Getting started

Induction and enrolment

Enrolment and registration at the University is a two-step process. By now you should have already completed step one by enrolling online and submitting a photo. It is important that you do this so that you will have a University card which will enable you to use the Library and computing services, including email, both of which you will need right from the start of the course. Step two involves collecting your University card once you arrive here. Find out more details about enrolment at www.warwick.ac.uk/study/welcomeLink opens in a new window.

Our Induction Programme begins in the Welcome Week (23rd September - 27th September 2024) and includes a range of important academic and social activities including: departmental welcome and registration, introductory meetings and your pre-sessional classes for Econometrics, Macroeconomics and Microeconomics. Details of your induction timetable will be available via https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/economics/current/dip/induction and will also be sent to you prior to your arrival.

Term dates

Welcome Week (23 Sept - 27th Sept 2024)

Autumn Term (30 Sept – 7 Dec 2024)

Spring Term (Mon 6 Jan – Sat 15 Mar 2025)

Summer Term (23 Apr – 28 Jul 2025)

Introduction to computing

There will be a presentation by IT Services staff during your inductionLink opens in a new window to introduce you to the computer network at Warwick.

Find out more about the various facilities and further general information provided by the University IT Services at: warwick.ac.uk/services/its/servicessupportLink opens in a new window.

In addition to the induction mentioned above, IT Services also provide further training courses to students at various levels (www.warwick.ac.uk/services/its/servicessupport/trainingLink opens in a new window).

Introduction to the University Library

You will have a Library Introduction meeting and a Database Training session to acquaint you with the University of Warwick library facilities.

Please refer to the Diploma Induction TimetableLink opens in a new window for dates and times of these sessions.

More information about the Library can be found on the University Library websiteLink opens in a new window. Jackie Hanes is the Economics Support Librarian - her email address is: Jackie.Hanes@warwick.ac.uk

English Language Help

If English is not your first language and you wish to improve or are having problems, consult the Centre for English Language Teacher Education. View a list of the in-sessional courses that are provided at: www.warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/warwickfoundationstudies/eap/in-sessional

You can attend these courses even if you have already taken the pre-sessional courses. Please note that approved bilingual dictionaries are now allowed in University examinations (see page 34 for more information).

Course overview

The Diploma programme is quite demanding because it consists mainly of second-year undergraduate modules designed primarily for students who have already done one year of economics. Although there is additional teaching for Diploma students, you will find that there is a lot to learn very quickly. You will have received an email over the summer with further details on preparing for the Diploma programme in Economics, together with some preparation exercises. These are not tests, but are designed to prepare you for the level of the Diploma programme. Spending time thinking about the answer to an exercise is valuable even if you don’t come to a satisfactory conclusion.

Once the academic year begins, you will have to take three core modules and will have a choice of optional modules.

The most likely module choices are listed below. However, variation is possible and if you want to choose a combination of modules to meet your own particular circumstances you may be allowed to do so. Please talk to the Deputy Director of Undergraduate Studies about this. It is possible that some modules may be amended or withdrawn because of staffing changes. However, the modules that run will not be radically different from what is described.

The core modules are the main core modules from the second year of the BSc Economics degree. The lectures are taught jointly with the undergraduates, but as a Diploma student you have separate module Support and Feedback classes for your core modules.

Course Specifications - TECA-L1PA

Course aims:

• To provide students with a structured, cumulative, and rigorous foundation of specialised economic concepts, analysis, techniques, and knowledge including access to current economic research and debates.
• To promote understanding of national and international economic problems, policies, and decision-making including, where appropriate, an understanding of their political, social, and historical context, and to identify changes congruent with efficiency and equity.
• To encourage links between economics and other related disciplines including mathematics, finance, business studies, history, political science, international relations, or a modern language.
• To meet students' aspirations (a) to study in a supportive and intellectually challenging environment, (b) to develop their capacity to learn, (c) to enable them to acquire both subject-specific and generic skills, (d) to train for possible employment or further study as specialised economists or in wider fields where skilled analysis and critical thinking are required.
• To equip students with the generic and subject specific skills, including analysis, critical thinking and quantitative skills to meet national and international demands for high-quality graduates (a) in particular fields of employment, research, and further study where specialised training in economics is required (b) in broader fields of employment

Learning outcomes:

On completion of the 1 year MSc programme students should have provided evidence of being able:

Economics principles: Knowledge and understanding of core concepts and methods of analysis in microeconomics and macroeconomics.

