2025-2026

Business Economics, Bachelor of Science in Business Administration

Department of Economics, Finance, and Accounting

The W. A. Franke College of Business

This degree focuses on how businesses, individuals, and governments determine how we produce and exchange the goods and services we use every day. The degree is designed to prepare students for employment in business, government, and other organizations in today's ever-changing global economy. The major is built around a core set of courses from economics, business, and statistics.

This program is accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB)

  • To receive a bachelor's degree at Northern Arizona University, you must complete at least 120 units of credit that minimally includes a major, the general studies requirements, and university requirements as listed below.

    • All of Northern Arizona University's diversity, general studies, junior-level writing, and capstone requirements.
    • All requirements for your specific academic plan(s).
    • At least 30 units of upper-division courses, which may include transfer work.
    • At least 30 units of coursework taken through Northern Arizona University, of which at least 18 must be upper-division courses (300-level or above). This requirement is not met by credit-by-exam, retro-credits, transfer coursework, etc.
    • A cumulative grade point average of at least 2.0 on all work attempted at Northern Arizona University.

    The full policy can be viewed here.

In addition to University Requirements:

  • 46 units of business core requirements.

  • 30 units of major requirements.

  • Up to 9 units of major prefix courses may be used to satisfy General Studies Requirements; these same courses may also be used to satisfy major requirements.

  • Elective courses, if needed, to reach an overall total of at least 120 units.

Students may be able to use some courses to meet more than one requirement. Contact your advisor for details.

Minimum Units for Completion 120
Highest Mathematics Required MAT 121
Additional Admission Requirements Required
University Honors Program Optional
AZ Transfer Students complete AGEC-B Recommended
Progression Plan Link Not Available

Purpose Statement

The primary mission of the economics degree program in the W. A. Franke College of Business (FCB) is to train our majors to successfully apply economic theory and concepts to real-world problems through the development of analytical and quantitative skills for them to succeed in their professional and academic endeavors. Economic majors learn how to think like an economist by developing analytical and quantitative skills in identifying the essential elements of a problem and finding solutions. They explore topics from pricing strategy and cost-benefit analysis to monetary and fiscal policy impact and international trade. Applied learning experiences such as undergraduate research, independent study, internships, and study abroad programs help students add context to classroom concepts. The degree program prepares students for careers in business, government, and public policy. In addition, the economics degree program also serves FCB business degree programs and General Studies through our curriculum. The curriculum for business and General Studies students focuses on essential concepts and principles of economics to help them understand, think, and form opinions about, and develop responses to local, national, and global economic issues.

Student Learning Outcomes

  • Explain key economic concepts and principles in both Microeconomics and Macroeconomics.
  • Scarcity, Opportunity Cost & Comparative Advantage
    • Use Production Possibility Frontier curves to calculate opportunity costs to evaluate the trade-offs involved in decision-making.
    • Use comparative advantage to calculate efficiency improvements resulting from trade and specialization.
  • Supply and Demand, Market Equilibrium & Price Elasticity
    • Use demand/supply concepts to determine market equilibrium.
    • Explain why supply and demand may shift over time and analyze the impacts on market equilibrium that result from these shifts.
    • Calculate price elasticity of demand and illustrate its uses in market analysis.
  • Efficient Markets: Costs of Production, Perfect Competition, Imperfect Competition, Labor Markets
    • Distinguish between explicit and implicit costs and between average and marginal costs. They can use these relationships to derive the full cost of operating a business firm.
    • Use cost and revenue curves to determine profit-maximizing output under conditions of perfect competition and imperfect competition.
    • Determine the optimal amount of labor to hire to achieve an efficient outcome in the labor market.
  • Market Inefficiency: Externalities and Market Failure
    • Explain the concept of market failure and apply this to situations where environmental externalities are present.
  • Economic Indicators: Gross Domestic Product, Business Cycles, Employment, Inflation & the Consumer Price Index
    • Use the circular flow diagram to show that income from domestic production equals expenditure on domestic output.
    • Identify & explain the expenditure components of GDP (Y=C+I+G+NX)
    • Describe the meaning and components of the business cycle and explain why the economy experiences good and bad times.
    • Explain the concept of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and how to transform economic variables to account for the effects of inflation and explain differences between real and nominal interest rates.
  • Economic Growth
    • Analyze the determinants of productivity and evaluate policy implications of productivity changes which occur across the economy.
  • Economic Theory: Aggregate Demand and Aggregate Supply (AD/AS)
    • Use Y=C+I+G+NX to explain why aggregate demand (AD) is downward sloping, and what factors can shift AD.
    • Use long-run aggregate supply (LRAS) and short-run aggregate supply (SRAS) to show how levels of output change in the economy over time.
    • Use the transition from short-run equilibrium to long-run equilibrium to explain economic fluctuations that occur in the economy.
  • Economic Policy: Fiscal Policy, Monetary policy
    • Explain and calculate the economic impacts resulting from the multiplier and the crowding-out effects associated with fiscal policy.
    • Describe the functions of money, how the banking system creates money, and how the Federal Reserve System uses its monetary control instruments to stabilize the economy.
  • Explain and evaluate what economic concepts and principles are used in nontechnical economic analyses published in printed and electronic media.
    • Be aware of a broad range of nontechnical economic outlets including the popular press (newspapers and magazines) and government and historical documents.
    • Analyze and explain the economic content appearing in these writings.
  • Locate published research on economic topics and issues and will be able to prepare an organized, clearly written analysis of an economic issue.
    • Locate printed and electronic data sources to conduct technical and nontechnical research in economics.
    • Appropriately analyze economic issues and concepts and can effectively demonstrate their economic reasoning with clearly written statements on exams.
    • Communicate their economic reasoning using well-developed and concise language in assigned research papers.
  • Perform and interpret quantitative analysis that uses economic data.
    • Assemble and analyze economic data and formulate models to test economic hypotheses.
    • Explain the assumptions, applications, and outcomes associated with using the basic regression model.
    • Use a statistical software package to competently undertake and complete quantitatively based economic analysis.

