Economics Degree for Transfer

Description

The Associate in Arts in Economics degree for Transfer provides a clear and direct route for transfer to upper division into the California State University (CSU) system for students to complete a baccalaureate degree in Economics or similar degree. The Program includes coursework in economics, business, accounting, and mathematics.

See Taft College’s Transfer Center. Our Transfer Admission Guarantees include many other schools. Check with your Counselor to see if this degree can transfer to other four-year schools.

Earnings Potential

An associate degree in economics offers you the salary potential of $36,565 two years after graduation from Taft College, with expected increases to $55,708 at five years, based on five-year studies of graduates by California Community Colleges. These do not reflect salaries with a four-year degree.1

Career options are in a wide variety of fields and many typically require a minimum of a four-year degree. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the median annual wage is $76,080 for market research analysts and marketing specialists; and $79,940 for budget analysts. The median annual wage is $131,710 for financial managers; however, this career typically requires an additional five years or more of experience in another business or financial occupation, such as analyst or accountant. The BLS projects job growth from 2021 to 2031 for these careers at 19%, three percent and 17%, respectively. With a graduate degree, career options include controller, economics professor, economist, environmental economist, lawyer, treasurer, urban planner, and regional planner, among others. The median annual wage for economists is $105,630, with a job growth projection that is considered average at six percent.2

1 California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office. Salary Surfer. 2021. https://salarysurfer.cccco.edu. Accessed 19 April 2023.

2 “Occupational Outlook Handbook.” U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. 8 Sept. 2022. www.bls.gov/ooh. Accessed 19 April 2023.

Program Requirements

To earn an Associate in Arts in Economics degree for Transfer, students must:

  1. Complete all course requirements with a minimum grade of “C” in each course;
  2. Complete General Education Graduation Requirements with an overall GPA of 2.0 or better.

This Program has 16 units (credits) of Required Core Courses, plus three to four units from List A Electives and three to four units from List B Electives. Most Program courses are three or four units.

For details, see the Degree Requirements.

Program Learning Outcomes

  1. Explain the nature and function of the labor market system
  2. Assess the efficiency in the provision of goods and services
  3. Assess the operation of economic institutions
  4. Apply quantitative methods of analysis
  5. Apply economic therapy to real life situations

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