Careers
Study International Economics. Do Anything.
What can I do with an International Economics major?
Our recent graduates receive excellent job placements in a wide range of fields including:
- Consulting
- Analytics
- Marketing
- Banking
- Communications
- Sports
- Retail
- Insurance
- Technology
Many also pursue graduate school in the humanities and sciences, or full-time service work for a year or more, seeking to make a difference in the world by helping others.
Skills you'll learn
- Critical thinking and analytical reasoning
- Data driven problem solving
- Ability to think like an economist and apply these tools to real world problems
- Econometric theory and applications
- Ability to articulate complex thoughts and theories
- Effective oral communication
- Strong writing
- Team work
- Ethical judgment and decision making
- Ability to analyze and solve problems with people from different background

Elisabeth O’Toole ’17
Senior research associate, Jameel Poverty Action Lab | MIT
“Since graduation, I have worked in two economics research labs specializing in impact evaluations of social service programs. The international lens, in particular, allows me to collaborate in Spanish with our regional office in Latin America and to consider a broad perspective while assessing study implications," says Elisabeth O'Tool, who majored in international economics and focused on Spanish as her language. “International Economics taught me to think critically, to extract lessons from data, and to communicate results with those directly impacted.”
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Elisabeth O’Toole ’17
Senior research associate, Jameel Poverty Action Lab | MIT
“Since graduation, I have worked in two economics research labs specializing in impact evaluations of social service programs. The international lens, in particular, allows me to collaborate in Spanish with our regional office in Latin America and to consider a broad perspective while assessing study implications," says Elisabeth O'Tool, who majored in international economics and focused on Spanish as her language. “International Economics taught me to think critically, to extract lessons from data, and to communicate results with those directly impacted.”
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Andrew Kuhn '15
MBA Candidate, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University
"In consulting, I frequently relied on my International Economics experience to help organizations through digital transformation or mergers & acquisitions; combining a global perspective with detailed analysis allowed me to contribute insights to my team immediately. Now, as an MBA student, I can be a leader in the classroom because the major equipped me to think in a broad strategic manner, and then validate that theory with economic frameworks. The combination of quantitative and qualitative skills has been essential."
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Georgia Twersky '20
Accelerated Development Program Associate, Roche Diagnostics | Orr Fellowship
“For my senior research project, I studied the economic cost of pollution in Santiago, Chile. I utilized both the quantitative tools when working with my datasets and also the qualitative, human-centered perspective Spanish gives me to understand the communities I was observing. I am participating in an accelerated development program at Roche Diagnostics, a full-time job that I was placed in through the Orr Fellowship. Not everyone can wrestle economic journals in Spanish or can engage in conversations about Latin America, so having these analytical tools under my belt will be awesome for working at Roche, a multinational medical diagnostic company."
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Danny Martin '17, M. Ed '19
English Teacher, Saint George's College | Santiago, Chile
"In opting to become an ACE teacher right after graduation, my critical thinking and creativity were put to the test every single day. My International Economics major prepared me not only to teach high school Spanish, but to address my Master's coursework with deeper insight into the quantitative side of education. The questions raised from this time teaching and learning led me to move to Santiago, Chile to dive into the reality of education from an international perspective - a reality that I know will inform my career moving forward."
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Connor Edward Murphy '19
Consultant
"When I enrolled at Notre Dame, I declared an economics major on a hunch that I would enjoy the subject. After four great years in the program, I found myself armed with a robust set of quantitative skills and, thanks to the college of arts and letters, the wherewithal to apply what I learned to real-world problems. As a consultant, I’ve been able to bring these abilities to a diverse spread of subjects, supporting clients ranging from a confectionary redesigning their network of factories to a state government increasing their COVID-19 testing capacity. My degree in economics has given me credibility with my clients and coworkers as someone who can tackle an analytical task and translate the results into business or policy action."
99% of International Economics majors found full-time employment, enrolled in graduate school, entered service programs, or launched independent projects within six months of graduation.
Note: Outcomes data comes from First Destination reports, a survey of recent graduates conducted by the Notre Dame Center for Career Development and Office of Strategic Planning and Institutional Research. Status is known for more than 90% of each graduating class.