Program Overview

Bachelor of Arts (BA) Degree with a Major in Mathematical Economic Analysis

The Bachelor of Arts (BA) Degree with a Major in Mathematical Economic Analysis is designed to provide students with a comprehensive understanding of the core principles of microeconomics and macroeconomics, as well as various statistical and econometric skills.

Program Learning Outcomes

Upon completing the BA degree with a major in Mathematical Economic Analysis, students will have:

• Learned the core principles of microeconomics, including supply and demand, utility maximization by consumers and profit maximization by firms, and equilibrium market structures.
• Learned the core principles of macroeconomics, including the effects of monetary and fiscal policy, business cycles, determinants of growth, and a variety of approaches to researching and critically analyzing the macroeconomy.
• Learned various statistical and econometric skills, and used statistical software to analyze economic data, interpret and communicate statistical results, both orally and in writing.
• Learned how to apply advanced mathematical skills, including multivariate calculus, linear algebra, and optimization, to modeling of economic problems.

Requirements for the BA Degree with a Major in Mathematical Economic Analysis

For general university requirements, see Graduation Requirements. Students pursuing the BA degree with a major in Mathematical Economic Analysis must complete:

• A minimum of 16-18 courses (52-59 credit hours), depending on course selection, to satisfy major requirements.
• A minimum of 120 credit hours to satisfy degree requirements.
• A minimum of 7 courses (23 credit hours) taken at the 300-level or above.
• A maximum of 5 courses (15 credit hours) from study abroad or transfer credit matriculation at Rice may be applied towards specific major requirements.

Course Requirements

The courses listed below satisfy the requirements for this major. In certain instances, courses not on this official list may be substituted upon approval of the major's academic advisor or, where applicable, the department's Director of Undergraduate Studies.

Core Requirements

• Mathematics and Statistics:
  • MATH 101: SINGLE VARIABLE CALCULUS I
  • MATH 102: SINGLE VARIABLE CALCULUS II
  • Select 1 from the following:
    • MATH 212: MULTIVARIABLE CALCULUS
    • MATH 221 & MATH 222: HONORS CALCULUS III and HONORS CALCULUS IV
  • Select 1 course from the following:
    • ECON 307 / STAT 310: PROBABILITY AND STATISTICS
    • STAT 311: HONORS PROBABILITY AND MATHEMATICAL STATISTICS
    • STAT 315 / DSCI 301: PROBABILITY AND STATISTICS FOR DATA SCIENCE
• Economics and Econometrics:
  • ECON 100: PRINCIPLES OF ECONOMICS
  • ECON 200: MICROECONOMICS
  • ECON 203: MACROECONOMICS
  • ECON 205: INTRODUCTION TO GAME THEORY
  • ECON 209: APPLIED ECONOMETRICS
  • ECON 308: MATHEMATICS FOR ECONOMISTS
  • ECON 310 / STAT 376: ECONOMETRICS
  • Select 1 from the following:
    • ECON 496: RESEARCH IN ECONOMIC THEORY
    • ECON 497: RESEARCH IN ECONOMETRICS
    • ECON 498 & ECON 499: HONORS PROGRAM IN ECONOMICS-I and HONORS PROGRAM IN ECONOMICS-II

Elective Requirements

• Select 1 course from the following:
  • ECON 210: BEHAVIORAL ECONOMICS
  • ECON 211: MONEY MATTERS: ECONOMIC LITERACY AND DECISION-MAKING
  • ECON 213: INTRODUCTION TO ENVIRONMENTAL AND NATURAL RESOURCE ECONOMICS
  • ECON 239: LAW AND ECONOMICS
• Select 3 courses from the following:
  • Courses between ECON 320-ECON 495
  • Courses between ECON 410-ECON 495

Approved Electives

Up to 1 course (3 credit hours) from outside departmental (ECON) course offerings may be chosen to fulfill the Elective Requirements.

• BUSI 401: FINANCIAL STATEMENT ANALYSIS
• BUSI 447: ADVANCED CORPORATE FINANCE
• BUSI 448: INVESTMENTS
• BUSI 450: DERIVATIVES
• CMOR 303: MATRIX ANALYSIS FOR DATA SCIENCE
• CMOR 350: STOCHASTIC MODELS
• CMOR 360: INTRODUCTION TO OPERATIONS RESEARCH AND OPTIMIZATION
• CMOR 404: GRAPH THEORY
• CMOR 420: COMPUTATIONAL SCIENCE
• CMOR 435 / MATH 435: DYNAMICAL SYSTEMS
• CMOR 441: LINEAR AND INTEGER PROGRAMMING
• CMOR 442: LARGE-SCALE OPTIMIZATION
• CMOR 444: DISCRETE OPTIMIZATION
• CMOR 455: STOCHASTIC CONTROL AND APPLICATIONS
• CMOR 462: OPTIMIZATION METHODS IN FINANCE
• STAT 482: QUANTITATIVE FINANCIAL ANALYTICS

Policies for the BA Degree with a Major in Mathematical Economic Analysis

Program Restrictions and Exclusions

• Students pursuing the major in Mathematical Economics Analysis may not additionally declare the major in Economics.
• Students pursuing the major in Mathematical Economics Analysis may not additionally declare the major in Managerial Economics and Organizational Sciences.

Transfer Credit

For Rice University's policy regarding transfer credit, see Transfer Credit. Some departments and programs have additional restrictions on transfer credit.

• No more than 5 courses (15 credit hours) of transfer credit from U.S. or international universities of similar standing as Rice may apply towards specific major requirements matriculation at Rice.
• No more than 2 courses (6 credit hours) of transfer credit may apply towards the Mathematics and Statistics Core Requirements.
• No more than 3 courses (9 credit hours) of transfer credit may apply towards the Economics/Econometrics Core Requirements and the Elective Requirements combined.

Opportunities for the BA Degree with a Major in Mathematical Economic Analysis

Academic Honors

The university recognizes academic excellence achieved over an undergraduate's academic history at Rice.

• To earn departmental honors in economics, students must earn a grade of B+ (3.33 grade points) or better in each semester of the department's two-semester honors program, ECON 498 and ECON 499.
• The honors program is available to both ECON and MTEC majors.
• To be admitted to the honors program, students must have a GPA of 3.67 or better in all courses taken toward fulfilling their departmental major requirements at the beginning of the academic year in which they enter the honors program.