ADEC 7406 Predictive Analytics/Forecasting

Econometrics This course will expose students to the most popular forecasting techniques used in industry. We will cover time series data manipulation and feature creation, including working with transactional and hierarchical time series data as well as methods of evaluating forecasting models. We will cover basic univariate Smoothing and Decomposition methods of forecasting including Moving Averages, ARIMA, Holt-Winters, Unobserved Components Models and various filtering methods (Hodrick-Prescott, Kalman Filter). Time permitting, we will also extend our models to multivariate modeling options such as Vector Autoregressive Models (VAR). We will also discuss forecasting with hierarchical data and the unique challenges that hierarchical reconciliation creates. The course will use the R programming language though no prior experience with R is required.

Course overview

Department
Advancing Studies
School
ADV
Credits
3
Level
Graduate
Offered
Periodically in the Fall, Periodically in the Spring, Periodically in the Summer

Catalog details

Prerequisites
ADEC7301/ADAN7301 or ADEC7310/ADAN7309 or ADAN7310/ADEC7309

Catalog text is imported from the reviewed Boston College course snapshot. Confirm eligibility in EagleApps.

Course evaluations

Response-weighted averages from Boston College’s official course evaluations (Avalanche/Blue).

Course rating
4.33 / 5 · Very Good
101 responses
Instructor rating
4.41 / 5 · Very Good
101 responses
Terms evaluated
8
Most recent: Spring 2026

Scales: overall ratings run from 1 (poor) to 5 (excellent); agreement questions from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree); weekly effort from 1 (up to 1 hour) to 5 (10 or more hours).

Evaluations by term and instructor
TermInstructorCourse overallInstructor overallWell organizedClear learning objectivesIntellectually challengingHelpful assignmentsApplicable beyond courseAttendance necessaryWeekly effortResponses
Spring 2026Arvind Sharma4.85.04.54.85.05.05.04.87–9 hrs/week6 of 13
Spring 2026Lawrence Fulton4.64.74.94.74.74.74.94.0—7 of 10
Fall 2025Arvind Sharma4.44.54.84.84.94.94.84.810+ hrs/week8 of 10
Fall 2025Lawrence Fulton4.94.64.74.74.34.74.63.04–6 hrs/week7 of 10
Summer 2025Lawrence Fulton4.74.94.94.84.84.84.73.7—13 of 17
Spring 2025Robert Bradley4.13.94.34.44.24.54.54.27–9 hrs/week10 of 10
Fall 2024Lawrence Fulton4.85.04.94.94.64.84.84.34–6 hrs/week9 of 13
Fall 2024Robert Bradley3.74.04.04.24.44.34.34.310+ hrs/week12 of 17
Summer 2024Lawrence Fulton4.64.44.64.64.64.84.84.37–9 hrs/week5 of 6
Spring 2024Lawrence Fulton4.84.84.84.84.54.85.03.07–9 hrs/week4 of 11
Spring 2024Robert Bradley3.73.84.24.54.24.24.03.6—12 of 17
Fall 2023Lawrence Fulton—————————4 of 8
Fall 2023Robert Bradley—————————4 of 7

Data freshness

Course and evaluation data last updated 2026-10-09. Source details and limitations are documented in Data Sources and Methodology.

Instructors

  • Arvind Sharma
    Spring 2026, Fall 2025 · Official rating 4.71/5
  • Lawrence Fulton
    Spring 2026, Fall 2025, Summer 2025, Fall 2024, Summer 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023 · Official rating 4.71/5
  • Robert Bradley
    Spring 2025, Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023 · Official rating 3.89/5