Declare Our Majors

The Economics Department houses two majors: Economics and Business Economics. We also offer a major in Mathematics/Economics, which is housed in the Mathematics Department. 

Students interested in pursuing one of our majors must complete all pre-major requirements and declare the major before completing 135 units for freshman admits (excluding units earned prior to starting at UCLA), or after their third regular quarter for transfer admits.

**Please note that transfer students must be directly admitted to UCLA as Pre-Economics or Pre-Business Economics in order to pursue one of these majors. We do not allow transfer students to switch into our department after admission into UCLA.

For more information about how to declare our pre-majors or majors, please see below. If you have questions or would like to speak with a counselor about our majors, we encourage you to contact us!

Pre-Major Request Form
Economics Major Request Form
Double Major
Switching to the College

If you are interested in declaring either the Pre-Economics or Pre-Business Economics major, please complete the Pre-Major Request Form on MyUCLA. It may take up to two weeks for your request to be processed. Keep in mind during busier times, it may take a few days longer. Requests will not be processed during Week 10 or Finals Week. 

You must complete all pre-major requirements prior to completing 135 units (not including units earned prior to your start at UCLA). If you request to declare a pre-major and a counselor has concerns about your ability to complete the pre-major or major on time, we may ask you to submit a Degree Plan. 

If you are switching to one of our majors from another school (e.g., Engineering, Arts & Architecture, etc.), you will need to submit a Program Change Petition. See here for more info.

If you are not a student in the College of Letters & Science and would like to add a pre-major to your currently declared major, please submit a Program Change Petition.

Transfer students who were not admitted into UCLA as either Pre-Economics or Pre-Business Economics may not pursue these majors.

Once you have completed all pre-major coursework for the Economics major and meet all eligibility requirements, you can request to declare the Economics major. See here for a list of eligibility requirements. 

The deadline to apply is before completing 135 units (excluding AP/IB/units earned prior to starting at UCLA) for freshmen admits and after your third regular term for transfer admits. 

To officially declare the Economics major, please submit an Economics Major Request Form via MyUCLA. It may take up to two weeks for your request to be processed. Keep in mind during busier times, it may take a few days longer. Requests will not be processed during Week 10 or Finals Week. 

Once you have completed all pre-major coursework for the Business Economics major and meet all eligibility requirements, you are eligible to apply to the major.  

The Business Economics major application is available Weeks 1 through 3 of each regular quarter and Summer Session A. Information about the application will be sent via Econ-Alert when it becomes available.  

*Please do not submit an application unless you have completed all pre-major courses and meet all eligibility criteria. Click here to calculate your Primary Score. 

If you are interested in pursuing a double major within the College of Letters & Science, please visit this page for detailed information about eligibility and procedures. If you are in another school (e.g., Engineering, Arts & Architecture, etc.), please contact your school advisor for information about double majoring. 

If you have completed the pre-major requirements for the Economics or Business Economics major but are not yet able to officially declare your double major, you may still submit your Economics Major Declaration Form or Business Economics Major Application after completing all pre-major requirements. We will review your request and unofficially declare you in the major if you meet all eligibility criteria. 

When you are ready to submit your double major forms to an Economics counselor to be signed, please send your forms via MyUCLA Message Center.  

Benjamin Graham Value Investing Program

The Economics Department offers one concentration in value investing. The Benjamin Graham Value Investing Program consists of 1) an academic concentration in Value Investing consisting of coursework taught by real-world practitioners known as “Investors in Residence” and 2) the Simon Fellowship, a recruitment platform created to provide exceptional undergraduates with avenues to explore careers at hedge funds, private equity firms, and other buy-side roles.

For more information about the Benjamin Graham Value Investing Program, click here.