Bachelors of Computer Science / Economics
Overview
Learn all the practical skills to design, develop and analyse computer-based systems while building an understanding of core economic skills in learning to question, model, and decision-making challenges.
Learn skills in all aspects of computer technology and develop strong analytical, logical, and developmental skills necessary to implement new systems and technology for use in our society.
You'll also undertake a variety of economic courses that shape and challenge your personal thinking and learn how central decision-making is undertaken in business, markets, trade, government, health, and the environment.
You'll be equipped for roles such as web, gaming, or app developer, economic consultant, economic analyst, policy analyst, and business analyst.
Program highlights
- Study at the only institution in Queensland to offer the Bachelor of Economics.
- Develop a range high-level technical skills in computer-based technology.
- You'll study programs developed through strong industry consultation.
- Graduate with a combination of core economic skills and tools you can use to solve decision-making challenges.
Majors
Tailor your studies to suit your goals. This program offers these options:
- Cyber Security
- Data Science
- Economics and Public Policy
- Economics of Strategy and Behaviour
How you'll learn
Your learning experiences are designed to best suit the learning outcomes of the courses you choose.
- Lectures
- Seminars
- Workshops
What you'll study
At UQ, degrees are called 'programs' and subjects are called 'courses'.
Career possibilities
Our programs prepare you for your first job and beyond. Depending on which major you choose, here are some of the careers you could be on your way to:
- Cyber security analyst
- Data scientist
- Machine learning engineer
- Software engineer
- Economic consultant
- Investment analyst
- Business development manager
- Regulatory affairs officer
- Business analyst
- Policy analyst
Graduate salary
Computing and information systems (undergraduate)
compared.edu.au
Professional memberships
When you graduate, you may be eligible for memberships with the following professional organisations. Contact the organisation to find out how to become a member.
- Australian Computer Society
- Australian Human Resources Institute
- Australasian Institute of Banking and Finance
- Australian Institute of Management
- Australian Marketing Institute
- Economic Society of Australia
- Financial Services Institute of Australasia
- Market Research Society of Australia
- Securities Institute of Australia
The best things about the Bachelor of Economics would be the practicality and the versatility – how it further prepares us to be analytical individuals ready for the corporate world. The program ensures all students obtain a holistic understanding of economics; be it macro, micro, or analytical skills and so much more.
The best things about the Bachelor of Economics would be the practicality and the versatility – how it further prepares us to be analytical individuals ready for the corporate world. The program ensures all students obtain a holistic understanding of economics; be it macro, micro, or analytical skills and so much more.
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Meet the expert: exploring computer science with Dr Paul Vrbik
Uni life
What's it really like to study computer science at UQ?
Stories
See all storiesUQ people
Meet the expert: exploring computer science with Dr Paul Vrbik
Uni life
What's it really like to study computer science at UQ?
Entry requirements
Prerequisites
- General English subject (Units 3 & 4, C)
- Mathematical Methods (Units 3 & 4, C)
Specialist Mathematics (Units 3 & 4, C) is recommended.
Students without Specialist Mathematics (or equivalent) may be required to undertake preparatory courses beyond the 64 units for the program and may not be able to complete the program in the minimum time frame without overloading or undertaking summer study.
Prerequisites
- General English subject (Units 3 & 4, C)
- Mathematical Methods (Units 3 & 4, C)
Specialist Mathematics (Units 3 & 4, C) is recommended.
Students without Specialist Mathematics (or equivalent) may be required to undertake preparatory courses beyond the 64 units for the program and may not be able to complete the program in the minimum time frame without overloading or undertaking summer study.
Minimum entry score
Check the minimum entry scores for the individual programs. You must meet the higher score.
Entry score threshold
| ATAR / Rank | IB |
|---|---|
| 84 | 30.5 |
These are the lowest adjusted scores we made an offer to in Semester 1, 2024. Entry scores are based on the most recent Semester 1 intake and are updated in April each year. Meeting the entry score threshold doesn't guarantee admission.
Guarantee your place at UQ: If you meet our guaranteed minimum ATAR you could secure an offer for your preferred program.
