From Your Undergraduate Director…..

September 18, 2006

 

Welcome new Economics Department majors and minors!  Welcome back returning Economics Department majors and minors!  I hope all of you had a great summer.   

 

My name is Dr. Melissa Famulari and I am the Vice-Chair of Undergraduate Education in Economics.  In this e-mail I discuss the following topics:  (1) the undergraduate Economics team at UCSD (who we are and what we do); (2)  the newly created Undergraduate Economics Society, (3) update about getting ODE, the International Economics Honor society, here at UCSD; (4)  What the Economics Department is doing to reduce the cost of your textbooks and what this means for those of you purchasing core-course textbooks this year (Econ 1-2-3, Econ 120A, 120B-C, 100A-B, 110A-B) and (5) some job and internship announcements.

 

Have a great and productive fall quarter and I look forward to meeting as many of you as possible! 

 

 

I.  About your Undergraduate Team: 

 

A.  Kimberley Newmark:  Undergraduate Advisor.  Kimberley became an undergraduate advisor in the Economics Department in the summer of 2002.  Kimberley was an undergraduate here at UCSD and earned her BA in Psychology with a minor in Anthropology.  You can contact Kimberley via e-mail: knewmark@ucsd.edu, by phone: (858)534-3385, or FAX: (858)534-9795.

 

B.  Mya Andersen:  Undergraduate Advisor.  Mya joined UCSD in the Spring of 2002; she worked in Biology Student Affairs and was the Undergraduate Coordinator at Theatre and Dance. She also has experience at the community college level and at another four year university.  She attended the University of Oregon and has a BS in Environmental Studies and a minor in Public Policy.  You can contact Mya via e-mail: myaa@ucsd.edu or by phone: 858-534-4195, or FAX: (858)534-9795.

 

C.  Marisol Nierva-Magnano:  Undergraduate Advisor.  Marisol joined UCSD in the Fall of 2000; she worked in Bioengineering as an Undergraduate Advisor for the past six years and became an undergraduate advisor for Economics this Fall.  Marisol earned a BA in International Relations/Economics at Scripps College. You can contact Marisol via e-mail: mniervamagnano@ucsd.edu or by phone: 858-534-4195, or FAX: (858)534-9795.

 

      Kimberley, Mya, and Marisol are your main department contacts.  I have found they (almost) know it all!!   Also, I should say that many of my questions are answered in either the undergraduate program handbook at http://www.econ.ucsd.edu/ugradprog/handbook.shtml, the UCSD General Catalog http://www.ucsd.edu/catalog, or the schedule of classes for the Economics Department http://www.econ.ucsd.edu/ugradprog/courses.shtml.  I recommend you see if these sources answer your questions too!

 

      Mya, Kimberley, and Marisol are available in Sequoyah Hall 245.  For the first two weeks of classes, they are available from 8:00am – 12:00pm and 1:00pm-4:00pm.  For the remainder of the quarter, they will be available from 9:00am – 12:00pm and 1:00pm-3:30pm.

 

D.  Dr. Melissa Famulari:  Vice-Chair for Undergraduate Education in Economics. This is my third year at UCSD.  I am an applied microeconomist which means that I test microeconomic models using data.  My research interests are in the fields of labor and health economics.  This year I teach the Economics of Health (Econ 138A, in the fall), the Senior Essay Seminar (Econ 191A and B, in fall and winter), Economics and the Transfer Student (Econ 87, in the fall) well as Intermediate Microeconomics (Econ 100A, in winter and spring). 

 

If you need to see me, my undergraduate office hour this fall is Friday from 10:30-11:30 in Econ 221 or contact me via e-mail: mfamulari@ucsd.edu.  When should you come to my office hours?  Whenever you’d like to talk to me!  Certainly you should come to talk to me if you are considering graduate school in economics so we can discuss the academic career path.

