How to Apply to Economics at UT Austin: BA and BS Degrees in the College of Liberal Arts With No Separate Department Application, a 3.4 GPA Needed to Transfer In After Enrolling, for Domestic and International (Including Chinese) Applicants and Transfer Students

Economics at The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin) is taught by the Department of Economics in the College of Liberal Arts, and the official pages say it offers both a Bachelor of Arts (BA) and a Bachelor of Science (BS). Here is what you need to know for fall 2027 entry, based on UT Austin’s official information, for domestic students, international students, applicants from China and transfer students. Business and computer science have their own guides on this site, so they are not covered here.

1. Degrees and how you get into the major

• Degrees: the admissions office lists the major under the College of Liberal Arts as “Economics (B.A. or B.S.)” with no restrictions noted. The department describes itself as one of the largest majors in the College; the numbers differ by page: its home page says about 3,000 undergraduates, the prospective-students page says over 2,800 students and over 40 faculty, and the advising page says over 2,500 majors.
• Freshmen and external transfers: the department states that there is no separate application for the Economics major. Freshmen and transfer students apply to UT Admissions, the department is not involved in application or selection, and admissions questions go to UT Admissions.
• Changing in after enrolling (internal transfer): the department’s page opens with “Economics is a restricted major”; see Section 5.
• BA versus BS (degree requirements page): both require calculus. The BA must include a minor (15–21 hours), which a certificate can replace and a second major may replace (ask an advisor). The BS has no minor requirement but an additional science requirement instead (the course list is in a linked document we did not read). The BA calculus requirement can be met with business calculus M 408Q taken at UT; the BS needs an approved calculus sequence. Current majors can email the advisors to switch between BA and BS.
• Honors (catalog): the Economics Honors Program requires an application to the honors advisor before the first registration period of the first semester of the senior year, and applying as early as the first semester of the sophomore year is encouraged. It requires a UT GPA of at least 3.00 and an economics GPA of at least 3.50; graduating with honors needs at least 34 economics hours, ECO 378H and 379H with at least a B in each, and participation in designated honors courses. The College also has the Liberal Arts Honors and Plan II programs, which take freshman applicants only.
• STEM designation: not stated on the pages we read.

2. Prerequisites and course sequence

• High school coursework (university-wide): language arts 4 credits; mathematics 3 credits required and 4 strongly recommended, at the level of Algebra I or higher with one course at Algebra II level or more advanced; science 2 required (4 recommended); social studies 3 required (4 recommended; economics counts); foreign language 2 credits in one language. These apply to all applicants, and the pages we read set no extra high school courses for economics.
• Calculus readiness: the admissions office’s calculus-readiness requirement lists engineering, geosciences, the Liberal Arts Environmental Science (Geographical Sciences) major and certain natural sciences majors; economics is not on the list.
• The department’s advice for freshmen: take as much math as possible in high school; economics majors take a two-course calculus sequence, best finished in the first year, and UT calculus requires a placement exam; some students use Advanced Placement or dual credit for calculus. If your school offers economics, take it; AP credit or dual credit can replace the freshman courses ECO 304K Introduction to Microeconomics and ECO 304L Introduction to Macroeconomics. Majors take ECO 329 Economic Statistics, and AP statistics credit does not count for ECO 329 but can count as elective credit; see an advisor before claiming credit. If you have no chance to take calculus, economics or statistics in high school, the page says you will not be behind.
• Required courses (pieced together from the department’s pages; we did not read the full degree-plan PDFs): ECO 304K, ECO 304L, calculus, ECO 329, ECO 420K Microeconomic Theory (or ECO 420S, the mathematical version), ECO 320L Macroeconomic Theory, ECO 441K Econometrics, three upper-division ECO electives, and ECO 101S Professional Development (the page lists it among courses that must be taken at UT; it does not say whether every major must take it, so ask an advisor). Electives total roughly 15 hours, at least 8 of them upper-division.
• Grades: C or higher in ECO 329 (C- from the 2024–2026 catalog on); C- or higher in the other major economics courses and calculus; a combined 2.0 GPA in major economics courses to graduate. At most 3 ECO courses per semester; at most 17 hours in a long semester without College approval.
• BS calculus sequences: M 408C and 408D, M 408K and 408L, or M 408N and 408S, each with at least a C-; business calculus (M 403K, 403L) cannot be substituted.
• Taken in residence at UT: ECO 420K/420S, ECO 320L, ECO 329, ECO 441K, and at least 18 hours of economics counting toward the major.
• AP and IB credit: beyond the department’s remarks above on AP credit for ECO 304K/304L and calculus, the pages we read do not list score requirements for AP Microeconomics, AP Macroeconomics, AP Calculus or IB Economics. Check UT’s credit-by-exam information or ask the economics advisors (ecoadvisors@austin.utexas.edu).
• Internships and research: the pages we read list only links for “Academic Opportunities” and careers without describing them.