English language requirements
IELTS overall 6.5; reading 6; writing 6; speaking 6; listening 6. For other English Language Proficiency Tests and Scores approved for UQ
TOEFL iBT (including Paper Edition) - Overall 87, listening 19, reading 19, writing 21 and speaking 19.
PTE Academic - Overall Score of 64 and 60 in all sub bands.
BE - A minimum overall grade of 4 plus a minimum grade of C in all macro skills.
CES - Overall 176 and 169 in all sub bands.
OET is not accepted.
There are other ways to meet the English language requirements. For some programs, additional conditions apply.
Student visas
International students who are accepted into full-time study in the Bachelors of Computer Science / Economics are eligible to apply for an Australian student visa (subclass 500).
There are a number of requirements you must satisfy before a visa is granted, including the Genuine Student (GS) requirement.
Entry score range
This table shows the range of entry scores for recent secondary students offered a place in the B Computer Science/B Economics for Semester 1, 2024
| Without adjustments | With adjustments | |
|---|---|---|
| Highest | 98.55 | 99.95 |
| Median | 93.7 | 95 |
| Lowest | 84.6 | 86.6 |
Need help meeting the entry requirements?
Majors
Majors
Tailor your studies to suit your goals. This program offers these options:
By studying cyber security, you'll learn the fundamental processes and practices to protect computing systems from attack, damage or unauthorised access.
You'll study secure programming techniques and ethical hacking to safeguard individuals, businesses and governments against cybercrime, and you'll graduate with highly valued and employable skills.
Career paths can lead to roles such as cyber security analyst, cyber systems engineer or information security officer.
You'll join a growing industry:
- Cyber security specialist was the #2 emerging job of 2020 (LinkedIn 2020 Emerging Jobs Report)
- By 2026, Australia will need 18,000 more cyber security workers
- Australia’s external spending on cyber security products and services grew by 8 per cent in 2018 to $3.9 billion (Australian Cyber Security Growth Network).
You'll learn comprehensive and fundamental techniques for end-to-end processing that transforms data into information, and prepare to become one of the new breed of data science professionals.
This major will prepare you for a career in government departments, consultancy or private sector organisations.
You'll join a growing industry:
- The rise of big data means data scientists are now some of the most in-demand professionals in the world
- Data scientist was the #7 top emerging job of 2020 (LinkedIn 2020 Emerging Jobs Report).
The major focuses on the analytical tools you'll need to design and evaluate public policies. Core courses examine public finance and regulatory economics, while electives include advanced microeconomics, macroeconomics, econometrics and a range of policy courses.
Graduates usually work in public policy, government bodies, not-for-profit organisations, private enterprise and politics.
You will acquire the ability to apply advanced and cutting-edge economic insights to analyse problems and create solutions. You will learn how to interpret, advise and lead in situations involving strategic competition between individuals, teams, businesses and nations. You will understand new ways of collecting and interpreting data.
The major will also provide an opportunity to learn behavioural economics insights about how people behave in the real world, and why this matters. You will gain a deep and cutting-edge knowledge of strategy and behaviour from an economic perspective. This will position you exceptionally well to play a leading part in the future direction of business, government and society.
You'll learn to see the big picture and think beyond borders. You’ll study banking and international trade theories, and gain an understanding of financial systems and the role they play in economies. You'll also get to choose from advanced-level electives in areas including macroeconomics, econometrics and financial management.
Graduates usually work in banking and financial institutions, government agencies, consulting firms, and private enterprise
These algorithms allow computers to do things like automatically identify and harness useful data to help decision making, find hidden insights without being explicitly programmed where to look, and predict outcomes to help authorities design effective policies.
You'll graduate with skills at the forefront of this massive growth area, as society looks for automated solutions to enhance business and our lives through the use of computing systems and data.
These skills can be applied in government departments, consultancy or private sector organisations.
You'll join a growing industry:
- Machine learning engineer was ranked the #2 emerging job of 2022 (LinkedIn Jobs on the Rise 2022).
- AI could contribute up to $15.7 trillion to the global economy in 2030 (PwC research).
- New AI technologies will require highly-skilled workers who can develop and maintain complex systems and applications.
Covering the different paradigms of programming, this major focuses on the design of computer languages that can be easily used to create programs.
