just been accepted to mac so i have a few questions

is economics considered a good program at mac?
can i take some commerce courses (finance) if im doing economics?
and how many courses is require for a first year full-time student require to take?

i think economics at mcmaster is considered a decent program. the minimum requirement for a first year student is to take is 24 units (but 30 units is the full requirement), and yes you can take finance courses (during your upper yrs) and if you want you can work towards a finance minor while having an econ major.

Originally Posted by icecubz

i think economics at mcmaster is considered a decent program. the minimum requirement for a first year student is to take is 24 units (but 30 units is the full requirement), and yes you can take finance courses (during your upper yrs) and if you want you can work towards a finance minor while having an econ major.

but would i have to apply to commerce first?

Originally Posted by 737300173

but would i have to apply to commerce first?

http://registrar.mcmaster.ca /CALENDAR/2011-12/pg1193.html

looks like you don't have to apply to the entire program, but you have to apply to the 'finance minor' program. so yes it's possible to major in econ and minor in finance.

Originally Posted by 737300173

but would i have to apply to commerce first?

No. First year is general and you don't major until second year. You would have to take both Econ 1B03 and 1BB3 to get into Economics major. To do the finance courses, you don't need to be in commerce, just have to prerequisites (if any).

Originally Posted by MacAttk

No. First year is general and you don't major until second year. You would have to take both Econ 1B03 and 1BB3 to get into Economics major. To do the finance courses, you don't need to be in commerce, just have to prerequisites (if any).

i was wondering if this was the course code 2FA3 does this mean i take this course in my second year or is there another course code 2nd and 3rd year courses
and i dont how come i dont have to be register in commerce because on the website perquisite it says "Registration in any Commerce"

Originally Posted by 737300173

i was wondering if this was the course code 2FA3 does this mean i take this course in my second year or is there another course code 2nd and 3rd year courses
and i dont how come i dont have to be register in commerce because on the website perquisite it says "Registration in any Commerce"

Well, you'd apply to the finance minor in second year, and that's a commerce program, so that's what they'd mean. Also if you're interested Soc Sci is now offering a certificate in 'integrated business studies' through Mohawk College, so if you're in a Soc Sci program you can complete this business certificate

http://www.socialsciences.mc master.ca/news-and-events/copy_of_integrated-business-studies-certificate

can someone recommend some social science or humanities courses for me because i dont know what to take other than the economic courses and is there only 2 economic courses to take for first year students?

yup only micro and macro econ. prob take math?

If you're considering graduate work in economics, you may want to look into the Economics & Mathematics program (yes, this is a shameless plug for math)

I know a couple of people in it, and they find it gives them a more well-rounded understanding of the modern economics - this is sensible, I think, because math is very much the language of theoretical economics. Of course, it's not necessary by any means, but it would probably help.

Originally Posted by 737300173

can someone recommend some social science or humanities courses for me because i dont know what to take other than the economic courses and is there only 2 economic courses to take for first year students?

You have a really big range of options in Social Science. You can take any course from Social Science or Humanities, and a few from Science. I'd recommend any of the following:

GEOG 1HA3/1HB3: The material is pretty interesting if you're at all into human geography, and 1HB3 covers economic landscapes - somewhat relevant, since you're interested in economics. There are mandatory labs in both classes that make up something like 55% of your final mark, and there are group projects in each that total a very large portion of that (I think around 25%, if it's still the same as when I took it). Dr. Mercier and Dr. Peace (respectively) teach these courses, and their tests are pretty fair.
PSYCH 1X03: So long as you go to each tutorial, watch all of the videos and do things on time, this course shouldn't be a problem. The material is interesting - which is probably why everyone is a Psychology or Biopsychology major - and the tutorials are set up pretty well. There's zero professor contact, since so many people take this course. You attend tutorials in a small room with about 20 other people, and the only time you'll see Dr. Kim is in his online lectures.
ANTHROP 1Z03: Apparently this course no longer includes labs due to budget cuts, which is really unfortunate because they were the most enjoyable part of the course in my opinion. I found the material to be really interesting. You learn about human origins and study bone structure of ancient species as well as modern species - not to the extent of a Kinesiology major, just knowing the difference between, say, a skull of an ancient species versus humans today. The course included two papers (I believe it still does, but someone will have to correct me if I'm wrong please) which are fairly short and fairly simple. You also study new and old world monkeys, which is pretty interesting. If Dr. Poinar teaches this course next year, I highly recommend it. Even if he doesn't, I'd still recommend it. In a nutshell, it's a course about human origins and evolution.
ANTHROP 1A03: This is an interesting course. In the year I took it, the professor was all over the place and administrative issues made it a hassle - the professor introduced technology she didn't know how to use, the discussion board was a mess, etc. To my knowledge, the last few professors for it have been really great and if you have Dr. Cummins, he'll likely try to steer as far away from technology as possible. He's also hilarious, so courses with him are pretty enjoyable. It's completely different from 1Z03, as the three branches of Anthropology (Physical, Cultural, and Archaeology) seem to be quite different from one another. This course falls under the category of Cultural Anthropology.
HIST 1AA3: I think this is the only Humanities course I've taken without dropping. I mentioned it in another thread, but it's generally a lot of work to keep up in this course. There are only two one-hour lectures per week, but the reading is slightly heavy and you can't fall behind in it since you have a weekly tutorial. The material is extremely interesting, in my opinion. It covers the French Revolution to the end of the second World War. In between are things like the industrial revolution, Russian revolution, etc. If you took World History in high school, this course may be said course stepped up eight levels in difficulty. You have two essays that are pretty time-consuming but, again, interesting. The tutorials require you to read a paper (it's posted online beforehand) and discuss it within the tutorial. Overall, I'd recommend this course if you're willing to put in a fair amount of effort.

I know I've said "depending on who is teaching it" a far bit, because different professors really do create entirely different experiences at times. However, the course content should be roughly the same regardless of professors. The marking scheme and difficulty would be the only real variants, I think.

Look into public policy, definitely my favourite component of Economics.