ECON 3389 Machine Learning for Economics

Large scale datasets, both in length (number of observations) and width (number of variables) have become ubiquitous across many applied areas. The goal of this course is to provide an introduction to methods that allow us to use these datasets for forecasting and classification, as well as for simplifying these very wide datasets with dimensionality reduction methods. The course will also examine how to explore network connectivity with such long and wide datasets. The course will make use of computational libraries from Python, Julia, or Matlab, but students are free to make use of other coding methods, such as R or Stata.

Course overview

Department
Economics
School
MCAS
Credits
3
Level
Undergraduate
Offered
Every Spring

Catalog details

Prerequisites
ECON1151

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

Requirements fulfilled

  • Economics B.A.: Economics elective options (Current University Catalog; students should confirm their catalog year)

Requirement eligibility can vary by school, cohort, and section. Confirm the selected section in EagleApps or with an advisor.

Official evaluation summary

3.61 / 5

Based on 249 aggregate responses from BC Avalanche/Blue evaluations.

Data freshness

Course and evaluation data last updated 2026-08-02. Source details and limitations are documented in Data Sources and Methodology.

Instructors

  • Matteo Masullo
    Summer 2026
  • Paul D Mcnelis
    Fall 2026
  • Anatoly Arlashin
    Summer 2022, Fall 2021 · Official rating 3.51/5
  • Anshuman Bhakri
    Fall 2024 · Official rating 3.57/5
  • Arnab Palit
    Spring 2024, Fall 2023, Summer 2023 · Official rating 3.94/5
  • Haydar Evren
    Spring 2022 · Official rating 3.88/5
  • Pietro Visaggio
    Spring 2026, Fall 2025 · Official rating 3.62/5
  • Shane Mcmiken
    Spring 2025 · Official rating 4.16/5
  • Yunus Semih Coskun
    Summer 2024, Summer 2023 · Official rating 4.38/5

Sections

  • Section 01
    Summer 2026 · Matteo Masullo · On-line Asynchronous · Offered
  • Section 01
    Fall 2026 · Paul D Mcnelis · O'Neill Library 256 TuTh 10:30AM-11:45AM · Offered