Overview
The Department of Economics has extensive course breadth and faculty expertise in the area of financial economics. By completing a specialized set of electives, majors can earn the "Certificate in Financial Economics." This will be a permanent notation on your academic record.
The Certificate in Financial Economics may be earned by anyone with a major (prime or second) in Economics, Economics & Computer Science, or Math & Economics. Completion of the Certificate requires - in addition to the major requirements - completion of extra elective(s), where there is a concentration of electives in the field of "financial economics." Expand the sections below to learn about the approved electives and the specific requirements, depending on the student's major.
List of Financial Economics Electives
- Econ 3220: Financial Markets & Analysis
- Econ 3210: Money & Banking
- Econ 4280: Capital Market Imperfections & Entrepreneurial Finance
- Econ 4770: Decision Under Risk & Time
- Econ 4250: Understanding Financial Crises
- Econ 4220: Open Economy Macroeconomics
- Econ 4230: The Economics of Financial Intermediation
- Econ 4240: Money & Monetary Policy
- Econ 6210: Topics in Financial Economics: Asset Pricing
- Econ 6211: Topics in Financial Economics: Investments
- FIN 3150: Capital Markets & Financial Management (approved if the student is not a Finance major/minor)
- An approved course from a study abroad/away program (approved by the Academic Coordinator)
Certificate requirements by major
Expand the boxes below to learn how to complete the Certificate in Financial Economics, depending on your major.
Students with a “prime” or “second” major in Economics must do the following, in addition to the major requirements:
• Complete one additional economics elective at the 300- or 400-level. (In other words, a total of 5 economics electives are completed, rather than the 4 required for the major alone.)
• A minimum of 3 of the 5 economics electives must be drawn from the approved “List of Financial Economics electives,” above.
Students pursuing this joint major through the McKelvey School of Engineering or through Arts & Sciences must do the following, in addition to the major requirements:
• Complete one additional economics elective. (In other words, a total of 4 economics electives are completed, rather than the 3 required for the major alone.)
• Additionally, a minimum of 3 of the 4 economics electives must be drawn from the approved “List of Financial Economics electives” above.
Students with a major in Math+Econ have two options through which the Certificate in Financial Economics may be earned.
Option 1:
• Complete one additional economics elective drawn from the “List of Financial Economics electives,” above. (This means students complete 8 math and econ electives, with a minimum of four electives drawn from economics.)
• A minimum of 3 of the total economics electives completed for the major-plus-Certificate must be drawn from the approved “List of Financial Economics electives,” above.
Option 2:
Students must complete all three of the following to complete the major and the Certificate:
(1) 4 Economics electives, where both of the following must be satisfied:
▪ at least 2 (of the 4) electives must be drawn from the “List of Financial Economics” electives (above); and
▪ at least 3 (of the 4) electives must be drawn from the approved list of Economics joint-major electives
(2) 3 Mathematics electives drawn from the approved list of Mathematics joint-major electives
(3) Math 456
Interested?
Follow these directions to have the Certificate in Financial Economics added to your academic record.
Majors interested in completing the Certificate in Financial Economics should complete the following declaration form. Majors are encouraged to complete the form as early as possible, and the form must be completed prior to filing an Intent to Graduate. The deadline to file the Intent to Graduate is:
- October 1 for fall-semester graduates
- December 15 for spring-semester graduates
- August 1 for summer-semester graduates
Follow this link to register your intent to complete the Certificate: https://economics.wustl.edu/certificate-financial-economics