Arizona State vs Fordham for economics major: which is better for an undergrad economics degree?

The biggest practical tradeoff is location-driven opportunity versus scale and cost. Fordham gives economics students direct access to New York internships during the school year, especially in finance, consulting, policy, and nonprofit work, while Arizona State offers a much larger public-university ecosystem with broad resources, strong career infrastructure, and often a more affordable path. For economics specifically, that means Fordham can be more plug-in-to-a-city from day one, while ASU can give you more flexibility, more course options across a big university, and less pressure to build your resume around one metro area.

Fordham has a real advantage if you want economics tied closely to New York employers. Its Lincoln Center and Rose Hill locations can make semester-time internships more realistic, and that matters in a field where experience in research, finance, policy, or analytics can shape your post-grad options. Fordham also tends to appeal to students who want smaller classes and more faculty access than they would get at a very large public university.

ASU is stronger on breadth and scale. The economics major sits within a huge university with lots of adjacent opportunities in business, data analytics, public policy, and research. That can be valuable if your interests shift toward econometrics, applied data work, law, public service, or graduate study. ASU also has a strong reputation for building practical career pipelines, and its size means more student organizations, research centers, and interdisciplinary options than many students can fully use.

For grad school preparation, either can work well if you take the quantitative side of economics seriously. What matters most is access to math, statistics, research, and faculty relationships. ASU may offer more sheer volume in advanced coursework and cross-campus options, while Fordham may make it easier to stand out in smaller settings and get closer mentoring.

If price is anywhere close, Fordham is the more targeted pick for economics because New York materially improves internship access in ways that are hard to replicate. If Fordham is significantly more expensive, ASU becomes very compelling, because economics does not require paying a premium the way some highly location-dependent majors might.