Mathematical Economics Bachelor with One Core Subject (Academic)

Mathematics is a very old and traditional science and is at the same time more topical than ever. Whether natural sciences, finance, information technology, Data Science, Artificial Intelligence - no key technology of the 21st century can be pursued without a mathematical foundation. The importance of mathematics for economics in particular can hardly be overestimated. As part of a business mathematics degree programme, you will learn how to translate problems from business and technology into the language of mathematics and solve them using mathematical models. Often, there is not just one specific mathematical model that comes into question - which makes things exciting. The skills you acquire during your studies will provide you with a reliable basis that will enable you to penetrate increasingly complex structures, analyse them and - on this basis - develop answers to challenging (future) questions. Mathematical Economics graduates are in high demand on the labour market. They are needed here, for example, as data scientists or analysts, as actuaries for insurance companies or banks, as consultants for management consultancies or in the logistics or telecommunications industry to help solve the challenges of modern society.

In the first year of the bachelor's course, you will be introduced to the working methods of university mathematics and the basics of economics, i.e. business administration and economics.
After the two subjects of mathematics and economics are clearly separated from each other at the start date of the degree programme, the subject-related boundaries become blurred from the third subject-related semester onwards and you will acquire skills, e.g. in operations research, probability theory and statistics or actuarial mathematics, which bridge the gap between the disciplines. After further specialisation, you can choose to write your bachelor's thesis in one of the two subject areas.

The overall focus of the degree programme is on mathematics. However, it is possible to specialise in areas of personal interest in economics and/or computer science as part of the individual subsidiary subjects. From the course start, great emphasis is placed on mathematical rigour and on demonstrating the connection between theory and practice in order to make the importance of model-theoretical approaches to solving real economic problems transparent. The possibility of an internship during the programme offers the opportunity to apply theoretical knowledge in practice and to gain an insight into potential professional fields.

Bielefeld University is traditionally known for interdisciplinary research and teaching, especially in the field between mathematics and economics. Long-term collaborative research projects in this field and, in particular, the Institute of Mathematical Economics (IMW) create an attractive, international research environment with particular appeal for teaching (e.g. in the form of numerous specialisation options) in the field of Mathematical Economics.
Learning and working together is very important in a business mathematics degree programme. You work very closely together in tutorial groups and are also individually supervised by students from higher semesters (tutors) in connection with lectures. There is plenty of room for technical discussions and questions. As a Mathematical Economics student, you will work in a team right from the start and are encouraged to discuss your questions and solutions together and share your successes in solving problems.