Economics and Finance Major

The interdisciplinary B.Sc. Hons programme in Economics and Finance will help students to understand the principles of economics and its applications to financial systems and organisations.

The department recommends that students complete mathematics in Classes 11 and 12 to be eligible for any economics-related major or minor.

For students who have not studied mathematics in Classes 11 and 12 to be eligible for any economics-related major or minor, they need to:

• a) Take MAT 1000: Calculus (a 1000-level course) offered by the Mathematics department in their first semester and
• b) Secure at least an A- to be eligible

Note, there may be an entry test requirement for MAT 1000 which will be set by the Maths department. Please check the mathematics department website for more details.

In addition to quantitative techniques in mathematics and statistics, the curriculum will also include advanced financial techniques such as derivatives pricing, risk management and portfolio management.

Finance Courses

A sample of courses constituting the Finance electives is the following.

• Introduction to Finance
• Financial Markets and Asset Pricing
• Finance and the Economy
• Advanced Financial Management
• Financial Markets and Institutions
• International Finance
• Asset Pricing
• Derivatives and Risk Management
• Empirical Monetary Policy and Finance

The list of economics and finance electives from recent semesters can be found here.

Major Requirements

Students admitted to Ashoka in 2022 and thereafter fall within the NEP Programs. Credit requirements for interdisciplinary majors are listed below.

Four-year Economics and Finance UG degree (BSc Hons. degree) requires 20 major courses, each of 4 credits. The structure of the 20 courses is the following:

• 9 compulsory courses in Economics: these include — Introduction to Economics, Mathematics for Economics, Microeconomic Theory I, Macroeconomic Theory I, Statistics for Economics, Microeconomic Theory II, Macroeconomic Theory II, Econometrics, and Development Economics.
• Any 11 economics or finance electives, of which exactly 4 finance electives.

In addition to this, one can do a BSc Honours with Research with an additional Dissertation of 12 credits. The exact breakdown of the year-long sequence will be announced after the university discussions by the end of the academic year 2024-25.

Three-year Economics and Finance UG degree (BSc degree) comprises of 15 major courses, each of 4 credits. The structure of the 15 courses will be the following.

• The 9 compulsory Economics major courses include — Introduction to Economics, Mathematics for Economics, Microeconomic Theory I, Macroeconomic Theory I, Statistics for Economics, Microeconomic Theory II, Macroeconomic Theory II, Econometrics, and Development Economics.
• Any 6 economics or finance electives, of which at least 3 finance electives.

Sample Curriculum Structure (For students admitted in 2022 and later)

4-year Economics and Finance major

The above table is only a sample curriculum structure. Blank boxes are for non-major courses. There could be other possibilities, e.g. taking the 7th Foundation Course in 6th semester and taking three Economics electives in the 5th semester. Please refer to the UG Handbook for overall degree requirements.

3-year Economics and Finance major

More Information