Best Economics Programs in Utah for 2027

BYU requires both introductory and applied econometrics, alongside Statistics for Economists and a two-part intermediate microeconomics sequence. A separate preparation requirement lets you choose career preparation, job-search strategies, or graduate-school preparation. Upper-level electives include Machine Learning for Economics, Behavioral Economics, and Health Economics. Students considering graduate economics are encouraged to take additional mathematics and advanced economics courses, so you can plan a more mathematical route beyond the standard bachelor's requirements.

Econometrics

ECON 378 Statistics for Economists, ECON 388 Intro to Econometrics and ECON 398 Applied Econometrics

Theory Sequence

ECON 380 and 382 Intermediate Micro Theory plus ECON 381 Intermediate Macroeconomics

Electives

12 credit hours from options such as Machine Learning for Econ, Behavioral Economics, Health Economics and Game Theory

Career Preparation

One course chosen from career prep, job-search strategies or graduate-school preparation

Program Sources: Economics BS | BYU CatalogEconomics BS | BYU Catalog

The University of Utah's economics major requires 48 economics credits and lays out three elective tracks: Macroeconomics and Globalization, Microeconomic Theory and Policy, and Inequality. Quantitative preparation comes through Math for Economists and Probability and Statistics before intermediate theory. Students must also choose from two research-method areas, picking among doctrines, economic history or econometrics (ECON 4650). Two of the four electives must be at the 5000 level, and the track lists run from Sex, Drugs, and Crime and Sports Economics to Feminist Economics and Game Theory. Twelve credits of allied upper-division coursework and internship options, including the Hinckley Institute of Politics, round out the 122-hour degree.

Elective Tracks

Macroeconomics and Globalization, Microeconomic Theory and Policy, Inequality

Quantitative Courses

ECON 3620 Math for Economists and ECON 3640 Probability and Statistics

Internships

ECON 4890, SBS 4890 or Hinckley Institute of Politics placements

Program Sources: Economics Degree Requirements and Elective Tracks | The University of Utah

Utah State's Huntsman School delivers its economics bachelor's, as a BS or BA, entirely online with 60 major credits and a January 2027 start. The sample courses show a data emphasis: Data and Information in Business teaches Excel, SQL and Python, and Introduction to Econometrics (ECN 4330) covers simple, multiple and simultaneous-equation regression for economics. Intermediate Macroeconomics examines unemployment, instability, inflation and growth. Students also take a Foundations of Business course on capitalism, markets and innovation, and the degree is housed in the Department of Economics and Finance.

Delivery

100% online through USU Online, with major credits totaling 60

Data Course

DATA 2100 covering Excel, SQL and Python

Econometrics

ECN 4330 Introduction to Econometrics

Program Sources: Economics, BS | USU Online | Utah State University

Weber State's economics BS is a non-business economics degree inside the Goddard School, so it begins with a nine-hour Economics Foundations curriculum of micro, macro and Business Statistics I, followed by a zero-credit Economics Foundations Check before the major proper. Students must also complete a minor from Behavioral and Social Sciences or another department-approved minor. Anyone eyeing the Quantitative Economics pathway should start with College Algebra, MATH 1050, since Business College Algebra does not lead to Calculus I. Majors need a C or better in required courses and a 2.5 GPA in Goddard School courses. A separate International Economics major sits alongside it.

Foundations

Principles of Microeconomics and Macroeconomics plus Business Statistics I, then an Economics Foundations Check

Required Minor

A minor from Behavioral and Social Sciences or another approved by the department chair

GPA Standard

C or better in required courses and a 2.5 Goddard School GPA

Program Sources: Program: Economics (BS) | Weber State University Catalog

Southern Utah's economics major is 44 credits, and the foundation layer is specific: Statistical Inference, College Algebra and a three-credit Professional Development course taken before the economics core. The core covers principles, intermediate macroeconomics, Principles of Econometrics and a Senior Seminar, with one choice between Intermediate Microeconomics and Managerial Economics. A full 15 credits are upper-division economics electives. Students pick the Bachelor of Science route, with a 12-credit math or science minimum, or the Bachelor of Arts, which requires 16 credits of a foreign language. A 2.5 GPA in the major is required.

