Looking for a gentler semester? Start with courses where students have earned higher grades.
Highest historical GPA first. At least 100 letter grades over the five years through the selected term. Grades reflect past outcomes, not workload or a guaranteed result.
36 courses
Ranked courses have at least 100 recorded letter grades.
An advanced course on Markets with Frictions that uses search theory to develop theoretical tools for studying monetary, public, and financial economics, focusing on frictions in formal models and applied scenarios.
Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2024–Spring 2026Workshop in Labor Economics is the second course in a two-seminar sequence analyzing current research on wage determination and labor market functioning.
Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2023–Spring 2026Advanced Bayesian statistics course covering theory, methods, and computational procedures for data analysis, including MCMC and variational inference.
Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources
historical GPA · grades
Fall 2022–Spring 2026Recent Advances in Economics covers selections from all fields of economic research.
Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources
historical GPA · grades
Fall 2022–Spring 2026Introduction to data underlying quantitative economic analysis. Covers formulating research questions, accessing economic data sources, conducting preliminary and formal analysis, and reporting findings professionally.
Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources
Past student reviews · John Brauer
A student described the class as essentially coding econometrics in Python with almost no code explanation, finding it impossible without prior CS220 and econometrics training.
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2023–Spring 2026Industrial Structure and Competitive Strategy analyzes firm competition and industrial structure using theoretical models and case studies.
Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources
Past student reviews · Raymond Deneckere
A student reported two weekly homework assignments involving reading 28-53 pages of material, each typically taking at least two hours. The final paper demanded extensive industry analysis and was considered the most challenging aspect.
historical GPA · grades
Fall 2022–Spring 2026Financial Econometrics covers econometric analysis of financial time series, including linear and multivariate models, volatility estimation, and model testing.
Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2023–Spring 2026Advanced topics in using data to answer economic questions, focusing on interpreting empirical papers and applying econometric methods to real data.
Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources
Past student reviews · Matthew Friedman
Exams were described as brutal and stressful, particularly when coding independently, though the curve was considered fair.
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2023–Spring 2026Advanced treatment of intermediate macroeconomic theory using a mathematical approach to national income, savings, consumption, investment, employment, inflation, and stabilization.
Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources
Past student reviews · Simeon Alder
The course required significant effort with a large volume of homework, including proof and Excel assignments. Students reported the derivations and overall workload were demanding, with one noting it was among the hardest classes they had taken.
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2023–Spring 2026Second course in a two-semester microeconomics sequence covering market theory, efficiency, externalities, price roles, and information economics including moral hazard and adverse selection.
Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources
Past student reviews · John Kennan
Previous students rated the course difficulty as moderate.
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2023–Spring 2026Microeconomics II covers consumer and producer theory, markets under partial and general equilibrium, externalities, market power, decision theory, and game theory.
Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources
Past student reviews · Matthew Friedman
One student reported spending 50 hours a week on heavy homework, assignments, and Python coding exercises.
historical GPA · grades
Fall 2022–Spring 2026Economic Statistics and Econometrics II covers extensions of the linear regression model and introduces multiple equation models.
Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2023–Spring 2026ECONOMETRICS II covers econometric methods, theory, and applications including instrumental variables, GMM, panel data, limited dependent variables, time series, and vector autoregressions.
Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources
Past student reviews · Jack Porter
Problem sets were described as challenging but fair, and tests were similarly regarded as fair by past students.
historical GPA · grades
Fall 2022–Spring 2026Machine Learning for Economists introduces ML techniques for economic analysis, focusing on supervised/unsupervised learning, large data analysis, and causal inference methods using R.
Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources
historical GPA · grades
Fall 2022–Spring 2026A course covering topics in economic theory and policy.
Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources
Past student reviews · Fran Flanagan
The workload included five short homework assignments, one midterm, one final, and a final paper, with homework taking about an hour each.
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2023–Spring 2026Second course in the Macroeconomics Sequence covering asset pricing, fiscal/monetary policy, mechanism design, and estimation/calibration of business cycle models.
Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2023–Spring 2026Macro Economics I uses a mathematical approach to study aggregate output, consumption, labor markets, growth, cycles, and policy interactions.
Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2023–Spring 2026Focuses on the study of the allocation of scarce resources across space. Uses economic methods to analyze urban real estate. Topics covered include the determinants of real estate values, the location decisions of households and firms, land use, urban growth and agglomeration, real estate pricing, cycles, development, housing market and policies, and sustainable development.
Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources
Past student reviews · Stephen Malpezzi, Yongheng Deng
One student found the class very easy, while another reported some assignments were difficult. Instructors went over homework in class, which helped make those challenging tasks much easier to complete.
historical GPA · grades
Fall 2022–Spring 2026Analyzes aggregate growth, income distribution, and poverty in lower-income economies, exploring why some individuals advance economically while others fall behind.
Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources
Past student reviews · Laura Schechter
The class was manageable with effort, and everything needed for assessments was covered in lectures or readings. Grading expectations were clear and fair, though the material was not considered easy.
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2023–Spring 2026Analysis of the health care industry, covering markets for hospitals, physicians' care, health manpower, and the role of health insurance.
Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources
Past student reviews · Korinna Hansen
The class involved a large group project and lots of readings, with students expecting a lot of work overall. One reviewer described the grading as arbitrary, while another noted the course was very difficult and advised against taking it for an easy A.
historical GPA · grades
Fall 2022–Spring 2026Investment Theory covers securities market structure, portfolio construction principles, and models of the tradeoff between risk and expected return.
Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources
historical GPA · grades
Fall 2022–Spring 2026Addresses current issues in modern macroeconomic policymaking, covering fiscal and monetary policy, financial and sovereign debt crises, and financial regulation.
Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources
Past student reviews · Menzie Chinn
Exams and homework were described as predictable and similar to problem sets, yet one student reported tests were extremely difficult with class averages around 45%.
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2024–Spring 2025Intermediate macroeconomic theory covering national income determination, savings, consumption, investment, and their relation to employment, inflation, and stabilization.
Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources
Past student reviews · Simeon Alder, Ananth Seshadri
Simeon Alder’s exams featured chain-linked questions with no margin for error, while Ananth Seshadri’s exams were described as harder than any advanced economics course. Seshadri’s exams were extremely difficult but came with a generous curve.
historical GPA · grades
Fall 2022–Spring 2026Quantitative Tools for Economics refines math skills for advanced econ, applying algebra, financial mathematics, and calculus to models and optimization problems.
Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources
Past student reviews · Rebecca Glawtschew
The workload was considered reasonable, and the class was generally easy if taken seriously, though exams required preparation.
historical GPA · grades
Fall 2022–Spring 2026Introduction to macroeconomic measurement, aggregate demand and supply models, and the role of fiscal and monetary policy in addressing unemployment, inflation, and economic growth.
Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources
Past student reviews · Gwen Eudey
Exams consisted of multiple choice and free response questions, and students were allowed to use a cheat sheet. Homework was generally easy, with many answers provided in discussion sections.
historical GPA · grades
Fall 2022–Spring 2026Principles of Microeconomics covers economic problems of individuals, firms, and industries, emphasizing value, price, and income distribution.
Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources
Past student reviews · Gregory Pac
Gregory Pac’s course included five midterms with the lowest score dropped. Some students found the midterms difficult to study for, noting that practice questions did not always match the exam style.
historical GPA · grades
Fall 2022–Spring 2026Introductory Econometrics covers statistical methods for applied economic research, including survey methods, multiple regression, ANOVA, econometric estimation, and forecasting.
Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources
Past student reviews · Christopher McKelvey
The course was conceptually challenging, with problem sets serving as excellent preparation for exams. Students noted that weekly homeworks did not take too long to complete.
historical GPA · grades
Fall 2022–Spring 2026Analyzes public sector problems in education, urban areas, welfare, natural resources, and environment, applying economic analysis tools to domestic issues.
Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources
Past student reviews · Rebecca Glawtschew
The course did not assign much homework, but students emphasized that attending lectures was necessary for success. Weekly problem sets and chapter study guides served as the main preparation for tests.
historical GPA · grades
Fall 2022–Spring 2026Behavioral Economics examines empirical departures from rational decision-making norms and alternative theories using psychological enrichments, covering topics like loss aversion and time-inconsistent preferences.
Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources
Past student reviews · Matt Friedman
One student estimated that the reading alone took at least five hours per week, noting that the assignments were extensive even if they rarely appeared on exams.
historical GPA · grades
Fall 2022–Spring 2026Introductory corporate finance and investments course.
Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources
Past student reviews · Mark Laplante
The course demands significant effort, including heavy reading and preparation for exams that students found challenging. Laplante wrote the textbook used in the class, which contributed to the volume of required reading.
historical GPA · grades
Fall 2022–Spring 2026