Applied economics: Knowledge and understanding of standard economic models, economic history and quantitative methods and computing techniques (B) applied to problems arising in public policy and the private sector.

Economic information: Knowledge of economic data; understanding of problems and solutions in economic measurement. Research and public policy debate. Familiarity with contemporary theoretical and empirical debates and research outcomes in some more specialised areas of economics.

Analytical thinking: Verbal, graphical or mathematical analysis; concepts of an equilibrium (B); the ceteris paribus method and counterfactual analysis. Critical thinking. Habit of questioning received ideas; judgement and evaluation.

Strategic thinking: Multi-agent decision making, where pay-offs depend on the actions of others Solvability & problem solving. Finding whether there exists a solution to a problem; knowing how to approach a new problem.

Socio-economic awareness: Private versus social costs and benefits; rationale for government and international policy.

Analysis of institutions. What and why institutions exist and how incentives work in them.

Understanding simultaneity and dynamics: Situations in which two or more independent factors vary simultaneously and how the effects vary over time. Evaluation of trade-offs. Concept of opportunity costs. Analysis of optimisation. Concepts of an optimum and efficiency. Assessment of uncertainty. Concepts of expectations and surprises; probability and its applications. Evaluation of the factors that influence income, wealth and well-being. Analysis of how resources are used and how agents, such as firms and households, interact: both at the microeconomic and macroeconomic level.

Evaluation of the inter-relationships between Economics and other disciplines especially in the Social Sciences - and understanding how to frame a problem.

Research skills: Use of library and internet as information sources; locating, extracting, analysing, and presenting data and other material.

Numeracy and quantitative skills: Use of mathematics and diagrams, understanding data, statistical analysis

IT skills and computer technology: Word processing and spreadsheets; specialist econometric or statistical software; internet applications Abstraction (B). Balancing simplification (for tractability) against literalness (for relevance).

Written communication skills

Oral communication skills

Working with others

Problem solving

Information technology

Numeracy

Further details on your course specification are listed below or can be found in the sections noted:

• UCAS codes - Diploma plus MSc P-L1PA
• Home Department - Economics
• Course Leader - Dr Emil Kostadinov
• Contact Information - section 2 (Diploma plus MSc L1PA Regulations)
• Course Duration is 2 years from the course start date unless you are required to resit modules without residence - section 4
• Course Delivery - your course will be delivered in-person at the University of Warwick campus.
• The framework for Higher Education Qualifications level is 7.
• Full credit load and breakdown - section 2 (Degree Course Regulations)
• Details of the course (including learning outcomes) section 2 (Course Specifications)
• Transferable skills and how these relate to the Warwick Award - section 5 Skills acquired through your modules
• The assessment strategy - section 4
• Details of which modules are studied and how they link to progression - section 2
• All details in this handbook relate to students starting their course in the academic year 2024/25.
• Examination conventions (including progression information) - section 4 (Exam boards, progression and resits)
• Rules for Award (including associated exit awards) - section 2 (Honours degrees)

Entry Requirements

Minimum requirements: 2:1 undergraduate degree (or equivalent). You must have a strong background in Mathematics and Statistics. This means you should have achieved a good standard in quantitative modules as part of your undergraduate degree, or have at least an A grade at A level Mathematics (or equivalent).

