Bachelor's in Economics: behavior, data and policy

3 Years On Campus Bachelors Program

University of Milan

Program Overview

The Economics: Behavior, Data and Policy programme at the University of Milan is a three-year Bachelor's degree taught entirely in English that combines rigorous economics training with practical skills in data analysis and behavioral insights. This programme is ideal if you're interested in understanding how people make decisions, analyzing markets through data, and designing policies that actually work in the real world.

Curriculum Structure

First Two Years: Building Your Foundation

Your first two years focus on developing a strong quantitative foundation and critical thinking skills. You'll start with core courses like Microeconomics, where you'll learn both traditional economic theory and behavioral approaches to understand consumer decision-making. Alongside this, you'll take Experimental Methods and Behavioural Economics, which teaches you how economic experiments reveal why people don't always behave rationally—covering concepts like prospect theory, loss aversion, and heuristics. These foundational years ensure you understand individual choices, market dynamics, and labor economics while building your ability to collect, process, and interpret statistical data.

Third Year: Specialization and Application

By your third year, you're ready for advanced coursework where you apply everything you've learned. You'll take courses like Behavioral Economics, diving deeper into how psychological biases influence consumer choices and learning to design real-world policies that account for these biases in areas like finance, health, and environmental economics. You'll also engage with Policy Design, Analysis and Evaluation, gaining practical skills in breaking down complex policy problems, mapping causal structures, and matching policy instruments to real problems. This year allows you to deepen your expertise in behavioral mechanisms and policy application while preparing for either a Master's degree or the job market.

Focus Areas

Behavioral economics and decision-making, quantitative data analysis, policy design informed by behavioral insights, consumer behavior analysis, and market systems.

Learning Outcomes

You'll develop the ability to analyze individual economic choices using both traditional and behavioral frameworks; collect, process, and critically interpret statistical data; design policies that account for behavioral biases while evaluating their ethical implications; understand experimental evidence and key concepts like prospect theory and social preferences; and apply these skills to real-world problems in finance, health, and public policy.

Professional Alignment

Graduates enter the job market in positions such as operative marketing technician, strategic marketing technician, market analyst, and data technician across enterprises and public/private organizations. The programme's curriculum directly supports these professional profiles through its focus on consumer behavior analysis, quantitative methods, and policy design.

Reputation & Employability

The programme is offered by the Faculty of Political, Economic and Social Sciences at one of Italy's leading universities, with partnerships across prestigious institutions in the UK, Switzerland, and across Europe. Employment outcomes are tracked through Almalaurea, Italy's official graduate employment monitoring system.

Experiential Learning (Research, Projects, Internships etc.)

In the Bachelor's in Economics: Behavior, Data and Policy at the University of Milan, you'll dive straight into practical skills like collecting, processing, and interpreting statistical data on consumer behavior, building up to advanced applications in your third year where you analyze real behavioral mechanisms behind choices. This hands-on approach is supported by state-of-the-art facilities in the School of Political, Economic and Social Sciences, including specialized classrooms designed for group presentations and labs to ensure small-group, high-quality learning with a cap of just 100 students. Here's how you can get that real-world edge, from data tools to collaborative projects:

- IT-equipped classrooms for group work and presentations, like those in Building 2 (Via Passione 13/15 with IT campus setup) and across Via Conservatorio 7, perfect for practicing data analysis and policy simulations in teams.
- Departmental libraries dedicated to Economics, Management and Quantitative Methods at Via Conservatorio 7 and Via Livorno 1, giving you easy access to resources for behavioral data research and policy projects.
- Labs and capacity-controlled spaces to run individual and group presentations, ensuring you get personalized feedback on econometric tools and behavioral experiments as emphasized in the program structure.
- Specialized classrooms in multiple buildings (e.g., rooms 20-27 in Building 1, Via Conservatorio 7), including a graduation hall, tailored for the Faculty of Political, Economic and Social Sciences where your program is housed.

Progression & Future Opportunities

Graduates from the Economics: Behavior, Data and Policy (BSc) at the University of Milan gain a strong combination of economic theory, data analysis, and behavioural insight. This prepares them for analytical roles where understanding human decision-making and data-driven strategies is essential. Many move into roles such as market analyst, data technician, marketing analyst, or research assistant, while others choose to continue with postgraduate studies.

This means your career pathway is both flexible and future-focused:

Career support & guidance: The university offers dedicated career guidance services, academic tutoring, and international mobility programmes such as Erasmus, helping you build both professional direction and global exposure
Practical skill development: You’ll develop hands-on skills in data collection, statistical analysis, and behavioural economics, making you ready for real-world business and policy environments
Industry relevance: The programme is designed around real applications like consumer behaviour, market analysis, and policy evaluation—skills valued by companies, research institutions, and public organisations
International opportunities: Exchange programmes with partner universities across Europe allow you to gain international experience and strengthen your profile
Graduate outcomes: Common roles include data technician, market analyst, strategic marketing analyst, and research support positions in both private and public sectors
Academic credibility: The degree belongs to the recognised L-33 economics class, offering a solid and respected academic foundation in economics and quantitative methods

Further Academic Progression:
After completing this degree, you can move on to Master’s programmes in Economics, Data Science, Behavioural Economics, Public Policy, or other related fields. The course is specifically structured to give you the analytical and quantitative background needed to succeed in advanced and specialised postgraduate studies.