Best Economics Associate Programs for 2027

Pasadena City College's economics transfer degree is the 60-unit AA-T built for CSU junior standing. Its calculus requirement is more flexible than most: you can meet it with Mathematical Analysis for Business, Calculus, or with the first course of the late-transcendentals calculus sequence, and micro, macro and statistics all have honors versions. The two selective picks reach wide. List A takes Calculus II, accounting, or a business computing survey, while List B opens multivariable calculus and linear algebra, which suits anyone leaning toward a quantitative economics major. Required major units run 20 to 26 before general education.

West Valley College gives its economics transfer students four-unit courses in both microeconomics and macroeconomics, and pairs them with introductory statistics and a choice of Calculus and Analytical Geometry, its honors version, or Applied Calculus. The electives are where it stands apart. List A includes C++ or Java programming and differential equations, and List B reaches into intermediate calculus, linear algebra, geography and ethnic studies. Major units total 22 to 28 inside the 60-unit CSU transfer degree.

Pierce College makes no selective choices in its economics AA-T. The 23-unit major is a fixed list: Introductory Accounting I, Business Communications, both principles courses, Statistics (MATH 227), and either Calculus for Business and Social Science I or Calculus I. That structure reads as business-leaning, and the department notes that the degree also gives foundational coursework to students moving into business majors. Pierce is candid about the transfer limits: the degree is not required for transfer, may help at some CSU campuses, and not every campus accepts it for lower-division major preparation. Students pick either the CSU GE or IGETC pattern.

El Camino College's economics AA-T program map spreads the major over six terms and numbers its theory courses ECON 101 for macroeconomics and ECON 102 for microeconomics. The map starts with statistics in the first fall, adds a five-unit calculus course (MATH 165 or MATH 190) in spring, and holds the two selective slots for later: Math 191, CIS 13, or business courses such as BUS 108 and BUS 150. The plan runs 60 to 64 units and uses winter and summer terms for electives. El Camino describes the learning as supply and demand, international trade theory, and the tools for assessing fiscal and monetary policy.

College of San Mateo's economics AA-T has a compact 15-unit core: micro, macro, statistics, and either Applied Calculus I or Calculus I with early transcendentals. Students then pick one course from List A, where Elementary Finite Mathematics, Calculus II, financial or managerial accounting and business information systems all count, and one from List B, which adds Calculus III and linear algebra. Total major units land between 21 and 25. The catalog is direct about the limits: the degree guarantees a place in the CSU system, not a particular campus or major, and the catalog says it may not be the best option for students planning to transfer outside the CSU.

Golden West College teaches statistics for this degree through its own course, Statistics for Business and Economics, though students can use the statewide course or the psychology and sociology versions instead. The math requirement is Business Calculus, offered with a support option, or Calculus I with early transcendentals. The second selective list offers Economic Issues and Policy, Environmental Economics and Policy, International Political Economy, and Mathematical Game Theory, and Calculus III. A major total of 20 to 26 units sits inside the 60-unit degree.

Sierra College makes Business Calculus a fixed part of its economics AA-T, so every student arrives at a CSU campus with the same four-unit math foundation alongside micro, macro and statistics. After that the degree is built from two short pick lists. The first mixes accounting, business law, information systems, introductory computing, programming in C++ or another language, and the Calculus for Social and Life Sciences or Analytical Geometry and Calculus sequences. The second takes Calculus III or any unused course from the first list. The major comes to 20 to 24 units, leaving room in the 60-unit total for general education and transferable electives.

Diablo Valley College's economics AA-T has a 19-unit core of micro, macro, a statistics course and calculus, where students choose Calculus for Management, Life Science, and Social Science I at four units or the five-unit Analytic Geometry and Calculus I. Statistics can be Business Statistics or Introduction to Statistics. The List B choices are what set DVC apart. Besides any unused List A course, students may take Economics of Public Issues, Economic Justice, Linear Algebra or Calculus III. The catalog states plainly that the degree may not be the best option for students aiming at a particular CSU campus or a non-CSU university.

Moorpark College structures its economics transfer degree as two paths. One is for students who want economic analysis alone and builds a mathematics sequence for upper-division work, running through Calculus II, multivariable calculus or linear algebra. The other pairs economics with business, using financial or managerial accounting or finite math. Both start from the same core of micro, macro, calculus and statistics, and the statistics requirement can be met in psychology or sociology. Major requirements come to 22 units. The suggested two-year plan opens with statistics and macroeconomics, then adds calculus and microeconomics in the second semester.

De Anza is on the quarter system, so its economics AA-T totals 90 units rather than 60, and the principles courses carry four units each beside a five-unit Introduction to Statistics. Math follows one of two options: Calculus I and II, or the five-unit Introductory Calculus for Business and Social Science. List A can be an accounting sequence, Calculus II and III, or Finite Mathematics. Degree electives include ECON 3 Environmental Economics, ECON 4 Economics of Public Issues and ECON 5 Behavioral Economics, alongside Calculus IV and Linear Algebra. Honors versions exist for most courses.