3. Application rounds, materials and fees (freshmen)

• Rounds (summer/fall entry): applications open 1 August; Early Action deadline 15 October with supplemental materials by 22 October; regular deadline 1 December with supplemental materials by 10 December. Early Action applicants hear or are deferred by 15 January 2027; deferred and regular applicants hear by 15 February 2027; honors decisions 1 March. The international page gives 1 May for accepting admission and paying the deposit.
• Platform: the Common App for summer/fall entry. The Liberal Arts section of the colleges page lists no economics-specific supplement, and the department says there is no separate application.
• Materials: at least one essay and the required short answers; SAT or ACT scores (below); high school transcript. Recommendation letters and a resume are optional (up to two letters, not accepted by email, submitted through the Common App or MyStatus), plus an optional short answer about special circumstances that affected your high school performance.
• Application fee: US$75 for domestic freshmen, with a fee waiver available; US$90 for international applicants, with no waiver.

4. Domestic students

• Testing: send at least one official SAT or ACT score directly from the testing agency (SAT code 6882, ACT code 4240); an official Classic Learning Test score also satisfies this. The SAT Essay, ACT Writing and ACT Science are not required.
• Transcript: all coursework from grades 9–11 and class rank; if you earned college credit, including dual credit, the college sends its own official transcript.
• Texas students: the prerequisites page says Texas public high school students who think they qualify for automatic admission must submit a transcript showing they are pursuing or have completed the distinguished level of achievement under the state’s Uniform Admission Policy; Texas private school (and Department of Defense school) students can use a counselor-completed certification form or test scores to claim an exemption. The pages we read give no in-state preference percentage or figure; see the admissions office’s Texas residents page (not read).
• Costs (2026–27 estimates, full-time undergraduate, fall and spring): Texas resident tuition US$10,858–13,576, housing and food US$15,420–15,580, transportation 1,840, books 724, personal and miscellaneous 3,666, for a total of US$32,508–35,386; residents living with parents total US$24,998–27,716. The page gives ranges, and the pages we read do not say where Liberal Arts economics falls.
• Aid: the admissions pages advise completing the financial aid application before 15 January to maximize eligibility; scholarship details are on the One Stop site (we read only the cost page).

5. Changing into economics after enrolling (internal transfer)

• Timing: the department takes internal-transfer applications only in the spring semester for fall admission; the next cycle begins in spring 2027 for fall 2027. The page lists four Zoom information sessions (Tuesday 25 August, Wednesday 16 September, Thursday 15 October and Monday 9 November, all 5:00pm, with no year printed).
• Eligibility (all met by the end of the semester you apply): attend an economics information session in the current academic year (last year’s does not count); C- or higher in ECO 304K, ECO 304L, Calculus I (M 408K, C, N, R or Q) and Calculus II (M 408L, D or S); a UT GPA of at least 3.4 and a UT economics (ECO) GPA of at least 3.4; at least 24 hours in residence (placement, correspondence, extension, pass/fail and transfer hours do not count); no more than 90 hours completed, and apply within your first 4 long semesters. Students with credit for business calculus M 408Q need no Calculus II; M 408R and M 408Q must be taken in residence.
• No guarantee: meeting the minimum is not a guarantee of admission, and the number admitted depends on space in the major; the page gives no figure for how many are accepted.
• Appeals: those over 4 long semesters or 90 hours, or below the GPA minimums, may submit an appeal essay (approval not guaranteed); appeals to waive the info session or the required courses are not approved. Summer courses taken after you apply are not considered. Students already in the College of Liberal Arts must still meet every requirement.
• Advising: because of the volume of applicants, economics advisors cannot meet individually with prospective internal transfer students; attend an information session.

