How to Apply to Economics at Marquette: Three Majors in Two Colleges, an Economics BA and an Applied Mathematical Economics BS in Arts and Sciences and a Business Economics BS Entered by Direct Admission to Business, for U.S., International (Including Chinese) and Transfer Applicants

Economics at Marquette University is taught by the Department of Economics; the bulletin names Kathryn Wagner as chair. The official pages list three undergraduate majors in two colleges, so choose which one to apply for before you start. Below is what the official pages say for fall 2027 entry, for U.S. applicants, international applicants (including those from China) and transfer students. We have separate articles on business and computer science, so they appear here only where they touch economics.

1. The majors and which college they sit in

• Economics, BA (Klingler College of Arts and Sciences): the major page describes it as a College of Arts and Sciences major, based in Sensenbrenner Hall. The major is 30 credit hours, plus mathematics and social science cognate courses.
• Applied Mathematical Economics, BS (Arts and Sciences): the bulletin calls it an interdisciplinary major blending mathematics and economics. It has 42 credit hours: 18 in economics, 15 in math, one economics elective and two math electives.
• Business Economics, BS (College of Business Administration): a B.S. in Business Administration. The major page says you are admitted directly to the College of Business Administration and start business classes on day one. At least 124 credits are required.
• Economics minor (Arts and Sciences). Both the Economics BA and Business Economics bulletin pages also describe a five-year accelerated program leading to a bachelor’s degree and a Master of Science in Applied Economics (M.S.A.E.); see the graduate bulletin or contact the department.
• Honors: there are honors sections of the principles courses (ECON 1103H requires admission to the Marquette University Honors Program). The pages I read do not give honors admission criteria; not published there.
• STEM designation: not mentioned on the pages I read; not published there.
• The college also has majors such as Applied Artificial Intelligence in Business and Business Analytics that can only be taken as a second major alongside a primary one such as business economics; the bulletin says they “must accompany” accounting, business economics, finance and others.

2. How admission works and how you enter the major

• Choosing a college when you apply: the first-year application page I read does not explain how you pick a college or major, and does not say whether Arts and Sciences or Business has a separate admission line; not published there. Contact undergraduate admissions (the bulletin gives (414) 288-7302). The bulletin adds that if a college has special admission procedures and requirements, they are listed in that college’s section.
• Business: direct admission: the business page says admitted students go directly into the college, and freshmen take courses such as financial and managerial accounting, Business Day 1, business statistics and microeconomics. Declaring a major: the college page says you can start business education freshman year or declare your major by junior year after the core courses; the bulletin encourages declaring before registration for the junior year and declaring all majors and non-business minors before senior-year registration. Students may complete at most three business majors.
• Arts and Sciences: the Economics BA bulletin page states no GPA or course threshold for entering the major and no cap; not published there. The college requires ARSC 1953 Exploring Arts and Sciences in the first fall (Honors Program students are exempt).
• Grade requirements: Arts and Sciences needs a cumulative GPA of 2.000 and a 2.000 in the major. Grades of C-, D+ or D do not count toward the credit hours required for a major (they still meet the subject requirement and count toward the 120 credits), and cognate courses can be completed with C-, D+ or D. In Business, a grade of C or higher is required in each major requirement and elective, including the core course introducing the major, with a 2.000 overall and a 2.000 in College of Business Administration courses.
• Moving between the two colleges after enrolling: the pages I read do not describe it; not published. Ask each college’s student services office.

