Admission Requirements
The Econophysics course is intended for BSc, MSc and PhD students. Prior knowledge in statistical physics and probability theory is not strictly required to participate. Yet, some proficiency in both will greatly help. Knowledge in economics and finance is not required.
Description
The course provides an overview of the subject of Econophysics, presented as an active research field with many open questions, rather than an established discipline with settled results. Economic and financial systems are regarded as complex systems composed of many interacting and networked units. Extensive empirical results and theoretical tools, including probability theory, random matrix theory and graph theory, are introduced. The course has a modular structure and its schedule is organized into four intense weeks, roughly one per month, each covering a relatively self-contained topic of increasing complexity.
Topics: * Introduction to Econophysics and elements of probability theory; * Single financial time series: empirical properties versus the random walk model; * Multiple financial time series: empirical cross-correlations and Random Matrix Theory; * Financial and economic networks: empirical properties and random graph models.
Course objectives
Identifying what types of scientific problems the field of Econophysics deals with;
Familiarizing with the evolution of key research questions in the field;
Acquiring a sufficient knowledge of probability theory, time series analysis, correlation analysis and network science to be applicable to Econophysics problems;
Acquiring a scientific perspective giving priority to reconciling models with empirical data.
Transferable skills
Scientific curiosity, creating connections among different contexts and disciplines, thinking out of the box, being able to formulate hypotheses about problems for which one has no prior knowledge, abstraction and generalization in a multidisciplinary context.
Timetable
See timetable in Brightspace.
In MyTimetable, you can find all course and programme schedules, allowing you to create your personal timetable. Activities for which you have enrolled via MyStudyMap will automatically appear in your timetable.
Additionally, you can easily link MyTimetable to a calendar app on your phone, and schedule changes will be automatically updated in your calendar. You can also choose to receive email notifications about schedule changes. You can enable notifications in Settings after logging in.
Questions? Watch the video, read the instructions, or contact the ISSC helpdesk.
Note: Joint Degree students from Leiden/Delft need to combine information from both the Leiden and Delft MyTimetables to see a complete schedule. This video explains how to do it.
Mode of instruction
Combination of frontal lectures, group work, and presentations. More information and all material will be available on Brightspace.
Assessment method
Student presentations and written exam.
As homework assignment during the course, students (when possible, in groups) will prepare a short presentation, to be delivered to the rest of the class, about a pre-assigned research article in the field of Econophysics. The topic of such articles, while being connected to the course content, will also expand beyond it and provide extra learning material for the class. Students will receive a grade for their presentations, based on the demonstrated level of understanding and clarity.
At the end of the course, a written examination will take place. If the grade of the written exam is greater than or equal to 5.5, then the final grade of the course will be calculated as the (rounded) maximum of the grade of the written exam and the 50%-50% average of the written exam and the presentation. If the final grade is not successful (below 5.5/10), or if the written exam is not successful (below 5.5), students can take a written retake exam and the final grade will be recalculated using the same rules as above.
Reading list
Required: course slides and other notes/material (available on BrightSpace).
Suggested: textbook “Econophysics: An Introduction” by S. Sinha, A. Chatterjee, A. Chakraborti, B.K. Chakrabarti (Publisher: Wiley-VCH, 2010; ISBN: 978-3-527-40815-3).
Registration
As a student, you are responsible for enrolling on time through MyStudyMap.
In this short video, you can see step-by-step how to enrol for courses in MyStudyMap.
Extensive information about the operation of MyStudyMap can be found here.
There are two enrolment periods per year:
Enrolment for the fall opens in July
Enrolment for the spring opens in December
See this page for more information about deadlines and enrolling for courses and exams.
Note:
It is mandatory to enrol for all activities of a course that you are going to follow.
Your enrolment is only complete when you submit your course planning in the ‘Ready for enrolment’ tab by clicking ‘Send’.
Not being enrolled for an exam/resit means that you are not allowed to participate in the exam/resit.
Contact
Lecturer: Prof. D. Garlaschelli
Remarks
Software
Starting from the 2024/2025 academic year, the Faculty of Science will use the software distribution platform Academic Software. Through this platform, you can access the software needed for specific courses in your studies. For some software, your laptop must meet certain system requirements, which will be specified with the software. It is important to install the software before the start of the course. More information about the laptop requirements can be found on the student website.