College of the Canyons lists a business-flavored menu for the economics AA-T, 21 to 26 units in total. Students take macro, micro and one of several statistics courses, including its own Statistical Methods in Business and Economics, then Calculus I or Calculus for Business and Social Science. The elective slots are broad. Between them students can choose accounting, Introduction to Computers, Microsoft Office, Technical Report Writing, Calculus II or III, Linear Algebra or Economic History of the United States, with honors available for several courses. The college warns that the degree may not suit students aiming outside the CSU system.

Cuesta College publishes two economics transfer maps. The general 60-unit AA-T serves UC and CSU transfer, while a separate 65-unit map is built around the selection criteria for Cal Poly San Luis Obispo's economics major. That Cal Poly map adds Calculus I and II, financial accounting and business law to the micro, macro and statistics core, and sequences them over four terms. Students aiming at that campus can follow a plan written for its admission review rather than a generic one. Cuesta also notes that AA-T completers get priority consideration at a similar CSU program.

Las Positas College builds its economics transfer degree on 14 to 15 core units: micro, macro, statistics and either Calculus I or Business Calculus. The selective lists lean toward computing more than most. List A allows Computing Fundamentals I, Introduction to Computer Programming Concepts or Computing Information Technology alongside accounting, Calculus II and Finite Mathematics, while List B opens Multivariable Calculus and Elementary Linear Algebra. The major lands between 20 and 25 units, leaving 35 to 40 units for general education and electives. The program's outcomes focus on reading indicators such as GDP, CPI and unemployment and on how policy moves short-term fluctuations.

Ohlone's economics degree requires 26 units. The core covers micro, macro, five-unit calculus (with a Calculus for Business and Social Science alternative) and a five-unit statistics course. Instead of separate selective lists, students then complete two courses from three: Financial Accounting, Managerial Accounting, or the second semester of calculus. The learning outcomes reflect that mix, asking graduates to apply managerial and financial accounting principles and to read business terminology as well as the economic models. At least 12 of the 60 units must be earned at Ohlone, and the degree is organized under the college's Business interest area.

Orange Coast College lets you satisfy the math requirement with either Business Calculus at five units or the full Calculus 1 course, with an honors version of the latter. Statistics can come from the economics-friendly Introduction to Statistics or the Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences course in psychology. The first selective group covers financial or managerial accounting, business communication and computer information systems, many with honors sections. The second group accepts Economics: General Concepts and Economics of Consumer Finance. Major units total 21 to 23 within the 60-unit degree.

Saddleback College gives economics students two associate paths, an AA and the AA-T, and the AA-T is the one built for CSU transfer. It needs 14 core units and two selective lists for a total of 20 to 24. Statistics can be met with Business Statistics, Introduction to Statistics (with honors) or Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences, and calculus with A Brief Course in Calculus or Calculus I. On List B, Saddleback offers International Political Economy, cross-listed with political science, beside Multivariable Calculus and Linear Algebra. List A takes Calculus II, accounting, computer information systems or business communication, and there are honors sections for micro and macro.

Grossmont College has its own statistics course for the major, Statistics for Business, Economics, and Social Sciences, and also accepts the psychology statistics course or the statewide Introduction to Statistics. Calculus for Business, Social and Behavioral Sciences or Calculus I with early transcendentals covers the math requirement. List B offers Economic Issues and Policies and Economic Relations of the Asia Pacific. The major totals 20 to 22 units, with accounting, business communication or information systems as the List A choice.

Folsom Lake College runs its economics AA-T at 19 to 21 major units and publishes separate degree maps for the Cal-GETC and CSU GE patterns, so students on older catalog rights are not left to improvise. The calculus requirement is Calculus for Business and Economics or Calculus I, and statistics can come from the department's own course, ECON 310, or from Introduction to Statistics or the psychology version. List A reaches into computing with Introduction to Structured Programming and Computer Information Science, while List B adds Concepts in Personal Finance, Calculus III and Linear Algebra. The program page also lists career titles such as budget analyst, commodity economist and business conditions forecaster.

Irvine Valley College publishes two separate plans for economics students: a CSU path built on the AA-T and a UC path aimed at majors at Irvine, Los Angeles and San Diego. The UC plan stacks Calculus 1 and 2 in the first two semesters, adds Environmental and Resource Economics (offered in fall only) and Global Economics, while the CSU plan accepts Brief Course in Calculus. Both lead to ECON 10, Statistics for Business and Economics, a spring-only course taught in the department. Honors sections exist for micro, macro and statistics. Because several economics courses run once a year, the order of courses matters.