iii-   Program Requirements:

The Department of Finance and Economics requires students to take 30 credit hours in the specialization and 15 credit hours from an approved minor. The major core courses are divided into two categories: Mandatory core and elective core courses. These courses are described for each track and program below.​​​​

Major in Economics Courses

a. Mandatory Core Courses:
The list of the mandatory core courses of the Economics program encompasses the 24 credit hours summarized in the table below.

Mandatory Courses

Course Code	Course Title	Credit Hrs.
0308232	Sustainability and Global Challenges	3
0308254	Environmental Economics	3
0308456	Energy Economics	3
0308457	Welfare Economics	3
0308351	Intermediate Mic​​roeconomics	3
0308352	Intermediate Macroeconomics	3
0308355	Introduction to Econometrics	3
0308451	Internship 1	1
0308458	Internship 2	2
Total​		​24CH

 

B.  Elective Core Courses:
The Economics program requires 6 credit hours of core elective courses chosen from the following list:

Elective Courses

Course Code	Course Title	Credit Hours
0308459	Cost benefit analysis	3
0308253	Managerial Economics	3
0308454	International Monetary Economics	3
0308336	Economics of Health Care	3
0308255	Principles of Islamic Economics	3
0308453	International Economics	3
0308452​	Public Economics	3
0308450	Money and Banking	3
Total ​		6 CH

 

The study plan for the Economics Program is available in this link.​ 
The plan shows that the students can normally complete the program within eight regular semesters over a period of four academic years. 

Course Description
The courses described below constitute all courses, mandatory and electives, that are offered by the Economics program to various tracks.

0308151 Principles of Microeconomics
Prerequisite: None
This course introduces economic analysis of individual, business, and industry choices in the market economy. Starting from defining economies and its principles, we will study how the market forces of supply and demand is key determinates for prices. We will see the sense in which market economies are efficient, and the way governments can make our economy less or more efficient. We will delve behind the supply curve to see how firms choose their production levels to maximize profits, culminating in the model of perfect competition. Time permitting; we will look at market failures such as monopoly, externalities, the markets for the factors of production and the theory of consumer choice.

0308252 Principles of Macroeconomics
Prerequisite: Principles of Microeconomics (0308151)
Principles of Macroeconomics introduce the basic concepts of macroeconomics for students. The topics covered include the measurement of aggregate output, unemployment and inflation, determinants of economic growth in the long-run, year-to-year fluctuations in economic activity, the role of monetary and fiscal policy in the economy, comparative advantage in international transactions, and exchange rates. 

0308450 Money and Banking
Prerequisite: Principles of Macroeconomics (0308252)
This course studies the role of financial markets & institutions and money in the economy. It examines how interest rates are determined, why fluctuated over time, how money is created by the banking system, and the role of the Central Bank in the whole process. Issues like the banking crisis and the proper role of monetary policy will be examined in detail. The interaction between the goods sector and the financial sector, as well as the interrelationships between the domestic and the international financial sectors will be analysed.

0308253 Managerial Economics
Prerequisite: Principles of Microeconomics (0308151)
This course is designed to provide students with a basic understanding of microeconomic concepts and applications relevant to managerial decision-making. The course topics include demand and supply analysis, consumer theory, forecasting, production and cost analysis, market structure, risk analysis, linear programming, decision making under uncertainty, regulatory theory, and the role of government in the market.

 
0308351 Intermediate Microeconomics
Prerequisite: Principles of Microeconomics (0308151)
This course provides students with an advanced knowledge of the functioning of the economy at the micro level. The focus is on the theories of consumer and firm decision making, how prices and quantities are determined in equilibrium, how resources are allocated, different market structures, input demand, welfare economics, market failure, and public goods.

0308352 Intermediate Macroeconomics
Prerequisite: Principles of Macroeconomics (0308252)
The primary goal of this course is to enable students to develop a consistent way of thinking about key macroeconomic phenomena and to analyze complex issues and current events. This should give students the ability to understand how economic policy and shocks affect the economy as reflected in aggregate macro variables such as output, interest rates, prices, and employment, and also have insights about the different schools of economic thought (Keynesianism, Monetarism, Classical Economics).

0308355 Introduction to Econometrics
Prerequisite: Business Statistics (1440264) & 0308252
This course is developed to equip students with a basic understanding of analysis of economic data. The course covers descriptive statistics, hypothesis testing, analysis of variance, regression analysis, heteroskedasticity, multicolinearity, serial correlation, and simultaneous equations. 

0308452 Public Economics
Prerequisite: Principles of Macroeconomics (0308252)
This course provides students with an understanding of market failure and government intervention requirement. The course deals with the imperfect nature of government intervention, how the intervention affects the economy, particularly in the areas of resource allocation, income distribution, and the incidence of taxation.

0308453 International Economics
Prerequisite: Principles of Macroeconomics (0308252)
This course concentrates on two parts international trade and international finance. From the first part the course covers the following topics: comparative and absolute advantage in production, trade policies, trade barriers, and terms of trade, multinational corporations and international trade agreements, the nature of the gains from trade, winners and losers. From the second part the course focuses on the following topics: fundamentals of international monetary economics, determination of exchange rate, exchange rate arrangements and balance of payments. 

0308458 Internship 1
Prerequisite: Minimum 75 Credit Hours and Department Approval
This is the first of two required internship courses. The course consists of seminars and workshops, some of which conducted by speakers from the industry, and field trips that cover major Economics topics.

