We are very happy to welcome our newly admitted students to UCLA and, in particular, to the Economics department. Congratulations! This page provides information for both our incoming freshmen and our incoming transfer students.

First Year Students

Going to college is a big step in anyone’s life. Students join clubs and societies, make lifelong friendships, and learn about themselves and the world around them. In the Economics Department, we teach our students how to combine theory and data to understand the problems faced by consumers, firms, and countries.

The department offers three degrees (Economics, Business Economics, Mathematics/Economics) that are all based on the same underlying principles. You can find out more details about the Economics and the Business Economics majors on our website or by contacting the Economics undergraduate counselors. For information about and advising for the Mathematics/Economics major, it is best to contact the Mathematics undergraduate counselors. And here’s a general introduction to economics, and to our courses.

Our first-year students are able to get a jump start on their UCLA course work by enrolling in UCLA’s Summer Sessions courses. We offer a variety of introductory classes that are appropriate for first years, including Econ 1, 2 and 5. Please note that Econ 5 does not count towards any major requirements but may satisfy a GE requirement.

Transfer Students

Transfer students are an important part of our community, and the Economics Department strives to make the transition to UCLA as smooth as possible. The majority of our transfer students hope to graduate in two years, but the short time frame comes with some challenges. We are here to help transfer students get off to a good start and to benefit fully from the wide range of academic and co-curricular activities that UCLA has to offer.

Academic success is first and foremost in our minds. Students typically begin their work in the major with one of two pre-major courses—Econ 11 or Econ 41. These are rigorous courses made more challenging by the transition from a semester system to a 10-week quarter. To help students succeed in these courses and beyond, we have developed our Excellence in Economics, or EXEC program that provides additional academic support, dedicated discussion sections, and career training for our transfer students.

Econ 97, the Economics Toolkit course, is part of the EXEC program. You may only take this course if you are admitted to the program. This course does not count towards the major requirements but provides additional training in math and Excel and is open to all students.

Transfer students may also consider enrolling in UCLA’s Summer Session courses. Students with exceptionally strong math backgrounds may wish to use the Summer Session to begin courses required for the major by taking Econ 11 or Econ 41.  Econ 11 is a prerequisite course to Economics 101, and Economics 41 is a prerequisite course to Economics 103/103L.

In addition to our Excellence for Economics (EXEC) program there are a number of career-orientated activities and deadlines that our transfer students should consider. These include:

*Please note, some of these programs may have an application deadline prior to the start of your junior year.

Finally, we encourage you to reach out to our Economics undergraduate counselors, introduce yourself, and don’t be shy about asking questions. The counselors are here to ensure your success.

Once again — welcome to UCLA!