3. Prerequisites and course sequence

• High school preparation (bulletin’s minimum recommended preparation, 16 academic units): Arts and Sciences — English 4, social studies 3, second language 2, mathematics 3 (algebra, geometry and intermediate algebra required; four units including pre-calculus recommended), science 2 (any), additional academic subjects 2. Business Administration — English 4, social studies 2, second language 2 (four units of a single language strongly urged if interested in international business), mathematics 3 (same note), science 2, additional academic subjects 3. No separate economics preparation or math placement test is mentioned; not published there.
• Arts and Sciences Economics BA:
  • Five required economics courses (15 credits): ECON 1103 Principles of Microeconomics, ECON 1104 Principles of Macroeconomics, ECON 3003 Intermediate Microeconomic Analysis, ECON 3004 Intermediate Macroeconomic Analysis and ECON 4060 Introduction to Econometrics;
  • Five upper-division economics electives (15 credits);
  • Two mathematics cognates (6 credits): MATH 1400 Elements of Calculus (or an equivalent or higher calculus) and MATH 1700 Modern Elementary Statistics (or an equivalent or higher statistics course). Students considering graduate study in economics are advised to take MATH 1450 Calculus 1 and MATH 1455 Calculus 2 or MATH 1451 Integral Calculus;
  • Two social science cognates (6 credits) from anthropology, criminology and law studies, political science, psychology, sociology or social welfare and justice;
  • The 30-credit Marquette Core Curriculum; at least 120 credits to graduate.
• Applied Mathematical Economics BS: economics ECON 1103, 1104, 3003, 3004, 4060 and 4065 Mathematical Economics; math MATH 1450 Calculus 1, MATH 1455 Calculus 2 (or 1451), MATH 2440 Calculus 3 (or MATH 2450 Multivariable Calculus) and MATH 4710 Mathematical Statistics (or MATH 4720 Statistical Methods); plus one economics elective and two math electives.
• Business Economics BS: besides the 30-credit core curriculum, the Business Core (the page says 55 credits, while the course list totals 56) includes MATH 1400 or MATH 1450, BUAD 1560 Applied Statistics, BUAD 2001 Introduction to Applied Artificial Intelligence, financial and managerial accounting, ECON 1103 and 1104, and finance, management, operations, marketing and information systems courses. The major: ECON 3003, 3004 and 4060, three upper-division economics electives (excluding ECON 3399, 4986 and 4989) and three business electives. The page opens by saying non-accounting majors take 27 credits of major courses, while the requirements list totals 33 credit hours and also includes ECON 1103 and 1104 (which sit in the Business Core as well). At least one course with international business content is required.
• Course prerequisites (bulletin): ECON 3003 and 3004 need ECON 1103, ECON 1104 and MATH 1400 or equivalent; ECON 4060 needs ECON 3003 and one of BUAD 1560, MATH 1700 or MATH 4720; ECON 4065 needs ECON 3003 and a calculus course.
• AP / IB / A-Level credit (bulletin advanced standing page; the AP chart is marked revised May 2023, the IB chart May 2023): AP Microeconomics 4 or 5 earns ECON 1103 (3 credits) and AP Macroeconomics 4 or 5 earns ECON 1104 (3 credits); AP Calculus AB 4 or 5 earns MATH 1450 (4 credits), BC 3 earns MATH 1450 and BC 4 or 5 earns MATH 1450 and MATH 1451 (8 credits); AP Statistics 4 or 5 earns MATH 1700 (3 credits); scores of 1 or 2 earn nothing. For IB Higher Level Economics, each score from H4 to H7 is listed as ECON 1103 and ECON 1104, 3 credits each. For A-Levels, send a syllabus for each course to admissions@marquette.edu for review. Advanced standing credit is not counted in the GPA.

4. Rounds, deadlines and materials (fall 2027 entry)

• First-year fall entry: the application opens in early August. Early Action deadline November 15, decisions in late December; Regular Decision deadline February 1, decisions by March 1. Applications received and completed after February 1 are reviewed on a rolling, space-available basis after the on-time Regular Decision release. Spring entry is reviewed on a rolling basis starting in October. The pages print no year, so confirm these are for fall 2027.
• Application fee: none for undergraduate applicants (the bulletin says there is no application fee). After admission, a $200 tuition deposit reserves a place, plus a $300 housing deposit if you want university housing; both are non-refundable.
• Materials: required — an official high school transcript, an essay or personal statement and an extracurricular activities list. SAT/ACT is optional. Additional personal statements and letters of recommendation are not required but are read if submitted. Apply with the Marquette application or the Common Application.
• Testing: test optional. The bulletin says SAT or ACT results have not been required since the fall 2020 entry term, and applicants who do not submit are at no disadvantage in admission or scholarships. The test-optional page says admitted students’ average GPA is 3.65, average ACT 27.5 and average SAT 1250.
• Review: holistic — academic achievement, talents, leadership and service, essay, school profile and letters of recommendation.

5. By reader

1. U.S. applicants

• Admission, courses and testing are as above. Marquette is private; the cost page lists one full-time tuition figure with no in-state/out-of-state split. Whether Wisconsin residents get preference is not stated; not published.
• Costs (tuition and financial aid page, headed 2026-27, though one link on the page reads 2025-26, so check): full-time undergraduate tuition (12 or more credits) $53,890; housing and food $14,380–18,790 depending on the residence hall; fees $1,200; annual total $69,470–73,880. The pages I read list no college surcharge for economics.
• Scholarships: every undergraduate applicant is automatically considered for the Père Marquette Scholarship whether or not test scores are submitted. The page also says 99% of undergraduates received some aid last year and more than $170 million in scholarships was distributed; this is the university’s own statement. File the FAFSA for need-based aid.

2. International applicants

• Deadlines (international page): for fall, Early Action November 15 (notification by December 20) and Regular Decision February 1 (notification by March 1); later applications are reviewed on a rolling basis. The page also has a list of spring deadlines; I could not tell how it lines up with the fall list, so read the page directly.
• English (any one of these): TOEFL iBT — for tests before January 21, 2026, a total of at least 86 and at least 20 in each section; on or after that date, a total of at least 4.5 on the new scale; IELTS 6.5 or higher in every section; Duolingo total 120 (no subscore below 115 preferred); SAT Evidence-Based Reading at least 560; ACT English at least 24 and Reading at least 20; or at least 2 semesters of in-person study at a U.S. or Canadian university or 4 semesters at a U.S. or Canadian high school. It applies if English is not your native language. There is also conditional admission, where applications are reviewed once all materials except English evidence arrive.
• Credentials: high school transcripts (upload unofficial copies first; official copies are needed before the I-20 and enrollment); exam results or certificates from a regional, national or international testing authority. University transcripts need a course-by-course evaluation from an approved agency such as ECE, WES, The Evaluation Company, Educational Perspectives, Scholaro, One Earth or SpanTran.
• Proof of funds: for an I-20 or DS-2019, a financial sponsorship form and a current bank statement showing funds for the first year; government-sponsored students need a letter of support.
• Costs (international page, 2026-27): tuition $26,945 each for fall and spring; living expenses (room, food, 12 months of health insurance, fees and more) $24,950; annual total $78,840.
• Scholarships: all applicants are automatically considered for the Père Marquette Award; other scholarships need a separate application after admission. Marquette cannot award need-based scholarships, and even the largest merit award does not cover all costs.

