The programme in Econometrics, Operations Research and Actuarial Studies from the University of Groningen uses mathematical models to analyse problems in economics, finance and related areas. Relevant questions are: How will future employment ratios develop in Europe? What is the influence of high petrol prices on the expected number of train passengers? How can delivery routes to customers be improved? How can financial risks be quantified??
By teaching you the basic skills of mathematical modelling, this programme provides you with a toolbox to solve economic and financial questions. You will also learn to give an economic interpretation to quantitative results. You can choose between three profiles:
- Econometrics aims at quantifying causal relations among economic variables. The models are used for forecasting and to make policy decisions.
- Operations Research uses mathematical models to solve complex optimisation and decision-making problems, for example in logistics.
- Actuarial Studies focuses on mathematical models for risk management in the financial sector (insurance companies, pension funds, banks).
Job prospects
As a graduate, you can find work at banks, insurers, logistics companies, central banks, pension funds, consultancy firms, government, supervisory authorities, and competition authorities, to name a few. Both the public and the private sector offer interesting job perspectives. Finally, you could start a career as a researcher in academia or at research institutes.
