Business economics specialization and data science specialization now offered for undergraduate economics majors

A specialization in business economics and a specialization in data science in the Kenneth C. Griffin Department of Economics in the Division of the Social Sciences has been announced.

“Our undergraduate Business Economics track will launch during the 2018-2019 academic year and will be open to all students. It draws upon outstanding offerings and programming of the Booth School of Business, as well as courses taught across the University. The new track is faithful to the Department’s core pedagogical values, and emphasizes applications of theory and method,” said John List, the Kenneth C. Griffin Professor in Economics and department chair

The program is organized around the fundamental economics theory and empirical methods that students interested in pursuing careers in the private sector, the non-profit sector, and the public sector, among others, will find useful. Candidates are required to complete a total of 13 courses distributed along five fundamental components: Core, Methods, Empirical Analysis, Perspectives, and Electives. For the latter, students must take five courses: three from Chicago Booth and two from the economics department.

For a full description and summary of requirements, visit the College Catalog. 

A new data science specialization for the BA in economics major will also be available to students majoring in economics beginning next fall. Students pursuing the specialization will be required to complete training in computer science and to choose two of three new courses in data science that economics faculty will offer. In addition, students pursuing the specialization in data science must complete two electives instead of four.

"To complement the ambitious plans the university has for launching new ventures in data science, the Department has approved a specialization in data sciences to be combined with an economic major.  While data science forges productive links between computer science and statistics, the aim of the economics specialization is to provide an explicit economics context to advances in data science, challenges posed by providing revealing economic structures, and applications to substantive economic problems. This degree will both provide a high entry point to the profit sector and a potential for further studies in advanced degree programs," said Lars Peter Hansen, the David Rockefeller Distinguished Service Professor in Economics, Statistics and the Booth School of Business.

For a full description and a summary of requirements, visit the College Catalog.

Amanda Woodward, Dean of the Division of the Social Sciences and William S. Gray Distinguished Service Professor, said, “The development of these two specialized tracks within our world class undergraduate program in economics reflects the division’s commitment to rigorous inquiry and to preparing students for the professional path each will choose, ensuring that the critical thinking and commitment to knowledge that characterizes the University of Chicago is carried forward through careers across institutions, organizations, and industries.”