Interest in AU's economics courses has increased this year, conforming with a nationwide increase in the number of students who declare majors and minors in the subject due to the economic downturn, according to professors in the College of Arts and Sciences' Department of Economics.
"At AU, the undergraduate economics program was growing before the recession and crises, and there has been much more interest in the major," said Mary Hansen, an economics professor in CAS.
The number of students majoring in economics has increased from 84 in spring 2007 to 112 in spring 2008, according to Hansen.
She said that the economics major is "counter-cyclical," meaning that there are increases in economic majors when the economy slows.
"People are always more interested in the economy when there are problems," she said.
Student interest in economics has risen across the country, but especially in high schools and universities in New York, where the major decisions concerning the current economic crisis are taking place, according to USA Today.
Students at D.C. universities are also concerned about the economic crisis, according to AU economics professors.
Willoughby said the current financial situation has caused a rise in those looking to major in economics.
"There have definitely been increases in enrollments and interests ... as a result of the financial crisis," said John Willoughby, a CAS economics professor.
Leah Nebbia, a sophomore in the School of Communication, said AU's political focus greatly affects interest in the economic crisis.
"Here [you are] being constantly consumed by politics, the election, and now the transition, and seeing these things through an economics perspective is now more important than ever," she said.
Nebbia, a Public Communication major with a marketing minor, said she has thought about adding a second minor in economics.
She said she did not originally plan to study economics, but began to seriously consider the minor after spending a section of her Business and Marketing for Communications class on economics last year and taking Macroeconomics this year.
"This turned out to be the perfect time to jump into it," she said. "I can learn in my economics class about what's going on in the news."
Jon Wisman, a CAS economics professor, and Willoughby said students are responding well to applications of their classes to the daily progressions of the current economic crisis.
Wisman, who includes an update on the economic crisis in every Macroeconomics class he teaches, said there are two sides to the economic downfall.
"It's a terrible tragedy, obviously," he said. "It's also an incredibly good learning experience to see economics at its most exciting time of expression."
Willoughby said he has used the economic downturn to teach lessons in his class.
"I have changed my lectures and spent in almost every class a 10- or 15-minute period on a discussion on what's been going on in the news, which I wouldn't do normally," he said.
Wisman said he is changing his class discussions because of the applicability of the current economic crisis.
"It helps with trying to understand concepts that don't frequently come up," he said. "The Great Depression happened 75 years ago, but now the world is a very different place."
Willoughby said he is restructuring his classes due to concerns students have expressed over future job prospects.
"In Wall Street and finance, there is a crisis for highly paid professionals, but in general, people with college degrees do pretty well in the job market, even in hard times," he said. "Businesses want people who know how markets work."
A degree in economics can help students find a job, Wisman said.
"I think an economics major is a powerful major. It would stand you in a better position to find a job than any other major," he said.
Students with economics majors or minors anticipate future careers in economics.
Lauren Barr, a sophomore in CAS and the School of International Studies who is an international studies and economics double major, said she is confident in her job prospects, especially in light of the economic crisis.
"[The economic crisis] makes me feel pretty confident that I'll have a job to do," she said. "Economists have become more prominent in their profession."
Economics could supplement a major in communications, according to Nebbia.
"People say that communications majors never take economics, so having an economics background will make it easier for me to get a job," she said.
The importance of studying economics has been underrated, Barr said.
"People quote it as the 'dismal science,' but that doesn't reflect the prominent role it plays," she said.
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