hi! i’m planning on doing a double major in international relations and public policy in second year. but for first year courses i have to take eco101 and 102 as eco105 conflicts with my vic one course and i want to stay in that program. do i need to take a first year math course with eco 101 and 102? i know that not taking a math will limit choices in eco courses in upper years, but if i don’t plan on focusing in economics is taking a first year math course helpful? thank you!
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hi!
i hope this answer is getting to you in time for your course enrolment. i’m pretty sure it is. mannnn every year i forget to budget time for the deluge of questions that surround important dates like first year course enrolment. now i gotta be speedy.
as far as i know, you’re not required to take a first year math course with eco101 or eco102. i think you may have gotten that idea from the ‘recommended preparation’ line, which states that you should take calculus or advanced functions in order to be prepared for this course. as far as i know, though, ‘recommended preparation’ courses are never a strict requirement. you can definitely get away with ignoring recommended preparation. that’s a choice you’ll have to make for yourself, but anyway, i’m not sure that taking a first year math course alongside eco101/102 would help given that math is recommended preparation?
in terms of worrying about future prerequisites, it’s true that math courses are required for many upper-year econ courses. but as far as i can tell, you can definitely complete your IR major without a first-year math course. a lot of the upper-year econ courses that require math are only elective options for you, and you’ll be able to choose other courses from the IR list that don’t require a first year math credit. you can check this over with an academic advisor at your registrar’s office if you want (remember to include your student number if you send an email). but an in-depth perusal of the international relations calendar entry should confirm this. if you don’t plan on taking any of the econ electives, i wouldn’t recommend taking a first year math course, especially if you don’t have a burning desire to learn math.
i hope this helped! good luck with your course enrolment. also, eco101 and eco102 have kicked the butts of many dear friends of mine, so best of luck. if you pay attention and stay caught up with your work, i have full faith in your ability to succeed in those courses.
closing this post off with a stupid, vaguely math-related gif i found and wanted to share:
be Boundless,
aska