3. Applicants from China

• The international materials page asks for high school transcripts and for “exam results or certificates”, with examples that include a “Chinese graduation certificate” and an item written “NCEE” (the page does not say which exam that is). Whether the gaokao is considered and how to submit school-exam (huikao) materials are not stated; not published. Ask the Office of International Education (the page gives (414) 288-7289).
• Chinese university transcripts (for transfer): besides the agency evaluation, submit the CHESICC Transcript Verification Report (中国高等学校学生成绩验证报告), using the same transcript for Marquette and CHESICC. Transfer credit evaluation also needs English translations of syllabi or course descriptions.
• Materials not in English need an official, exact English translation. English scores and proof of funds are the same as above.

6. Internships and research

• The major pages say Milwaukee gives access to internships and that in junior year you are paired with a Milwaukee-area executive in a one-on-one mentoring program. Both pages list employers where recent students interned, with no statistics.
• Bulletin items: the College Fed Challenge (ECON 3399), Applied Global Business Learning (ECON 3042, virtual consulting with micro-businesses in developing countries) and economics internship credit (ECON 3986, 4986 and 4989; ECON 4986 and 4989 need program director and Business Career Center consent). The Arts and Sciences economics page also mentions a Czech Republic program on international business issues in the European Union, and the Business Economics page the Regulatory Economics program.

7. Transfer

• Applying: the transfer page says you can apply free through the Common Application or Marquette’s transfer application. The international page says transfer applications are reviewed on a rolling basis with no deadline; fall decisions begin in December and spring decisions in September. The bulletin adds that some programs have one entry term, so check the transfer deadlines on the admissions site.
• Eligibility and materials: applicants who have been enrolled since high school and hold no bachelor’s degree. Official transcripts from each school attended; applicants with 30 or more college credits (from CHEA-recognized institutions, or international institutions recognized by their ministry of education) do not need a high school transcript, and those with fewer must send the final high school transcript. The bulletin says applicants generally need a satisfactory record and specific programs may require an average above 2.500; the GPA threshold for economics is not stated; not published there. Foreign coursework needs a course-by-course evaluation.
• Credit transfer: Arts and Sciences grants credit for courses completed with a C or better at a regionally accredited college, credit only (not grades). Courses with no Marquette equivalent come in as 9290–9299 (lower division) or 9390–9399 (upper division) credit, which counts toward the degree but cannot meet a requirement for a specific course. Business accepts upper-division business credit from AACSB-accredited schools and evaluates others case by case, and normally does not accept highly technical or career-oriented courses, physical education courses or courses taken for a professional license. University-wide: at least 45 credits at Marquette, at least 24 upper-division credits, half the major credits at Marquette, and at least 30 of the final 36 credits.
• Credit evaluation happens after the admission decision; the international page says it can take three to four weeks after official transcripts and course descriptions arrive.

Checklist

U.S. applicants:

• No application fee; Early Action November 15 / Regular Decision February 1; SAT/ACT optional; official transcript, essay and activities list
• Business Economics BS means direct admission to Business; the Arts and Sciences Economics BA needs five required economics courses, five electives, calculus and statistics
• AP Microeconomics or Macroeconomics 4–5 earns ECON 1103 or 1104

International applicants (including China):

• Early Action November 15 / Regular Decision February 1; English scores as above; sponsorship form plus bank statement
• China: gaokao and huikao requirements are not published; ask the Office of International Education; Chinese university transcripts also need a CHESICC verification report

Transfer applicants:

• Rolling review; free application; some programs require an average above 2.500; international transfer students need a course-by-course evaluation
• Business accepts upper-division business credit from AACSB-accredited schools

Sources: Marquette University, Economics major; Business Economics major; Bulletin: Department of Economics; Bulletin: Economics BA; Bulletin: Business Economics BS; Bulletin: Applied Mathematical Economics BS; Bulletin: business major declaration; Bulletin: business transfer students; Bulletin: A&S transfer credit; Bulletin: A&S majors and minors; Bulletin: A&S grade minimums; Bulletin: undergraduate admission; Bulletin: AP/IB and other advanced standing; Business undergraduate; Business majors; First-year application; Test-optional policy; Transfer; International application process; International application materials; International tuition and costs; International scholarships; Tuition and financial aid. Most application pages do not print a year (the bulletin pages are marked 2026-27). Check Marquette for the latest details and confirm the dates are for fall 2027 entry.