Columbia Courses

In the free-trading spirit of our profession, we encourage you to explore the course offerings available throughout the university. If our courses meet your needs, take them. If other courses suit you better, take them. All restrictions on granting major credit for courses you take elsewhere in the university are based solely on the content of the course, and are meant to ensure that you receive the best possible economics education.

Here are the restrictions we know about and the reasons for them. If you discover other trade barriers, let us know.

1. No credit for duplication. Equivalent courses are listed here. The purpose of duplication is sometimes to tailor the course for specific audiences, and sometimes to keep class size manageable. It is a waste of your time (not to mention money) to take two versions of the same course, so we don't allow it. We try to keep our list of equivalent courses up to date, but it may be that we have missed some since new classes are always springing up. If in doubt, ask the Department Chair.

2. No credit for management or marketing courses. They are not economics courses. If you want to take a business-oriented course in economics, look for a course in finance or accounting.

3. Upper level credit only for upper level courses. The following are approved for lower level credit only because they do not have an Intermediate Theory course prerequisite:

ECO W2261 Introduction to Accounting and Finance
BUS W3001 Introductory Finance
BUS W3003 Corporate Finance

4. Two-course cap on School of Business courses. All Business School courses at the 6000-level are approved for credit. To register for these you must be a senior with a B average. Cross-registration forms and copies of the fall schedule for the Business School will be available in late August or early September from the Dean of Studies office.