Bachelor of Commerce Honours in Economics and Mathematical Statistics

Admission requirements
Students must be accepted for honours studies in both the Department of Economics and the Department of Statistics and Actuarial Science, with the following requirements for each:
Department of Economics
At least 65% average for a final year major in Economics (equivalent to content and focus of Stellenbosch University’s Economics 318 and 348 modules).
Department of Statistics and Actuarial Science
At least 65% average for a final year major in Mathematical Statistics (equivalent to content and focus of Stellenbosch University’s Mathematical Statistics 312, 316, 344 and 364 modules)
Grade 12 Mathematics at least 70%.

Selection
The number of students selected will be influenced by, among other things, staff capacity and the availability of resources within the departments, as well as academic merit and University transformation objectives (within the Department of Economics and the Department of Statistics and Actuarial Science). As staff capacity and resources may fluctuate from year to year, the number of students selected can also differ from year to year.

If the Economics and Mathematical Statistics background of the applicant is deemed insufficient after a case-by-case determination by the Department of Economics and the Department of Statistics and Actuarial Science, the departments may require an additional departmental assessment on third year level Economics and Mathematical Statistics topics. Students may also be required to complete additional undergraduate Stellenbosch University Economics and Mathematical Statistics modules along with their honours studies.

Final school-leaving results
Certificate awarded upon completion of High School displaying the percentage or grade symbol awarded for each subject passed

Document placeholder name on application portal:
Final school-leaving results

Programme structure
The coursework component consists of four modules each from mathematical statistics and economics and a further two modules that may come from any of the two departments. The research component is a compulsory assignment consisting of a statistical application in a field of economics. Both departments supervise the assignment.
This programme requires full-time class attendance.

Programme content
You must earn a total of at least 148 credits for this programme.
You must complete modules to a minimum of 54 credits from Economics and 48 credits from Mathematical Statistics. For a further minimum of 16 credits, you must choose at least two modules from Economics and/or Mathematical Statistics. The assignment counts 42 credits. See the programme outline below.
Please note:
• You must complete the first semester of a year module to be allowed to do the second semester.
• The semester in which the modules are presented may change at short notice from year to year.

Compulsory modules (98 or 118 credits)
From the compulsory modules below, you can choose either Stochastic Simulation or Multivariate Statistical Analysis A and B.
Code | Module | Module Name | Semester
10430 871 Econometrics 1
10595 771 Macroeconomics 2
10605 771 Microeconomics 1
10602 715 Multivariate Statistical Analysis A* 1
10603 745 Multivariate Statistical Analysis B* 2
65250 718 Stochastic Simulation 1
11217 772 Research Assignment: Economics and Mathematical Statistics** Both
* Multivariate Statistical Analysis A 715(16) is a prerequisite for Multivariate Statistical Analysis B 745(16).
** The research assignment is co-supervised in both the Department of Economics and the Department of Statistics and Actuarial Science and involves a statistical application on economic data.

Elective modules in Economics
• Choose at least 10 credits and at most 30 credits.
• Not all the modules will necessarily be offered each year.
• Note that all the modules marked with an asterisk (*) are normally offered only every second year.
You must contact the Department of Economics to find out which modules will be presented in a specific year.
• Please note that only ten (10) students from all Honours programmes in the Department of Economics will be admitted to Behavioural Economics 771 (marked with ‡). Students in this programme will be selected based on their marks for Microeconomics 771.
Code | Module | Credits | Module Name | Semester
10742 771 10 Applied Macroeconomics I 1 or 2
10743 772 10 Applied Macroeconomics II 1 or 2
10745 771 10 Applied Microeconomics I 1 or 2
10746 771 10 Applied Microeconomics II 1 or 2
14377 771 10 Behavioural Economics‡ 2
10635 771 10 Development Economics 1
10436 771 10 Economic History 1
14933 712 10 Economics of Exclusion* 1
10432 771 10 Economics of Education I 2
10434 771 10 Economics of Technological Change* 2
59617 771 10 Environmental Economics* 1
12228 771 10 Financial Economics 1
13469 771 10 Health Economics* 2
11263 771 10 Industrial Organisation 2
64041 771 10 Institutional Economics* 1
10554 771 10 International Finance 2
10555 771 10 International Trade Theory and Policy 2
51861 771 10 Labour Economics* 2
64033 771 10 Monetary Economics 2
11143 771 10 Public Economics 1
Please note:
If you failed the module Economics of Discrimination 771 in 2024 or earlier, you must register for Economics of Exclusion 712. Either Economics of Discrimination 771 or Economics of Exclusion 712 will count for graduation purposes.

Elective modules in Mathematical Statistics
• If you take compulsory modules 715 and 745 (Multivariate Statistical Analysis A and B) above, you must choose at least 12 credits and at most 32 credits.
• If you take compulsory module 718 (Stochastic Simulation) above, you must choose at least 24 credits and at most 44 credits.
Code | Module | Credits | Module Name | Semester
10408 712 16 Biostatistics 1
10636 746 16 Survival Analysis 2
13360 771 12 Statistical Learning Theory 1
10751 747 12 Time Series Analysis 1

NB. Please consult the yearbook for possible module combinations.