The B.S. program offered by the Department of Economic Sciences is structured to primarily train the students in economics with strong emphasis on econometric and mathematical techniques which are essential for economic analysis and modeling. The economics students also learn about sciences, technology and engineering through the common courses designed for all IITK students, irrespective of their department. In addition to a set of compulsory courses teaching fundamentals of economics, a wide range of elective courses available within the department (e.g., econometrics, finance) allows students to stretch their intellectual horizon in various directions of their choice. The program also provides opportunities to write term papers and do research projects, thus enabling them to apply and implement their knowledge to solve real economic problems. Students have reported that such experiences are often helpful in finding and during their internships, available through the campus internship placement program. The students also participate in a host of extra-curricular activities, which ensures overall personality development.
Interested students who meet a certain CPI cutoff can continue for a 5th year and earn a B.S./M.S. degree. Recently, the option to acquire a B.S. Honours degree by taking advanced courses and meeting other requirements has been introduced. Students may also opt for a four-year B.S. and Management program, under which they have to take a certain number of courses related to Management.
Course structure:
In the first year, the courses taught are the same for students of all branches. These are courses in Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Engineering Graphics, Fundamentals of Computing, as well as courses on Ethics, Physical Education and English.
In the second year, students have to take several compulsory courses: Economy, Society and Public Policy; Microeconomics I; Optimization; Applied Probability and Statistics; Econometrics I and Macroeconomics I. It is also mandatory to take a compulsory course on Introduction to Electronics as well as two elective courses from the "Social Sciences, Communication, Humanities, Economics, Management and Environment" basket at IIT Kanpur. Besides, students also take an open elective (an elective course in another department).
In third and fourth years, students take Econometrics II, Microeconomics II, Macroeconomics II, Game Theory and Data Structures and Algorithms, besides several elective courses such as Bayesian Econometrics, Economic Growth: Theory & Practice, Economic Analysis of Law, Efficiency & Productivity Analysis, Environmental Economics, Market Design, Financial Economics, Introduction to Derivative Pricing, Monetary Economics and Environmental Economics. Elective courses may include courses in other departments too.
During their coursework, students are trained in several statistical software such as MATLAB, R and Stata via lab courses and assignments based on simulated and real life datasets. Some students who opt for a research project under a professor as an alternative to an elective course, gain additional experience in fitting econometric models and use of software.