How to Apply to Economics at Howard University: A BA in the Department of Economics (College of Arts and Sciences), Entered by Naming a First and Second Choice Major on the Common App, for U.S., International (Including Chinese) and Transfer Applicants

Howard University (Washington, D.C.) teaches economics through its Department of Economics. The admission site lists the program as Economics (BA-ECON), and the College of Arts & Sciences (COAS) majors list includes Economics; the department page says its programs have contributed to the progress of African Americans and the African diaspora. Below is what Howard’s website says for fall 2027 entry, written for U.S. applicants, international applicants (including those from China) and transfer applicants.

1. Which economics programs

• Economics major (BA): one degree is listed, with no BS and no tracks. The department says the program trains students in the principles of economic theory and policy and in using mathematics, statistics and modern technology as tools of analysis, with some grounding in fields such as labor, urban, monetary (money and banking) and international economics.
• Program classification: the department posted a notice that the program’s CIP code changed from 45.0601 (Economics, General) to 45.0603 (Econometrics and Quantitative Economics). That page does not mention a STEM designation; whether the major is designated STEM is not published, so ask the department.
• Minor: 18 credits: ECON-001, ECON-002, ECON-170, ECON-171, ECON-180 and one economics elective.
• Community Development: the department also offers a Community Development major and minor, including ECON-001, 002, 180 and courses on the economics of Black community development, plus a comprehensive exam. This article does not cover it further.
• Honors: the department lists honors courses (sophomore, junior and senior honors, ECON-084/085, 088/089 and 092/093); graduating with honors requires 9 hours. Selection criteria are not on that page; ask the department.
• Related majors: business, including a Finance BBA, is in the School of Business. This site has a separate article on business.

2. How admission works: name your major on the Common App

• At application: the admission site says degree-seeking students are generally admitted to the first or second choice major indicated on the Common App (Fine Arts students may be admitted conditionally). Howard has seven undergraduate schools and colleges, and economics is listed under the College of Arts & Sciences; the pages I read give no separate admission standard for it.
• Changing majors: new degree-seeking students generally cannot change their major until after their first semester; current students talk with an academic advisor and use forms from the Registrar. A minor cannot be declared at admission; students may generally declare one during or after sophomore year, with 30 or more credits earned.
• Conditions for entering the major: the economics pages state no GPA threshold, required-course grades or cap. This is not published; ask the Director of Undergraduate Studies through the department (202-806-6717).
• Graduation requirements: every major must pass a senior comprehensive examination (basic economic theory and statistics, offered each semester) and submit an electronic portfolio (an administrative record, plus a paper showing writing and statistical competence and a problem set, assignment or exam showing competence in theory).

3. Prerequisites and course sequence

• High school preparation (first-year and international first-year): Howard recommends 4 years of English, 3 of mathematics, 2 of social science, 2 of science (with lab) and 2 of foreign language, while stressing a well-rounded curriculum over exact years. This is university-wide; there is no separate requirement for economics.
• Required economics-major courses: ECON-001 and ECON-002 Principles of Economics, ECON-170 Intermediate Microeconomic Theory, ECON-171 Intermediate Macroeconomic Theory, ECON-180 Statistics for Business & Economics, ECON-184 Introduction to Econometrics and MATH-026 Applied Calculus (4 credits); the page totals these at 22 hours. All majors complete 37 credits in economics, with electives in areas such as general theory, banking and monetary economics, public finance, labor, development, mathematical economics and statistics, and international and urban economics. The page also encourages ECON-182 Mathematics for Economists or ECON-183 Mathematical Economics.
• General education: a further 67 hours, including freshman orientation, two English composition courses, speech, divisional studies in humanities, social and natural sciences, four semesters of one foreign language (14 credits), a writing course, philosophy, physical education, an African American cluster course and two college-level mathematics courses (making one year).
• Sample four-year plan: freshman year ECON-001 and 002 and mathematics (MATH-006, then MATH-010 or 007); sophomore year MATH-026 Applied Calculus and ECON-180; junior year ECON-170, 171 and ECON-184; junior and senior years electives and a minor.
• Prerequisites: the major page does not list prerequisite grades course by course. On the Community Development page, ECON-188 and similar courses require ECON-001 and 002 with a C or better (or T for transfer credit).
• AP and IB credit: the pages I read do not say; this is not published. Ask the department or the Registrar.

4. Rounds and materials (fall 2027, first-year)

• Deadlines (the pages say fall 2027 applications are open): Early Action and Early Decision (binding) are both November 1 for the application and documents, with decisions in late December; Regular Decision is February 1, with decisions in early April; the deposit is due May 1. EA and ED files incomplete after November 1 move to the Regular pool; RD files incomplete after February 1 receive no decision. First-year applicants cannot enter in spring.
• Application fee: $45, paid through the Common App and non-refundable. One page says the Office of Admission does not issue fee waivers, while the same page accepts the Common App fee waiver for hardship; both statements appear.
• Materials: the Common App; an official high school transcript sent by your school (students cannot submit it); two letters of recommendation (one counselor, one teacher); the main Common App essay, plus one optional Howard essay. If grade 12 grades are not yet available for early applicants, grades 9 through 11 are considered.
• Testing: SAT and ACT are optional. The pages differ on the cycle: the first-year and international first-year pages say the 2026-27 cycle, while the admission policy page says 2027-28. Applicants who do not submit scores are not at a disadvantage, and scholarship decisions are adjusted accordingly. If you submit, scores must come from the testing agency (SAT code 5297, ACT code 0674); self-reported scores, counselor-provided reports and scores on transcripts are not accepted; the ACT is not superscored. October is the last test date for EA and ED and December for RD. An early applicant who submits no scores by the deadline is decided on the file as it stands, with no later appeal or chance to add scores.

