Best Economics Programs in Georgia for 2027

Georgia's Economics AB and BBA use the same economics courses, but organize the rest of your degree differently. The AB includes liberal arts electives, language study, and additional mathematics; the BBA uses business-related electives. Both sit in the Terry College of Business and require a separate application to the major after initial university admission. Economics electives include economic history and Time Series Analysis, so the shared core still leaves room to develop a particular analytical interest.

Degree Options

AB with liberal arts electives, a foreign language and a higher-level math course, or BBA with business electives

Major Application

Apply to the Terry major once eligible, typically in the second year, with a 2.6 overall GPA and ACT or SAT scores

Upper-Level Electives

Economic History of the United States and Time Series Analysis, among others

Program Sources: Economics AB or BBA | Terry College of BusinessApply to a Business Major | Terry College of Business

Emory's Bachelor of Arts in Economics is certified as a STEM major because of its quantitative nature, and so are the joint majors with Mathematics and with Computer Science. A joint major with Human Health is also offered, though it is not STEM-certified. You can declare as early as the second semester of the first year, then add a specialization in a particular area of economics. Students in the BBA program may count one approved economics elective toward their business degree, or the reverse, which makes the pairing practical. Strong students can apply to the 4+1 BA/MS, built around econometrics, data analytics and AI tools.

Joint Majors

Economics-Math, Computer Science-Economics and Economics-Human Health

Business Pairing

One shared elective between the economics major and the BBA

Accelerated Degree

4+1 BA/MS with an econometrics and data analytics focus

Program Sources: Academic Programs | Emory Economics4 + 1 BA/MS Program | Emory Economics

Georgia Tech’s economics BS combines advanced economic theory and econometric analysis with required coursework in STEM, business, or policy. Field courses include health, international trade, development, and environmental economics. Students can add the university’s undergraduate Research Option, while an approved combined BS/MS pathway permits up to six graduate economics credits to count toward both degrees. Those options create different ways to extend the major beyond its statistics and theory sequence.

Required Cluster

19 hours of STEM, business or policy courses alongside Statistics for Economists and advanced microeconomic analysis

Research Option

Nine hours of undergraduate research, a proposal, LMC 4701 and 4702, and a thesis

BS/MS Pathway

Students with a 3.25 GPA in economics courses can apply after 30 credit hours and before 75

Program Sources: Bachelor of Science in Economics | Georgia Tech CatalogBachelor of Science in Economics | Georgia Tech Catalog

Spelman's economics major takes 40 semester hours of economics plus four hours of calculus, with a C or better required in all of it. Eight of the hours are 300-level electives, and students aiming for graduate school are advised to take more than that. The department teaches theory next to statistical analysis, and its topics include health economics, urban economics, women in the economy, data science and money and banking. A management practicum prepares students for MBA study, and the department houses a minor in management and organization that gives majors in other fields a business focus. Majors can join the Economics Club and Omicron Delta Epsilon.

Requirements

40 hours of economics and 4 hours of calculus, with a C minimum

Elective Spheres

International economics, industrial organization, development, political economy and public policy

Business Minor

Management and organization, open to majors in any field

Program Sources: Economics | Spelman College | Atlanta, GA

Georgia State splits its economics bachelor's into two flavors that you pick between on purpose. The BA has a qualitative focus and a foreign language requirement, while the BS leans on quantitative and mathematical reasoning and is the one recommended for anyone eyeing a graduate degree in economics or business. A third option, International Economics and Modern Languages, pairs the major with Spanish, French, German or Chinese culture and society. The department describes its degree as STEM-designated, and a 4+1 pathway lets you start master's coursework before you finish the bachelor's. Faculty research centers such as the Georgia Policy Labs and the Experimental Economics Center are close at hand.

