Econ 98/198 denotes a directed group studies course in the Department of Economics. Typically, this course number is reserved for DeCal courses (Democratic Education at Cal) which are faculty sponsored, student led courses on campus. These courses are pass/no pass units that cannot be used to fulfill coursework for the major. Course enrollment is limited to 30 students total.
Student Instructors
Students interested in teaching a DeCal course for the department must meet the following requirements:
- DeCal faculty advisor MUST be a faculty member of the Economics department
- Student instructor must be in good academic standing
- The DeCal course must be related to the study of Economics
Courses must meet at least 13 times during the semester, units will be based on total number of hours of work and instruction.
Important Note: Student coordinators are NOT instructors and do not replace the faculty members who are sponsoring their courses. Any questions regarding course content, syllabus, grading policy, and any disputes MUST be directed to the sponsoring faculty member and department and not to the course coordinators or the DeCal office. In addition, the student coordinator must be a registered UC Berkeley student in the term they are coordinating Econ 98/198.
Student instructors must not be enrolled in the DeCal they are facilitating.
Proposals and the Department petition should be signed by the faculty sponsor and submitted to the Undergraduate Advising Office (539 Evans) by the following deadlines:
| Fall semester | May 1 |
| Spring semester | October 1 |
No late submissions will be accepted.
Include your course proposal form (with notations), the department petition for Econ 98/198, and your course syllabus. The units worksheet is recommended but not required.
Department petition:
Department of Economics 198 Form
Instructions for the proposal and on how to list your approved course on the DeCal site can be found at https://vcue.berkeley.edu/special-studies