6. International students

• How to apply: international freshmen use the Common App with the same deadlines (Section 3); there is no separate international process for economics. The admissions page asks for transcripts showing a secondary series equivalent to US grades 9–12.
• SAT/ACT required: as for domestic students, at least one official SAT or ACT score.
• English: submit TOEFL iBT, IELTS Academic or Duolingo English Test: TOEFL 79 (120 scale) or 4 (6-point scale), IELTS overall 6.5, Duolingo 115. Institutional TOEFL (ITP), TOEFL Essentials and IELTS General Training are not accepted. The TOEFL code is 6882; send IELTS electronically to the “University of Texas at Austin” account and Duolingo to “University of Texas at Austin – Undergraduate Admissions.” Exempt: applicants from the listed English-language countries (including Canada excluding Quebec, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and Singapore), or those who graduate from a high school in the US or a listed country after at least three years of study there.
• Credential evaluation and proof of funds: the pages we read state no credential-evaluation requirement and no proof-of-funds amount; they say International Student and Scholar Services (ISSS) supports visas and immigration after admission.
• Costs: the cost page has “resident” and “non-resident” columns and no separate international column; confirm with UT whether international students are billed at the non-resident rate. Non-resident 2026–27 estimates: tuition US$42,554–51,106, housing and food 15,420–15,580, transportation 1,840, books 724, personal and miscellaneous 3,666, for a total of US$64,204–72,916.
• Aid: the admissions pages we read do not describe need-based aid or scholarships for international undergraduates; check with ISSS and Texas One Stop.

7. Applicants from China

• Gaokao: neither the admissions pages nor the department pages we read say how Gaokao results are used. Not published on the pages read; ask UT Undergraduate Admissions (contact details are on admissions.utexas.edu).
• Transcripts: submit complete secondary records equivalent to US grades 9–12. The international transfer page adds that you should include external examination results, school-leaving certificates or matriculation exam scores issued by the examination authority, and that non-English documents need an official English translation and cannot be emailed; it does not say whether the same applies to freshmen.
• Testing and English: China is not on the English-exemption list, so submit TOEFL, IELTS or Duolingo, and also an SAT or ACT score.
• The pages we read have no China-specific guidance or list of required exam documents; not published on the pages read.

8. Transfer students

• Eligibility: you have started college coursework elsewhere and have or will have 24 transferable semester hours. International transfer applicants cannot count courses in progress, and neither can spring applicants.
• The department’s admission note: economics no longer requires any prerequisite courses for external admission; there is no separate major application and the department takes no part in selection.
• Timing (the date pages print no year; check that they are for 2027 entry): for summer/fall entry the Common App opens 1 September and the deadline is 1 March, with supplemental materials by 10 March; decisions come by 30 June (domestic) or 15 June (international). Spring entry has a 1 September deadline. The fee is US$75 for domestic transfers (waivers available) and US$90 for international transfers.
• Materials: one essay; official transcripts from every college attended (not accepted by email); a resume; up to two optional recommendation letters. International transfers also provide secondary records equivalent to US grades 9–12, including grade 9.
• Transfer-credit limits (economics department): business calculus cannot transfer in for the major, so take standard Calculus I and II (for example MATH 2413 and 2414 at a Texas community college); ECO 329, ECO 420K/420S, ECO 320L, ECO 441K and ECO 101S must be completed at UT; at least 60 hours of any coursework and at least 18 hours of economics counting toward the major must be taken in residence. UT’s equivalency database and interactive degree audit can help check course matches (we did not read these tools).

Checklist

Domestic students:

• Apply through the Common App by 15 October (EA) or 1 December, with supplemental materials by 22 October / 10 December; at least one essay plus short answers; US$75 fee
• Official SAT or ACT; high school math 3 credits including Algebra II, language arts 4 credits and so on; no separate economics application for freshmen
• After entry, take ECO 304K, 304L and calculus, and decide between the BA (needs a minor) and the BS (needs additional science)

International students:

• Same deadlines; US$90 fee with no waiver; SAT or ACT required; TOEFL 79 (or 4), IELTS 6.5 or Duolingo 115 unless exempt
• Transcripts covering the equivalent of grades 9–12; ask ISSS about visa and funding requirements after admission

Applicants from China:

• How the Gaokao is used is not published on the pages read; ask admissions first. China is not on the English-exemption list

Transfer students:

• Fall entry deadline 1 March; 24 transferable hours (international transfers cannot count courses in progress); standard Calculus I and II; ECO 329, 420K, 320L and 441K must be taken at UT
• To change in after entering UT: UT GPA and ECO GPA both at least 3.4, attend an information session, and apply in the spring semester

Sources: The University of Texas at Austin, Economics: prospective students; Economics: freshmen; Economics: external transfer; Economics: internal transfer; Economics: degree requirements; College of Liberal Arts catalog (honors); Freshman admission; International freshman admission; Information for international students and English requirements; Colleges and degrees; High school prerequisites; Transfer admission; International transfer admission; 2026-27 cost of attendance. The freshman page states 2027 for decision dates; the transfer date pages carry no year. Information is arranged for fall 2027 entry; check UT Austin for the latest details and confirm the year.