UT Dallas launches business economics concentration

This fall, the Naveen Jindal School of Management at the University of Texas Dallas launched a new concentration in business economics for students pursuing their bachelor of science in business administration.
 
“To be knowledgeable in the business world and in the world in general, a basic understanding of economics is crucial,” UT Dallas clinical professor of finance and managerial economics Peter Lewin said. “But an economics background is also a wonderful grounding for law school as well as students going on to get their MBA and other degrees — even engineering. In terms of the business subjects such as finance and accounting, economics is way up there, if not right at the top.”
 
The program arose from research that shows students with an economics background typically perform better in graduate school and earn larger paychecks upon entering the work force. The concentration’s coursework requirements build upon introductory micro- and macroeconomics courses that all business undergrads take, delving further into those topics.
 
“Businesses these days are looking for students who not only have technical proficiency in the various disciplines like operations research, finance, behavioral management and marketing, but also are able to engage in critical thinking and independent and bold decision-making, and economics provides those critical thinking skills and also a framework for conceptual decision-making,” Lewin said.