Prospective Majors
Incoming Transfer Students
Congratulations on your Admission to UC Berkeley!
As a transfer student interested in the Economics Major, there are some important guidelines you should be aware of before you decide which school to attend and which classes to register for. Most importantly is that you are not officially admitted to the economics major yet; you must apply to the major during your first semester on the Berkeley campus. This means completing the prerequisite courses and enrolling in any remaining ones immediately.
What are the prerequisites for the Economics Major?
There are five prerequisite courses for the Economics Major. All five classes (or their equivalent) must be completed prior to acceptance to the major and all must be taken for a letter grade. You should check your community college courses on assist.org to ensure that they will fulfill these requirements. Students coming from another UC campus, 4-year institution elsewhere, or an out-of-state school must bring their transcripts to CalSO orientation in order to have the coursework evaluated. If you would like it evaluated prior to making a decision, please email the transcripts to us as soon as possible.
- Introduction to Economics (one course or equivalent required) Economics 1 or 2 (at Berkeley these courses include both micro and macro economics in one course)
- Calculus: You must take both A and B of either sequence
Math 1A or 16A (or equivalent)
Math 1B or 16B (or equivalent) - Statistics 20, 21, 25 or an upper division statistics course (Stats 131A, 134, or IEOR 172 are acceptable)
- Intermediate Economic Theory (one course required to apply)
Economics 100A or 101A (or equivalent)
Economics 100B or 101B (or equivalent)
At least one math or stat prerequisite course must be taken at UC Berkeley. For transfer students, this is typically the statistics course. The prerequisite intermediate theory course must be taken at UC Berkeley.
If you do not already have completed a year of calculus and the introduction to economics courses, you must take these courses prior to starting at Berkeley, otherwise you risk not being admitted to the Economics Major. New transfer students should not take economic theory (Econ 100A or 100B or 101A) or statistics during the summer session.
What do I need to do in my first semester at Berkeley?
All new transfer students are required to apply to the Economics Major their first semester. This means that you must complete or be enrolled in all of the prerequisites during your first term, and fill out the application form before the end of the fourth week of class. The application deadline for Fall Semester is September 17, 2010 at 4pm. For most transfer students, this means enrolling in Statistics 20, 21, 25, or an upper division statistics course (Stats 131A, 134, or IEOR 172 are acceptable), as well as enrolling in Economics 100A, 101A or 100B. You will fill the remainder of your schedule with courses to fulfill graduation requirements, start progress on a minor, or courses for a backup major.
When you come to campus for Student Orientation in summer, you will get an opportunity to meet with advisors from the Economics Department to hear more about the graduation requirements and opportunities available to economics majors. If you have any questions in the meantime, please feel free to contact us at ugrad@econ.berkeley.edu.