Curriculum committee to vote on financial modeling minor
The Committee on Undergraduate Curriculum will vote Nov. 27 on the first minor proposal since the Faculty Senate approved the concept of minors May 10. The committee will send the proposal for a six-course financial computation and modeling minor to the senate with or without a recommendation. The senate will probably vote on the proposal at its Dec. 6 meeting.
The minor, a joint effort between the Economics and Statistics departments, is the first proposed largely because the necessary classes are already offered, Dean of Undergraduates Robin Forman, a committee member, said.
The minor would require one additional course for economics majors and no additional courses for mathematical economic analysis majors. It requires that students take three courses in each of two areas: basic tools and financial computation and modeling.
Forman said the minor would provide structure for students who are interested in the area.
“[The Economics and Statistics Departments] have already been encouraging students on a case-by-case basis to take these classes, because taken as a whole they provide a really strong foundation,” Forman said. “The recognition of minors gives [the departments] a really wonderful way to advertise this possibility to the entire campus rather than having to do it on a student-by-student basis.”
Brown College senior Naweed Chowdhury, one of the committee members, said the committee discussed the proposal in its Nov. 3 meeting. The committee discussed whether the infrastructure for the minor is in place, whether the departments have the necessary faculty, whether there will be sufficient student interest and whether students will adopt the minor as an afterthought because it closely fits their major.
Chowdhury said the committee did not see any of the issues as detriments to the minor. The Economics and Statistics departments are already offering the classes, and the classes generally have large enrollments, he said.
Forman said the minor addresses a relevant topic.
“Especially with the introduction of increasingly complicated financial instruments, computational finance has emerged over the recent de
Chowdhury said he does not think many economics majors will add the minor without much thought.
“[Statistics Department Chair Kathy Ensor] made a pretty convincing argument that the classes for the financial computation minor are very difficult classes because they’re very computational — they’re very mathematical,” he said.
The senate has to approve interdisciplinary minors and minors in schools and departments not offering undergraduate majors. It does not approve departmental minors.
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