2025-2026 Academic Catalog
Welcome to Virginia Tech! We are excited that you are here planning your time as a Hokie.
Welcome to Virginia Tech! We are excited that you are here planning your time as a Hokie.
Economics is a social science that studies how people make decisions in order to pursue their goals in the best possible way and how this affects aggregate social outcomes. It studies how individuals, families, groups, markets behave as well as other types of formal and informal institutions and the interactions between them. Economists use mathematical modeling, data techniques and experimental methods to understand the causal underpinnings of behavior. Economic analysis is directed at a wide range of economy-wide problems including inflation and unemployment, monetary policy and interest rates and taxation decisions. Regulatory and antitrust problems, race relations and their history, environmental problems like greenhouse gas emission abatement, education and health policies are key policy questions tackled by economists. Statistical and econometric modeling, forecasting, big data techniques and using experiments for causal inference form an important part of the economist's toolkit. Individual decision-making, what drives cooperative behavior and altruism, managerial decision-making pricing and advertising behaviors of firms, voting and elections, strategic reasoning and several different types of logical paradoxes associated with human behavior fall within the purview of economics. Finally, economics also studies why some nations are richer than others, what drives sustainable development, international trade flows and the causes and consequences of globalization.
The Department of Economics at Virginia Tech not only has strengths in the core of areas of economics like microeconomics, macroeconomics and econometrics but also in new and emerging areas like Neuroeconomics, Decision Theory, Behavioral Economics and Big Data. Students can choose a variety of courses on topics like Development Economics, Health Economics, Economics of Gender and Race, Economic History of Race Relations, Game Theory, Economics of China and the Middle East, and the Application of R and Python to economics issues. Students opt for the regular degree in Economics or pursue a degree in Economics with the Business option. The Department strongly believes in providing all majors and minors individualized attention.
Specialization in economics prepares a person for a wide variety of careers that emphasize the methods and consequences of analytical decision-making in business and government and a broad understanding of the operation of the economy. Research shows that students with economics training perform better in cognitive tests. Economics prepares students for a variety of private sector jobs that require analytical skills including positions in consulting, marketing, data analytics, business analytics and finance. They are routinely employed in the federal, state, and local governments as well as in the non-profit sector and international organizations. Undergraduate education in economics also provides an excellent background for further study in law, political science, urban planning, and business administration.
Science majors can declare a Business option which is designed to provide students an opportunity to explore introductory courses in traditional business subjects. It should be noted that this option is not a degree in the College of Business.
This option is tailored toward students interested in careers in data science and consulting. This option provides students an opportunity to complete advanced courses in Math, Statistics, and Computer Science.
This option is tailored toward students who are interested in careers in policy, non-profits, government agencies, and professional graduate degrees in law and public policy. This option provides students an opportunity to complete additional courses in Political Science, Urban Affairs and Planning, Philosophy, and Natural Resources.
The requirements to earn a minor in economics can be found on its checksheet by visiting the University Registrar website at http://registrar.vt.edu/graduation-multi-brief/index1.html.
The department offers a 5-year combined bachelor's and master's degree for students with a GPA of at least 3.5. See the undergraduate advisor for details.
The department also offers an honors degree. See the undergraduate advisor for details.
University policy requires that students who are making satisfactory progress toward a degree meet minimum criteria toward the General Education (Curriculum for Liberal Education) (see "Academics") and toward the degree.
Chair: Sudipta Sarangi
Professors: R. Ashley, S. Ball, N. Bose, S. Ge, H. Haller, D. Salehi-Isfahani, S. Sarangi, A. Spanos, and T. N. Tideman
Associate Professors: E. Bahel, R. Cothren, A. Dominiak, X. Lin, A. Smith, K. Tsang, and J. Wooten
Assistant Professors: S. Barrera, A. Habibnia, M. Kovach, S. Luo, M. Miller, P. Tantihkarnchana, and B. Zhou
Professor Emeritus: A. Kats
Instructors: G. Gebremariam, M. Liu, and Z. Yang
Undergraduate Advising/Career Advisor: E. Perdue (231-7726)
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