Best Economics Programs in Mississippi for 2027

Ole Miss offers economics as a BA or a BS, each with optional Financial Economics and Law and Economics emphases. The BA needs a core of principles, statistics and two intermediate courses plus fifteen more economics hours. The BS asks for 42 hours of economics, including six hours at the 500 level, calculus through Math 375, and another 18 hours across mathematics, finance, political science and computer science. The Financial Economics emphasis draws on money and banking, Bitcoin and monetary economics, computational macroeconomics, asset pricing, financial econometrics and American financial history, a notably current menu for students heading to banking, policy or research.

Emphases

Financial Economics or Law and Economics on either degree

BS Quantitative Load

Math 261 or 271, 262 and 375 with 24 upper-level economics hours

Financial Economics Electives

Asset pricing, financial econometrics and Bitcoin and monetary economics

Program Sources: B.S. in Economics | University of Mississippi Academic CatalogEmphasis - Financial Economics | University of Mississippi Academic Catalog

Mississippi State teaches economics in two colleges, so you pick the home that fits your goals. The BBA in the College of Business adds a business setting and an optional International Business concentration with study-abroad coursework. The BA in the College of Arts and Sciences requires foreign language, a broad liberal arts core, and twelve hours of advanced electives chosen with an advisor. Electives range from labor economics, public finance and industrial organization to economics of education, regulation and antitrust, and U.S. economic history. The BBA path ends with an econometrics capstone applying statistics to real data, and majors present undergraduate research at a symposium.

Two Routes

BBA in the College of Business; BA in the College of Arts and Sciences

Global Option

International Business concentration with study abroad

Capstone

Econometrics project applying statistics to real-world data

Program Sources: BBA in Economics | College of Business | Mississippi State UniversityEconomics | Mississippi State University Catalog

Southern Miss pairs a 34 to 37 hour economics core with a social science and language framework. You take principles, intermediate micro and macro theory, a four-hour Introduction to Econometric Methods, a writing-intensive History of Economic Thought course, an international economics course and an Economics Capstone Seminar, plus nine more economics hours. The degree also asks for six hours of a world language, six hours of anthropology, sociology, political science or law, a statistics course, and a minor or second major of at least eighteen hours, which pushes you to combine economics with a field you want to apply it to. The program totals 120 hours.

Econometrics

Four-hour Introduction to Econometric Methods

Capstone

Economics Capstone Seminar (ECO 493)

Companion Study

Minor or second major plus six hours of a world language

Program Sources: Program: Applied Economics BS Degree Requirements (120 hours) | University of Southern Mississippi

Tougaloo's economics major combines theory with a business foundation: at least twenty-seven hours of economics, two accounting courses, a statistics course, Business Administration courses, two math courses and a research methodology course that leads to a required senior paper. A grade of C or better is needed in every required course, and majors take the general GRE, subject GRE or GMAT. Students planning graduate school are urged to add calculus, linear algebra and applied statistics. Career pathways run from financial analyst and government economist to urban planner, and the department points graduates toward economics PhD programs, public policy master's degrees, law school and MBA programs.

Research Requirement

Research Methodology (ECO 453) and a senior paper

Business Foundation

Accounting I and II, statistics and two Business Administration courses

Entrance Testing

All majors take the GRE or GMAT

Program Sources: Economics Program | Tougaloo College

Southern Miss delivers this doctorate 100% online through scheduled virtual sessions, so working professionals can pursue it without relocating. The curriculum offers majors and minors in Economic Development, Political Development and Security Studies, and trains students in both quantitative and qualitative research. A Teacher-Scholar-Mentor model gives students the chance to co-author publications and present at conferences with faculty. Applicants need a master's degree and a 2.75 GPA in their last 60 undergraduate hours, along with three recommendations and a research interest statement. New cohorts start in fall, with a June 15 deadline, or spring, with a November 15 deadline.

Specializations

Economic Development, Political Development and Security Studies

Format

Fully online with scheduled virtual class meetings

Admission Deadlines

June 15 for fall and November 15 for spring

Program Sources: International Development - Doctorate | Graduate Programs | The University of Southern Mississippi

Ole Miss requires at least 54 graduate hours beyond the bachelor's degree, or at least 30 approved hours beyond a master's, for its economics doctorate. Students meet the MA core and take Econ 614, 628, 629, 630 and 631, then complete two fields of at least nine hours each, drawn from applied microeconomics, applied macroeconomics and econometrics, with one field allowed outside economics. A written examination in economic theory and econometric methods comes in the spring of year two. After a dissertation proposal is approved by the committee, an oral defense completes the degree. Programs are individualized to each student's interests and background.

Credit Requirement

54 graduate hours beyond the bachelor's or 30 beyond a master's

Fields

Two fields of nine hours, one may be outside economics

Written Exam

Theory and econometric methods in spring of year two

Program Sources: Ph.D. in Economics | University of Mississippi Academic Catalog