How to Apply to Economics at Binghamton University: A Department in Harpur College With a B.A. and Three B.S. Tracks, Entered by Applying to the College and Then Declaring the Major, With Requirements for U.S., International (Including Chinese) and Transfer Applicants

At Binghamton University (State University of New York), undergraduate economics is taught by the Department of Economics. The department’s advising page involves the Harpur advising team for economics majors, and its transfer page sends students to “Harpur College requirements,” so economics sits in Harpur College of Arts and Sciences. The admissions pages for first-year, international and transfer applicants are written by college, not by major, and give economics no separate cutoff. This guide follows the official information for 2027 entry for U.S., international (including Chinese) and transfer applicants. Business (School of Management) has its own guide on this site and is not covered here.

1. Economics degrees

• BA in Economics: the department says the BA gives comprehensive exposure to the principles and tools of economics. The transfer page’s residency rule refers to 11 courses for the BA.
• Three BS tracks: Economic Analysis, Financial Economics and Economic Policy Analysis. The department says the BS degrees provide coursework in economic analysis, financial economics and economic policy analysis for students planning advanced study or careers in economics, financial analysis or government. The same rule refers to 16 required courses for the BS tracks.
• Minor: the department offers an economics minor.
• Accelerated 4+1: BA/MA in Economics and BS/MA in Financial Economics, Policy Analysis or Economic Analysis. Declare your intent during sophomore or junior year in the my.binghamton portal; once accepted you meet department staff, then take two master’s-level courses in senior year that count toward both degrees. You apply to the graduate school in senior year without three recommendation letters or GRE scores; admission is conditional on an average GPA of 3.0 in the two graduate courses.
• Honors: open to BA and BS students. Curricular honors need a GPA of 3.5 or better in major coursework and two advanced electives (not additional requirements). The J. C. Liu Honors Thesis Program is two semesters (ECON 498 Honors Research Design and ECON 499 Honors Thesis, four credits each), limited to majors with a 3.3 GPA in economics and 3.0 overall, and can earn honors, high honors or highest honors.
• STEM designation: the department homepage says the master’s program is designated a STEM discipline, with possible three-year OPT for international students. Whether the undergraduate BA or BS is designated STEM is not stated on the pages read (not published on the pages read; email econ@binghamton.edu).

2. How you get into the major

• At application: first-year, international and transfer applicants apply under Harpur College requirements. The admissions pages do not require you to choose economics on the application and give no seat limit. Harpur also supports Exploratory/Undeclared students and advises new students to give themselves time to explore majors.
• Declaring the BA: the department says “there are no requirements to declare a BA as major.” A two-attempt policy applies: no course for the major may be taken more than twice, and students who do not earn a C or better in two attempts at core courses are dropped from the major. Taking two similar statistics or calculus courses with different numbers (for example MATH 220 and MATH 224/225) counts as two attempts.
• Failures before declaring: if you already failed twice, before declaring, ECON 160, 162, 360, calculus (any combination of MATH 220, 221, 224, 225) or statistics (ECON 366, MATH 147, 148, 448, CQS 112, PSYC 243), you cannot declare the major; if you have not yet taken them, you can declare the BA.
• Declaring or moving to a BS: students with B– or better in both college-level statistics (such as MATH 147 or ECON 366) and MATH 224 and 225 may change to any BS; B– or better in MATH 220 is accepted in place of MATH 224/225 for the Financial Economics and Economic Policy Analysis BS (the page does not say whether this also applies to Economic Analysis). Confirm you meet the requirements before changing.
• Process: use the department’s Major/Minor Request Form (Declaration of Major, Change of Major or Drop of Major/Minor). The department processes it in 1–2 business days; the registrar system and DegreeWorks take several more. When you must declare is not stated on the pages read.
• Advising: two department staff handle questions on registration, prerequisites, DegreeWorks and 4+1; the Harpur economics advising team handles general education, 100- and 200-level courses and degree planning; the undergraduate director handles graduate-school, research and career questions.

