Best Economics Programs in West Virginia for 2027

West Virginia offers economics as a BA or a BS inside the John Chambers College of Business and Economics. The BS pairs intermediate micro and macro theory, American economic history and Introductory Econometrics with at least 21 hours of Chambers College electives, so you can sample finance, management, marketing and business law or concentrate in one or two. Economics electives run from international economics and economic development to labor, money and banking, and public economics. Students interested in graduate work are told to take ECON 421. Research is accessible through the Research Apprenticeship Program, the Behavioral Economics and Situational Testing Lab and the Bureau of Business and Economic Research.

Business Electives

At least 21 hours of Chambers College courses in the BS

Research Access

Research Apprenticeship Program and Behavioral Economics and Situational Testing Lab

Graduate Preparation

ECON 421 recommended for students heading to graduate school

Program Sources: Economics, BS | West Virginia UniversityEconomics, B.S. < West Virginia University

Shepherd's Economics BS is a 30-hour major that leaves room for a minor and electives in a four-year plan. Required courses are Business Statistics, intermediate micro and macro, Applied Econometrics and a Seminar in Economics. Fifteen hours of electives can be drawn from game theory, urban economics, public finance, international trade and finance, environmental and resource economics, government and business, the economics of developing countries, business analytics and a cooperative education placement worth up to nine credits. Students can start with a college algebra, precalculus, finite math or calculus course to satisfy the math requirement.

Required Core

Business Statistics, intermediate theory, Applied Econometrics and Seminar in Economics

Cooperative Education

Up to nine credits in an economics co-op placement

Elective Range

Game theory, urban, environmental, international and public finance courses

Program Sources: Program: Economics, B.S. - Shepherd University

West Virginia State's Bachelor of Arts in Economics comes with three concentrations that point in different directions: Business Economics, Agricultural Economics and Agri-Business, and Social Science. It sits in the Department of Economics, Finance and Marketing, so students can see finance and marketing courses as neighbors. The department says the program emphasizes research, critical thinking and real-world skills, with faculty who hold doctorates. Graduates are described as ready for finance, banking, government, marketing and economic analysis, including economist roles in agriculture and the social sciences.

Concentrations

Business Economics, Agricultural Economics and Agri-Business, Social Science

Department

Economics, Finance and Marketing

Program Sources: Economics - College of Business, Sciences, and Technology

West Virginia Wesleyan teaches economics inside its Thomas H. Albinson II School of Business, so the Economics BS builds in business coursework alongside the theory. The major is 42 semester hours: principles and intermediate micro and macro, ECON 250, ECON 341 and 375, two economics electives, and five BUSI courses. The curriculum stresses critical thinking and mathematical tools of analysis. Economics majors can add a fifth year to earn both the BS and an MBA, and the school promises small classes taught by faculty, one-on-one advising and optional internships.

Major Size

42 semester hours including five business courses

Five-Year Option

BS plus MBA in five years

Program Outcomes

Supply and demand, marginal analysis, ethics and international policy comparison

Program Sources: West Virginia Wesleyan College 2024-2025 Undergraduate CatalogBusiness at West Virginia Wesleyan College

Davis & Elkins offers a Bachelor of Science in Economics that leans toward forecasting business, sales and economic trends. The course list reaches into sports economics, behavioral and experimental economics, managerial and international economics, public sector economics, labor problems, and money and banking, alongside Mathematical Methods for Economics, Introduction to Econometrics, intermediate theory and a Senior Thesis. Internships usually run about ten weeks over the summer and come with a proposal, a reflective journal and a final paper, arranged with the career services director. Graduates look toward banking, real estate, economic development, health care and nonprofit policy work.

Distinctive Electives

Sports economics, behavioral economics and experimental economics

Capstone

Senior Thesis

Internships

About ten weeks with a proposal, journal and final paper

Program Sources: Economics - Davis & Elkins College

West Virginia's economics PhD is known for small classes and an open-door culture with faculty. The curriculum covers two semesters each of advanced micro and macro theory, mathematical economics, research design and a three-course econometrics sequence, plus 18 hours of 700-level electives, for 45 hours in total. Every course needs a B- or better. Specializations are health economics, monetary economics, regional and urban economics, public economics and resource economics. The catalog notes that the doctorate is not awarded for accumulating credits, that at least four years of full-time graduate work are usually required, and that two consecutive semesters must be spent in residence.

Specializations

Health, monetary, regional and urban, public, and resource economics

Curriculum

Theory and econometrics core, 18 elective hours and a dissertation, 45 hours total

Grade Standard

Minimum B- in all courses

Program Sources: Economics Ph.D. | John Chambers College of Business and Economics | West Virginia UniversityEconomics, Ph.D. < West Virginia University