How to Apply to Economics at Stony Brook University: A BA in the College of Arts and Sciences, Not on the Restricted Majors List and Declared Online After Entry, With a CIP Code Changed to Econometrics and Quantitative Economics That the Department Calls STEM, for U.S., International (Including Chinese) and Transfer Applicants

This guide uses Stony Brook University’s (SBU) official pages to explain what you need for fall 2027 entry to the economics major, for U.S. applicants, international applicants (including those from China) and transfer students. Where neither the economics department nor admissions says something, the guide says “not published” and points to where to ask. Business administration has its own guide on this site and is not covered here.

1. What the programs are

• One degree: the BA in Economics. The department says the economics major leads to the Bachelor of Arts. It lists no BS, tracks or variants.
• College: the department’s scholarship page sets eligibility as full-time undergraduates in the College of Arts and Sciences who have declared economics, so economics sits in that college. Admissions pages do not describe a separate application to a college for economics.
• STEM designation: the department has a page explaining that the program’s CIP code changed from 45.0601 Economics, General to 45.0603 Econometrics and Quantitative Economics. It says the new code “classifies the program under the STEM category”, and the degree is still the BA in Economics. The change applies only to students who graduate after spring 2025. The page says eligible F-1 students may apply to extend post-completion OPT by 24 months and tells F-1 students to check the major on their I-20 with Visa and Immigration Services. This is the department’s own statement; eligibility is decided by Visa and Immigration Services.
• Honors in Economics: awarded at graduation. Requirements: a 3.5 GPA across six core courses (ECO 110, 111, 303, 305, 320, 321) with no grade below B; a 3.5 GPA in five upper-division electives; six credits of 400-level economics; and an original honors thesis, submitted by the end of spring of senior year and judged by the Undergraduate Committee. Finishing ECO 321 first is strongly recommended, then enroll in ECO 487 (independent research) with a faculty advisor. The thesis must be done at Stony Brook, not as transfer credit.
• Double majors and others: double majors must complete the economics upper-division writing requirement in addition to the one for the other major. Minor requirements were not on the pages read for this guide and are not published there; check the economics department or the undergraduate catalog.
• Honor society: Omicron Delta Epsilon (ODE) is the national economics honor society; membership needs grade and service requirements and no thesis.

2. Admission route: admitted to the university, then declare online

• At application: applicants who do not specify a major are considered for admission to the University rather than to a particular major. Restricted majors have extra requirements. The international first-year and transfer pages list them as the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences majors (including Applied Mathematics and Statistics, Computer Science, Data Science and Information Systems), Accounting and Business Management in the College of Business, Creative Writing, Music, and the upper-division health sciences majors such as Nursing and Social Work. Economics is not on these lists. The restricted-majors list on the domestic first-year page is not in the static page that could be read, so this list comes from the international first-year and transfer pages.
• Declaring the major: the department’s FAQs say to log into SOLAR, open the Major/Minor Declaration tab and follow the prompts on the form. The department pages publish no GPA threshold or seat limit for declaring economics. Admissions says freshmen admitted to the University but not initially accepted into their major may apply for the major after meeting the requirements in the Undergraduate Catalog description. The catalog was not read for this guide (that site was not accessed this time), so check it directly.
• Advising: to speak with the undergraduate program coordinator, book “Major Advisor” in Navigate; any economics faculty member is also available.
• Internal transfer into economics: the department does not describe separate internal-transfer conditions beyond the SOLAR declaration above; the rest is not published. Ask the undergraduate office (ugeconomics@stonybrook.edu; Social & Behavioral Sciences Building, room S-601).