3. Prerequisites and course sequence

• High school: the admissions and department pages read set no high-school math requirement for economics. Harpur’s new-student page mentions a Calculus Placement Exam “if required for program”; whether economics is such a program is not stated on the pages read.
• Core courses: the department’s policy pages name ECON 160, 162 and 360 (course titles not given on those pages), calculus (MATH 220, or MATH 224 and 225) and statistics (ECON 366 or MATH 147, among others). The full course list for each degree is in the department’s degree summaries (BA 322, Financial Economics BS 522, Policy Analysis BS 622, Economic Analysis BS 922) and in Binghamton’s Academic Guide; these are third-party-hosted documents that were not read for this guide, so check them on the official site.
• General education: the transfer page says completing the economics major automatically fulfills the Social Science (N) and Mathematics (M) general education requirements.
• Harpur degree requirements: 126 credits and a 2.0 GPA; general education; the writing requirement, an upper-level requirement (at least 46 credits at 300+ for students entering fall 2018 or later) and residency (at least 44 credits in Harpur); for students entering fall 2024 or later, 94 liberal arts credits for a BA and 63 for a BS.
• AP and IB credit: Harpur says the 126 credits may include AP, IB and other credits by exam. How they replace required economics courses (microeconomics, macroeconomics, calculus, statistics) is not stated on the pages read (ask the department or check the Academic Guide).
• Internships and research: the department does not sponsor internships and points students to the Fleishman Center for Career and Professional Development; it offers independent study, where students choose a topic and then a supervising faculty member.

4. Rounds, deadlines and materials (2027 entry)

• How to apply: Common App, SUNY Application or Coalition Application; the fee is $50 (no waivers for international students). The site warns that applying through SUNY’s Top 10% Promise guarantees admission to at least one participating school, not to Binghamton.
• Materials: a high school transcript and one teacher or counselor recommendation; testing is optional and you indicate on the application whether scores are reviewed. The pages read do not mention essays. Interviews are not required; a 60–90 second Glimpse video is optional.
• U.S. first-year: Early Action November 1 (other materials by December 1; decisions by January 15); Regular January 15 (decisions by April 1); late applications are reviewed as space allows.
• International first-year (F-1, J-1): Early Action November 1 (decisions January 15) and Regular March 15 (decisions by April 1); later applications are reviewed as space allows. This sits alongside the January 15 Regular deadline on the U.S. first-year page, so check the page that applies to you. The pages carry no year, so confirm the dates are for 2027 entry.

5. By type of applicant

U.S. applicants

• Testing: SAT/ACT is optional.
• In-state and out-of-state: costs differ as shown below; the pages read do not state an in-state admission preference. New York residents can look at state programs such as the Excelsior Scholarship and the NYS STEM Incentive Program; the pages do not say whether economics counts as STEM there.
• Special programs: EOP applicants cannot apply Early Action and may be asked for extra materials; home-schooled students may apply.

International applicants

• English: non-native speakers submit at least one English test even at an English-medium school and even without SAT/ACT; four years at an English-medium school may qualify for a waiver via international@binghamton.edu; scores must be less than two years old. Accepted: TOEFL iBT, IELTS, Duolingo, PTE, Cambridge English, SAT, IB Higher Level, O-Level English and ACT.
• Middle 50% of admitted students (not minimums): TOEFL 80–95 (before January 21, 2026) or 4.0–5.0 (new scale); IELTS 6.5–7.0; Duolingo 110–120; SAT EBRW 530–640; ACT English 21–27; Cambridge English 176–185; PTE 53–65. An English placement exam is taken at orientation, and students may be placed on an ELI track at no extra cost.
• Transcripts: official transcripts for the last three years of schooling, sent directly by a school officer, with English translations if needed.
• Proof of funds: F-1 and J-1 students submit a financial statement signed by sponsors and bank statements covering the first year before an I-20 or DS-2019 is issued.
• Scholarships: all applicants are considered automatically; the pages read do not describe an international-only scholarship.

