Overview
Economics courses are offered in a wide range of topics including political economy, development, government (macroeconomic and microeconomic policy), business and finance, and co-operative businesses.
Note that we offer several online courses each fall, winter, spring and summer. We have a wider selection of online courses in winter and summer terms. Visit our Economics Online webpage for more information, and the UMass University+ website to learn more about costs, financial aid and how to enroll!
Course enrollment restrictions
Due to high demand, enrollment in some face to face Economics courses during fall and spring semesters is temporarily restricted to primary majors in Economics to ensure that these students are able to satisfy critical major requirements.
In general, our 205 level and above Econ courses are restricted to Primary Econ Majors until only until our own primary major Juniors can enroll, and our Econ 203 and 204 courses are restricted to Primary Econ Majors only until after our own Sophomores enroll. This only entails a short wait after enrollment starts (usually of a week to two weeks) for Econ Second Majors, Econ Minors and other students.
Economics IE courses are closed to non-primary majors until the first day of classes each semester, then available to other students only if seats are still available once classes start.
Economics 365 Writing in Economics (Junior Year Writing) is always restricted to Econ Primary majors only.
For Spring 2025 course registration, all Econ upper level courses excluding IEs and JYW will open by midday to all students on Monday, November 18th. For Econ 201, 203 and 204, these classes will open to all by midday Thursday, November 21st.
Independent Studies
Economics faculty working with students on independent study courses should arrange for these credits to be added to the student's schedule before the add/drop deadline by emailing @email with the following information (this information should come from the faculty sponsor, not the student):
- Student's name and Spire ID or UMass email address
- Course Number/Level of the independent study - please choose Econ 196, 296, 396 or 496
- Number of credits - the standard number is typically 3 credits
- Topic name of the independent study
For questions, contact @email.
Non-Economics Courses
Each academic department manages enrollment for courses only within their department.
For example, the Department of Mathematics and Statistics manages enrollment for MATH 127, the Spanish department manages enrollment in Spanish courses, and the Isenberg School of Management manages enrollment for courses offered by Isenberg. Enrollment is managed differently within each department. Students with questions regarding enrollment in a course outside of the Department of Economics should contact the academic department of the course in which they wish to enroll.
Five College Courses
Eligible UMass students who would like to take Five College courses can utilize the assistance of the UMass Five College Interchange Office. The office maintains detailed instructions on Five College course registration. The Five College courses catalog can be found here. Please note that first semester students are not eligible to take Five College courses, and that the UMass course repeat policy does not apply to Five College courses.