Mathematics and Economics at UBC's Vancouver campus | Undergraduate Programs and Admissions

This combined major will give you a solid foundation in mathematics and an understanding of key economics principles. You'll examine subjects such as microeconomics, empirical economics, differential calculus, mathematical proof, and more.

Why this program?

Study at one of the top-ranked universities in mathematics and economics in Canada and the world.
Attend lectures in the beautiful Iona Building, home to the Vancouver School of Economics.
Develop critical statistical reasoning, computational, mathematical, and communication skills.
Choose courses to prepare for work in finance, accounting, actuarial science, and beyond.

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Program information

Campus: Vancouver
Faculty: Faculty of Science
Degree: Bachelor of Science

Length 4 yrs
Co-op Yes
You can combine your studies with full-time, paid work at top local and international organizations.
Honours Yes
You can study intense specialization in a single field.

Mathematics is about revealing and explaining patterns – from an electrical impulse in an animal’s nervous system to a fluctuation in stock market prices. Being able to simplify complex situations through abstraction and systematic reasoning is a great asset for any scientist.

Both UBC’s School of Economics and Department of Mathematics are very highly regarded internationally. The combined Major of Mathematics and Economics is available either through the Faculty of Science towards a BSc degree, or the Faculty of Arts towards a BA degree, and each allowing a large selection of courses in various areas of pure and applied mathematics. This is one of a wide range of options in honours, major, combined major, or minor programs for focused mathematics or combined with other subjects.

Experiential learning and research

The Department of Mathematics is associated with many institutes, such as the Pacific Institute for the Mathematical Sciences (PIMS), the Institute of Applied Mathematics, and MITACS. The Mathematics Library, Math Club, Mathematics Undergraduate Computer Lab and Mathematics Learning Centre are resources for available to undergraduate students in their mathematical studies.

Campus features

The Vancouver School of Economics at UBC is ranked top in Canada, and in the top 20 such departments in the world. UBC economics alumnus Robert Mundell won the 1999 Nobel Prize for Economics, following his groundbreaking analysis of exchange rates and monetary policy.

ECON 101 - Principles of Microeconomics
Elements of theory and of Canadian policy and institutions concerning the economics of markets and market behaviour, prices and costs, exchange and trade, competition and monopoly, distribution of income.
ECON 102 - Principles of Macroeconomics
Elements of theory and of Canadian policy and institutions concerning the economics of growth and business cycles, national income accounting, interest and exchange rates, money and banking, the balance of trade.
MATH 104 - Differential Calculus with Applications to Commerce and Social Sciences
Derivatives and rates of change, exponential and trigonometric functions, Newton's method, Taylor polynomials, maxima and minima, and graphing.
MATH 105 - Integral Calculus with Applications to Commerce and Social Sciences
Antiderivatives, the definite integral, techniques of integration, infinite series, partial derivatives, maxima and minima with constraints, discrete and continuous random variables.
CPSC 110 - Computation, Programs, and Programming
Fundamental program and computation structures. Introductory programming skills. Computation as a tool for information processing, simulation and modeling, and interacting with the world.

MATH 200 - Calculus III
Analytic geometry in 2 and 3 dimensions, partial and directional derivatives, chain rule, maxima and minima, second derivative test, Lagrange multipliers, multiple integrals with applications.
MATH 215 - Elementary Differential Equations I
First-order equations; linear equations; linear systems; Laplace transforms; numerical methods; trajectory analysis of plane nonlinear systems. Applications of these topics will be emphasized.
CPSC 210 - Software Construction
Design, development, and analysis of robust software components. Topics such as software design, computational models, data structures, debugging, and testing.
MATH 223 - Linear Algebra
Matrices, eigenvectors, diagonalization, orthogonality, linear systems, applications. Intended for Honours students.

