Exclusive Partnership with Chesterton Schools Network
Early College Program
A flexible, fully online program that allows Chesterton Academy students to earn transferable college credit through an authentically Catholic university.
Apply Now$600
Total Course Cost
4
College Credits
100%
Online & Flexible
$0
Material Fees
Questions? Please contact the Office of Admissions at admissions@avemaria.edu or (239) 280-2500
Course Overview
Your Instructor
Dr. Gabriel X. Martinez
Doctor of Philosophy in Economics: University of Notre Dame
Master of Arts in Educational Technology Leadership: George Washington University
Dr. Gabriel X. Martinez has served on the Ave Maria University faculty since 2002 and brings extensive experience in both traditional and online instruction. He currently directs the University's Online Education initiatives, and his work in teaching innovation has appeared in the International Review of Economics Education. A committed Catholic educator, he integrates Catholic Social Teaching throughout the course. Dr. Martinez lives in Ave Maria, Florida, with his wife and six children.
ECON 202 - Microeconomics
Course Details
Format: Fully online, asynchronous
Credits: 4 Credits
Dates: August 20 – December 14, 2026
Time Commitment: 4 hours per week
Topics Covered
Thinking Like an Economist: Learn the core habits of economic reasoning.
Comparative Advantage: Understand what individuals and societies gain through specialization and trade.
Supply and Demand: See how prices emerge from the interaction of buyers and sellers.
Elasticity: Explore how responsive consumers and producers are to price changes.
Perfectly Competitive Supply: Examine how highly competitive firms make production decisions and shape market outcomes.
Games and Strategic Behavior: Study strategic decision making.
Efficiency, Exchange, and Invisible Hand in Action: Analyze how voluntary exchange can allocate resources effectively.
Monopoly, Oligopoly, and Monopolistic Competition: Investigate how firms with market power set prices, limit output, and influence consumer welfare.
Externalities and Property Rights: Understand how actions that affect third parties create unintended consequences.
The Economics of Information: Look at how information shapes decisions, markets, and incentives.
Labor Markets, Poverty, and Income Distribution: Explore wages, why income varies, and how poverty and opportunity are shaped.
ECON 201 Principles of Macroeconomics
Course Details
Format: Fully online, asynchronous
Credits: 4 Credits
Dates: January 11 – May 5, 2027
Time Commitment: 6-7 hours a week
Topics Covered
Economic Growth: Why are some nations rich and others poor and what we can do about it.
The Gross Domestic Product: How do we measure the health and wealth of our economy, as a whole. Measuring overall production, total spending, and national income.
Unemployment: Kinds and Costs of Unemployment: who is unemployed for only a few weeks, who is unemployed for months.
Recessions and Prosperity: What determines this year's level of GDP, your business's sales, your employment prospects.
Monetary and Fiscal Policy: How Congress and the Federal Reserve affect the economy through spending, taxes, and interest rates.
Inflation: What it is, how we measure it, and why it is so upsetting.
Money, Prices, and the Financial System: What money is (yes, really), how it is related to the price level and inflation, and how the banking sector gets involved.
The Whole Economy: How the economy determines everything at the same time: GDP, unemployment, and inflation.
The Global Economy: Exchange rates: the price of your currency in terms of the value of another currency.
Program Benefits
Exceptional Value
Only $600 for a four-credit course—a significant discount from standard tuition of $1,322/credit hour.
Accredited
Credits transfer to nearly every accredited college or university in North America.
Flexible Schedule
Fully online, asynchronous format allows students to complete work at their own pace—evenings, mornings, or weekends.
Ready to Get Started?
Take the next step in your academic journey with Ave Maria University's Early College Program, in partnership with Chesterton Schools Network.
Apply NowQuestions? Contact our dedicated admissions coordinator: Lillian Doyle at lillian.doyle@avemaria.edu