university of washington department of economics economics undergraduate board presentation to the...
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University of Washington
Department of Economics
Economics Undergraduate BoardPresentation to the Visiting Committee
April 16th, 2008
Information obtained from the departmental fact sheet and surveys distributed by the EUB.
Department Statistics – Grad/Undergrad TrendsHuge growth in undergrad econ majors after 2001
Department Statistics – BA/BS Trends FY 98-07Most of the growth in the major comes from the BA.
Department Statistics – BA/BS TodayTotal undergrads in the major - 748
Classes fill up quickly.Results based on survey distributed by the EUB.
55.88%
44.12% Unable to registerfor one or moreclassesAble to register
Faculty shortage stats
Faculty in 1995 – 1996 when there were 400 majors were the same faculty in 2006 when there were 884 majors.
The economics Department has the 3rd greatest number of majors, and the llth largest faculty in the College of Arts and Sciences.
Faculty Accessibility Even with the faculty shortage the faculty currently in the UW economics department connect
very well with their students as shown by the graph below:
Key: “1” = not very accessible ,“2” = somewhat accessible and “3” = very accessible
Many students have other degrees.Results obtained from a Survey distributed by the EUB.
39.20%
35.46%
0.00% 20.00% 40.00% 60.00% 80.00% 100.00%
Students withdouble degrees
Students withminors
“Gender ratio”
33.2
66.8
0
20
40
60
80
100
Female Male
Past years: 2006 - 29% female , 2005 – 35% female, 2004 – 42% female.
What made students choose Econ?
0 50 100 150
Class taken at UW
Alt. to Business School
Career Opportunities
UW Professor
Interest
All of the above
Working in finance and getting an MBA are common post-graduation choices.
0
5
10
15
20
25
MA/M
S, Eco
nOth
er
Finan
ce
MA/M
S, N
ot Eco
n
Med
ical
MBA
Ph.D. E
con JD
Ph.D., n
ot Eco
n
Govern
ment
Mark
eting
Man
agem
ent
Consulting
Areas of Interest Within Economics
Interests within the Dept.
Students confirmed their desire to have more opportunities for internships, alumni correspondence and workshops on careers to better prepare them for the work world after graduation.
Conclusions from the Survey.Comments from Students.
Growth in the department and demand for the econ major suggests that an expansion of faculty at the department will be desirable.
Smaller classes with more classes offering topics in finance and international development.
More class sections with more frequent offerings of a given course each year
More extensive advising Additional outside help for classes (tutoring) Information on research & job opportunities