Stanford University, ranked as the nation's top business school by "U.S. News & World Report" in 2010, offers an undergraduate major in economics as well as a Ph.D. in the field. Undergraduate students studying economics complete 80 credits of economics coursework. Courses include Understanding the Welfare System, Economic Analysis and Money and Banking. Undergraduates can also minor in economics. At the graduate level, students can enter the school's Ph.D. program. Standford does not offer a terminal Master's degree in economics, but students can earn their Master's as a part of the larger doctoral program.
Like Stanford, students at the University of California Berkeley can earn a bachelor's degree or Ph.D. in economics. The school's economics department faculty boasts several Nobel Prize winners. Courses include Economic Statistics and Econometrics, International Economics and Applications of Psychology and Economics. Undergraduate students apply to become economics majors during their last semester of prerequisite courses, and they have to have a 3.0 GPA. Doctoral students can expect to study at Cal for three to five years.
UCLA's economics program welcomes both undergraduate and graduate students. Undergraduates can major in economics, business economics, economics/international area studies or mathematics/economics. At the graduate level, students can work toward a Ph.D. in economics. Students work through economics coursework and independent study during the first two years of the program, and then they take qualifying exams. At that point, they begin their research and dissertation. The economics Ph.D. typically takes five years to complete.
The University of Southern California offers economics degrees at all three levels: bachelor's, Master's and Ph.D. Undergraduates can major in economics or economics/mathematics; they complete 32 credits in their major. A minor in economics is also available. Master's degrees in the department include a Master of Arts in Economics or Economic Development. Doctoral students can earn a Ph.D. in economics or a Ph.D. in pharmaceutical economics and policy.