English languages requirements: This course requires

• Band A
• IELTS overall score of 6.5, minimum component scores not below 6.0.

Additional Information

• Key Dates and Features of the Academic Year section 1 (Term dates)
• Contact Hours section 2 (How we teach and how you learn)

Pre-sessional classes

Students on the Diploma in Economics come from a variety of backgrounds in terms of their academic preparation. In order to assist in the adjustment to the level of the core modules Macroeconomics 2, Microeconomics 2, and Econometrics, we provide pre-sessional classes to prepare you for the material taught in these core modules. The pre-sessional classes will start on Tuesday 24th September 2024 and will cover basic exercises in Microeconomics, Macroeconomics and Statistics. You are required to go to all pre-sessional classes. There may also be some introductory videos on core modules. More information on the Diploma Induction pageLink opens in a new window.

Diploma course modules

You will normally take the following core modules:

In addition, you need to select a further second- or third-year undergraduate module to the value of 30 CATS (or two 15 CAT modules) approved by the Department of Economics. Please note that Diploma students are not able to take WBS modules.

Full details of the core and optional modules we are intending to offer Diploma students can be found at: www.warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/economics/current/dip/modulesLink opens in a new window

However, the information given is indicative rather than definitive. Final decisions on whether any option will actually be taught will be taken by the Head of Department and will depend on the numbers who choose it and staff availability.

Additional Module Support

The Department is committed to providing support for any student who is finding module content difficult. While you can gain help during module Support and Feedback classes and can access Advice and Feedback sessions for further guidance, the Department also provides Study Support Sessions for the core modules. These are optional sessions, where students who are struggling with module content can obtain additional support on the module work from the previous week. Prior to tests on core modules, the Department also puts on Revision Sessions, where you can go along and get help from module tutors and gain a better understanding of the marking criteria and expectations of the assessment.

Online module registration

At the beginning of the Autumn term you will be asked to register your final module choices on the University-wide eMR system. You must do this irrespective of whether your module choices have changed since pre-registration and irrespective of whether your module is approved.

Please note that you cannot take an external option unless you have been accepted on the module concerned by the department that offers it. When you have been accepted by the outside department, registered with them and checked that you have fulfilled any conditions they set, you must also complete your online eMR. If you do not do this, you will not have fully registered for that module.

Timetable

Please note that the timetable is always subject to change at short notice so we do not print it in this handbook.

The lecture timetable can be viewed on the Department of Economics websiteLink opens in a new window. Your personal timetable can be viewed through Tabula. It will be complete when you have registered for all modules, core and optional, and you have been allocated to your lectures, module Support and Feedback classes and other small group classes. You are able to view and link your personal lecture and class timetables to your phone/outlook calendar via the Tabula calendar. Instructions can be found at: www.warwick.ac.uk/services/its/servicessupport/web/tabula/manual/profiles/timetablesLink opens in a new window

Reading lists, lecture handouts and exam papers

Reading lists, lecture slides and all lecture resources will be available on the module's Moodle page. Content for module Support and Feedback classes will also be available on the individual module pages on Moodle. Copies of past examination papers are also available. You can access each module's reading list through the Talis Aspire system. 

Withdrawal from your course

Temporary Withdrawal

A temporary withdrawal (TWD) is an approved period of time when you are not studying for your award and is governed by University Regulation 36.1Link opens in a new window. For more information, also see the guidance from the Academic Office.

You may request periods of temporary withdrawal for a variety of reasons and can find further details about this on the temporary withdrawal webpage. The last date of attendance on any temporary withdrawal request cannot be after the end of term 2. Any request to temporarily withdraw after this point will instead be considered by the Exam Board who will make a decision regarding sits or resits in examinations.