You will study the craft and science of programming, and graduate with the skills to enable the construction of effective programming languages and reliable software.
Career paths often lead to roles in government departments, consultancy or private sector organisations.
Programming opens doors beyond tech:
- Programmers write software that can be used to create websites, build computer networks, help doctors treat patients, or even drive a car.
- Half of all programming roles are in finance, manufacturing, health care, and other sectors outside of the technology industry.
- Coding skills can take you places: data analytics, scientists, engineers and designers all use coding.
With its strong mathematical and modelling focus, this major will show you how to analyse problems clearly and based on evidence.
Advanced courses cover areas including statistics, econometric theory and productivity and efficiency analysis.
Graduates usually work in research consultancies, management organisations, private business, and government enterprise.
But computers are also digital systems, which require discrete inputs and outputs, while mathematical analysis often relies on continuous functions. Therefore, careful approximations are needed to allow computers to analyse complex mathematical functions.
You will study algorithms for mathematical analysis and graduate with skills used in various scientific endeavours, including in hospitals and university medical research, and big pharmaceutical and petrochemical companies across the public and private sectors.
You'll join a growing industry:
- Help solve the complex scientific problems of the future using mathematical analysis
- The digital technology sector is one of the fastest growing parts of Australia’s economy
- Data engineer was the #8 emerging job of 2020 (LinkedIn 2020 Emerging Jobs Report).
Majors
Tailor your studies to suit your goals. This program offers these options:
By studying cyber security, you'll learn the fundamental processes and practices to protect computing systems from attack, damage or unauthorised access.
You'll study secure programming techniques and ethical hacking to safeguard individuals, businesses and governments against cybercrime, and you'll graduate with highly valued and employable skills.
Career paths can lead to roles such as cyber security analyst, cyber systems engineer or information security officer.
You'll join a growing industry:
- Cyber security specialist was the #2 emerging job of 2020 (LinkedIn 2020 Emerging Jobs Report)
- By 2026, Australia will need 18,000 more cyber security workers
- Australia’s external spending on cyber security products and services grew by 8 per cent in 2018 to $3.9 billion (Australian Cyber Security Growth Network).
You'll learn comprehensive and fundamental techniques for end-to-end processing that transforms data into information, and prepare to become one of the new breed of data science professionals.
This major will prepare you for a career in government departments, consultancy or private sector organisations.
You'll join a growing industry:
- The rise of big data means data scientists are now some of the most in-demand professionals in the world
- Data scientist was the #7 top emerging job of 2020 (LinkedIn 2020 Emerging Jobs Report).
The major focuses on the analytical tools you'll need to design and evaluate public policies. Core courses examine public finance and regulatory economics, while electives include advanced microeconomics, macroeconomics, econometrics and a range of policy courses.
Graduates usually work in public policy, government bodies, not-for-profit organisations, private enterprise and politics.
You will acquire the ability to apply advanced and cutting-edge economic insights to analyse problems and create solutions. You will learn how to interpret, advise and lead in situations involving strategic competition between individuals, teams, businesses and nations. You will understand new ways of collecting and interpreting data.
The major will also provide an opportunity to learn behavioural economics insights about how people behave in the real world, and why this matters. You will gain a deep and cutting-edge knowledge of strategy and behaviour from an economic perspective. This will position you exceptionally well to play a leading part in the future direction of business, government and society.
You'll learn to see the big picture and think beyond borders. You’ll study banking and international trade theories, and gain an understanding of financial systems and the role they play in economies. You'll also get to choose from advanced-level electives in areas including macroeconomics, econometrics and financial management.
Graduates usually work in banking and financial institutions, government agencies, consulting firms, and private enterprise
These algorithms allow computers to do things like automatically identify and harness useful data to help decision making, find hidden insights without being explicitly programmed where to look, and predict outcomes to help authorities design effective policies.
You'll graduate with skills at the forefront of this massive growth area, as society looks for automated solutions to enhance business and our lives through the use of computing systems and data.
These skills can be applied in government departments, consultancy or private sector organisations.
You'll join a growing industry:
- Machine learning engineer was ranked the #2 emerging job of 2022 (LinkedIn Jobs on the Rise 2022).
