Economic Science Program

Economists study how both individuals and institutions make decisions about the utilization and distribution of resources. They also monitor economic data and analyze trends, examine the impact of economic policies and behaviors, and help formulate new policies and anticipate their effects. WPI's economic science major emphasizes the use of computational modeling and experimentation to achieve these goals.

Program Outcomes

In addition to fulfilling WPI's university-wide undergraduate learning outcomes, economic science majors will demonstrate:

  1. Command of macro-economic and micro-economic theory.
  2. Awareness of economic history and the evolution of thought in economics.
  3. Skills in key economic modeling techniques, including econometrics and system dynamics.
  4. Skills using data collected in a variety of ways, including surveys, experiments and through observation in the field.
  5. Skill in mathematics as required to approach and solve economic problems.
  6. Practical understanding of modern business disciplines including accounting and finance.
  7. Knowledge of key economic institutions that make policy and influence economic practice.
  8. Ability to understand current economic issues in light of economic theories.
  9. Ability to approach and solve a practical problem like an economist.
  10. Deep understanding of fundamental economic problems in a specific area of application.

Program Distribution Requirements for the Economic Science Major

The normal period of residency at WPI is 16 terms. In addition to the WPI requirements applicable to all students, completion of a minimum of 10 units of study is required in economics, social science, basic science, and mathematics as follows:

Economic Science Requirements Minimum Units
1. Economics (Note 1). 3
2. Economics and/or Management (Note 2) 2/3
3. Other Social Science 1
4. Modeling Techniques 2/3
5. Mathematics (Note 3) 2
6. Basic Science 1
7. Electives 2/3
8. MQP 1

Notes:

  1. Must include courses in both micro and macro economic theory at the intermediate level and in econometrics and international trade (available through the Consortium or independent study).
  2. Must include financial accounting, ACC1100. May include other relevant management courses as approved by the Departmental Program Review Committee.
  3. Must include differential equations, integral calculus, and statistics.

Concentration Areas Available in Economic Science

Economic Science majors may focus their studies by choosing a Concentration within one of the following two specific areas of Economics: Sustainable Economic Development and Computational Economics. These concentration areas reflect the growing importance of environmental issues and computational tools within the discipline of economics and are areas of strength in teaching and research in the social sciences at WPI. Concentrations within the Economics Science major comply with WPI's requirements for concentrations. Students must complete an MQP and two units of integrated study in the area of their Concentration.

Sustainable Economic Development. The term sustainable economic development means choosing policies that balance environmental preservation and economic development so as to meet the needs of the present generation without seriously compromising the needs of future generations. The sustainable development concentration examines the economic, psychological, social, political, legal, and technical issues surrounding the creation of policies aimed at establishing sustainable economic systems at the local, national, and international levels.

  1. 1 unit from the following list of courses in economic development:
    ECON 2125 Development Economics
    ECON 2117 Environmental Economics
    CE 3070 Urban Environmental Planning
    CE 3074 Environmental Analysis
    HI 3333 Topics in American Technological Development
  2. 1 unit from the following list of environmental courses in other social science disciplines, humanities, and biology, or additional courses from list 1:
    BB 1002 Environmental Biology
    BB 4140 Ecological Management
    ENV 1100 Introduction to Environmental Studies
    ENV 2200 Environmental Studies in the Various Disciplines
    ENV 2400 Environmental Problems and Human Behavior
    GOV 2311 Legal Regulation of the Environment
    GOV 2312 International Environmental Policy
    PY 2717 Philosophy and the Environment

Computational Economics. Students in the computational economics concentration supplement their knowledge of traditional tools of economic analysis by studying modern computational techniques. Student projects may address problems of complex macroeconomic modeling, chaos, computational finance, design of automated Internet markets, and many more. This concentration draws on the expertise and talent of the faculty in various departments throughout the university

  1. 1 unit from the following list of courses in system dynamics:
    SD 1510 Introduction to System Dynamics Modeling
    SD 1520 System Dynamics Modeling
    SD 2530 Advanced Topics in System Dynamics Modeling
    SD 3550 System Dynamics Seminar
  2. 1 unit from the following list of courses offered in other departments:
    BB 4250 Ecological Simulation Modeling
    CS 2022/MA2201 Discrete Mathematics
    CS 4032/MA3257 Numerical Methods for Linear and Nonlinear Systems
    CS 4033/MA3457 Numerical Methods for Calculus and Differential Equations
    CS 4341 Introduction to Artificial Intelligence
    ES 3011 Control Engineering I
    OIE 3460 Simulation Modeling and Analysis
    OIE 3501 Management Science II: Risk Analysis
    MA 2210 Mathematical Methods in Decision Making
    MA 2431 Mathematical Modeling with Ordinary Differential Equations
    MA 3471 Advanced Ordinary Differential Equations
    MA 4235 Mathematical Optimization
    MA 4411 Numerical Analysis of Differential Equations
 
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