I’m applying for the Brown Class of 2022 & am looking to be a CS major. Looking through Brown’s majors I found a Computer Science - Economics concentration.
I’m curious about:
The internship/job opportunities regarding this specific area of study
Course wise & rigor wise how different is the CS/Econ concentration from say regular CS or CS/Mathematics
Would you recommend this major over regular CS
What has been your experience as a CS major
If there is anybody who is a CS/Econ or has insight into this program please do respond!
Considering the class of 2016 had just 9C CS-Econ concentrators, I’d say it’s pretty unlikely you’ll find a CS-Econ concentrator who can answer these questions for you.
Suffice it to say, Brown’s undergrad computer science program is extremely strong, and these interdisciplinary majors (e.g., applied math-biology, CS-Econ, etc.) are a relatively unique way to deepen your studies given your interests. Whether you should concentrate in CS or CS-Econ is a decision you won’t have to make finalized for a long time into your 4 years at Brown, and depends on your post-grad aspirations.
You will have no trouble landing internships, research positions, etc. if you are successful in your courses in the concentration and make connections with peers and a few profs along the way.
My son is a rising junior who has been taking mostly CS and Econ classes. He really likes both areas; he finds the CS to be a lot more work than Econ. The combined CS-Econ degree is essentially an AB in each area, but he probably will end up with a BS in CS - I don’t think a student gets dual degrees if requirements for both a BS in CS and CS-Econ are met, but I’m not sure. He did not seek an internship after first year but chose from a few excellent opportunities this summer. I think the benefit of Econ with CS is the advantage in seeking tech jobs in the financial sector. I think you should take classes in both areas the first two years and see what you like.