Foundation

Statistical Inference, College Algebra and Professional Development (11 credits)

Degree Type

BS with a 12-credit math or science requirement, or BA with 16 credits of a foreign language

Upper-Division Electives

15 credits of upper-division economics

Program Sources: Program: Economics (BA/BS) | Southern Utah University Catalog

Utah State’s economics MS opens with a two-week mathematical economics course before the fall semester. The required sequence includes mathematical methods for economics and finance and two econometrics courses, alongside microeconomic and macroeconomic theory. Students also complete a Plan B research paper, typically built around a systematic literature review, and defend it before a committee. Three electives allow some customization within a program that still has a clearly prescribed analytical core.

Pre-Fall Math

Two-week on-campus Mathematical Economics I (APEC 7350) before the fall semester

Credit Structure

At least 30 credits, 18 of them at the 6000 level or higher, with three electives

Final Project

Plan B research paper (Thesis Research Plan B), usually a systematic literature review, defended before a committee

Committee

Major professor, three members in total, and an outside member from another department

Program Sources: Curriculum for the MSE | Huntsman | USUCurriculum for the MSE | Huntsman | USU

Utah's economics PhD puts Political Economy into the first-year core alongside microeconomic theory, macroeconomic theory and econometrics. Eight core courses, 24 credits, are mostly completed in year one, followed by May and June qualifying exams in micro, macro and political economy. A methodology seminar in economic history or the history of economic doctrines follows. Electives range from development, labor and gender to health, behavioral and environmental economics, and students can take graduate courses in finance, history or epidemiology. Second- and third-year students join research workshops that reflect the department's emphases in inequality, globalization and sustainability.

Core Sequence

Eight courses in microeconomics, macroeconomics, political economy and econometrics

Methodology Requirement

Economic History or History of Economic Doctrines

Research Workshops

Required for second- and third-year students, centered on inequality, globalization and sustainability

Program Sources: Ph.D. Program Requirements | Department of Economics | The University of Utah

Utah State's economics PhD is a research program rooted in applied economic theory and quantitative analysis, housed in Agricultural and Resource Economics. Students focus on environmental and natural resource economics, agricultural economics, or regional economic development, and a Climate Adaptation Science Specialization is available. The program admits doctoral students only in odd-numbered years, so timing the application matters. Applicants are expected to hold an MS in agribusiness, agricultural, applied, environmental or natural resource economics, or a closely related field. At minimum they need prior work in microeconomic principles, intermediate microeconomics, calculus, statistics and basic econometrics.

Focus Areas

Environmental and natural resource economics, agricultural economics, or regional economic development

Admission Cycle

New doctoral students accepted only in odd years

Specialization

Climate Adaptation Science Specialization offered

Program Sources: Economics - PhD | Utah State University Catalog

Snow College keeps its economics associate degree compact: three major courses worth nine credits inside a 60-credit AS. Those three are U.S. Economic History, which also fills the American Institutions requirement, Introduction to Microeconomics and Principles of Macroeconomics. One program outcome has students assess turning points such as the creation of the Federal Reserve and monetary changes over time. Students who complete the foreign-language requirement within the same 60 credits can earn an AA in Economics instead, and the catalog's suggested plan adds intermediate algebra, college algebra and statistics for transfer readiness.

Major Courses

U.S. Economic History, Introduction to Microeconomics and Principles of Macroeconomics

AS or AA

AS recommended; AA available by completing the foreign-language requirement

Transfer Plan

Suggested plan of study includes algebra and statistics courses

Program Sources: Economics (AS) | Snow College Academic Catalog 2026-2027

Salt Lake Community College's economics associate of science is a 60-credit degree that takes four semesters on the suggested schedule. The required 12 credits go beyond principles courses by including Economic History of the U.S., which also satisfies the American Institutions requirement, and Introduction to Statistics. Six elective credits come from a short list that includes Labor Economics, Economics as a Social Science, College Algebra, Applied Business Calculus, Calculus Techniques or Calculus I, and at least one must be an economics course. Fifteen general elective credits leave room to match the transfer requirements of the university you are headed to.

Required Courses

Economic History of the U.S., Microeconomics, Macroeconomics and Intro to Statistics (12 credits)

Program Electives

Six credits, including Labor Economics or a calculus course

Time to Completion

Four semesters on the suggested schedule

Program Sources: Program of Study: Economics: AS | Salt Lake Community College