Economics

The College of Arts & Sciences’ economics program provides students with the analytical, quantitative, and communication skills needed to thrive in an increasingly global economy. Led by expert faculty from around the world, you’ll learn to think logically to solve problems and leverage datasets to make important inferences with real-world application.

As part of their senior seminar course, students identify a specific problem, examine related data, apply statistical techniques, and formally present their completed projects to faculty.
As part of their senior seminar course, students identify a specific problem, examine related data, apply statistical techniques, and formally present their completed projects to faculty.

Join a vibrant and supportive community of students and scholars who work with data to address social challenges and evaluate policy decisions. During hands-on courses, research opportunities with professors, and internships, you’ll analyze complex topics like crime, unemployment, inflation, taxes, sports, and voting behavior. Graduates from our program go on to earn advanced degrees or pursue impactful careers in international relations, finance, government, business, or public policy.

Students in our economics program will:

  • Master core economic concepts and relate them to real-world events
  • Learn how to collect, clean, organize, and interpret data
  • Define and execute research projects
  • Implement common techniques of data analysis, including visualization, tabulation, and regression models
  • Apply critical thinking to economic and social issues
  • Effectively communicate ideas and results through oral presentations and clear and concise writing

Experience is Everything

Program Options

The Major

As an economics major in the College of Arts and Sciences, you can earn a BS or BA in economics while completing the CAS general education core. The BS in economics is STEM-designated. This is particularly attractive for international students who are able to extend their OPT by two years after graduation. Our curriculum provides students with a broad study of the field, requiring courses such as intermediate microeconomics, global macroeconomics, data analytics, and statistics, as well as three electives of your choosing.
View the Economics Major Curriculum

The Minor

Gain a fuller perspective on the issues facing our world today with a minor in economics. Courses on macroeconomics, microeconomics, statistics, and more will teach you how to handle datasets and build a solid analytical framework you can apply to other disciplines.
View the Economics Minor Curriculum

Customize Your Degree

Many economics students choose courses, minors, or double majors in areas that will complement their skills such as:

Business Economics

Interested in economics with a business focus? The Sawyer Business School’s business economics program combines the strength of our economics program with a business core. Students in this program take two electives and a required course in managerial economics, while students in the CAS economics program take three electives and a required course in intermediate microeconomics.
View the Business Economics Program Page

"My summer internship at the MBTA helped fuel a desire to improve the living conditions of people in cities. I collaborated with other knowledgeable professionals and learned how to communicate with at-risk commuters who faced transit challenges. My future goals are to pursue a master’s degree in urban planning and become an urban planner for municipalities around the world."

Alejandro Viasus, Class of 2024 Economics Major

Beyond the Classroom

Four students walk down a street in Downtown Boston

As an economics student at Suffolk, you’ll use Boston as your lab to put theory into practice by:

  • Tracking the prices of items in local stores, comparing costs between shops, graphing changes over time, and predicting future trajectory
  • Using real estate apps and city tax information to identify home prices in local neighborhoods and building models to explain why prices differ between houses
  • Visiting the map exhibitions at the Boston Public Library and reflecting on the economic causes and effects of development patterns over time

By your senior year, you’ll be able to view complex real-world data and behavior through the frameworks of multiple economic theories – skills you’ll apply by conducting your own independent research and presenting it to peers and faculty during our senior seminar.

Professor engages with student during a class

Faculty in our program work closely with each student on individualized career exploration and planning. Many students participate in for-credit internships to gain experience and refine their career paths. Recent positions include:

  • Operational Excellence Internship, Iron Mountain
  • Data analyst and Community Intern, Doug Flutie Jr. Foundation for Autism
  • Innovation and Digital Transformation Intern, Andbank (Spain)
  • Finance Intern, SharkNinja
  • Sales Intern, EBSCO
  • Business Development Intern, Graebel Companies
  • Market Research and Consulting Intern, VDC Research Group
  • Administrative and Market Research Intern, ICD Alloys and Metals
  • Assistant Financial Analyst Intern, Petrodelta (Venezuela)
  • Economics Intern, CRK Real Estate Group
  • Fundraising and Development Internship, ONETrack International

We also partner with The Washington Center [PDF] to provide career-building experiences for students to meet with thought leaders and policymakers and intern at think tanks, nonprofits, and government agencies.

Suffolk’s Center for Career Equity, Development & Success will also help you further explore career options, plan your path, and land your dream internship or job. You’ll find practical help, like how to write an effective résumé or LinkedIn profile, along with valuable connections to leading employers and successful alumni.

Success after Suffolk


Here's a sampling of recent graduates’ current job titles and employers.

Clinical Research Assistant
Boston Children's Hospital
Associate Real Estate Accountant
CBRE, Inc.
Assistant Account Manager
Risk Strategies Company
AP Clerk
TRS Staffing Solutions
Billing Analyst
Barton Associates, Inc.
Senior Economist
Commonwealth of Massachusetts
Financial Data Analyst
CoStar Group
Economist
ITR Economics
Asset Manager
MassHousing
Senior Business Analyst
Portas Consulting
Financial Planning Analyst
SharkNinja

Continuing Education

Between a quarter and a third of our graduates pursue a range of graduate degrees at prestigious institutions, including Boston College, UMass Boston, Fordham, Harvard, Bentley, Brooklyn Law, Boston University, Paris School of Economics, and Suffolk. Recent graduates have gone on to PhD programs at Vanderbilt, UC Santa Barbara, and the University of Pittsburgh.

Questions? Get in touch!

Jonathan Haughton

Jonathan Haughton

Professor & Department Chair of Economics

Email [email protected]

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