Arizona vs Richmond for economics: which is better for undergrad economics?

For undergraduate economics, Richmond is usually seen as the stronger academic environment if you want a smaller, more personal program with close faculty access and a clearer liberal arts path into research, internships, and grad school preparation. Arizona can still be a very good option, especially if you want the resources of a large public university, more course variety, and the energy of a bigger campus. The real difference is less about whether one has economics at all and more about how you want to study it.

Richmond tends to fit students who want discussion-based classes, easier access to professors, and stronger advising from early on. That matters in economics because recommendation letters, research opportunities, and advanced coursework often shape internship and grad school outcomes. Richmond also benefits from being a smaller private university with a strong focus on undergraduates, so economics majors are less likely to feel like they are competing with a huge student body for attention.

Arizona makes more sense for students who want breadth and scale. A large flagship usually offers more total electives, more student organizations tied to business, policy, and analytics, and a wider alumni base simply because of size. If you are self-directed and comfortable navigating a big university, you can absolutely build a strong economics profile there, especially by combining economics with math, statistics, finance, or data-oriented work.

For internships, Richmond has an edge if you value structured support and closer mentoring, and its location in Virginia can be useful for connections in finance, policy, and government-related spaces. Arizona is attractive for students who want the opportunities that come with a major research university and are willing to take more initiative to find them.

For grad school preparation, I would lean Richmond unless Arizona is significantly cheaper or offers a specific honors, merit, or research setup that changes the picture. Economics grad admissions tend to reward strong quantitative training, faculty relationships, and research experience, and Richmond’s smaller scale often helps students build those pieces more intentionally. If your question is which school is more commonly viewed as stronger for undergrad economics itself, Richmond has the edge.