BA in Computer Science & Economics

The joint major in Computer Science & Economics provides students with strong foundations in both fields that will enable them to pursue a variety of careers requiring these theoretical and quantitative skills as well as prepare them for graduate education in computer science, economics, and many allied STEM-oriented disciplines. The economics component of this major gives students a solid understanding of the principles guiding the economy as well as the technical tools to formulate economic models, quantify the parameters of these models, design and predict the policies for interventions, and test hypotheses about economic relationships. The computer science portion enables students to develop the computational tools to apply these methods in practice. The combination of the two disciplines makes graduates of this program uniquely qualified to carry out computationally intensive analytical tasks. It makes students especially proficient in applying econometrics as well as data science methodology to the increasingly large and accessible amounts of data available.

Learning Outcomes

Students completing the major in Computer Science & Economics will have:

• Foundational knowledge of computation and data analysis.
• Programming and software engineering skills.
• Understanding of microeconomic and macroeconomic theory.
• Ability to identify and analyze economic data sets using computational tools.
• Ability to apply statistical methods and to use data science techniques to evaluate economic policies and real-world events.

Requirements

All BU undergraduate students, including both entering first-year and transfer students, will pursue coursework in the BU Hub, the University’s general education program that is integrated into the entire undergraduate experience. BU Hub requirements can be satisfied in a number of ways, including coursework in and beyond the major as well as through cocurricular activities. Students majoring in Computer Science & Economics will ordinarily, through coursework in the major, satisfy BU Hub requirements in Quantitative Reasoning, Social Inquiry, Ethical Reasoning, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, as well as some Intellectual Toolkits and Communication units. Remaining BU Hub requirements will be satisfied by selecting from a wide range of available courses outside the major or, in some cases, cocurricular experiences.

Degree Requirements

Computer Science & Economics major students must meet the following requirements, which total 17 courses:

Six courses in Economics:

• CAS EC 101 Introductory Microeconomics
• CAS EC 102 Introductory Macroeconomics
• CAS EC 201 Intermediate Microeconomics
• CAS EC 202 Intermediate Macroeconomics
• CAS EC 203 Empirical Economics 1
• CAS EC 204 Empirical Economics 2

Students with a strong background in mathematics may substitute any of the courses in the sequence CAS EC 221/222/223/224 for the corresponding CAS EC 201/202/203/204 courses.

QST QM 221 Probabilistic and Statistical Decision Making for Management, CAS MA 115, or CAS MA 213 are acceptable substitutes for CAS EC 203.

Four courses in Computer Science:

• CAS CS 111 Introduction to Computer Science 1
• CAS CS 112 Introduction to Computer Science 2
• CAS CS 210 Computer Systems
• CAS CS 330 Introduction to Analysis of Algorithms

Three courses to cover mathematical background and math-oriented computational tools:

• CAS CS 131 Combinatoric Structures
• CAS CS 132 Geometric Algorithms
• CAS MA 123 Calculus I

Two additional CAS 300+ CS courses

Two additional CAS 300+ EC courses