 

II.  Texbook Pricing

 

This year I negotiated a “UCSD custom textbook” version of some of your textbooks.  All of these UCSD custom textbooks are paperbacks, except for Wonnacott and Wonnacott.  In all cases, the interior of these books is IDENTICAL to the non-custom textbook. 

 

As you can see below, sometimes I was able to substantially bring down the cost of the textbook to you and sometimes I did not do as well.   For those of you who are planning on sell your book at the end of the quarter, the bookstore will buy back these “UCSD custom textbooks” for 50% of the purchase price, just like the non-custom textbooks.  For the details on the Bookstore’s sellback policy, please see http://bookstore.ucsd.edu/books/textbooks/sellback.htm

 

 

Textbook

UCSD Custom at

Bookstore

New Hardbound

Amazon

Frank-Bernanke, 3rd ed. (1-2-3)

$132.60

$142.50 with Aplia (Aplia costs $28 typically)

$139.38

Nicholson, 9th ed.

(100A-B)

$60

$128.91

Blanchard, 3rd ed.

(110A-B)

$103.36

$113.00

Wonnacott & Wonnacott,  4th ed. (120A)

$80

$114.95

Stock & Watson, 2nd ed. (120B-C)

$105.35

$134.67

 

Of course, the UCSD bookstore is not the only place where you can buy your textbooks.  http://www.allbookstores.com/ compares prices at many online bookstores for new and used books including: amazon.com, e-bay, half.com, textbookX.com, bigwords.com, etc.  I looked up Frank and Bernanke 3rd ed. and it showed many options to buy the book and shipping rates. Though it looks useful, I’ve never purchased a book from them.

 

III.  Undergraduate Economics Society (UES)

 

Last year the Undergraduate Economic Society became a reality thanks to the hard work of Spring ‘06 graduates Xenia Feere and Ryan.  The officers for this year are Effie Binur (President), Justin Jarvis, Bea (Secretary) and Effie Binur (Treasurer).  The first meeting is on Tuesday, October 3rd at 5:00pm.  Room TBA. 

 

I think that UES will be a great place for you to meet each other, give and get feedback on courses and professors, and to get your voice heard in the Economics Department.  I am listening!  I want to know what the faculty in Economics can do to further help make your time here in the Department informative, productive, thought provoking, and enjoyable.

.

IV. UCSD chapter of Omicron Delta Epsilon (ODE), the international economics honor society

 

Last year, students decided that, in addition to UES, we would also like a UCSD Chapter of Omicron Delta Epsilon (ODE) International Economics Honor Society (all the other UCs are already members).  UCSD has been accepted at the 630th Chapter of this international organization and we are the Alpha Sigma chapter of California.  More information about admission standards into ODE, will be provided at the first UES meeting.

 

V. Jobs/Internship Opportunities:  Occasionally employers are particularly interested in getting their information to YOU (undergraduate students in economics).  Here are some groups who contacted the UCSD Department of Economics about jobs and/or internship opportunities for our students.

 

A.  Summer Internship Opportunity for Black, Hispanic/Latino, Asian and Native American students: 

 

The SEO career program for summer mentored internships offers about 300 internships in over 40 firms in eight areas.  Accounting, Asset Management, Corporate Law, Global Corporate Financial Leadership, Information Technology, Investment Banking, Management Consulting and Philanthropy.  Application deadline:  November 1 and Dec 15.  They use a rolling admission process, so it is best to apply early.  For more information see http://www.seo-usa.org/career/default.asp?page_id=3 . 

 

B.  Federal Reserve Bank of Boston has openings for research assistants for those with a B.A. or B.S. in Economics.

 

Positions are in the Quantitative Analysis Unit of the Bank Supervision Department.  Primary responsibilities include supporting economists with data collection, analysis, and writing.  The applicant should be comfortable using Excel, Access, SAS, etc.  To learn more about the unit, please visit http://www.bos.frb.org/bankinfo/qau/index.htm.  To learn more about applying for the job, please visit http://www.bos.frb.org/bankinfo/qau/emp.htm .