3. Prerequisites and course sequence

• High school preparation: neither admissions nor the department states a high school course requirement specific to economics; not published. The department says only that students who do not place into MAT 125 on the math placement exam need MAT 123 (or MAT 119 and MAT 123), and that students who must take MAP 103 cannot take ECO 110 or 111 in their first semester.
• Calculus requirement: one of MAT 125 (Calculus A, 3 credits); MAT 130 plus MAT 125; AMS 151 (Applied Calculus I); Level 6 on the mathematics placement exam; or any higher-level calculus course. The department says the CIP change reflects an increased calculus requirement and statistics and econometrics as core components.
• Major requirements (department page, which says the Undergraduate Course Catalog has the most up-to-date requirements): at least 12 courses, at least 11 in economics, about 41 to 46 credits, each passed with a C or higher.
  • Introductory: ECO 110 Introduction to Microeconomics and ECO 111 Introduction to Macroeconomics (3 credits each; credit for ECO 108 earned before summer 2025 also counts);
  • Intermediate core: ECO 303 Intermediate Microeconomic Theory, ECO 305 Intermediate Macroeconomic Theory, ECO 320 Mathematical Statistics and ECO 321 Econometrics (4 credits each);
  • Upper-division electives: five more economics courses at the 300 level or above (not ECO 359 or 459, each at least 3 credits), and one of the five from a listed set (for example ECO 310 Basic Computational Methods, ECO 322 Data Science and Machine Learning in Economics, ECO 323 Applied Microeconomics, ECO 324 Empirical Industrial Organization, ECO 355 Game Theory, ECO 360 Money and Banking, ECO 362 Financial Economics);
  • One more course: either economics (not ECO 359 or 459) or from a pre-approved list in other departments, at least 3 credits;
  • No more than two 400-level courses count toward the major.
• Upper-division writing: completed in senior year. Most students take ECO 359; students doing a larger independent project seek approval for ECO 487 and register for the 0-credit ECO 459 in the same semester.
• Prerequisites are enforced: the FAQs say all prerequisites must be completed first; the department will not override this, and a prerequisite and its follow-on course cannot be taken in the same semester.
• Courses outside economics: at most one course from the “alternate courses” list (for example ACC 311, AMS 316, MAT 211, MAT 310, CSE 114, PSY 364) counts toward the major.
• Preparing for graduate study: the department calls economics a quantitative social science and suggests extra mathematics and applied mathematics; for a PhD it points to multivariable calculus, linear algebra, statistics and econometrics.

4. AP and IB credit

• The department’s FAQs say high school AP economics courses may count toward the major only with a score of 4 or higher on the AP exam.
• Whether IB or A-Level economics can replace ECO 110 or 111 is not on the department pages; not published. Ask the undergraduate office or admissions.

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

• Early Action: 1 November, a completion deadline (the page says all required materials, such as the application, recommendation and transcripts, must arrive by then); decisions on 11 December or 29 January. Complete applications by 1 November are guaranteed a decision by 29 January.
• Regular Decision: 15 January, with decisions on 26 February or 26 March.
• Spring entry: 1 November for spring 2027.
• Application fee: $50. U.S. students may apply with the Common App, the SUNY Application or the Coalition application; international students choose the Common App or the SUNY Application, and there is no separate international application. A banner on the first-year page says to apply free through 2 November, with no year shown; check whether it applies to you.
• Essay and recommendation: one essay on a topic of your choice; one recommendation from a teacher, counselor, coach or community member (not family). Honors programs (Honors College, WISE, University Scholars and others) need two teacher recommendations and a statement of about 250 words; honors consider fall entry only, with a priority deadline of 1 November and a final deadline of 15 January.
• Testing: test optional. Admissions says review is holistic, on academic record, curriculum strength and personal factors, with no automatic cutoff in grade point average, rank or test scores. SAT code 2548, ACT code 2952.

6. By applicant type

1. U.S. applicants

• Admission route, courses and testing are as above.
• In-state and out-of-state cost: Stony Brook is part of the State University of New York (SUNY). 2026-27 estimates as of 20 February 2026 (US$): tuition $7,070 for New York State residents and $31,050 for out-of-state; fees $3,860 for both; housing $12,291; meal plan $7,450. Direct on-campus costs are $30,671 for residents and $54,651 for out-of-state; with books $900, transportation $840 and personal expenses $2,408, the estimated yearly cost of attendance is $34,819 for residents and $58,799 for out-of-state. SUNY sets tuition around June, and the page says tuition and fees may vary by program of study.
• Whether New York residents get an admission preference is not stated; not published.
• All incoming first-year applicants are considered for merit scholarships, most with no separate application; the site advises filing the FAFSA as early as possible (the page says in January of the year preceding fall enrollment).

2. International applicants

• English: testing is optional, but international applicants must still show English proficiency. Applicants from native English-speaking countries and international applicants who attend an English-medium school are exempt. Otherwise one of these (minimums): TOEFL 80 for exams before 21 January 2026, or 4 on the new scale after; IELTS 6.5; Duolingo 105; PTE Academic 53; ACT English 19; SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing 480; IB English HL 5; AP English Language or Literature 3; A-Level English C; Gaokao English 125 out of 150; and CSAT rank 1 (the site’s wording).
• Academic records: grades for the three most recently completed years of secondary school (may include middle school), in English, sent directly by the school or uploaded by the counselor; graduates send the last four years. The site names no credential evaluation service; not published.
• Conditional admission: students who meet the academic criteria but not English may be considered for the University Preparation Program through the Intensive English Center, taking English plus one or two academic classes; after passing the highest IEC level and earning a C or above in academic courses they may enroll full time. Students below those minimums may be offered English-only study if they have at least TOEFL iBT 55, IELTS 4.5 or Duolingo 80.
• Financial documentation: admitted and deposited students must document one year of educational and living expenses to receive an I-20; it is not needed for the admission decision.
• Costs and scholarships: the costs page splits only “New York State resident” and “out-of-state resident”, with no international column; whether international students are treated as out-of-state is not stated, so confirm with the costs page and the international office. All incoming first-year students are considered for merit scholarships. Stony Brook does not say whether international students can receive need-based aid.

