Economics BSc

Program Overview

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This BSc Economics program focuses on quantitative methods, mathematical analysis, and statistical modeling, equipping students with skills to analyze economic problems and policies. Students can specialize in a methodological pathway, emphasizing theory and advanced techniques, or an applied pathway, focusing on practical applications in various economic sectors. Graduates are highly employable in sectors like government, industry, banking, and academia.

Program Outline

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Degree Overview:

This BSc Economics degree focuses on quantitative methods, mathematical and statistical analysis, including advanced methods, and applies these methods to a variety of economics problems.

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Objectives:

• To specialize in methodological modules.
• To learn rigorous quantitative and analytical skills.
• To apply this knowledge to analyze economic issues and policy.

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Program Description:

• The program has a particular focus on quantitative methods, mathematical and statistical analysis, including advanced methods.
• Students will be introduced to foundational economic principles and theories in their first year and develop core quantitative skills in mathematical and statistical methods for economics.
• In the second year, students will build on their toolkit of theoretical and quantitative skills and select from a set of advanced methodological modules in their final year, with the option of incorporating some applied options available to the BA stream.
• Students can choose which pathway they specialize in.
• The BA Economics and BSc Economics courses have the same core and optional modules in the first and second years, allowing students to study modules in both applied and methodological economics.
• At the end of the second year, students decide whether to focus on the methodological pathway (BSc Economics) or switch to the applied pathway (BA Economics).
This determines the modules they can choose to study in their final year.
• The degree offers the opportunity to do a year-long, paid work placement, starting after the second year with some of the UK's top employers, including the Bank of England, HM Treasury, IBM, and PwC.
• Graduates will be equipped with the practical skills needed to forge a career as an economist in the public, private, or third sector, or other related professions.

• Variety, choice, and flexibility: The course allows students to specialize in their area of interest, building from a broad grounding in economic theory and analysis and guiding them through the pathway of their choice.
• Placement opportunities: The degree comes with the opportunity to do a year-long, paid work placement with a leading employer in the second year.
• Excellent career prospects: 94% of economics students who graduated in 2020 were in employment or further study 15 months after leaving university (2020-21 Graduate Outcomes Survey, UK undergraduates).

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Outline:

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Course Structure:

• The degree is structured around two pathways: methodological and applied.
• The pathways guide students through their learning, allowing them to develop skills and knowledge and specialize in their chosen pathway in their final year.

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Methodological Pathway:

• These modules train students in theoretical, mathematical, and statistical methods and teach them how to use these tools to analyze economics issues.

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Applied Pathway:

• These modules provide students with the skills to analyze economic issues they are most interested in, whether related to individuals, firms, or governments, using the methodological tools they have learned throughout the degree program.
• In their final year, students have the option to specialize in this applied pathway and change their degree to BA Economics.

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Year 1:

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Core Modules:

• Economic Analysis and Policy: This module introduces students to microeconomic and macroeconomic analysis and their application in economic policymaking.
(40 credits)
• Mathematical Methods for Economics 2: This module introduces essential mathematical skills for problem-solving in economics.
(20 credits)
• Statistical Methods for Economics: This module introduces statistical methods and their applications in economics.
(20 credits)

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Optional Modules:

• Classical and Contemporary Thinkers in Economics: This module introduces students to a range of classical and contemporary economists, including the founders of the discipline and some Nobel Prize winners.
(20 credits)
• Economic History of Britain and the Modern World: This module provides an introduction to the economic history of Britain and the evolution of the global economy.
(20 credits)
• Introductory Finance for Economics: This module introduces students to the financing and investment decisions that financial managers make.
(20 credits)

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Year 2:

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Core Modules:

• Intermediate Microeconomics: This module builds on Level 1 modules in microeconomics and mathematical economics, using mathematical training to investigate the principles of microeconomics.
(20 credits)
• Intermediate Macroeconomics: This module provides a grounding in the analytical tools of modern macroeconomics and uses these tools to understand economic policy nationally and internationally.
(20 credits)
• Econometrics: This module introduces students to econometric analysis, including regression models, their properties, and how to solve problems.
(20 credits)

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Optional Modules:

• International Economics: This module addresses fundamental questions in International Economics, with a particular focus on global imbalances.
(20 credits) (20 credits)
• Economics of Financial Institutions: This module covers introductory monetary, banking, and finance theory and issues relating to policy and regulation of the banking and finance system.
(20 credits)
• Public Economics: This module uses the tools of microeconomics and empirical analysis to study the impact of government policies on economic behavior and the distribution of resources in the economy.
(20 credits)
• Industrial Organisation: This module considers the structure, operation, and performance of industries and firms using both economic theory and empirical work.
(20 credits)
• Economic Decision-making: This module studies economic theory and evidence related to decision-making in various contexts, with a view to understanding human decision-making and how it deviates from standard notions of economic rationality.
(20 credits)
• Macroeconomic Policy: This module focuses on applying macroeconomic theory to a variety of economic policy issues, including fiscal and monetary policy.
(20 credits)

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Year 3:

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Methodological Pathway:

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Core Module:

• Economics UG Dissertation: This module aims to provide students with the research skills required to carry out supervised, independent research in economics.
(40 credits)

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Plus a minimum of two from:

