About

The mission of the undergraduate economics program is to prepare students for positions of leadership in domestic and international institutions by providing them with high quality instruction in the field of economics. Our aim for the BA program is to produce graduates who can compete successfully for entry-level positions in the job market and for entry into graduate and professional programs, where they will use their acquired economic critical thinking skills to advance society towards greater equity and efficiency. The program includes a special emphasis on the specific challenges facing the African American community and the African Diaspora characterizes the BA curriculum with its focus on urban development, the inequalities pervading the labor market, and the development challenges of Caribbean and African societies. Based on this emphasis, the Economics faculty reached out to the other social science departments in initiating an interdisciplinary minor in Community Development. The economics BA program continues to lead in this area by providing internship opportunities in community/faith-based organization, local and national government agencies, policy organizations in the D.C. area, and in its own Center for Urban Progress and the Center on Race and Wealth.

Today the undergraduate program continues its hallmark role of inculcating rigor and social engagement. The seventeen full-time faculty in the Department teach principles of economics and statistical analysis to over 2,000 students annually from across the University, while maintaining over 100 majors.

The Ph.D. program in Economics prepares students for positions of leadership in domestic and international institutions by providing them with high quality graduate instruction and research experience in the field of economics. The program's aim is to produce graduates who can compete successfully for appointments as top researchers, faculty, and influential policy makers in domestic or international public institutions and for research and administrative positions in private sector institutions.

The Ph.D. program consistently enrolls over 30 students and graduates, on average, three each year.The PhD program focuses on four areas: economic growth and development, urban economics, labor economics, and international economics. The program includes a special emphasis on the specific challenges facing the African American community and the African Diaspora. Its fields include foci on urban development, inequalities pervading the labor market, and the development challenges of Caribbean and African societies. The Ph.D. program leads research and instruction in such areas not only through classroom work but also by providing internship opportunities in community/faith based organization, local and national government agencies, policy organizations in the D.C. area, and in its own Center for Urban Progress and the Center on Race and Wealth.