Excellence in Economics

Excellence in Economics (EXEC) is a program designed specially for first-year transfer students pursuing a degree with the UCLA Department of Economics.

Overview

The UCLA Department of Economics and the UCLA Alumni Association are committed to the successful transition of transfer students to the campus community. The EXEC program will equip first-year transfer students with the skills and resources to excel academically, socially, and professionally.
Approximately 50 transfer students will be selected to this program and will participate together in required academic courses and career planning programs. Through these required components, students will have the opportunity to build community with other transfer students, and expand their professional network with faculty, staff and alumni.

Program Format and Requirements

Academic Preparation: To position transfer students for academic success, EXEC students will take two of their fall quarter courses together: Econ 105 (Introduction to Mathematical Economics) and Econ 11 (Microeconomic Theory). Econ 105 will provide a review of many of the core mathematical tools essential for advanced economics. While Econ 11 is our core intermediate microeconomics course and provides the foundation for many of our later courses. Both courses must be taken for a letter grade. Students in EXEC will be required to enroll in one of two discussion sections of Econ 11 reserved exclusively for EXEC students. Note that the EXEC program is not open to students who will have completed Econ 11 and/or Econ 105 prior to the fall quarter.

Career Preparation: Students are also required to participate in three career planning sessions led by Joseph Blancas, Associate Director of Alumni Career Engagement of the UCLA Alumni Association. These sessions will assist students with their resume, elevator pitch, developing a strategy for internship recruitment, and connecting with alumni.

Eligibility

Currently, EXEC is only open to new transfer students admitted to UCLA in the following majors:

• Pre-Economics
• Pre-Business Economics
• Pre-Math/Econ

Application

The application for Fall 2025 is now available. APPLY HERE. To view a list of FAQ about the program, click here.

Application deadline: Friday, August 29 at 11:59 p.m. (PDT).

For any questions, please contact us at jblancas@support.ucla.edu.