Business Economics, BBA

Notable Alumni

Some examples of where our graduates are now

Program Description

The Business Economics program integrates economics with courses in marketing, management, accounting, finance, and quantitative analysis.  Economics as a discipline is positioned at the intersection of social science and business, so has great relevance for an extremely wide range of business and public policy issues, thereby providing our successful graduates with great career prospects in both the private and public sectors.  By combining the study of economics (the scientific study of how society manages its scarce resources) and business, our degree provides a strong theoretical and professional basis for a successful and rewarding career.  Business economics majors gain the skills to gather and analyze data for solving problems affecting companies, governments, and non-profit organizations. The program includes basic courses in all business disciplines as well as in economics and develops the skills that graduates need to work in a wide range of industries. The skillset includes an understanding of the incentives that affect human behavior, the operation of markets, and the strategic decisions of businesses and governments, both locally and internationally. 

An On-Campus format provides a mix of online, face-to-face, and blended courses.  An Online completion format provides 60 hours of online courses. The course schedule for the Online BBA Business Economics option may differ from on-campus course offerings.

BBA Student Learning Goals and Objectives

• G1. To Be Effective Communicators
  • CG1.O1 – Demonstrate the ability to write professionally.
  • CG1.O2 – Prepare and deliver professional presentations.
  • CG1.O3 – Practice professional interactions
• G2. To Be Competent in Business Practices
  • CG2.O1 – Demonstrate key concepts in business disciplines.
  • CG2.O2 – Use technology to analyze relevant data.
• G3. To Be Good Decision Makers
  • CG3.O1 – Identify key factors for decision-making.
  • CG3.O2 – Analyze alternative solutions and make a decision.
• G4. To Be Good Citizens
  • CG4.O1 – Identify ethical concepts.

In addition, all Economics Majors will demonstrate the ability to identify (valid, reliable, and important) information relevant to the issue being studied.

Applicants who have completed 42 hours with a GPA of 2.0 or higher may be accepted into the BBA Business Economics Program. 

AACSB Accreditation

The College of Business at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi received its initial business accreditation in 1999 from the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB International). Since 2009, the College has maintained both the AACSB business and supplemental accounting accreditations. Founded in 1916, AACSB International is the longest serving global accrediting body for business schools that offer undergraduate, master's, and doctoral degrees in business and accounting.

AACSB Accreditation is the hallmark of excellence in business education and has been earned by less than six percent of the world's business programs, with just over one percent maintaining the additional supplemental AACSB Accreditation for their accounting programs. Today, there are 980 business schools in over sixty countries and territories that maintain AACSB Accreditation, of which 194 institutions also maintain the supplemental accounting AACSB Accreditation. 

To learn more about the College of Business, go to https://www.tamucc.edu/business/index.php

To learn more about AACSB International accreditation, go to the accreditation section of the AACSB International Website at https://www.aacsb.edu/educators/accreditation.

Degree Requirements

Online Track:
The Online completion format provides 60 hours of online courses. The course schedule for the Online BBA Business Economics option may differ from on-campus course offerings.

Students may transition into the upper division course sequence as they complete the University Core Curriculum and 60 hours, including the following courses or their equivalents:

Economics Faculty

Dr. Veysel Avsar

• Title: Professor of Economics
• Research Interest: International trade, trade policy, antidumping, trade finance.
• Office: OCNR 390
• Email: veysel.avsar@tamucc.edu
• Phone: 361-825-2385
• Bio Information: Veysel Avsar holds the title of Professor of Economics and serves as a Faculty Fellow in the Division of Research & Innovation at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi. He completed his undergraduate degree in Economics at Istanbul University in 2006, followed by a Ph.D. from Florida International University in 2011, where he was recognized with several academic honors. Dr. Avsar's professional path has taken him around the world, with positions at institutions like Deakin University in Australia, the University of California San Diego, Antalya International University in Turkey, and Montana State University, before his appointment at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi in 2017, where he ascended to the rank of full Professor in 2021. Throughout his career, Dr. Avsar has contributed significantly to economic research, publishing in prestigious journals such as the World Bank Economic Review, Economics and Politics, the Journal of International Trade and Economic Development, and the Southern Economic Journal. His expertise has been sought after in collaborations with both governmental and private sector projects. Recognized internationally for his scholarly contributions, he has been invited to present at numerous global conferences and has received a variety of awards for his research excellence and service to the field. Additionally, Dr. Avsar has twice been awarded the Professor of the Year by the College of Business, in 2019 and 2022, highlighting his exceptional impact and dedication.
• Website: veyselavsar.com

