Economics Department
Bucknell’s economics major prepares graduates who succeed in careers as diverse as finance, law, public health, and the nonprofit sector. Our small classes, taught by leading experts in international development, macroeconomics, and applied microeconomics, immerse students in real-world issues. You’ll also have opportunities to serve as a teaching and research assistant and work side-by-side with faculty who predicted the financial crisis of 2008 and who are exploring important policy issues at the local, national, and global level.
The study of economics, as with the other social sciences, attempts to explain various types of human behavior and the impact that society’s institutions have in determining that behavior. Of particular interest are the forces that determine an economy’s production, employment, distribution of income, poverty, and international economic relationships.
Economics at Bucknell is also an integral part of the liberal arts. The department’s primary goal is to cultivate patterns of inquiry that produce economic literacy, independent thinking and a commitment to lifelong learning and a socially responsible life.
A major in economics offers a background for careers in law, journalism, finance and consulting, government and international affairs, teaching, industrial relations, public service, and many others. The major also provides the essential first stage for students interested in graduate work in economics and a solid foundation for the graduate study of business, public policy, and the law.