Important Policy Update for Upper-Division Economics requirement

IMPORTANT POLICY CHANGE – Upper-Division Econ

Effective October 2007

We have become increasingly concerned about the challenges of fulfilling the upper-division Economics requirement for the IR major. Given the lack of courses offered via the Economics Department that do not require the Economics 50 series, many IR students have struggled to find appropriate courses. We continue to believe that training in economics is vital for understanding many important issues in the world today, but the current situation creates a serious impediment to completing the major.
To deal with this challenge, we are instituting a policy change that is effective immediately. The upper-division Econ requirement will become a requirement in International Political Economy (IPE), thereby expanding the number of courses which can be used to satisfy it. IR majors must still complete at least Econ 1A and 1B (10 units) and 2 additional IR approved IPE courses (10 units). Students can elect to complete the 10 units (2 courses) of IPE with courses from the attached list.

Please note that not all courses with the words "political economy" in the title or description will meet this requirement. The courses listed were selected based on a review of their content to ensure that they have sufficient coverage of key economic concepts in international and comparative political economy.
Also, please remember that you still may not double-count an IPE course as a track course and that you must complete 70 units for the IR major. For example, if you opt to take IR 148 and count it one of the IPE courses, you can not also count it as a CIPE track course.