3. Applicants from China

• What Stony Brook states: English can be shown with Gaokao English of 125 out of 150; apply through the Common App or SUNY Application; testing is optional.
• The international first-year and transfer pages contain no other China-specific guidance: how huikao records, total gaokao score or credential evaluation are treated, and subject-level grade requirements are not published. Ask undergraduate admissions or the international team.
• After admission, I-20 and visa steps run through Visa and Immigration Services and the accessVIS portal.

7. Costs and scholarships

• Costs are in section 6.1. No separate economics fee is listed; the costs page says tuition and fees may vary by program, and does not say whether economics differs.
• Economics scholarship: the Robert S. Roth Scholarship in Economics, up to $2,500, for full-time declared economics majors in the College of Arts and Sciences. Minimum GPA 3.0 (above 3.5 preferred); demonstrated financial need as determined by Financial Aid; FAFSA required; an online application, a personal statement of up to 600 words and a faculty reference. Because it requires a FAFSA, whether international students can apply is not stated.

8. Internships and research

• ECO 488 Internship: you first need an economics-related internship offer and a faculty member’s permission; the course adds readings, a journal and an analytical paper. The department stresses that working as an intern does not itself earn credit; the credit is for the academic work, which must be done while the work internship is in progress.
• ECO 487 Independent Research: research under faculty supervision, usually a substantial term paper; take at least one relevant upper-division course first and arrange it with the faculty member early.
• International experience: the department encourages study abroad or exchange, which may earn general education or major credit after consulting the undergraduate advisor.
• The department says most graduates who continue their education go to law school or an MBA, a small number earn economics PhDs, and more than half enter the job market directly. This is the department’s own description.

9. Transfer students

• Deadlines: 1 May for fall 2027 and 1 November for spring 2027; fall decisions start in mid-February and spring decisions in mid-November.
• Requirements: typically at least 24 college credits and a cumulative GPA of 2.8 or higher; with fewer than 24 credits, send the final high school transcript. Testing is optional. The fee is $50; graduates of SUNY or CUNY two-year colleges applying to four-year SUNY campuses can have the fee waived for up to four choices if they use the SUNY Application. Transfers with more than 56 credits must indicate a major on the application to be eligible for financial aid.
• Into economics: economics is not on the transfer page’s restricted-majors lists, and the page sets no economics-specific courses or GPA; not published.
• Credit: no more than four economics courses from other institutions can count toward the major. Get department approval before enrolling in an economics course elsewhere (send the catalog description). To have completed courses evaluated, submit the course description and supporting materials (syllabus, exams, textbook), a transcript and a Transfer Course Evaluation Form to ugeconomics@stonybrook.edu. For core courses (ECO 303, 305, 320, 321), prior economics department approval is required. A C or higher is needed for any course used in the major, wherever taken. Most business courses will not transfer as economics credit. Math and other-department courses are evaluated by those departments. The department lists schools whose courses may transfer for ECO credit, including Baruch College, City College, Hunter College, Nassau Community College, Queens College, St. John’s University and Suffolk County Community College, and says the list is not exhaustive.
• English for international transfers: same requirements; a college writing course at a US college with a C or above waives the test, and three years at a US high school may too.

Checklist

U.S. applicants:

• Apply by 1 November (EA) or 15 January (RD) with the Common App, SUNY Application or Coalition application; $50; testing optional
• After entry, declare the major in SOLAR; calculus (MAT 125 or equivalent) and ECO 110 and 111 are major requirements
• Every major course needs a C or better; at least 12 courses

International applicants (including China):

• Same deadlines; English with TOEFL 4 (new scale), IELTS 6.5, Duolingo 105 or Gaokao English of 125; English-medium school students are exempt
• Last three completed years of grades in English; testing optional
• Huikao and credential evaluation are not published; ask admissions

Transfer students:

• Fall deadline 1 May; typically 24+ credits and a GPA of 2.8 or higher
• At most four economics courses transfer; get the department’s approval for core courses first

Sources: Stony Brook University, Economics undergraduate overview; Requirements for the BA in Economics; Honors in Economics; Change in CIP code; Course transfer information; Alternate courses; Economics FAQs; Economics scholarship; First-year applicants; International first-year students; Transfer applicants; International transfer students; 2026-27 estimated costs; Scholarships. Information is for fall 2027 entry (costs are 2026-27 estimates). Check Stony Brook for the latest details.