Northwestern economics program ranked among best in Iowa

Northwestern College’s economics program has been ranked among the top 10 programs in the state of Iowa by www.zippia.com.

Data from all of Iowa’s colleges and universities were evaluated to determine the top programs for economics majors. The ranking compared institutions based on three key factors: career results, with data on average earnings of graduates six and 10 years post-graduation, as well as the ratio of continued employment after 10 years; economics and emphasis, which compares the percentage of economics majors to all other majors in any given graduating class; and school performance, which includes admissions rates, graduation rates, average cost of attendance and average amount of debt.

The study, available at https://www.zippia.com/advice/best-colleges-for-economics-majors-in-iowa, ranks Northwestern College 10th, with the University of Iowa taking the top spot, followed by Grinnell College and Drake University. The website describes Northwestern as ranking second in the state for percentage of graduates working in the field of economics up to five years after graduation and highlights the college’s affordability.

“Our economics students often double-major in actuarial science, finance or political science and have had great success in the workplace,” says Dr. Eric Elder, professor of business and economics and department chair at Northwestern. “One of the reasons for that is the excellent credentials of our economics faculty. Our professors are very well trained in comparison to those at similar schools, and this helps in the quality of the classroom presentation.”

Northwestern business students score in the 94th percentile on standardized tests and earn category scores of 98 percent in economics. Since 2006, Northwestern’s business/economics department has been accredited through the International Assembly for Collegiate Business Education (IACBE). Nationally recognized by the Council for Higher Education, IACBE is considered the leader in mission-driven and outcomes-based programmatic accreditation in business and management education for student-centered colleges and universities around the world.

Zippia uses state-of-the-art machine learning techniques to collect data on millions of career opportunities and provide users with the tools to find the career that is right for them. The website provides information on career paths that pay the highest, the companies that hire the most, and the skills needed to get hired and promoted.