Expected Proficiencies for Undergraduate Economics Majors

Abstract

The case for adopting a proficiencies approach to instruction and learning in the economics major is reiterated. This approach focuses on what graduating majors should be able to do with the knowledge and skills they acquire in the major, that is, their ability to demonstrate their learning in practical ways. The author's list of five proficiencies, advanced in the mid-1980s, is reviewed and revised; one additional proficiency is added and several others are refined. The author discusses the emphasis given to these proficiencies with top economics undergraduates at two major research universities, the author's experience with incorporating these proficiencies into his instruction, and the challenge of assessing the ability of economics majors to demonstrate these proficiencies.

Key Words:

• knowledge
• learning
• teaching
• skills
• proficiencies

Additional information

Notes on contributors

W. Lee Hansen

W. Lee Hansen is a professor emeritus, Department of Economics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (e-mail: [email protected]). The author is indebted to William Becker, Steve Buckles, Robert Highsmith, John Siegfried, Corri Taylor, William Walstad, and Michael Watts for helpful comments on an earlier draft of this article, discussant Jeffrey Borland, and two anonymous referees.