BA Versus BS

BA with a language requirement; BS with a quantitative and mathematical focus

International Option

International Economics and Modern Languages BA with Spanish, French, German or Chinese

Research Centers

Georgia Policy Labs and the Experimental Economics Center

Program Sources: Economics, B.A. | Andrew Young School of Policy Studies | Georgia State UniversityEconomics, B.S. | Andrew Young School of Policy Studies | Georgia State University

Georgia State's Economics MA is a 33 to 36 credit hour degree that full-time students can finish in as little as two years. You choose between an Analytics Track, which goes deeper into technical and data-driven training, and a General Economics Track, which favors applied breadth across fields such as public finance, labor, health and urban economics. Coursework is built around applied econometrics and coding on real data, and the program carries a STEM designation. The department says many graduates continue to doctoral programs. Students can take every course online or mix in-person classes at the Atlanta campus, and admission opens for both fall and spring.

Tracks

Analytics Track or General Economics Track

Length

33 to 36 credit hours, as little as two years full time

Format

All courses online, or a mix of online and in-person classes in Atlanta

Start Terms

Fall and spring

Program Sources: Economics, M.A. | Georgia State UniversityEconomics, M.A. | Georgia State University

Georgia's economics PhD is built around a two-field requirement, with specializations offered in advanced macroeconomics, health economics, industrial organization and labor economics. Year one covers micro, macro and econometrics and ends with core exams in June, of which you must pass two of the three. The second year is for field courses, followed by a second-year paper built with a three-member faculty committee and finished by January of year three. After the second year students may teach their own class, and the degree requires at least 54 semester hours of coursework before an oral examination and the dissertation.

Fields Offered

Advanced macroeconomics, health economics, industrial organization, labor economics

Core Exams

Pass two of three: micro, macro and econometrics, after year one

Teaching Experience

Teach a class of your own after the second year

Program Sources: PhD in Economics - Terry College of Business - University of Georgia

Georgia State's economics PhD is organized around research fields: candidates satisfy their elective requirements by choosing among environmental, experimental, health, labor, public and urban economics, and they can take electives and work with faculty outside their main concentration. The Andrew Young School puts you close to the Georgia Policy Labs, the Public Finance Research Cluster, the Experimental Economics Center and the Georgia Health Policy Center. Students interested in experimental work can learn research design in a workshop and use the lab. The program prepares graduates for academia, research and policy analysis.

Research Fields

Environmental, experimental, health, labor, public and urban economics

Research Centers

Georgia Policy Labs, Experimental Economics Center and Georgia Health Policy Center

Program Sources: Economics Ph.D. Program - Georgia State The Andrew Young School

Emory's economics doctorate asks for at least 54 credit hours, nine letter-graded core courses in the first two years, and at least five electives at the 600 or 700 level, two of which must fall in a department focus area. Core examinations in microeconomics, macroeconomics and probability, statistics and econometrics come after the first year. The degree also includes a teaching training sequence, an ethics sequence through the Jones Program in Ethics, four semesters of the Dissertation Workshop and a field paper that starts your research specialty. A proposal and defense of an original dissertation complete it.

Credit Requirement

At least 54 credit hours with nine core courses and five electives

First-Year Exams

Micro, macro and probability, statistics and econometrics

Professional Training

Teaching sequence, ethics sequence and Dissertation Workshop

Program Sources: Requirements | Emory Economics

Georgia Tech's STEM-certified economics PhD is rooted in applied microeconomics and causal inference. First-year students take six core courses in microeconomic theory, econometric theory, mathematics and data analysis, and second-year students choose two specialization fields. Every doctoral student also completes a three-course minor in a discipline outside economics, which opens classes in engineering, computing, artificial intelligence or business. A faculty mentor guides you through all five years. Research areas include energy and environmental economics, health, development and international trade, supported by the CLEAR Economics Lab and the Health Economics and Policy Innovation Collaborative.

Required Minor

Three courses in a discipline outside economics

Structure

One year of core, one year of fields and three years of dissertation research

Research Groups

CLEAR Economics Lab and the Health Economics and Policy Innovation Collaborative

Program Sources: Ph.D. Program of Study | School of Economics