Economics (BA) at Cornell University

Programme overview

Economics studies human behavior in many settings. At the household level, economics investigates how a household allocates its income across goods, and how a household chooses how much to work, spend, and save. At the market level, economics investigates consumer decisions (what to buy and how much to spend); decisions firms make about their production methods and levels of output; and how these decisions jointly determine market prices, structure, and performance.

Faculty: College of Arts & Sciences | Duration: 120 credits minimum | Study mode: full-time | Location: Ithaca, NY, United States

What you will study

Complete 12 courses listed by the Department of Economics, all with grades of C– or better (S–U grade option is not allowed), that must satisfy the additional requirements listed below. Remaining ECON courses (to sum to a total of 12) can be at the 3000-level, 4000-level, or from among the list of acceptable graduate ECON courses maintained on the Economics Department website.

Official programme page

Application information

Entry requirements

Admission is to the university through the undergraduate college that offers the major (College of Arts & Sciences); no separate programme-specific admission requirement is listed in the catalogue entry. See Cornell undergraduate admissions. Before applying for admission to the Economics Major, students must receive credit for both ECON 1110 Introductory Microeconomics and ECON 1120 Introductory Macroeconomics with grades of B- or better, and must also receive credit for MATH 1110 Calculus I with a grade of C or better. After completing these courses, see the major application on the departmental website.

USD 73,946 a year (2026-27). Endowed Ithaca undergraduate tuition (Architecture, Art and Planning; Arts and Sciences; Engineering; Hotel Administration), one rate for all students; tuition only, excludes mandatory fees, housing and meals. The programme is listed under an endowed coll Source

First-year applicants: Early Decision (binding) and Regular Decision for fall entry. Transfer applications are considered for the fall semester only.

First-year Early Decision: application and fee due November 1, other required materials November 13, decisions mid-December. Regular Decision: application and fee due January 2, other materials January 19, decisions late March. Applications are submitted through the Common Application; the application fee is $85 (fee waiver available). SAT or ACT scores are required for first-year applicants.

Transfer applicants: application and fee due March 15, other required materials April 15, decisions late April through June, for fall entry only. Applications use the Transfer Common Application; the fee is $85. SAT or ACT scores are neither required nor expected for transfer applicants.

Apply through the official page: https://admissions.cornell.edu/how-to-apply

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