5. Reading this by applicant type

U.S. applicants

• Review is holistic: secondary school record, any submitted SAT or ACT scores, leadership and community activities, special talents and educational objectives. Howard is private; the pages I read show one tuition figure, with no in-state versus out-of-state difference and no home-state preference.
• 2026-2027 costs (on-campus undergraduate): tuition $37,996; mandatory fees $1,040; housing $13,618; food $7,430; books $1,220; transportation $1,154; personal $2,468; plus estimated federal loan fees, for an estimated cost of attendance of $66,182. The off-campus estimate is $74,050.
• Aid: domestic first-year students must file the FAFSA (school code 001448) to be considered for institutional scholarships and federal aid; accepted EA and ED applicants who meet the requirements receive scholarships with their decisions in late December. The financial support page also describes the Karsh STEM Scholars Program (for students who will pursue a PhD in a STEM discipline); whether economics counts as STEM there is not stated.

International applicants (including China)

• English: if your native language is not English, a TOEFL iBT score of 90, or an IELTS overall 6.5; the site says only TOEFL and IELTS are accepted. The requirement is waived automatically for students from countries where English is an official language or who studied in the U.S. for at least four years; if your school’s language of instruction is English, a letter from a school administrator may support a waiver.
• Academic records and evaluation: international first-year applicants submit grades 9 to 12 (or 13) internal transcripts plus national exam certificates or predicted grades, certified by the counselor and sent through the Common App. Students who did not study in one of the listed curricula must submit an academic evaluation from a NACES member (ECE, IEE, WES ICAP and SpanTran can send electronically). This cannot be waived, and you should choose a report that gives a U.S.-equivalent high school GPA.
• The exempt-curricula table (a PDF whose file name carries 2023-12) lists Australia, Bahamas, Bangladesh, the Caribbean, Ethiopia, India, IB, Kenya, Nepal, New Zealand, Pakistan, Singapore, South Africa, Uganda, the United Kingdom and other British-based curricula, West Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe. China is not on it, and the table says that if you did not study in one of its curricula a NACES evaluation is required. So under that document, applicants from a Chinese school curriculum need a NACES evaluation (IB students are on the list). Confirm with admissions that this is still current.
• Aid: international and DACA students submit the HU ISFAA to be considered for aid; scholarships consider merit, no award amounts are given until your file is reviewed, and awarding is subject to the availability of funds.
• Applicants from China: the website does not say whether the gaokao is considered, how school-exam (huikao) materials are handled, or give any China-specific guidance. This is not published; ask admission@howard.edu (international first-year line: 202-806-2755).
• The international first-year page advises starting at least a year ahead because tests, documents, evaluations and immigration steps take time.

6. Costs and aid notes

• The cost page bases charges on full-time enrollment per semester. Less than full time is $1,583 per credit hour, and credits above 21 cost an extra $1,014 per credit hour.
• The admission policy page says the $45 application fee and the $300 enrollment fee are not refunded.
• Where the department’s own pages differ: the major page calls ECON-184 “Introduction to Econometrics” but another sentence on the same page calls it “Introduction to Quantitative Economics”, and the honors page lists ECON-026 Applied Calculus where the major page has MATH-026. Check the current course catalog with the department and the Registrar.
• Internships and research: the department site mentions the American Economic Association Summer Program (AEASP) hosted at Howard, its alumni association (HUEDAA) and Omicron Delta Epsilon events. I did not find an application process for undergraduate research or internships on these pages; this is not published.

7. Transfer

• Deadlines: spring entry November 1; fall entry April 1 (the pages say spring and fall 2027 applications are open). Decisions come in early December and late June; deposits are due December 15 and June 15.
• Minimums: 15 transferable credit hours from a regionally accredited institution; a cumulative GPA of 2.5; a C or better in both a college-level English and a college-level math course (a C or better in Applied Calculus or Calculus I is preferred for the School of Business). These must be met by the document deadline; in-progress courses do not count. Criteria vary by school and college. Up to 60 credit hours transfer.
• Materials: the Common App with a $45 fee that cannot be waived; official transcripts from every college; one recommendation from a professor or academic advisor.
• Transferring into economics: the pages I read give no special conditions for the economics major (calculus or principles grades) and no description of how credits count toward the required courses. This is not published; ask the department or transfer@howard.edu.
• International transfer: all coursework from outside the U.S. must be evaluated by a NACES member, which cannot be waived; TOEFL 90 or IELTS 6.5 applies, with the same waivers.

Checklist

U.S. applicants:

• Apply through the Common App; EA and ED November 1, RD February 1; SAT and ACT optional; $45 fee
• Name your first and second choice majors; you generally cannot change majors until after the first semester; minors from sophomore year
• File the FAFSA (school code 001448) for aid consideration

International applicants (including China):

• TOEFL 90 or IELTS 6.5 unless waived; a NACES evaluation if your curriculum is not on the exempt table (China is not on it; confirm)
• HU ISFAA for aid; start at least a year ahead
• China: gaokao and school-exam handling is not published; write to admission@howard.edu

Transfer applicants:

• Spring November 1, fall April 1; 15 transferable credits, 2.5 GPA, C or better in English and math; up to 60 credits
• Conditions for entering economics are not published; ask the department

Sources: Howard University, Economics: undergraduate program; Economics major; Economics minor; Honors program; CIP code change; College of Arts and Sciences majors; Undergraduate programs and choosing a major; First-year applicants; International first-year applicants; International first-year credentials; Transfer applicants; International transfer; Admission policy; Financial support; 2026-2027 cost of attendance. The application pages say fall 2027 applications are open. The international credentials table is a PDF whose file name carries 2023-12, so check that it is current. Confirm everything with Howard.