Economics (B.S. or B.A.)
Why Study Economics at NIU?
We offer two baccalaureate degrees.
Our Bachelor of Arts program provides you with a strong, intuitive understanding of the role economics incentives play in shaping society, and in the role society plays in shaping incentives.
Our Bachelor of Science program, in addition, emphasizes statistical and quantitative methods used to model and evaluate human action, particularly as those actions are carried out by governments or businesses.
Both degree programs provide you excellent preparation for employment in business, government or foreign services; for law school, or for graduate studies in business administration or public policy. However, our Bachelor of Science program provides you with stronger preparation for graduate study in economics.
Careers with an Economics Degree
As a graduate of our economics program, you’ll possess important skills that are highly valued in today's job market. Our graduates have a wide and varied array of employment opportunities in:
- Administration
- Marketing research
- Financial services
- Sales
- Management
- Insurance
- Real estate
- Public and social services
For more information on employment of Economics majors, see the Employment Outlook.
Economics Faculty
Our faculty includes professors and instructors passionate not only about teaching, but about research as well. Faculty research topics include:
- Unemployment and wage rigidity
- Effects of health on human capital investment and labor market outcomes
- Option pricing
- Food-energy-water nexus
- The economics of poverty
Hands-on Learning Opportunities
You’re encouraged to join the Economics Student Association, an organization created to bring together students with an interest in economics to promote economic education, further economic knowledge and build a professional network with current members and alumni. In collaboration with the department, students organize an annual conference, Econference, to showcase undergraduate research on various facets of economics. Internships are also available and are considered one of the best ways to connect what you’ve learned in the classroom to real-world job experience.