Kelly Blanchard
Associate Dean for Student Experience and Undergraduate Programs
Clinical Associate Professor of Economics
A new undergraduate degree program at Purdue’s Mitchell E. Daniels, Jr. School of Business brings together economic theory, business acumen, and statistical techniques to best prepare graduates to lead in the application of data to solve business problems.
The Bachelor of Science in Quantitative Business Economics (QBE) will welcome students in fall 2024. The new major has two main foci: business economics and quantitative data analytics, says Andres Vargas, director of undergraduate programs in economics at the Daniels School.
“It’s a combination of economic theory and advanced statistical tools, which allows graduates to make informed business decisions using data,” Vargas says.
Data analysis is a top in-demand skill for the foreseeable future, says Kelly Blanchard, the business school’s associate dean for student experience and undergraduate programs.
“It’s not enough anymore to say that STEM is a part of business,” Blanchard says. “Every company is a technology company in some way or another.
“Students who graduate from the QBE program are going to find that not only are they skilled in critical thinking, data analysis and technology, but they’re going to be able to solve a variety of problems across a range of areas, everything from human resources to marketing to finance problems,” she says.
Required courses in the QBE plan of study include data visualization and inference, econometrics, and advanced data analysis and machine learning.
All QBE students will tackle a capstone project toward the end of their program. They will partner with companies to solve a defined business problem using their new skill sets.
The new major is one of several exciting developments within the Daniels School’s economics department. The school now offers a minor in behavioral economics, and faculty associated with the new Center for Behavioral Economics, Experiments and Public Policy make research contributions in the field of behavioral and experimental economics to address important public policy and management questions.
Learn more about the Daniels School’s economics department.
