Economics

Have the demonstrations against the World Trade Organization puzzled you? What has changed in the electric power industry? Did a Federal Reserve change in the discount rate catch your attention? How well do you feel you understand the economic events reported in the news?

The Economics Program at Santa Barbara City College will provide you with a strong foundation from which you can build analytical skills. As a social science, economics draws on many other disciplines including history, politics, and mathematics to provide a systematic way of analyzing a wide range of societal issues. The arsenal of analytical tools students acquire by studying economics can be used to analyze anything from a household’s decision to buy a car to a nation’s policies on unemployment and the environment. Students will learn about the implications of scarcity on production, consumption, and the allocation of resources and how these affect everyday life. Courses in economics will offer the transfer student both theoretical and empirical foundations that will prepare you for further study in many fields, including environmental studies, global and international studies, sociology and finance, as well as economics.

One of the advantages of the economics major is that it allows students a great deal of flexibility as it provides an excellent background for many professions. While the career opportunities are virtually endless, most economics students find jobs in business, government, or academia. Economics majors end up using their skills to work for a broad range of organizations such as the Environmental Protection Agency, investment banks, non-profits, and management-consulting firms. Whether you want to be a data scientist, a CEO, or a professor, economics will provide you with a solid understanding of “the ordinary business of life” (as one famous economist once put it) in order to better understand human behavior along your path to success.

The Associate in Arts for Transfer degree in Economics provides students with the foundational knowledge necessary to make a successful transition into a Baccalaureate Degree at any of the CSU campuses. The Associate Degree for Transfer (AA-T or AS-T) is a special degree offered at California Community Colleges. Students who earn an AA-T or AS-T degree are guaranteed admission to a campus within the California State University (CSU) system in a similar major, although not necessarily to a specific campus. Students who complete an AA-T or AS-T are given priority consideration when applying to a particular program that is similar to the student’s community college major, and will be given a special GPA advantage when applying to CSU impacted campuses or majors.

Students should consult with an academic counselor when choosing electives in order to develop a program of study that is best suited to their specific needs. For example, requirements for the baccalaureate degree in Economics vary from one institution to another. It is, therefore, essential to become familiar with the requirements of the institution that a student plans to attend.

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Requirements

Associate Degree for Transfer Graduation Requirements

Complete all of the following:

1. All Major Requirements listed below with a “C” or better or "P" in each course.
2. Cal-GETC pattern.
3. At least 60 CSU transferable semester units.
4. Achieve a minimum GPA of 2.0 in all CSU transferable coursework.
5. A minimum of 12 units through SBCC.

Students are advised to consult the CSU ADT Major & Campus Search database to determine which bachelor's degree programs offered by the CSU campuses are deemed similar to the AA-T in Economics. Students are also advised to consult ASSIST (www.assist.org) and to meet with an academic counselor to discuss the best combination of courses to take for their AA-T to ensure they receive the admission benefits associated with it, and to meet the requirements of the transfer institution to which they are intending to transfer.

Learning Outcomes

1. Explain key terms and core concepts of economics.
2. Examine and analyze market and nonmarket processes by which scarce resources are allocated.
3. Develop enhanced analytical skills for understanding and evaluating relevant arguments.

Recommended Sequence

Make an appointment with your SBCC academic counselor through Starfish to create a Student Education Plan that reflects a recommended course sequence for this program that is tailored to your individual needs.

How to schedule an Academic Counseling appointment.