Best Economics Programs in Arizona for 2027

Arizona State gives economics students two Bachelor of Science routes, and the choice shapes your schedule. The W. P. Carey version pairs economics with a business education, while the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences version leaves room for courses outside business and economics. Both are STEM-designated, offered in Tempe and online, and built on algebra, calculus and statistics. The Carey degree can also run alongside engineering management, and the College route offers a Politics and the Economy option. Pick the home college first, because the add-ons differ.

Two Degree Routes

Business-school BS or Liberal Arts and Sciences BS, both STEM-designated

Combined Options

Engineering management alongside the Carey degree; Politics and the Economy through the College

Format

Tempe campus or fully online

Program Sources: Undergraduate Economics Program | ASU W. P. Carey

The Bachelor of Arts in Economics at Arizona sits inside the Eller College of Management and is built around breadth rather than a single narrow track. Majors complete a minor in an area that interests them and four semesters of a foreign language, so the degree finishes with a second field and language skills attached. Upper-division economics electives are left open, which makes it easy to add another major or minor. Learning outcomes stress statistical data analysis, policy evaluation and communicating findings to a specific audience. Language and minor planning should start early.

Required Add-Ons

A chosen minor plus four semesters of a foreign language

Electives

Flexible upper-division economics electives that leave room for extra majors or minors

Home College

Eller College of Management, Tucson campus

Program Sources: Economics Major | The University of Arizona

Arizona State's economics doctorate is small and STEM-designated, and it funds students through teaching and research assistantships for five years. The first year opens with a math bootcamp, then micro, macro and econometrics, with qualifying exams the following summer. Year two is six electives and a required seminar, and year three centers on a written comprehensive exam built from a third-year paper. You choose a specialty from macroeconomics, theory, applied microeconomics, environmental and resource economics, financial economics or econometrics before turning to the dissertation and job market paper.

First-Year Structure

Math bootcamp, core micro, macro and econometrics, qualifying exams in summer

Specializations

Macroeconomics, theory, applied micro, environmental and resource, financial, econometrics

Funding

Teaching and research assistantships for five years

Program Sources: Doctorate in Economics | ASU W. P. Carey School of Business

Arizona's doctoral program teaches coding and computational methods in the first year instead of assuming you will pick them up alone. A first research paper and a preliminary exam land at the end of year one, and later years add papers presented to the department each spring, which often grow into dissertation chapters. The department is known for experimental economics and economic history, with strengths in industrial organization, labor and environmental and energy economics. You specialize in two fields, take a teaching seminar, and usually finish in about five years.

Early Research Training

Computing courses and a first research paper in year one, preliminary exam at its end

Field Strengths

Experimental economics, economic history, industrial organization, labor, environmental and energy

Typical Length

About five years, two specialty fields before the dissertation

Program Sources: Economics PhD Program | Eller College of Management

Chandler-Gilbert's 60 to 64 credit associate degree is mapped to two specific destinations: Arizona State's Liberal Arts and Sciences economics BS and the University of Arizona's economics BA. The sequence puts brief calculus or calculus I in the first term, then micro and macro principles and a statistics course, so the quantitative gate is cleared before transfer. Every course needs a C or better. Students aiming at a business-college economics major are told to consider the Associate in Business pathway instead, which is worth settling with an advisor in your first semester.

Transfer Targets

ASU Liberal Arts and Sciences Economics BS and University of Arizona Economics BA

Math Entry Point

Brief Calculus or Calculus I in term one, plus a statistics course

Grade Rule

C or better in every program course

Program Sources: Associate in Arts, Emphasis in Economics | Chandler Gilbert Community College

Estrella Mountain frames its economics associate degree around how people and governments make choices: buying, selling, trading and weighing scarce resources. Coursework covers macro and micro principles, statistics and calculus, and it is built to end in a transfer to a university for the last two years. The program advisor sits within the college's Culture and Society area, so questions about which Arizona university route fits your major go to one place. Because courses can be spread across Maricopa colleges, the plan is flexible for students in the West Valley.

Degree Purpose

Two-year transfer preparation toward a four-year economics degree

Advising

Program advisor through the Culture and Society area, by phone or email

Course Flexibility

Courses may be taken at other Maricopa Community Colleges

Program Sources: Economics | Estrella Mountain Community College

Mesa Community College publishes a pathway map for its economics associate degree, so you can see the term-by-term order before you enroll. The school points to small classes taught by faculty as the way to save money on the first two years, and its transfer pathways with Arizona universities are meant to keep you on track for a bachelor's degree at your destination while the associate degree is completed. For Mesa-area students who want to stay close to home, it is a practical way to start economics before moving to a university.

Planning Tool

Published pathway map for the associate degree

Transfer Design

Pathways with Arizona universities that run alongside the bachelor's plan

Class Size

Small classes during the first two years

Program Sources: Economics | Mesa Community College

Paradise Valley offers the Maricopa economics associate degree on its north Phoenix campus, and the catalog year matters because the state general-education rules changed. Starting in 2026-27, the Arizona General Education Curriculum adds oral communication, quantitative reasoning and institutions of the Americas, and drops some older requirements. The economics core of macro principles, micro principles, statistics and calculus sits inside that frame. The campus also offers a tutoring center and testing services, helpful for the math-heavy first term. Check your start term against the catalog year.

Catalog Year Change

AGEC adds oral communication, quantitative reasoning and institutions of the Americas from 2026-27

Economics Core

Macro principles, micro principles, statistics and calculus

Campus Support

Tutoring center and testing services on the Paradise Valley campus

Program Sources: Associate in Arts, Emphasis in Economics | Paradise Valley Community College

At Scottsdale, the economics associate degree is built for students who plan to enter a transfer university as juniors, and the course formats fit working schedules: in-person day and evening sections, online and hybrid, full-time or part-time. Most students mix in-person and online or hybrid classes to finish. Instructors use low-cost textbooks or no-cost materials for most economics courses, though general education classes can cost more. An economics lead and an administrative contact handle questions, so you can sort out transfer plans with a named person.

Course Formats

Day, evening, online and hybrid, full-time or part-time

Textbook Cost

Most courses use low-cost or no-cost materials from instructors

Transfer Standing

Following the correct path means entering a partner university as a junior

Program Sources: Economics | Scottsdale Community College

Phoenix College describes two ways into economics: macroeconomic principles, which look at income, employment, inflation and fiscal policy across the national economy, and microeconomic principles, which cover consumer choice, price setting, regulation and market structure. Both count toward the Maricopa associate degree, and the college names two program directors you can reach before enrolling. Advising happens at the Hannelly Enrollment Center on the central Phoenix campus. Graduates of economics paths often move toward public finance, international trade or consulting work after transfer.

Two Entry Courses

Macroeconomic principles and microeconomic principles

Program Directors

Two named faculty directors available to prospective students

Advising Location

Hannelly Enrollment Center, central Phoenix campus

Program Sources: Economics | Phoenix College