ECON 491

Fall 2026 Part of Term 1

Part of Term 1
Aug 24-Dec 9

Topics in Econometrics

Credit: 3 OR 4 hours.

Special topics applying advanced econometrics concepts. Students will use quantitative analysis and economic theories to answer economic questions and uncover relationships between variables across a variety of topics; instruction in statistical and computing techniques as needed.

3 undergraduate hours. 4 graduate hours. May be repeated if topics vary, repeatability for undergraduate students unlimited; for graduate students to a maximum of 8 credit hours. Prerequisite: ECON 203; ECON 302; and MATH 220/MATH 221 or Calculus I equivalent. See Class Schedule for other prerequisites as indicated depending on topic and content.

My Favorites

My Schedule

Section Status updates every 10 minutes.

ECON 491 class schedule data for fall 2026
CRN	Type	Section	Time	Day	Location	Instructor	Section Details
77796	Lecture-Discussion	A3	2:00PM -3:20PM	TR	120 Architecture Building	Shea, J	Availability: CrossListOpen (Restricted) Part of Term: 1 Date Range: 08/24/26-12/09/26 Credit: 3 hours Section Title: INTERMEDIATE ECONOMETRICS Section Info: NO CREDIT FOR THIS COURSE IF YOU TOOK ECON 471 BEFORE SP25, EXCEPT FOR GRADE REPLACEMENT. FIELD: Econometrics. DESCRIPTION for Intermediate Econometrics: This course is designed to provide students with the essential data analysis skills required to be competitive in the labor market in the new age of AI and is a foundation for advanced 400-level courses including (but not limited to) causal inference, machine learning, forecasting, policy analysis, and financial econometrics. RESTRICTION INFO: https://go.economics.illinois.edu/FallRestrictions Restriction(s): Restricted to Economics or Industrial Engineering or Mathematics or Actuarial Science or Econometrics & Quant Econ or Computer Science & Economics major(s) or minor(s).
77797	Lecture-Discussion	A4	2:00PM -3:20PM	TR	120 Architecture Building	Shea, J	Availability: Closed Part of Term: 1 Date Range: 08/24/26-12/09/26 Special Approval: Departmental Approval Required Credit: 4 hours Section Title: INTERMEDIATE ECONOMETRICS Section Info: Graduate credit requires additional work beyond the undergraduate requirements for this course. Contact instructor for details as soon as instruction begins. See the 3-credit section of this title for course description. Restriction(s): Restricted to Graduate - Urbana-Champaign.
81258	Lecture-Discussion	B3	12:30PM -1:50PM	MW	317 David Kinley Hall	Samiahulin, A	Availability: Open (Restricted) Part of Term: 1 Date Range: 08/24/26-12/09/26 Credit: 3 hours Section Title: ADVANCED DATA ANALYTICS Section Info: FIELD: Econometrics. DESCRIPTION for ADVANCED DATA ANALYTICS. This course explores flexible, data-driven approaches for uncovering complex patterns and relationships in data. Students will learn both how to analyze data in real-world contexts and the ideas that guide these methods. Key topics include nonparametric estimation methods such as kernel density estimation and local polynomial regression, resampling techniques such as the bootstrap, and applications to causal inference. A background in calculus/linear algebra and some familiarity with R are recommended. RESTRICTION INFO: https://go.economics.illinois.edu/FallRestrictions Restriction(s): Restricted to Economics or Econometrics & Quant Econ or Computer Science & Economics major(s) or minor(s).
78399	Lecture-Discussion	C3	11:00AM -12:20PM	MW	317 David Kinley Hall	Cunha Medeiros, M	Availability: CrossListOpen (Restricted) Part of Term: 1 Date Range: 08/24/26-12/09/26 Credit: 3 hours Section Title: INTRO TO ECONOMETRICS OF AI Section Info: FIELD: Econometrics. DESCRIPTION INTRO TO ECONOMETRICS OF AI: This course aims to present students with modern tools for natural language processing and artificial intelligence, and their use in economics and finance. Topics will include: Dictionary models, topic models, neural networks and modern NLP, sentiment analysis, creation of indexes for economic sentiment, large language models (LLM), and economic AI agents. PREREQUISITES: Econ 471 or 491 with the title Intermediate Econometrics, and Econ 491, Applied Machine Learning; Strongly Recommended Linear Algebra (Math 225/227/257/415/416). RESTRICTION INFO: https://go.economics.illinois.edu/SpringRestrictions Restriction(s): Restricted to Economics or Econometrics & Quant Econ or Computer Science & Economics major(s) or minor(s).
