Program Entrance and Prerequisite Courses

Program Entrance

Students entering our MA program must complete prerequisite coursework prior to undertaking most graduate level coursework. Students enrolling in the program are expected to have a C or better in all prerequisites. It is not necessary to complete the prerequisites before applying to the MA program. In fact, prospective students are urged to apply to the program as soon as possible. If you do not have all the prerequisites you will simply be considered a conditionally classified student (meaning prerequisite coursework is not complete) in our program.

Program Entrance Requirements

For admission into the MA in Economics degree program, students must hold a baccalaureate degree from an accredited college/university and have a grade point average of 2.75 or better in all upper division coursework. The Department generally admits individuals with a GPA above a 3.0, but will consider applications with a GPA between 2.75 and 3.0 if the record indicates the potential to succeed in our program. The Graduate Record Exam (GRE) is not required; however, a strong GRE can improve the admission chances of a student with a relatively low grade point average.

For foreign students, the TOEFL is required for all students that did not graduated from a university in which English was the language used in instruction. The Department minimum TOEFL score is 92 on the iCBT (Internet based test), 237 on the computerized test, or 580 on the paper version.

Students with academic three-year degrees from accredited institutions and grade point averages of 2.75 or above can be admitted in unclassified, post-baccalaureate status to the Fourth Year Bridge Program. (Students with academic three-year degrees from accredited institutions who have previously completed A-level and O-level exams are considered to have equivalency and are not subject to this policy. Students with three-year degrees who have later completed an accredited master’s degree are also not subject to this policy.) Students needing visas are NOT eligible for this program. Completion of this Bridge Program will result in the granting of Equivalent Academic Preparation for future admission to the M.A. in Economics graduate program at California State University, East Bay.

Prerequisite courses can be waived by taking courses at other colleges or universities. If you believe you have taken a course that satisfies our prerequisite requirement and it is not automatically accepted, you can appeal the decision to the appropriate department chair (e.g., prerequisites in Math must be waived by the Math department). You will be asked for evidence of equivalency (e.g., a course syllabus) before the prerequisite is waived.

Economics Prerequisites

Econ 3005. Macro Economic Theory (4). Measurement and analysis of the determination of national income and employment; general price level; stabilization and growth.
Econ 3000. Micro Economic Theory (4). Analysis of supply and demand; production and costs; price and output determination; factor pricing and income distribution; optimum resource allocation.
OR
Econ 3551. Managerial Economics and Business Strategy (4). Course examines the actions and reactions of business firms and consumers in a variety of market environments, emphasizing their strategies for optimization.

Math Prerequisites

Math 1304. Calculus I (4). Differential Calculus. Limits and continuity. Exponential and logarithmic functions. Techniques and applications of differentiation.
OR
Math 1810. Mathematics for Business and Social Sciences I (4). Precalculus review, limits and continuity, differential calculus including derivatives of polynomial, exponential and logarithmic functions, integral calculus, applications to business and social sciences.

AND

Math 1305. Calculus II (4). Integral Calculus. The indefinite integral, area, the Fundamental Theorem and techniques of integration. Applications to volume, arc length, physical and biological problems.
OR
Math 1820. Mathematics for Business and Social Sciences II (4). Multivariable calculus, Lagrange multipliers, elementary differential equations, systems of linear equations, matrices, determinants, difference equations, elementary graph theory, applications to business and social sciences.
OR
Econ 4000. Mathmatical Economics (4). Application of linear algebra, differential calculus, and probability theory to microeconomic analysis. Topics include market equilibrium, properties of production functions, uncertainty, optimization methods, and comparative static analysis.

Statistics Prerequisites

Stat 1000. Elements of Probability and Statistics (5) Descriptive statistics (measures of central tendency, dispersion, correlation), elementary discrete probability distributions. Introduction to tests of statistical hypotheses. Prerequisite: completion of ELM requirement. Not open to students with credit for STAT 2010 or 2008.
OR
Stat. 2010. Elements of Statistics for Business and Economics (5). Introduction to modern probability, descriptive statistics, estimation, hypothesis testing, and linear regression. Applications to business and economics.
OR
Stat. 3502. Statistical Inference I (4). Probability, random variables, and sampling distributions. Estimation, hypothesis testing, and modeling of data from science and engineering. Computer aided computations. Topics include: t tests, nonparametric methods; correlation, regression; proportions, chi squared; ANOVA.



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