Most of modern economics is structured around a common set of theoretical ideas and analytic methods that unify the field. These tools aid in understanding both how the economic world works and how it can be affected by public policies and world events.

Introductory courses (100 level) provide an overview of economics and a strong foundation for more advanced work in economics.The intermediate (200 level) courses offer material on many different economic topics. These courses require Economics 105/106 as a prerequisite and are designed to be useful to non-majors as well as minors and majors. Finally, the advanced (300 level) courses involve a much more technically sophisticated approach to analyzing many of the same economic topics. In most of the advanced courses, a substantial paper is an important part of the requirements.