About Us

Programs

The Department of Economics at Western Michigan University features three undergraduate majors (B.A., B.B.A., B.S.) and graduate programs (M.A.) of instruction. At the undergraduate level, the major and minor are designed to equip students for employment or for further professional study. In addition, the department plays a major role in enhancing basic economic understanding on campus through its inclusion in the curricula of other programs such as business and engineering as well as through the University's general education program.

At the graduate level the department offers both a traditional and accelerated Master of Arts program as well as a Doctor of Philosophy degree. These programs prepare students for careers as professional economists in both academic and nonacademic settings. Our MA program has concentrations in economic development or econometrics/statistics, with these concentrations formally listed on your transcript upon graduation.

Research

Our faculty publish in journals such as:

Agricultural Economics, American Economic Review, American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Applied Economics, Economic Development and Cultural Change, Economic Inquiry, Journal of Econometrics, Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Journal of Economic Perspectives, Journal of Economics Management & Strategy, Journal of Human Resources, Journal of Monetary Economics, Journal of Population Economics, Journal of Risk and Uncertainty, Journal of Sports Economics, Journal of Urban Economics, Labour Economics, Oxford Development Studies, Public Health, Review of Economics and Statistics, Regional Science and Urban Economics, Review of Industrial Organization, Review of International Economics, Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Southern Economic Journal, World Development.

Departmental research efforts have recently benefited from the following external granting sources: United Nations, U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, Ford Foundation, Inter-American Development Bank, State of Michigan, Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, Global Center for Food Systems Innovations (Michigan State University), Northwestern University/University of Chicago Joint Center for Poverty Research, and the W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research.

Department members have been awarded over 10 Fulbright Scholar and/or Fulbright Senior Specialist Awards. Faculty members have served as external consultants for the International Monetary Fund, the Inter-American Development Bank, the United Nations, and the World Bank. Faculty are often called upon by law firms from around the country to provide economic consultation and expert court testimony.

Internally, faculty members have won the WMU Distinguished Service Award, as well as the WMU College of Arts and Sciences Faculty Teaching Award, Gender Scholar Award, and Outstanding Achievement in Research and Creative Activity Award.

Teaching

Our faculty have particular strengths in research and teaching (undergraduate and graduate) in the core areas of microeconomics, macroeconomics, econometrics and economic statistics. In addition:

  • Economic development
  • Environmental economics
  • International economics
  • Labor economics
  • Monetary economics

In addition, Our course offerings continue to adapt to the changing landscape of the economy as well as student needs. This includes courses such as women in the economy, sports economics, economics of medical care, and the economics of immigration. At the graduate level we offer new courses on uncertainty and health, research methods and economic development.