ECON 301 - Intermediate Microeconomic Analysis I
Consumer behaviour, producer theory, exchange, monopoly, oligopoly, externalities, public goods, general equilibrium and welfare economics.
ECON 302 - Intermediate Macroeconomic Analysis I
Income and employment theory, monetary theory, the open economy, economic fluctuations and growth.
ECON 325 - Introduction to Empirical Economics
Essentials of probability and statistics for applied work in economics. Topics include descriptive statistics, probability, estimation, hypothesis testing, and analysis of variance.
MATH 345 - Applied Nonlinear Dynamics and Chaos
Phase plane methods, bifurcation and stability theory, limit-cycle behavior and chaos for nonlinear differential equations with applications to the sciences. Assignments involve the use of computers.

ECON 490 - Seminar in Applied Economics
Selected problems and issues in the theory and practice of Economics. Each section will focus on a different field. Restricted to Economics Majors, and Combined Majors in Economics their final academic session.
MATH 437 - Number Theory
Divisibility, congruences, Diophantine equations, arithmetic functions, quadratic reciprocity, advanced topics.
MATH 418 - Probability
Probability spaces, random variables, distributions, expectation, conditional probabilities, convergence of random variables, generating and characteristic functions, weak and strong laws of large numbers, central limit theorem.
MATH 412 - Advanced Linear Algebra
Topics include decompositions of linear operators, multi linear algebra, bilinear forms, metric spaces.
ECON 447 - Monetary Theory
Theoretical analysis of economies that use money; the emergence of money; the roles of money in the economy; models of money demand; the optimal quantity of money seignorage and inflation; monetary policy and macroeconomic stability; monetary policy in an open economy.

Life at UBC's Vancouver campus

The beautiful and historic Iona Building was built in 1927 and renovated in 2014 to accommodate the Vancouver School of Economics. The stone-faced, castle-like Iona Building is one of the most architecturally elegant buildings on campus, and boasts stunning views of Burrard Inlet and beyond, a Maltese Labyrinth, and a fine gallery of stained glass.

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Your future

As a Mathematics and Economics student, you’ll use knowledge of economic data, mathematical models, and statistical techniques to develop skills in problem solving and analysis. Analyzing the relationship between economic, cultural, and political issues in order to forecast and explain economic trends, understand policies, markets and development are skills that employers from diverse industries value.

Program graduates

Manager, RBC Royal Bank
Manager of Financial Reporting, Goldcorp Inc.
Senior actuarial analyst, Willis Towers Watson
Data analyst, Fulcrum Management Solutions Ltd.
PhD candidate in Finance, University of Toronto

Program requirements

Canadian high schools
International high schools
International baccalaureate

English-language requirements

English is the language of instruction at UBC. All prospective students must demonstrate English-language competency prior to admission. There are numerous ways to meet the English Language Admission Standard.

General admission requirements

IB Diploma Programme

Completed IB Diploma, including at least three Higher Level courses.

IB Certificate Courses

IB Certificate courses (Standard and Higher Level) may be used in an admissions average if you are graduating from a recognized high school curriculum that can be used as your basis of admission.
IB Math Applications and Interpretations SL, or IB Math Studies, do not satisfy the math requirement for admission to UBC’s science-based programs, the Faculty of Management, the UBC Sauder School of Business, or the Vancouver School of Economics.

Degree-specific requirements: Science

IB Math Analysis and Approaches SL or HL, or IB Math Applications and Interpretations HL (IB Math Applications and Interpretations SL, or IB Math Studies, are not acceptable)
One of IB Biology, IB Chemistry, or IB Physics
Grade 11 or equivalent Chemistry, and
Grade 11 or equivalent Physics (may be waived with grades of 5 in IB Chemistry and in your IB Mathematics course)

Note: Grade 11 Chemistry and Physics requirements listed are only relevant to students who are not completing the equivalent IB Diploma Chemistry and/or Physics courses.

For students studying outside of Canada, some examples of courses that may be accepted as Grade 11 equivalents are junior-level courses for American students, and IGCSE and O Level for those following British-patterned curricula.

Related courses

The following subject categories are particularly relevant for this degree. Consider taking courses in these areas in your junior year and senior year.

Language Arts
Mathematics and Computation
Sciences