Programming for Economists

Course

URL study guide

https://studiegids.vu.nl/en/courses/2025-2026/E_EBE1_PFE

Course Objective

After finishing the course, you will:Understand basic principles of coding for data science. (Knowledge and understanding)Be able to write basic functions and scripts in R. (Knowledge and understanding)Understand structural approaches for managing and showcasing data in an engaging way. (Applying knowledge and understanding) (Making judgements) (Learning skills)

Course Content

This course will provide an introductory guide for programming in R. We will focus on teaching introductory coding skills that are relevant for data science and research applications. The object-oriented programming skills taught in this course are easily portable to other commonly-used object-oriented languages such as Python and C++. We will address basic looping, functions, data visualization, and data management.

Teaching Methods

Lectures and practical sessions. There will be a total of 42 contact hours throughout the course. Attendance is mandatory for some but not all lectures.

Method of Assessment

The class grade will be determined based on a weighted combination of grades on quizzes, an applied project, and a final exam.

Recommended background knowledge

It is recommended that participants have an understanding of basic descriptive statistics before taking this course.
Academic year1/09/2531/08/26
Course level6.00 EC

Language of Tuition

  • English

Study type

  • Bachelor