The Economics Major at Barnard
One of my favorite things about being at Barnard is the opportunity to pursue historically male-dominated fields in a supportive environment. For me, this supportive environment has allowed me to thrive as an economics major, and I often get questions about the major when doing other admissions content, such as IG takeovers. As the first installation in our major spotlight series, here are some of the most common questions I get about the economics major at Barnard.
Why did you choose Economics?
My intro class was super important to my decision to study economics! Our professor was very passionate about increasing women in economics and talking to us about the lack of women that continue past the intro class. As part of this, we also used a non-traditional (and free) textbook that tried to contextualize what we were learning with regards to social justice.
What do you like about the major?
In my opinion, the courses at Barnard fit together really nicely. Taking a general introductory course before micro and macro keeps them from being too overwhelming, and Barnard has its own math class for the major. It’s called “math methods for economics” and goes over calculus, algebra, and some of the other math you’ll need for the major.
What don’t you like about the major?
All economics students have to take a theory class where you read Adam Smith and other economic thinkers. While it’s a cool idea, it can be a little tedious because of how much reading it is.
What have your favorite classes been?
I really enjoyed my behavioral economics elective, because it was cool to learn about such an emerging field in economics. I also had a great time in my econometrics class, where we got to manipulate and program with my professor’s research.
Are the classes competitive?
Not really! I haven’t been in any classes where the curve can bring you down, and people are usually open to study together.
What is the relationship with Columbia like?
Even though Columbia and Barnard students can usually cross-register in each other’s courses, the Columbia econ major doesn’t accept a lot of our Barnard economics courses (like intro and microeconomics). Barnard does accept the Columbia ones, which means it is common for Barnard students to take their intro classes at Columbia, but it doesn’t always go the other way. It sounds weird, but this ends up being nice since you really get to know the other Barnard econ majors while you’re just starting the major. Later on, the classes all get pretty mixed between schools for the electives.
Stay tuned for more major highlights!