Best Economics Programs in Pennsylvania for 2027

Penn offers two economics majors in the School of Arts and Sciences. The Economics Major is 12 course units: two calculus courses, two introductory courses, four intermediate courses and four advanced electives, and it has an honors program. The Mathematical Economics Major is at least 16 courses, about half economics and half mathematics, and is built for students who plan to pursue a graduate degree in economics, with more formal models and preparation for academic-style research. If calculus is not your strength, there is also an Economic Policy Minor that does not require it.

Economics Major

12 course units including two calculus courses and four advanced economics courses

Mathematical Economics Major

At least 16 courses, roughly half economics and half mathematics

Program Sources: Mathematical Economics Major | Department of Economics

Swarthmore majors can choose between the course major, which ends with a comprehensive exam, and the honors major, which replaces that exam with three honors seminar preparations examined by outside evaluators in the spring of senior year. Everyone takes intermediate micro (ECON 011), intermediate macro (ECON 021) and statistics (usually ECON 031), with Calculus I as the math prerequisite. Electives range from economic development and health care to game theory, industrial organization and race and gender. Students considering a PhD are urged to take real analysis and to join an honors seminar and faculty research.

Capstone Options

Comprehensive exam, or honors with three external exams

Theory And Statistics

ECON 011, ECON 021 and ECON 031, completed before senior spring

Program Sources: Academic Program :: Economics :: Swarthmore College

At Carnegie Mellon you apply to economics through the Dietrich College even though the department sits in the Tepper School of Business. Beyond the standalone Economics major, CMU offers Economics and Mathematical Sciences, Economics and Statistics, and Economics and Politics, so you can aim the degree at data-heavy, theory-heavy or policy work. The program stresses quantitative analysis and data-driven questions about societal issues, and the campus has a long tradition in behavioral economics. Admissions lists 87 percent of recent graduates as employed or in graduate school six months out.

Major Options

Economics; Economics and Mathematical Sciences; Economics and Statistics; Economics and Politics

Where You Apply

Dietrich College, with the department housed in the Tepper School

Program Sources: Economics | Undergraduate Admission | Carnegie Mellon University

Penn State asks for a C or better in ECON 102 and 104 before you can declare the economics major, which then includes ECON 302, 304 and 306 and nine credits at the 400 level. The BA adds language and arts and humanities fields, while the BS adds calculus, a computer programming course and in-major quantification. Students can also earn departmental module certificates, each a set of three courses in an area, to show a specialty. Strong majors may combine the bachelor's with a master's in the integrated program, and research opportunities and honors are available.

Entrance Rule

C or better in ECON 102 and ECON 104 to declare

Modules

Certificates of three courses (nine credits) in a focus area

Program Sources: Modules | Department of EconomicsBachelor of Science in Economics Academic Plan | Department of Economics

Pittsburgh lets economics majors choose between a BS and a BA, and the department also offers a joint major with mathematics. Intermediate microeconomics, intermediate macroeconomics and calculus all require a C, and Calculus (MATH 0120) requires a B. Majors must complete at least one writing-intensive course, and the BS adds a professional development course for economists. Honors needs a 3.5 in economics and overall plus at least three credits in the proseminar series. Internships do not count toward the major, though the department encourages them, and joint business tracks are available.

Degree Options

BS, BA, or joint major with mathematics

Honors Criteria

3.5 GPA in economics and overall; three credits of proseminar

Program Sources: Economics, BS | Dietrich School of Arts & Sciences Undergraduate Studies

Penn’s economics PhD combines a theory and econometrics core with an explicit empirical economics requirement. Students choose departmental workshops in areas such as monetary economics, empirical microeconomics, industrial organization, and economic theory. Two third-year seminars focus on doctoral research before the dissertation stage. The graduate group includes economists from Wharton as well as Arts and Sciences, connecting the program’s formal curriculum with faculty across those schools.

Workshops

Two workshops from economic theory, monetary economics, econometrics, empirical microeconomics and industrial organization

Third-Year Seminars

Third Year PhD Research Seminar and a related third-year seminar before the dissertation

Program Scope

PhD only, with no separate master's program; median completion is 5.25 years

Faculty

Graduate group includes Economics faculty and appointments in Wharton and Arts and Sciences

Program Sources: Economics, PhD | University of Pennsylvania CatalogEconomics, PhD | University of Pennsylvania Catalog

Penn State's PhD has three parts in sequence: a first-year core, field work, and the dissertation, and most students finish in five years. The core is two-semester sequences in micro theory, macro theory and econometrics plus mathematics for economists. After the core, students show competence in two fields through two courses each, with seminar series in micro theory, macro theory, trade and development, applied microeconomics and econometrics. A required research paper is assessed by a three-person committee before the end of the third fall, and the research exposition course polishes it.

First-Year Core

Micro, macro and econometrics sequences plus ECON 500 mathematics

Research Paper

Written and presented to a three-person faculty committee in the third year

Program Sources: Ph.D. Degree Requirements | Department of Economics

Pitt's economics PhD asks for at least 72 graduate credits, 45 of them graded economics courses. Admitted students start with a three-week daily math course before fall classes, take four courses per term in year one, then sit preliminary exams in micro and macro that summer. Students complete two major fields and one minor field, a major being two courses and a graded field seminar. A second-year research paper is the comprehensive milestone, and fourth- and fifth-year work centers on the job market paper.

Credit Requirement

At least 72 graduate credits, 45 in graded economics courses

Fields

Two majors and one minor across six fields

Program Sources: PhD Requirements | Department of Economics

Lehigh's doctorate is a full-time Ph.D. in Business and Economics that is, in practice, an economics degree, with specializations in health economics, behavioral and experimental economics, applied econometrics, empirical macroeconomics and labor economics. The training stresses applications of economic theory and econometrics, and recent graduates have taken tenure-track jobs, postdocs and analyst roles in health care and finance. GMAT and GRE scores are optional. Admitted students are guaranteed four years of tuition remission with a monthly stipend, usually in exchange for teaching assistant duties.

Specializations

Health, behavioral and experimental, applied econometrics, empirical macro, labor

Funding

Four guaranteed years of tuition remission plus stipend; GRE and GMAT optional

Program Sources: Ph.D. in Business and Economics | Lehigh Business

Temple's doctorate is called Applied Economics and is a 42-credit, STEM-designated program that emphasizes advanced empirical methods. Applications span industrial organization, health economics, international trade, macroeconomics and labor economics. Students have five years to finish, are expected to study full time, and complete an original research paper in the third year alongside qualifying exams. Qualifying students are admitted with five years of funding through teaching or research assistantships, tuition remission and health insurance, and courses meet at the Philadelphia Main Campus.

Program Size

42 credits; five years to complete

Funding

Five years of funding with stipend, tuition remission and health insurance

Program Sources: Applied Economics PhD | Temple University