• Further Mathematical Methods for Economics: This module builds upon a basic knowledge of mathematical economics, introducing and explaining some of the more advanced mathematical techniques prevalent in modern economics.
(20 credits)
• Further Econometrics: This module introduces students to a number of important advanced topics in econometrics.
(20 credits) (20 credits)
• Advanced Macroeconomics: This module covers topics that illustrate and amplify the core teaching in macroeconomics at level two.
(20 credits)
• Game Theory for Economists: This module equips students with the core knowledge of game theory as used in economics, with special emphasis on applications and examples.
(20 credits)
• Modern Finance: This module introduces some of the main principles of modern finance.
(20 credits)
• Political Economy: This module introduces insights from politics into the study of public policy and economic performance.
(20 credits)
• International Trade: This module covers neoclassical trade theories and more recent trade theories based on economies of scale and/or imperfect competition.
(20 credits)
• Monetary Economics: This module covers monetary theory and monetary policy.
(20 credits) (20 credits)
• Economic Analysis of Inequality and Poverty: This module covers the economic theories used for the analysis of inequality and poverty.
(20 credits) (20 credits)
• Behavioural Economics: This module discusses empirical evidence that underpins non-standard assumptions and reflects on how insights from behavioral economics can be relevant in real life.
(20 credits)
• Environmental Economics: This module provides students with the opportunity to apply economic concepts and methods to issues related to the use and management of the environment and natural resources.
(20 credits)
• The Economics of Innovation: This module studies firms' incentives to invest in innovation and the resulting policy implications.
(20 credits)
• Urban Economics: This module is concerned with understanding the spatial form of cities and the spatial distribution of economic activities within a country.
(20 credits)

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Applied Pathway:

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Core Modules:

• Further Econometrics: This module introduces students to a number of important advanced topics in econometrics.
(20 credits)
• Economic Policy and Practice: This module provides an opportunity for students to apply their skills and knowledge to contemporary economic policy challenges.
(20 credits)

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Plus two from:

• International Trade: This module covers neoclassical trade theories and more recent trade theories based on economies of scale and/or imperfect competition.
(20 credits)
• Monetary Economics: This module covers monetary theory and monetary policy.
(20 credits)
• Urban Economics: This module is concerned with understanding the spatial form of cities and the spatial distribution of economic activities within a country.
(20 credits) (20 credits)
• Economic Analysis of Inequality and Poverty: This module covers the economic theories used for the analysis of inequality and poverty.
(20 credits) (20 credits)
• Behavioural Economics: This module discusses empirical evidence that underpins non-standard assumptions and reflects on how insights from behavioral economics can be relevant in real life.
(20 credits) (20 credits)
• The Economics of Innovation: This module studies firms' incentives to invest in innovation and the resulting policy implications.
(20 credits)
• Game Theory for Economists: This module equips students with the core knowledge of game theory as used in economics, with special emphasis on applications and examples.
(20 credits)
• Advanced Macroeconomics: This module covers topics that illustrate and amplify the core teaching in macroeconomics at level two.
(20 credits)
• Further Mathematical Methods for Economics: This module builds upon a basic knowledge of mathematical economics, introducing and explaining some of the more advanced mathematical techniques prevalent in modern economics.
(20 credits)
• Modern Finance: This module introduces some of the main principles of modern finance.
(20 credits)

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Assessment:

• The degree is primarily exam-based.
• Students are also assessed by written coursework, computer-based assignments, research projects, presentations, and reports.

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Teaching:

• Students learn through lectures, seminars, interactive workshops, tutorials, and computer labs.
• Online resources, such as online videos, are incorporated into teaching.
• The university provides outstanding facilities, study spaces, and support, including 24/7 online access to the online library service.
• Study spaces and computers are available to offer students choice and flexibility for their study.
• The five library sites give students access to over 1.3 million books and periodicals.
• Students can access their library account and rich digital collections from anywhere on or off campus.
• Other library services include study skills training to improve grades and tailored advice from subject experts.

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Careers:

• Graduates become professional economists in government, industry, or the City.
• Others enter related professions, including banking, insurance, accountancy, sales and marketing, and retail management.
• Recent graduates are working for the Bank of England, HM Treasury, the European Parliament, PwC, Deloitte, IBM, and Rolls Royce.
• Some graduates pursue postgraduate studies in economics.

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Other:

• The School of Economics is based in Elmfield building, close to The Wave, the new home for the Faculty of Social Sciences.
• The Wave features state-of-the-art collaborative lecture theatres, study spaces, and seminar rooms.
• Teaching may take place in Elmfield, The Wave, or in other buildings across campus.
• Students will be close to the Students' Union and central libraries.
• Students are taught by top economic experts in their field and receive cutting-edge teaching.
• Staff advise government departments in the UK, such as the Department for Work and Pensions and the Department for Education, as well as advisory bodies such as the Low Pay Commission.
• Their research helps shape government policies and aims to improve people's lives.
• This research also informs what students are taught in their modules.
• The School of Economics has state-of-the-art classrooms in the same building as staff offices.
• Students have their own social space with computer access.

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Tuition Fees and Payment Information

£9,250Home students 2024 annual tuition fee £22,680Overseas students 2024 annual tuition fee