78400	Lecture-Discussion	C4	11:00AM -12:20PM	MW	317 David Kinley Hall	Cunha Medeiros, M	Availability: Closed Part of Term: 1 Date Range: 08/24/26-12/09/26 Special Approval: Advisor Approval Required Credit: 4 hours Section Title: INTRO TO ECONOMETRICS OF AI Section Info: Graduate credit requires additional work beyond the undergraduate requirements for this course. Contact instructor for details as soon as instruction begins. See the 3-credit hour section of this title for course description. Restriction(s): Restricted to MS:Economics:Policy Econ -UIUC.
77798	Lecture-Discussion	D3	12:30PM -1:50PM	MW	130 Wohlers Hall	Creal, D	Availability: CrossListOpen (Restricted) Part of Term: 1 Date Range: 08/24/26-12/09/26 Credit: 3 hours Section Title: BAYESIAN MACHINE LEARNING Section Info: FIELD: Econometrics. DESCRIPTION for Machine Learning: Coming Soon. m. PREREQUISITES: Math 231. Linear Algebra is recommended. RESTRICTION INFO: https://go.economics.illinois.edu/FallRestrictions Restriction(s): Restricted to Economics or Econometrics & Quant Econ or Computer Science & Economics major(s) or minor(s).
77799	Lecture-Discussion	D4	12:30PM -1:50PM	MW	130 Wohlers Hall	Creal, D	Availability: Closed Part of Term: 1 Date Range: 08/24/26-12/09/26 Special Approval: Advisor Approval Required Credit: 4 hours Section Title: BAYESIAN MACHINE LEARNING Section Info: Graduate credit requires additional work beyond the undergraduate requirements for this course. Contact instructor for details as soon as instruction begins. See the 3-credit section of this title for course description. Restriction(s): Restricted to MS:Economics:Policy Econ -UIUC.
78397	Lecture-Discussion	E3	9:30AM -10:50AM	TR	317 David Kinley Hall	Bilias, Y	Availability: CrossListOpen (Restricted) Part of Term: 1 Date Range: 08/24/26-12/09/26 Credit: 3 hours Section Title: APPLIED MACHINE LEARNING: ECON Section Info: FIELD: Econometrics. DESCRIPTION for Applied Machine Learning, Econ: Students will gain exposure to a variety of machine learning approaches for supervised and unsupervised learning. Topics include regularized approaches like lasso and ridge regression, trees, boosting, support vector machines, cluster analysis, and predictive assessment using cross validation. Emphasis is given on applications with the use of a programming language like R or Python. This course is not intended for Computer Science + Econ majors. RESTRICTION INFO: https://go.economics.illinois.edu/FallRestrictions Restriction(s): Restricted to Economics or Econometrics & Quant Econ major(s) or minor(s).
78398	Lecture-Discussion	E4	9:30AM -10:50AM	TR	317 David Kinley Hall	Bilias, Y	Availability: Closed Part of Term: 1 Date Range: 08/24/26-12/09/26 Special Approval: Departmental Approval Required Credit: 4 hours Section Title: APPLIED MACHINE LEARNING: ECON Section Info: Graduate credit requires additional work beyond the undergraduate requirements for this course. Contact instructor for details as soon as instruction begins. See the 3-credit section of this title for course description. Restriction(s): Restricted to MS:Economics:Policy Econ -UIUC.
78463	Lecture-Discussion	F3	11:00AM -12:20PM	MW	110 Inst Gov & Public Affairs Bldg	Alonso Fontes, D	Availability: Closed Part of Term: 1 Date Range: 08/24/26-12/09/26 Credit: 3 hours Section Title: DATA ANALYSIS: PROBLEM SOLVING Section Info: FIELD: Econometrics. DESCRIPTION for Data Analysis for Problem Solving: Students in this course will work in groups to organize and analyze a data set, develop models, solve problems, and present results. Classes will alternate discussions about each step of the process with computer lab work. This class focuses on the process, rather than the results, of data analysis and problem-solving. Participation and presentations will be part of the graded work. REQUIRED PREREQUISITES: Econ 203 and practical experience with R or Python. Restriction(s): Restricted to Economics or Econometrics & Quant Econ or Computer Science & Economics major(s) or minor(s).
78464	Lecture-Discussion	F4	11:00AM -12:20PM	MW	110 Inst Gov & Public Affairs Bldg	Alonso Fontes, D	Availability: Closed Part of Term: 1 Date Range: 08/24/26-12/09/26 Special Approval: Advisor Approval Required Credit: 4 hours Section Title: DATA ANALYSIS: PROBLEM SOLVING Section Info: Graduate credit requires an additional paper or project beyond the undergraduate requirements for this course. Contact instructor for details as soon as instruction begins. See the 3-credit section of this title for course description. REQUIRED PREREQUISITES: Econ 503 (MSPE students) or Econ 203 (undergraduate students) and practical experience with R or Python. MSPE students without Econ 503 credit and undergraduate students without Econ 203 or equivalent credit will be removed from this course Restriction(s): Restricted to MS:Economics:Policy Econ -UIUC.