | 2 | |
PAUL 660 | BiP-Social Intelligence Topics | |
PAUL 670 | BiP-Analytical Intelligence Topics | |
PAUL 680 | BiP-Competitive Intelligence Topics | |
PAUL 690 | BiP-Professional Intelligence Topics | |
Capstone | ||
ECON 774 | Senior Economics Seminar 1 | 4 |
Electives | ||
Select four (4) additional ECON elective courses. 2 | 16 | |
Total Credits | 59 |
Code | Title | Credits |
---|---|---|
Public Policy and Sustainability Option Requirements | ||
Select a minimum of two courses from the following: | 8 | |
ECON 653 | Law and Economics | |
ECON 656 | Labor Economics | |
ECON 704 | Economics of Health | |
ECON 706 | Economics of Climate Change | |
Final course select from list of required courses above or from one of the approved courses below: | ||
ECON 654 | Industrial Economics and Business Innovation | |
ECON 620 | Topics in Economics (Must be Public Economics Topics) | |
NR 572 | Introduction to Natural Resource Economics 3 | |
NR 606 | International Energy Topics 3 | |
NR 708W | Environmental Economics 3 | |
HMP 746 | Health Policy 3 | |
SUST 501 | Sustainability in Action 3 | |
Approval required by petition to the Economics Department for other 600-level or 700-level ECON course, including ECON 620: Public Economics. | ||
Total Credits | 8 |
- 1
Course satisfies the capstone requirement of the University Discovery Program.
- 2
Specific electives for the BA Options must be chosen from an approved list of courses.
- 3
Satisfies requirement of the option, but does not count toward the four-elective requirement of the Economics B.A degree.
Program Learning Outcomes
- Students have core proficiency in microeconomics. They understand key concepts including opportunity cost, marginal analysis, voluntary exchange, diminishing marginal returns, equilibrium and market structure.
- Students have core proficiency in macroeconomics. They understand key concepts including GDP, inflation, interest rates, business cycles, exchange rates, financial institutions and fiscal and monetary policy.
- Students have strong oral communication skills. This includes fundamental skills in preparing and delivering presentations, as well as being able to explain technical material clearly and concisely.
- Students are able to use economic models to understand real-world issues relevant to business, public policy and society.
- Students are able to communicate economic concepts clearly in writing. This involves having strong fundamental writing skills as well as being able to explain technical material clearly and concisely.
Explore Program Details
Students interested in our Economics major may also be interested in these advanced degree offerings:
- M.S. Economics (4+1 Accelerated Option)
- Ph.D. Economics
- Full-Time MBA or Online or Hybrid MBA
- Six MBA options are available, but not required: Finance, Information Systems & Business Analytics, Marketing, Global Business, Growth and Innovation, and Healthcare Industry
- Business Analytics Graduate Certification