Major Declaration & Registration

Major Declaration & Registration Eligibility

Trinity School of Arts and Sciences students must declare a major by the end of their fourth semester at Duke, following the declaration guidelines established by the Academic Advising Center. Engineering students should consult with their faculty advisor for information on declaring an economics major or minor.

New Major Orientation

The Department of Economics hosts an online orientation for all new first majors via Sakai. Students will watch videos and learn essential information about the basic elements of the major as well as the resources and opportunities available them. New Major Orientation also provides the only gateway into the department's advising system, so new majors will not be able to attend open advising until they complete the orientation. In years past the department has conducted evening information sessions for New Major Orientation. Students who already have attended a session do not need to complete the New Major Orientation on Sakai. Second majors are welcome but not required to complete New Major Orientation.

Instructions

Log in to Sakai and open the "Econ Major Orientation" workspace to watch the videos and take the quiz. In order to be cleared to register at open advising, you must score an 80 percent or higher on the quiz. Please let the undergraduate program assistant know if you have any questions or concerns. 

Open Advising

Once students have completed New Major Orientation, they are eligible for advising in the EcoTeach Center.

See Advising

Registration

Students registering for economics courses must follow the guidelines and registration windows established each term by the University Registrar's Office. EcoTeach cannot guarantee enrollment, but students who are put on a waitlist should remain on the waitlist to indicate to EcoTeach their desire for course entrance. EcoTeach will save all waitlists prior to their erasure at 5:00 p.m. on the last day of the first week of drop/add, at which time all courses revert to permission only.  

AP/IB Credit & Course Placement

Effective Fall 2023, all students will be required to take Economics 101. The Economics Department will no longer accept AP, IPC or transfer credit to fulfill this requirement.  For students who matriculated before Fall 2023, please refer to the undergraduate bulletin from the appropriate year for placement regulations. 

There are two courses that incoming freshmen may be eligible to take at Duke:

ECON 101 Economic Principles

This is an introductory economics course that covers basic concepts in both microeconomics and macroeconomics. ECON 101 is taught at a level that assumes no prior coursework in economics. All Duke students are eligible to take this course, and there are no prerequisites.

ECON 201D Intermediate Microeconomics I

This is an intermediate-level microeconomics course that assumes some background in economics and calculus. Prerequisites for this course include ECON 101; and MATH 21 (credit for MATH 21 is given to students who have scored 5 in AP Math AB or 3, 4, or 5 in AP Math BC).

If you do not fulfill all of the prerequisites required for ECON 201D, you should enroll in ECON 101.

  1. We cannot permit students who have taken AP exams, to take ECON 201D, regardless of the grade that they may have earned in those courses.  You must first enroll in ECON 101 before taking ECON 201D. There are no exceptions. 
  2. The director of undergraduate studies (DUS) in the Department of Mathematics verifies that you have achieved proficiency in MATH 21 or higher. This verification must be submitted by email from the DUS in the Department of Mathematics to the DUS in the Department of Economics. 

Pre-Requisite Enforcement & Overrides

Pre-requisites on all ECON courses are enforced through DukeHub.  Students seeking entrance to a course without the necessary pre-requisites must contact the course instructor. Students who experience problems while registering for economics core courses (ECON 101D, 104D, 201D, 204D, 205D, and 210D) should contact EcoTeach rather than the course instructor.

Schedules & Descriptions

  • Course Schedules can be found in DukeHub; descriptions can be found in the "Course" tab at the top of the page
  • Exam Schedules