Are you an analytically-minded student with talent for simplifying complex problems? Do you like to predict trends, solve problems, and streamline businesses and organisations? Then you should consider a bachelor’s in Econometrics & Operations Research.

This programme combines economics and computer science with management and statistical techniques to create an indispensable, in-demand skillset that companies around the world are seeking.

This high demand is reinforced by the programme’s international orientation and its integrated semester abroad. Plus, you’ll be studying at one of the best business schools in the world, the ‘Triple-Crown’ accredited School of Business and Economics at Maastricht University. What more could you ask for?

(!) This bachelor's programme has been awarded a Top-Rated Programme seal of quality by the Keuzegids (2023) for the second year in a row, which ranks the programme among the best in the Netherlands and first in its discipline. 

Why this programme?

Econometricians use their mathematical and statistical expertise to sift through mountains of economic data in order to find trends. This ability has an enormous number of applications for business, government and research throughout the world, including:

• making companies run smoothly
• increasing profit sustainably
• predicting financial trends
• understanding how people’s behaviour affects the market
• dealing with wider economic issues and crises 

All of these practical applications make Economics and Operations Research a booming field with huge prospects for graduates. The School of Business and Economics not only helps you become a well-trained econometrician, but we also immerse you in an interpersonal, intercultural and international setting that gives you an extra edge in an increasingly globalised world.

What you’ll actually do:

• solve real-life economic and finance problems using knowledge and skills from interdisciplinary fields
• apply economic and mathematical models to issues like inflation, investment and unemployment
• come up with innovative ways to make businesses more efficient
• work in small tutorial groups, with personal attention from your tutor
• gain practical experience through involvement in departmental research

You’ll develop the practical skills you need in the workplace by taking skills trainings tailored to your courses. These include training on research methods, using software for statistical analysis and presenting your findings. 

Problem Based Learning:

Problem-Based Learning (PBL) is an innovative, student-centred instructional method widely used at Maastricht University. You will work in small tutorial groups of 12 to 15 students, and collaboratively seek practical solutions to real-world problems. Instructors act as facilitators, giving help as it’s needed. This allows you to build independence and develop research skills. As opposed to lectures – which are still the primary teaching method at most universities – PBL is dynamic, requiring active participation in a variety of tasks such as:

• deciding how to approach a given problem
• setting learning goals
• organising tasks to achieve those goals
• sharing your findings with one another

Study abroad:

In the Econometrics and Operations Research programme, you’ll be required to study abroad for at least half a year. This gives you the opportunity to expand your knowledge of other cultures and practices. The School has an extensive network of more than 130 partner universities around the world, in countries including Australia, Singapore, South Africa, the United States, and throughout Europe. The semester abroad at a partner university is a compulsory part of the curriculum. Depending on your study programme, you go on exchange either in the first or in the second semester of your third year of your bachelor’s.

On a yearly base, up to 750 SBE students spend part of their studies abroad within an exchange programme, and about 740 exchange students visit SBE.​