Professor David B. Mustard gives a lecture on applied microeconomics.

As part of its mission, the University of Georgia "endeavors to prepare the university community and the state for full participation in the global society of the 21st century." The Department of Economics plays a vital role in this mission in two important ways. For students interested in business careers, economics is an essential foundation for business education. Similarly, when it's viewed in the broader sense of a liberal arts education, economics is a core discipline and an integral part of a well-rounded course of study.

We strive to promote high-quality research and scholarship, and to provide students with an excellent education in economics that gives them a conceptual framework for understanding the world, a set of skills for pursuing leadership in the world's private enterprise system, and a foundation for advanced study and research.

To accommodate both business and liberal arts interests in economics as a field of study, undergraduate students can apply to the economics major through either the Terry College of Business for a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) degree or the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences. We offer a challenging curriculum in each of these majors, developing both analytical and communication skills while focusing on the application of economics to the real world. In addition to foundational courses in economic theory, we offer undergraduate classes that reflect broader interests, including environmental economics, sports economics, game theory, economic analysis of law, economic history, and the economics of education.

The quality of the undergraduate experience in economics is enhanced by the number of superior students in the Honors Program and Foundation Fellows who choose economics as an academic major. To support these students and other outstanding undergraduates, the Economics Department offers an academically rigorous plan of study for joint enrollment in a Bachelor of Arts/Master of Arts (AB/MA) degree program that, with advanced placement credits, can be completed in four years.

Our faculty are actively engaged in economic research, publishing their work in the most influential journals in the field, and have earned international reputations for research in applied economics and the economic analysis of public policy. We are committed to expanding the frontiers of economic knowledge through scholarly activity and using that knowledge to inform and improve policy decisions.

The PhD program complements our commitment to research and scholarship. It aims to prepare doctoral students for research, teaching and consulting careers in academia, private industry and government. With selective admissions that limit enrollment, the program offers opportunities for close interaction with faculty. Research strengths in econometrics, industrial organization, international economics, monetary economics, public economics, and labor economics are supported as fields of specialization.