The study of economics provides insights into how the world works.

It teaches us a way of thinking, which when combined with training in qualitative and quantitative reasoning, and good judgment, provides an excellent foundation for just about anything that you may do after college.

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Learning Across Disciplines

Since economics is one of the core social science disciplines, our department also serves students from across several popular interdisciplinary programs, including Environmental StudiesInternational Studies, and International Politics and Economics.

Courses

Our department offers a wide array of courses designed to provide insight into how the world works—from introductory principles to a rigorous senior research seminar in which students pursue an independent research project to qualify for departmental honors. Our curriculum exposes you to the basic tools of economic analysis and develops your critical reasoning and expository skills, through topics as diverse as natural resource management, urban poverty, international integration, and many more.

Majors in economics must enroll in six core courses that are organized in three two-semester blocks:

  • Introductory macro- and microeconomics
  • A quantitative sequence in statistics and regression analysis
  • Macro- and microeconomic theory

In addition, majors must take at least four electives, two of which must be at the senior-seminar level.

Affiliated Labs

Middlebury Experimental Economics Lab

The Middlebury Experimental Economics Lab is a research group of faculty and students using controlled experiments to test economic theory and decision maki​ng. 

Center for Behavioral Science

The Vermont Center for Behavioral Science Research on Climate and the Environment is an innovative hub to connect and support students, faculty, researchers, and community-based organizations across Vermont in connecting, sharing, and collaborating on climate and environmental projects. 

Opportunities in the Field

A student participates in an economics conference.

The economics major provides students with numerous opportunities to explore the intricacies of the field—through research, internships, and professional development.

Internships

From MiddChallenge to summer positions in organizations around the globe and of every focus, you’ll have a range of options designed to foster your interests.

Internship Opportunities

Our Alumni

The economics major provides you with an excellent background for graduate work and employment in various fields, including economics, business, law, government, education, and international finance. These are some of the many interesting ways our graduates have applied their liberal arts learning to engage the world:

  • Amazon, Global Head of Business Intelligence
  • Tesla, Senior Product Manager
  • World Bank, Senior Economist, Statistician
  • Google, Head of VC & Startups, Android + Google Play
  • Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Policy Officer
  • New England Patriots, Assistant Controller
  • Nike, Manager, Global Supply Chain Innovation
  • Partners Healthcare, Senior Analyst
  • CNN Money, Vice President and General Manager
  • American Natural Gas, Cofounder and CEO
  • Vertigo Entertainment, Creative Executive
  • See’s Candies, Inc., Chief Financial Officer
  • Standard & Poor’s, Director, Structured Finance Ratings
  • Physician’s Computer Company, Director of Pediatric Solutions
  • Guggenheim Museum, Chief Technology Officer
  • U.S. Department of Treasury, Director of Macroeconomic Analysis
  • The Nature Conservancy, Impact Investing
  • DaMina Advisors LLP, Global Managing Director and Chief Frontier Markets Analyst
  • Census Bureau, Economist, Health and Disability Statistics Branch
  • Boston Redevelopment Authority, Director of Planning
  • Goldman Sachs, Vice President, Equities-Securities Services
  • SEC, Offices of the Commissioners, Senior Advisor to the Chair
  • Bain Capital LLC, Vice President, Investor Relations

Upcoming Events

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    From Growth to Glut: The Four Ds Shaping China’s Economy and Global Geopolitics

    The Rohatyn Center for Global Affairs program on Power, Wealth, and Global Political Economy presents “From Growth to Glut: The Four Ds Shaping China’s Economy and Global Geopolitics” by Zongyuan Zoe Liu.

    This talk will present a framework - 4 Ds (debt, demand, demographics, and de-risking/de-coupling) - for understanding China’s economic challenges and their implications for the rest of the world. It will also explain the structural forces that have led to China’s recurring overcapacity challenge and how Chinese firms are coping with these challenges.

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