The Program

This Online Certificate in Political Economy is offered by the Department of Economics at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.  It is designed for students interested in learning about modern capitalist economies and feasible alternative futures.  Our department is quite unique in offering courses in a wide range of areas including critical political economy, development economics, the environment, international economics, and economic history.  This certificate is a good opportunity to delve into these wide-ranging areas, while also engaging with various approaches to economics from mainstream to heterodox perspectives.

Students are required to complete at least nineteen (19) credits in six (6) courses. Course requirements may be satisfied via online courses at the University of Massachusetts Amherst through UMass University Without Walls (UWW), standard lecture courses, or a combination of both. The online classes are designed to be the online equivalent of the corresponding regular undergraduate courses offered in the Economics Department. Some of the required courses (Econ 103, Econ 105) will be offered online in all the semesters (Fall, Spring, Winter and Summer sessions). Econ 305 and Econ 308 will generally be offered in the summer session.  The other courses and electives will generally be offered at least every other year in either winter or summer sessions.  Some required and elective classes are offered in person during fall and spring semesters.

To receive the Certificate in Political Economy, a minimum 2.0 GPA must be maintained across courses applied to certificate requirements.

A checklist form with list of approved courses may be found at https://www.umass.edu/economics

Complete three of the following Core Courses:
Econ 103 (or Res Econ 102) - Introduction to Microeconomics - 4 credits
Econ 105 - Introduction to Political Economy - 4 credits
Econ 205 - Intermediate Political Economy - 4 credits
Econ 305 - Marxian Economics - 3 credits

Take the following course:
Econ 308 - Political Economy of the Environment - 3 credits

Complete two elective courses from the following list: (others may be used with approval from an Economics advisor)
Econ 317 - Controversies in the American Economy - 3 credits
Econ 337 - Economics in the Age of Big Data - 3 credits
Econ 345 - Stratification Economics:  Understanding Inequlity - 3 creditsEcon 362 - American Economic History - 3 credits
Econ 366 - Economic Developmment - 3 credits
Econ 371 - Comparative Economic Systems  - 3 credits