Undergraduate Programs in Economics

Murray State economics students have a wide choice of curricula with a mixture of business and non-business courses. The program is designated as STEM, which signifies the analytical rigor of the curriculum.

Training in economics provides a variety of analytical skills that are not job-specific. The breadth and flexibility of the major allows students to tailor the program to their career goals in business, finance, healthcare administration, law, politics, foreign affairs, government and more. The students will be well prepared also for a variety of graduate programs. The degree is especially attractive for those who are considering an MBA or law school. 

Economics is among the top 15 majors with highest lifetime earnings (Hamilton Project, Payscale).  According to PayScale’s 2023 College Salary Report that ranks how different majors for bachelor’s degrees compare based on alumni salaries, econometrics majors ranked 17th in the list of over 800 with a median salary of $72,000 and a mid-career salary of $152,100.

For those students wishing to major in another field, the Department of Economics and Finance also offers minors in economics, international economics and business economics.

“The sky is the limit when you have a degree in economics. Above all, economics provides a quantitative framework for analyzing problems and is about how people respond to incentives. I had some of the best economics faculty at Murray State who equipped me with this foundation, along with the technical toolkit such as regression modeling to be able to tackle problems businesses need solved. Whether it is applying models of competition to analyze how a competitor might respond to a price increase, or forecasting the launch of a new product, an economics degree helps you add value to the company – and that is an incentive for them to hire economics grads!”

-Jaime Staengel, Anheuser-Busch