Additional Admission Requirements

  • Individual program admission requirements over and above admission to NAU are required.

  • Admission to Northern Arizona University qualifies you for admission into the preprofessional program in The W. A. Franke College of Business. You must meet the following requirements to enter our professional programs:

    • Complete at least 56 units with a cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 2.0 or better.
    • Complete the following courses with a grade of "C" or better in each course:
    • Complete six (6) different Pathways experiences (one pathway credit must be the Career Steps online module). Transfer students who have met all of the requirements listed above need to complete four (4) Pathways experiences (one pathway credit must be the Career Steps online module) during their first semester in The W. A. Franke College of Business.
    • If you have a 2.75 GPA in these courses and have satisfactorily completed Pathways activities designated by The W. A. Franke College of Business, we guarantee your acceptance into our professional program. If your average is less than a 2.75 but you have at least a 2.5 and have satisfactorily completed all designated Pathways activities, we admit you into the professional program on a space-available basis according to the rank order of your grade point average in these courses.
    • If you are in the preprofessional program and have completed all required courses with "C" or better, but have a GPA in those courses that is below the acceptable grade point average for admission to the professional program, you may repeat up to two of the required courses in which you earned a "C" to meet the minimum GPA requirement. You may only repeat a required course in which you earned a grade of "C" one time.
Major Requirements

  • This major requires 76 units distributed as follows:

    • Business Core Requirements: 46 units
    • Business Economics Requirements: 24 units
    • Other Major Requirements: 6 units

    Take the follow 76 units:

  • Other Major Requirements (6 units)

    • Select from the following which meet the junior-level writing requirement (3 units):*

    *If you take MGT 300I and MKT 333I, choose MGT 350IW which meets the junior-level writing requirement (3 units).

  • These courses represent the General Academic Requirements (GAR) for The W. A. Franke College of Business. Some of these courses also fulfill General Studies Requirements.

    For information about the overlap between the GAR and General Studies, consult an advisor in Room 222 of the college.

General Electives

  • Additional coursework is required if, after you have met the previously described requirements, you have not yet completed a total of 120 units of credit.

    You may take these remaining courses from any of the academic areas, using these courses to pursue your specific interests and goals. You may also use prerequisites or transfer credits as electives if they weren't used to meet major, minor, or General Studies Requirements.

    We encourage you to consult with your advisor to select the courses that will be most advantageous to you.

Additional Information
    • You must complete at least 15 units in your major and 9 units of the upper-division business core at The W. A. Franke College of Business (FCB).
    • You must earn 50% of your overall business units required for your degree at the FCB.
    • All transfer credits must be approved by the FCB and are subject to guidelines listed in the current general catalog. The FCB does not accept upper-division transfer credits from programs not accredited by the AACSB (such as the University of Phoenix or the Bachelor of Business Administration program at NAU-Yuma).
    • Students must complete the following courses at the FCB: MGT 490C (Business Strategy) and the junior writing requirement (if filled by MGT 350W (Business Communication)).  Students who satisfy the junior writing requirement with ENG 302W (Technical Writing) must complete that course at Northern Arizona University.
    • Students earning two BSBA majors within The W. A. Franke College of Business must take 18 credit units in the first major and an additional 18 units exclusive to the second major (for a total of 36).

  • Some courses may have prerequisites. For prerequisite information, click on the course or see your advisor.