Dr. Patrick Crowley

Dr. Deniz Gevrek

• Title: Professor of Economics
• Research Interest: Dr Gevrek's Research Interest include Applied Econometrics and Labor Economics with a focus on labor supply, human capital, education, migration, health outcomes, and the impact of international treaties on women's and girl's wellbeing in developing countries.
• Office: OCNR 325
• Email: deniz.gevrek@tamucc.edu
• Phone: 361-825-3601
• Bio Information: Dr. Gevrek is a Tenured Full Professor of Economics at the Texas A&M University, Corpus Christi (TAMU-CC). She also serves as an Economist at the TAMU-CC South Texas Economic Development Center (STEDC), which serves as an objective, data-driven, analytical, and technical economic consulting hub for leaders and other decision makers in the public and private sectors. She is also a Research Fellow at International Labor Institute IZA of Germany and the National Vice President of the Omicron Delta Epsilon, International Honor Society of Economics. She studied economics at the Bogazici University in Istanbul, Turkey. She got in Bogazici University by ranking 121st out of over 1.5 million high school seniors. After receiving her B.A. degree, she attended and earned Ph.D. and M.A. degrees from the University of Texas at Austin.
              Dr. Gevrek is a prolific academic whose research was published in prestigious journals and was featured at The Wall Street Journal and the Wired magazine. Her research interests include Applied Econometrics and Labor Economics with a focus on labor supply, human capital, education, migration, health outcomes, and the impact of international treaties on women’s and girl’s wellbeing in developing countries. She has published at prestigious peer-reviewed journals such as Labour Economics, Education Economics Review, Economics and Human Biology, Personnel Review, Applied Economics Letters, The Review of Black Political Economy, International Migration, International Journal of Social Economics, Eastern Economic Journal, Theoretical and Applied Economics, Global Economic Review. She takes pride on having worked over 15 co-authors from various disciplines and areas.
             Dr. Gevrek prioritizes student engagement and learning, and both graduate and undergraduate courses. She received numerous teaching awards from the TAMU-CC: including the College of Business New Faculty Excellence in Teaching Award; Texas A&M System Chancellor’s Award for Teaching; and TAMUCC Honors Program Outstanding Faculty Award. She has received several awards related to her research activity: “College of Business Research Enhancement Award,” every year in 2016-2024 period, due to high quality and quantity of her peer-reviewed publications, and “The Researcher of the Year” award in 2017, from TAMU-CC. Most recently, in 2023, she received the College of Business Faculty Service Excellence Award. Dr. Gevrek is active in serving her department, college, TAMU-CC and local, global and professional community. She continues represent TAMUCC nationally and internationally as she was also Visiting Research Scholar at the Economics departments of University of Texas at Austin and Deakin University (Australia) during her Faculty Developmental Leave.
• Website: https://faculty.tamucc.edu/dgevrek/ ; https://www.tamucc.edu/business/about/directory/deniz-gevrek.php

Dr. David Hudgins

• Title:  Professor David Hudgins
• Research Interest:  Control Systems in Economics, Economic Modelling, Energy Economics, International Economics, Macroeconomics
• Office: 368 OCNR
• Email:  hudgins@tamucc.edu
• Phone: 361-825-5574
• Bio Information: Dr. Hudgins graduated from Oklahoma State University in 1988 with a BS in Business Administration with a major in Economics and minor in Finance. He earned a Ph.D. in Economics from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1993. He has served as a professor at Texas Tech University and the University of Oklahoma. He joined the College of Business at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi as a faculty member in 2013. His research focuses on economic modeling and optimal control systems applications in economics.
• Website:https://www.tamucc.edu/business/about/directory/david-hudgins.php

Dr. Ahmed Kamara

• Title: Associate Professor of Economics
• Research Interest: Macroeconomics, Monetary Policy, Fiscal Policy, Regional Economic Issues.
• Office: OCNR 373
• Email: ahmed.kamara@tamucc.edu
• Phone: 361-825-5802
• Bio Information: Dr. Kamara is an Associate Professor of Economics at Texas A&M University - Corpus Christi. He received his PhD in Economic from Texas Tech University, an MA in Economics from Georgia State University, and a BS in Agricultural Economics from the University for Development Studies (UDS), Ghana. His research is primarily focused on fiscal and monetary policy analysis. He has also been engaged in regional economic issues, especially in the area of data driven economic impact analysis of government and private sector projects. Moreover, Dr. Kamara has been involved in multidisciplinary research where he has teamed up with researchers from science, engineering and operations management. His research has appeared in highly reputable journals such as the Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control; Economic Inquiry; Applied Economics; International Journal of Financial Studies; Economic Letters; among others. Originally from Ghana, he worked in both the government and the private sector before relocating to the United States.
• Website: https://sites.google.com/site/ahmedhkamara/

Dr. Jim Lee

• Title: Regents Professor of Economics
• Research Interest: Macroeconomic policy, regional and spatial economics
• Office: OCNR 345
• Email: lee@tamucc.edu
• Phone: 825-5831
• Bio Information:
• Jim Lee is Regents Professor of Economics in the College of Business. He is also the director of the South Texas Economic Development Center at TAMU-CC. He received his Ph.D. from Penn State University. He is a frequent commentator on the regional economy and businesses in the Coastal Bend. His current research focuses on the geospatial aspect of socioeconomic issues.
• Website: stedc.tamucc.edu