Best Economics Programs in Tennessee for 2027

Vanderbilt's economics major is a 33-hour Bachelor of Science anchored by a statistics requirement and a three-course theory core: intermediate microeconomics, intermediate macroeconomics and econometrics. Nine hours of upper-level electives sit on top of that, so you can steer toward the fields that interest you most. A 45-hour joint major with History adds an economic history concentration, and a political economy minor is shared with Political Science. Students with a thesis idea can apply for honors during junior year, which leads to a senior-year seminar, a written thesis and an oral defense.

Core Sequence

Statistics, intermediate micro and macro, and a required econometrics course

Honors Track

Junior-year application, honors seminar, 6 thesis hours and an oral defense

Joint Options

Economics and History major; Political Economy minor with Political Science

Program Sources: Majors and Minors | Department of Economics | Vanderbilt UniversityHonors | Department of Economics | Vanderbilt University

Tennessee lets you earn the economics major through the College of Arts and Sciences as a BA or through the Haslam College of Business as a BSBA, and either route requires only four economics courses: intro micro, intro macro, intermediate micro and intermediate macro. After that you choose a lane. The BA offers business economics, econometrics and data analysis, economic policy and honors concentrations, while the business degree adds options such as business analytics and international business. Strong students can finish a bachelor's and a master's in five years through the 4+1 program shared by the economics and finance departments.

BA Concentrations

Business economics, econometrics and data analysis, economic policy, honors

Required Economics Courses

Intro and intermediate micro and macro, then 30 upper-division hours (BA)

Accelerated Option

Five-year bachelor's plus master's in economics

Program Sources: Economics Undergraduate - Haslam College of BusinessEconomics Undergraduate - Haslam College of Business

Sewanee's 40-hour economics major teaches econometrics from the start: Principles of Economics, Principles of Econometrics and a calculus course come first, followed by micro theory, macro theory and Applied Econometrics, all of which must be taken at Sewanee. Seniors enroll in a spring Research Seminar that counts as the major's writing-intensive requirement. Every major writes an original thesis and passes a written comprehensive exam. Departmental honors ask for a 3.33 GPA in major coursework and a thesis proposal in the Easter semester of junior year.

Statistics Early

Principles of Econometrics and Applied Econometrics in the required core

Senior Requirements

Research Seminar, original thesis and a written comprehensive exam

Honors Standard

3.33 GPA in major coursework plus a distinguished thesis

Program Sources: Economics < Sewanee | University of the SouthEconomics < Sewanee | University of the South

Rhodes asks economics majors for 48 credits: a fixed core of Economics 100, 201, 202 and 290, twenty more credits in economics, a calculus course, and Economics 420 and 486 near the end. Students who are weighing graduate school are pointed toward the interdisciplinary Mathematics and Economics major, and joint majors pair economics with business, international studies or philosophy and politics. The honors route swaps the senior seminar for Economics 495-496, a substantial research paper and an oral examination, which gives you a finished piece of original work to show for it.

Credit Load

48 credits including a calculus course

Joint Majors

Business, International Studies, Mathematics, and Philosophy, Politics and Economics

Honors Route

Economics 495-496 with a research paper and oral examination

Program Sources: Requirements for a Major in Economics | Rhodes CatalogueHonors in Economics | Rhodes Catalogue

Memphis builds its Bachelor of Arts in Economics around a 30-hour major in the Fogelman College of Business and Economics: four core theory courses in intro and intermediate micro and macro, plus 18 upper-division hours chosen with a department advisor. That leaves a lot of room for electives within the 120-hour degree, which suits students pairing economics with a second field. A separate honors degree rewards a 3.5 economics GPA at graduation and honors contracts in the intermediate theory courses, and the diploma carries the designation With Honors in Economics.

Major Size

30 hours: four core theory courses and 18 upper-division economics hours

Honors Degree

Honors contracts in intermediate micro and macro, 3.5 economics GPA at graduation

Degree Length

120 total hours with room for electives

Program Sources: Program: Economics, (B.A.) - University of MemphisProgram: Economics, (B.A.) - University of Memphis

Tennessee Tech's economics program sits in the College of Business and carries a STEM designation, which the department describes as the only one of its kind among the state's undergraduate economics programs. The curriculum leans on forecasting, policy evaluation and quantitative methods. Students design and run experiments in the College of Business Behavioral Research Lab, manage real portfolios in the TVA Investment Challenge, and can pursue summer research grants with faculty. A student-run podcast, the Society for the Advancement of Finance and Economics and the Omicron Delta Epsilon honor society give the program a lively community around the coursework.

STEM Designation

Quantitative methods, forecasting and policy evaluation

Hands-On Work

Behavioral Research Lab experiments and the TVA Investment Challenge

Student Groups

SAFE, Omicron Delta Epsilon and a student-hosted podcast

Program Sources: College of Business - EconomicsCollege of Business - Economics

MTSU's Master of Arts in Economics comes from the Jones College of Business and focuses on decision analysis and applied research. You can finish in 30 semester hours with a thesis or 33 hours without one, so the research-heavy route and the coursework route are both open. Every candidate passes a written comprehensive examination, which may be attempted no more than twice and covers three core areas: macroeconomics, microeconomics and econometrics. The program is taught on the ground in Murfreesboro and aims graduates at business, government and analyst roles as well as teaching.

Thesis Choice

30 hours with a thesis or 33 hours without one

Comprehensive Exam

Written exam on macroeconomics, microeconomics and econometrics

Format

On ground, Jones College of Business

Program Sources: Master's in Economics | Economics, M.A. | MTSU

Vanderbilt's economics doctorate starts with a first year of mandatory micro, macro, econometrics and economic history, ending in preliminary exams that can be retaken once. The second year is for field courses, with choices running from health economics and industrial organization to labor, public and international economics. In the third year you write a first independent research paper under a faculty mentor, due in the spring semester. A dissertation with a preliminary defense and a final defense follows, and students generally take five years to finish.

First-Year Core

Microeconomics, macroeconomics, econometrics and economic history

Third-Year Paper

Independent paper under a faculty mentor, due in the second semester

Field Electives

Health, labor, public, industrial organization, international and development economics

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

Knoxville's PhD in Economics does not require a prior master's degree, so a strong bachelor's graduate can enter directly. The degree is 72 graduate credit hours beyond the bachelor's or 48 beyond a master's, including 24 hours of dissertation research and a sequence in quantitative methods. Microeconomic and macroeconomic theory qualifying exams are given in the summer after the first year, and a student must pass them to stay in the program. A second-year research paper is due by the end of the fall of year three, and you choose two fields of specialization before defending the dissertation to the faculty.

Entry Point

No prior master's degree required for admission

Credit Hours

72 beyond a bachelor's or 48 beyond a master's, with 24 dissertation hours

Milestones

Summer theory exams, second-year research paper, two fields and a dissertation defense

Program Sources: Program: Economics Major, PhD - University of Tennessee, Knoxville

MTSU's PhD in Economics is a 64 to 105 semester-hour degree taught on the ground in the Jones College of Business. It includes at least 51 hours of formal coursework and 13 hours of dissertation research, and an incoming student who already holds a master's in economics may count up to 12 hours toward the coursework. The first filter comes at the end of year one, when students must pass a Qualifying Examination in microeconomics and econometrics. Graduates are pointed toward faculty posts, the Federal Reserve, consulting firms and private banks.

Credit Range

64 to 105 hours, with 51 coursework and 13 dissertation hours minimum

Qualifying Exam

Microeconomics and econometrics at the end of year one

Advanced Standing

Up to 12 hours credited for a prior economics master's

Program Sources: Economics, Ph.D. | MTSU