College of Science or College of Business?
The department of economics offers two degrees: one in the College of Science and the other in the Pamplin College of Business.
The economics course requirements for the economics degree itself are exactly the same. A quick summary of the differences is that the College of Business requires that you take a number of courses directed at satisfying general business requirements while the College of Science lets you choose free electives for these credit hours. (More on the exact differences below...) College of Business students also need 125 instead of 120 hours to graduate.
The Economics Department has asked employers whether they care whether a major has completed the College of Science or Business degree. No employer has ever expressed a preference for one degree over the other. There is no evidence that graduates with one type of degree get more offers, more money, or more of anything else.
The best advice as to which major to pick is: Choose the major you think is most interesting to you. If you think that marketing and finance sound fascinating then maybe the College of Business is for you. If you think that accounting sounds awful but are very interested in getting a minor in international studies or picking up math as a second major then maybe the College of Science is your best bet.
The benefit of the College of Science degree is that there are more free electives which allow you to either add a minor or two, add a secondary major, or simply take a variety of courses that you are interested in. If you like you can take some of the business courses as your electives!
The one exception is students contemplating law school. Doing well on LSAT exams and in law school requires that you take a lot of courses where you read some material, analyze it, and then write about it. This is a skill you will get very little practice with in the business school core courses. Typically inviduals who are considering law school choose a degree in College of Science, and choose a second major, minor or electives that will help them to prepare for law school.
| Requirements by Subject | College of Science (hours) | Business (hours) |
| Economics | 30 | 30 |
| Area 3 (Social Sciences) | 0 | 9 |
| Area 6 (Creativity and Aesthetic Exp) | 3 | 1 |
| Accounting | 0 | 9 |
| BIT | 0 | 9 |
| Finance | 0 | 6 |
| Management | 0 | 6 |
| Marketing | 0 | 3 |
| Communications | 0 | 3 |
| Totals | 33 | 76 |