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School of Social Sciences

Undergraduate study

There are two main routes to an undergraduate Economics degree at Manchester. These are:

(i) the Bachelor of Economic Science (BEconSc) degree (UCAS L102)

Our flagship undergraduate programme, the BEconSc is a specialist Economics degree aimed at those who have a quantitative background (A-level Maths or equivalent) and who have decided to specialise in Economics at University.

(ii) the BA(Econ) degree (UCAS L100)

Single Honours Economics can be studied as part of the BA(Econ) degree. There is no requirement for A-Level Maths and students may also choose a joint specialism with other subjects.

In addition Economics contributes to a wide range of joint programmes including Politics, Philosophy and Economics (PPE). A full list of these programmes is available via the Economics Courses link on menu at the left.

In the remainder of this page we provide further information on the BEconSc.

The Bachelor of Economic Science (BEconSc-Economics. UCAS Code L102)

The BEconSc is administered by the Economics Discipline Area.

Background

Rigorous understanding of how the economy works is essential for governments, businesses, households, individuals and other institutions and organisations in society.  The overall aim of the BEconSc is to provide a learning environment within which able and motivated students can acquire the necessary skills to develop such an understanding.

The BEconSc is a quantitative economics degree designed for those who have already chosen to specialise in economics and have a good mathematical background. Modern professional economists need skills in economic principles, mathematical modelling and econometric analysis of economic data, together with a detailed knowledge of their chosen specialism. In line with this requirement, the BEconSc degree has at its core a compulsory stream of courses in economic principles and quantitative methods. Together with a range of optional courses this allows students to develop their specialist interests in most areas of modern economics. In addition, in your third year, you can choose to specialise in Econometrics & Mathematical Economics and/or Financial Economics, rather than following the broader Economics programme.

Specifically the main aims of the BEconSc degree are:-

Career Opportunities

While there are considerable benefits associated with being in higher education purely for its own sake, most of you will be looking to a future career when choosing a university and a programme of study.

Economics graduates are fortunate to be one of the most employable and well paid groups of graduates. A survey of 18,000 students examined the level of salary that students earned ten years after graduation from their first degree. It found that graduates in economics had the second highest level of salary, exceeded only by clinical dentists, putting them above law, accountancy, business management and significantly ahead of other social sciences, like
geography and politics.

Over the past years, BEconSc graduates have gone to work for organisations including: The Bank of England, Merrill Lynch, Goldman Sachs, Citibank, United Assurance, PricewaterhouseCoopers, The Post Office, the Government Civil Service, the Government Statistical Service, HSBC, Ford Motor Company, Prudential plc, Nationwide Building Society and Deutsche Bank.

[Link to Careers for BEconSc-Economics Graduates]


In recent years, more than half of the BEconSc graduates have continued on to postgraduate training at various universities, including: Cambridge, Kings College, Manchester, Bristol, Morris Peter William College, Warwick and LSE. Some students have chosen to stay in Manchester and deepen their knowledge of the subject by studying for a PhD, many of whom are supported by ESRC-studentship.

Programme Structure

The distinctive feature of the BEconSc-Economics is a structured programme of core (compulsory) components which combines core modules in economics with the opportunity of further specialisation in areas of particular interest to students.

Year 1
In your first year, the core components include:

The first-year units allow you to develop your personal transferable skills, including IT skills, and to enhance your quantitative and economic understanding. In addition, free choice course units include languages, philosophy, other social sciences or options in mathematics.

Years 2 & 3
In your second and final years, the core components are:

In both years, these core components are combined with a flexible choice of course units drawn from all areas of the economics discipline including a collection of courses in Finance.

This flexible choice of optional course units allows students to develop deep specialist knowledge, in order that graduates can either pursue postgraduate training in economics, finance, or any related area, or enter directly into the job market.

When you graduate, your chosen course units (in your final year) combine to give you a degree specialisation in either:

In this way, your focus can be linked to the kind of career you wish to pursue after graduation. Irrespective of the particular area you are focusing on, employers look for candidates who can produce sound and clear reports that make sense of the available data using advanced quantitative skills in analysis and modelling. The analytical reasoning, essay writing and quantitative techniques provided in the BEconSc degree give our graduates the very best employment prospects and a healthy start in their post-Manchester career.

 

The Teaching Programme

The academic year at Manchester is divided into two semesters and successfully completed courses provide students with 10 or 20 credits towards completion of the degree. Typically a 10 credit course is completed within a semester while a 20 credit course is spread over the entire academic year. For a successful graduation, students on the BEconSc-Economics programme are required to complete 120 credits in each of the three academic years of study. Each year must be completed before proceeding to the next one. We encourage students to split the workload evenly over the academic year, so that typically six courses are studied in each semester.

First Year
A compulsory 60 credits of course units ensure core training in microeconomics and macroeconomics, mathematics and statistics, study skills, supplemented with an introduction to applied economics. Beyond this, you are largely free to choose the remaining 60 credits in order to enhance your mathematical training, widen your understanding of socio-political and legal issues, study languages, and/or target the BEconSc specialisms (advice will be given about this on arrival at Manchester). These include, but are not limited to, units in: Financial Decision-Making; Financial Reporting; Development Economics; Mathematics; Philosophy; Business Law; British Industrialisation; Work, Organisations and Society; Chinese (or another foreign language); or Computer Skills.

Second Year
A compulsory 80 credits of course units reinforce your understanding of micro and macroeconomic principles, mathematical economics and econometrics. The remaining 40 credits are a free choice of units, but may be influenced by the third-year specialisms. These focus on sub-areas of the economic discipline, including finance. You will also have the opportunity to take the Manchester Leadership Programme, run by the Careers Service.

Third Year

A compulsory 60 credits round off your understanding of core microeconomics and macroeconomics, as well as advancing your core skills in econometrics and/or mathematical economics. The remaining 60 credits are earned by pursuing your chosen specialist area of Economics, Econometrics and Mathematical Economics, or Financial Economics.

The following link brings you to our Economics modules.

 

 

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