0308458 Internship 2
Prerequisite: Internship 1 (0308458)
During the period of internship, the students are employed and supervised by firms and participate in various types of work in areas related to Economics decision making in accordance with a plan approved by the department and the college. A student must complete 120 hours intensive training at the assigned organizations.

0308232 Sustainability and Global Challenges
Prerequisite: Principles of Microeconomics (0308151)
Sustainability stays at the center of economics, society and the environment. This course aims to introduce students to the essential concepts of sustainability including climate change, global warming, water pollution, tragedy of commons, sustainable energy, transportation and buildings. Case studies and problem-solving exercises will be employed to strengthen the understanding of content and present practical implications on sustainable development concerns.

0308254 Environmental Economics
Prerequisite: Principles of Macroeconomics (0308252)
This course will introduce the students to the field of environmental economics, and is intended to serve as an introduction to the concepts, theories, and methods used in the economic analysis of environmental and natural resource issues. The course will cover methods of valuing non-market environmental resources; assessment of environmental benefits and damages; analytical tools such as cost-benefit analysis needed for project evaluation and environment impact assessments; the concept of optimal pollution and its control; regulation and market solutions. Selected topics on international environmental issues and aspects of sustainable development will also be discussed.

0308255 Principles of Islamic Economics
Prerequisite: Principles of Microeconomics (0308151)
The course starts by looking into the current assumptions of the conventional economic system based on the foundation of the classical school of thought. It discusses the types of markets and the problems the current system is facing. The course then explains the philosophical foundation of Islamic economics taking into account the conflicting views of the scholars. It elaborates further the concept of rule of behavior and how and why it is important in the free market and how it might improve efficiency further. In addition, the course explains the acceptable ethics and behaviors in the market and how the government is supposed to enforce them. The concept of prohibited elements is discussed and the rationale behind the prohibition. Concepts such as: private and state property, money, ways of property transfer and its exceptional restrictions, the role of the state in developing the economy, taxes and their rules and controls, work and its importance, conditions and controls, the rights of workers and owners, unemployment, its causes and the ways of dealing with it, capital and its effects on stimulating the economy and development, productivity, consumption, and income distribution are discussed.

0308336 Economics of Health C​are​
Prerequisite: Intermediate Microeconomics (0308351)
Health economics introduce the basic concepts within health-related economic issues incl. health care economics, government policy/regulations, uncertainty, and measures of efficiency/equality/fairness. The covered topics include government intervention in factors affecting people's health, the financial structure of the healthcare sector, payment of healthcare providers, and the evaluation of healthcare programs.

0308454 International Monetary Economics
Prerequisite: Principles of Macroeconomics (0308252)
The course introduces financial aspects of growth and income determination, and macroeconomic policy in open economies. Applications to exchange rate determination, capital markets, interest parity conditions, fluctuations in the balance of payment, trade balance and current account, monetary and fiscal policies in open economies, currency crises, and monetary reform. This course provides students with an understanding of the principles of open economy macroeconomics. Students will gain insight into the concept of external equilibrium and exchange rate determination. This material is then applied to practical problems including macroeconomic management in an open economy and the choice of exchange rate regime. The insights provided by the theoretical frameworks covered in this course enable valuation of current policy issues and the critical assessment of role of macroeconomic openness on a country's level of employment and income.

0308455 Welfare Economics
Prerequisite: Principles of Macroeconomics (0308251)
Welfare Economics introduce concepts within welfare related economic issues, including rationales about distribution, fairness, societal utility, inequality, poverty, polarization, deprivation, multi-dimensional welfare, developing nations, advanced economies, consequences of inequality, social and tax policy, structural policies, the inequality-growth trade off, and empirical evidence. The covered topics include economic and moral reasons behind distributional goals, how analyses of distributions are conducted in practice, government intervention to reach desired distributional outcomes, the actual structure of distribution, and evaluation of different state approaches to welfare.

0308456 Energy Economics
Prerequisite: Principles of Macroeconomics (0308252)
This course examines energy issues from an economics perspective and introduces concepts in energy economics including energy demand analysis, economic analysis of energy projects, investment decisions, energy supply analysis, energy pricing and taxation, energy & sustainable development, and the structures of oil, natural gas and electricity markets. A variety of energy types is examined including fossil fuels, nuclear power, and a range of renewable energy technologies including biomass, hydro, solar, and wind power. The effects of import dependence and development of indigenous renewable energy resources on energy security and regional economic growth and development are assessed.

0308459 Cost Benefit Analysis
Prerequisite: Financial Management (0308230)
Assuring that public policies are efficient is an imperative objective of public policy analysis. In this course, students will learn how to assess the relative effectiveness of public policies in an accessible, comprehensive, and authoritative manner. It provides a thorough review of microeconomic fundamentals and treats critical topics in a sophisticated manner using minimal mathematical language, allowing students to build solid conceptual foundations. Discounting is addressed in detail. Concurrent uncertainty is addressed with expected surpluses and option prices. Parameter uncertainty is handled with Monte Carlo simulations and various types of sensitivity analyses. Revealed preferences are discussed, stated preferences are considered, contingent valuation is considered, and other techniques are discussed. By the end of this course, students will be able to construct their own cost-benefit analysis for any topic of interest, as well as evaluate another's analysis. In addition, this course helps students develop a comprehensive business plan that will serve as the basis for developing a small business.