- AI could contribute up to $15.7 trillion to the global economy in 2030 (PwC research).
- New AI technologies will require highly-skilled workers who can develop and maintain complex systems and applications.
Covering the different paradigms of programming, this major focuses on the design of computer languages that can be easily used to create programs.
You will study the craft and science of programming, and graduate with the skills to enable the construction of effective programming languages and reliable software.
Career paths often lead to roles in government departments, consultancy or private sector organisations.
Programming opens doors beyond tech:
- Programmers write software that can be used to create websites, build computer networks, help doctors treat patients, or even drive a car.
- Half of all programming roles are in finance, manufacturing, health care, and other sectors outside of the technology industry.
- Coding skills can take you places: data analytics, scientists, engineers and designers all use coding.
With its strong mathematical and modelling focus, this major will show you how to analyse problems clearly and based on evidence.
Advanced courses cover areas including statistics, econometric theory and productivity and efficiency analysis.
Graduates usually work in research consultancies, management organisations, private business, and government enterprise.
But computers are also digital systems, which require discrete inputs and outputs, while mathematical analysis often relies on continuous functions. Therefore, careful approximations are needed to allow computers to analyse complex mathematical functions.
You will study algorithms for mathematical analysis and graduate with skills used in various scientific endeavours, including in hospitals and university medical research, and big pharmaceutical and petrochemical companies across the public and private sectors.
You'll join a growing industry:
- Help solve the complex scientific problems of the future using mathematical analysis
- The digital technology sector is one of the fastest growing parts of Australia’s economy
- Data engineer was the #8 emerging job of 2020 (LinkedIn 2020 Emerging Jobs Report).
Fees and Scholarships
Indicative annual fee
Approximate yearly cost of tuition (16 units). Your fees will vary according to your selected courses and study load. Fees are reviewed each year and may increase.
$11,510
2024
$11,510
2024
Approximate yearly cost of tuition (16 units). Your fees will vary according to your study load. Fees are reviewed each year and may increase.
AUD $50,440
2024
AUD $50,440
2024
Government assistance
Financial aid
As an international student, you might be eligible for financial aid – either from your home country, or from the Australian Government.
HECS-HELP
Domestic places in the Bachelors of Computer Science / Economics are Commonwealth Supported. This means the cost of your education is shared between you and the Australian Government.
Instead of tuition fees, Commonwealth Supported students pay what are called student contribution amounts.
HECS-HELP is an Australian Government loan scheme to assist eligible students with the cost of their student contribution amounts.
Centrelink support
The Australian Government offers a number of income-support payments to eligible Australian university students.
Scholarships
You may be eligible for more than 100 scholarships, including:
How to apply
Applying online
If your senior schooling is from outside Australia, you can submit your application to UQ. Or, if you prefer, you can use an approved UQ agent in your country.
The program code for the Bachelors of Computer Science / Economics is 2524.
Find out more about applying for undergraduate study
If your senior schooling is from Australia
Submit your application to the Queensland Tertiary Admissions Centre if you're an international student who is currently studying:
- Australian Year 12 (in Australia or another country), or
- the International Baccalaureate in Australia.
The QTAC code for the Bachelors of Computer Science / Economics is 709105.
Applying through QTAC
All domestic applications should be submitted to the Queensland Tertiary Admissions Centre (QTAC).
The QTAC code for the Bachelors of Computer Science / Economics is 709105.
Important dates
If you’re studying Year 12 in Australia, go to the QTAC website to check the closing date for this program.
If you’re applying to UQ, the closing date for this program is:
- To commence study in semester 1 - November 30 of the previous year.
To learn more about UQ dates, including semester start dates, view the Academic Calendar.
Important dates
To check the closing date for this program, go to the QTAC website.
To learn more about UQ dates, including semester start dates, view the Academic Calendar.
Admissions schemes
Applying to university can be both exciting and daunting, which is why we’ve tried to make the process as simple as we can.
We have several schemes in place to improve your chances of getting a place at UQ.
Pathway options
A rank or score doesn’t determine your potential.
If you're not offered a place in your first-choice program – or if you don't meet the entry requirements – you still have a number of options.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander applicants
For support with applying – or if you have any questions about university life – get in touch with our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies Unit.
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