Applicants from China

• Gaokao: the pages read do not say whether gaokao results are considered and do not mention the huikao (not published on the pages read).
• Contact: international admissions lists a phone number, email, WhatsApp and a WeChat account (“Binghamton University”) and offers virtual personal meetings; score codes are SAT and TOEFL 2535, ACT 2956.
• Other: records must be official and sent directly; the pages give no China-specific credential-evaluation or grade-conversion note.

6. Costs and scholarships

• 2026-27 annual budget (“as of July 2026, subject to change”): New York residents pay $7,070 tuition, $3,497 fees and $20,179 housing and meals, a total of $30,746; out-of-state residents pay $29,840 tuition and $3,497 fees, a total of $53,516; international students pay $29,840 tuition and $6,485 fees (excluding the SEVIS fee), a total of $56,504. The cost page lists no extra economics charge.
• Scholarships: all applicants are considered. Students of exceptional achievement may be selected at admission for four-year President’s, Provost’s or Dean’s Scholarships, with no application. The Achievement Scholarship gives twenty incoming first-year students $10,000 per year each for up to four years, and five others up to the in-state full cost of attendance (about $30,000) per year; all applications are considered automatically.

7. Transfer students

• Standards: for Harpur, most previous successful applicants had a GPA of 3.0 or higher; a general education curriculum is preferred and there are no necessary course prerequisites. Admission looks at rigor and grades (especially recent), activities and other factors.
• Steps: Common App or SUNY Application with a $50 fee; official transcripts from all colleges and high schools (applicants with more than 24 college credits need not send the final high school transcript at application, but must submit it after enrolling).
• Deadlines: U.S. priority dates are March 1 (fall) and November 1 (spring), with rolling decisions; for international transfer applicants, fall March 1 and spring November 15; later applications are space-available.
• English for international transfers: two complete non-ESL English courses at a U.S. college with B or better, or one English test less than two years old.
• Credit for economics: after admission you receive a preliminary credit evaluation. The department says transfer students should read its “Guidelines for Courses Taken Elsewhere,” and economics courses may need approval from the Director of Undergraduate Studies; that guideline is a Google document that was not read for this guide. SUNY’s “Transfer Path: Economics” info sheet is on SUNY’s own site and was also not read.
• Residency: for the BA, at least 7 of the 11 courses, including two numbered 400–489, must be taken at Binghamton; for any BS track, at least 9 of the 16 required courses, including at least six ECON courses with four numbered 400–489.
• Other: the site advises completing, before transferring, the general education requirements the economics major does not fulfill.

Checklist

U.S. applicants:

• Apply by November 1 (Early Action) or January 15 ($50); send the transcript and one teacher or counselor recommendation
• SAT/ACT optional; declaring the BA has no requirement, but two failed attempts at core courses removes you from the major

International applicants (including China):

• Apply by November 1 (Early Action) or March 15 (Regular); three years of official transcripts; English score required (waiver possible after four years at an English-medium school)
• Prepare the financial statement and bank documents; ask international@binghamton.edu about gaokao

Transfer applicants:

• Apply by March 1 (fall) or November 1 (U.S.) / November 15 (international) for spring; aim for a GPA of 3.0 or higher
• BA: at least 7 of 11 courses and BS: at least 9 of 16 at Binghamton; read the department’s guidelines for courses taken elsewhere

What the pages did not say

• The full course list for each degree, AP/IB credit toward required courses and when you must declare: not published on the pages read (degree summaries are Google documents and the Academic Guide is a third-party catalog; neither was read).
• STEM designation of the undergraduate degrees: not published on the pages read.
• How gaokao or huikao results are treated, and any international-only scholarship: not published on the pages read; ask international admissions.

Sources: Binghamton University, Department of Economics; Undergraduate program; Undergraduate guide; Major and minor declarations; Transfer credit and transfer students; Honors; Advising; Accelerated degree; Harpur degree requirements; Harpur exploratory students; First-year applicants; International first-year applicants; Transfer applicants; Transfer instructions and deadlines; International transfer applicants; Undergraduate cost; Scholarships. Information is for 2027 entry (costs are the 2026-27 figures on the site). Check Binghamton University for the latest details.