Excellence in Economics

Transfer Excellence in Economics (EXEC) is a program designed to assist both first-generation Yardi Scholars and first-year transfer students pursuing a degree in Economics, Business Economics, or Mathematics/Economics make a successful transition to UCLA.

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 and first-gen 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: EXEC students will take two of their fall quarter courses together: Econ 105 (Introduction to Mathematical Economics) and Econ 11 (Microeconomic Theory). Econ 105 provides a review and more in-depth study 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. 

Note that the EXEC program is not open to students who completed Econ 11 and / or Econ 105 prior to Fall quarter. TO BE ELIGIBLE FOR EXEC: STUDENTS MUST TAKE ECON 11 DURING FALL QUARTER 2026.

Academic Component: Upon admission to the EXEC program, participants will be automatically enrolled in Economics 11 (Microeconomic Theory), Lecture 1, on Tuesdays and Thursdays, 9:30 - 10:45 a.m., taught by Professor Maurizio Mazzocco, a past winner of the Scoville Award for Teaching Excellence.

There will be two discussion sections devoted exclusively to transfer students, Mondays, 2 - 2:50 p.m.(Section 1E) OR Tuesdays, 4 - 4:50 p.m. (Section 1O) and one discussion section devoted exclusively to Yardi Scholars, Wednesdays, 1:00 - 1:50 p.m. (Section 1P).

Students admitted will also be automatically enrolled in special lecture sections of Econ 105. Transfer students will be meeting Mondays and Wednesdays, 3:30 - 4:45 p.m. and Yardi Scholars will be meeting Mondays and Wednesdays, 11:00 a.m. - 12:15 p.m.

We will assist you if you need to alter your course schedule to take these courses.

Career Preparation: Students are also required to participate in career and professional development programs offered by the Alumni Career Engagement team 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 and first-generation Yardi Scholars in the following majors:

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

EXEC Career Content

To be determined.

Career Session #1: Tuesday, Sept. 22, 5 – 6:30 p.m. – Founders’ Room, JWAC

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Application

The application for Fall 2026 will be available, starting Friday, July 3, 2026

Application deadline: Friday, September 4, 2026 at Noon.

For any questions, please contact us at ace@support.ucla.edu. To view a list of FAQ about the program, click here.