You may request, in the first instance, a maximum of 12 months of temporary withdrawal from your course of study. Periods of temporary withdrawal for less than 12 months are not permitted. In order to make a temporary withdrawal request, you should first talk with your Personal Tutor or Year Tutor and can discuss this in the Academic and Pastoral Support daily drop-in sessions. You must then complete an online Temporary Withdrawal Request Form, which should be submitted along with the relevant medical or other evidence. The Director of Undergraduate Studies will recommend that the request be approved or declined and if it is recommended for approval, the request will be sent to the Academic Registrar for final approval or decline. Please note that if you are requesting temporary withdrawal on medical or health-related grounds you must supply a recent medical note in support of your request.

Note that requests for retrospective temporary withdrawal, typically so that you effectively restart the academic year when you return, will be considered only in exceptional circumstances. Such requests must include a clear rationale outlining why you were unable to make the request earlier. Retrospective temporary withdrawal can only be backdated by a maximum of four weeks for student visa holders. If you are a student visa holder you should go to the Immigration TeamLink opens in a new window to seek advice from an Immigration Adviser as a temporary withdrawal will affect your visa.

You should speak to Student FinanceLink opens in a new window and AccommodationLink opens in a new window to notify them of your temporary withdrawal once it has been confirmed.

During a period of temporary withdrawal or resit without residence, you are not permitted to attend lectures or module Support and Feedback classes, either formally or informally. However, in order to help you prepare for your return to study or sitting examinations, access to University IT facilities and the Library will normally continue during these periods.

Returning after a period of temporary withdrawal

If you are returning part-way through an academic year, e.g. at the start of the spring or summer term, you will be assessed on the basis of the syllabus you have personally followed during your period of residence or study at Warwick. If the syllabus of a module has changed during your absence, then you will be set a special examination paper which covers the material you have followed.

Permanent withdrawal

If you feel that you would like to permanently withdraw from your course, whether after a period of temporary withdrawal or not, please make an appointment to see your Personal Tutor or go along to the Academic and Pastoral Support daily drop-in sessions. Here, you will be able to discuss this important decision and receive advice on the implications. If, after this discussion, you are resolved to withdraw from your course, you must complete the online Permanent Withdrawal Form, which can be accessed hereLink opens in a new window. This will be reviewed by the UG office, who will liaise with the Director of Undergraduate Studies, who will then arrange to inform the Academic Office of your departure. Please note that you should seek advice from Student FinanceLink opens in a new window on any implications for your fee payments and also from Warwick AccommodationLink opens in a new window. International Students should contact the Immigration TeamLink opens in a new window for details on visa implications.

How we teach and how you learn

Teaching and Learning

We have always been focused on enhancing teaching and learning and the main elements of the teaching process in our Department are lectures, module Support and Feedback classes, assessed work, examinations and Advice and Feedback hours. You will also be expected to undertake your own independent study. Through the richness of the curricula and syllabi, you are able to develop a range of skills, capacities and capabilities, which are designed to meet the aims and learning objectives of the courses and modules. It is appropriate that different learning objectives are assessed in different ways and this is reflected in a wide variety of types of both formative and summative assessment.

Contact hours are designed to be high in the Autumn and Spring Terms. In the Summer Term, your independent study time will increase as you revise for exams.

As a Department we are mindful of the different academic backgrounds of our students. We are aware that the UK higher education system may be very different to systems in which you have previously studied. With this in mind, we do our best to help familiarize you with the academic culture in the UK, particularly around how learning takes place in lectures and classes, approaches to assessment, expected standards of work, marking and academic conduct.

Lectures

Modules will normally have a 2 hour in-person lecture each week which will show on your Tabula timetable.

These lectures will take many different forms, depending on how the lecturer wants to organise the module. It may take the form of a workshop, where the lecturer goes through applications of previous lecture content, perhaps through solving exercises. The lecturer may also draw on questions posted within the module's forum and answer these during the lecture.

These lectures may be recorded through Lecture Capture. The recordings will be available to view via your module's Moodle page. Lecture Capture, which is supported via IT Services, allows you to view the images and listen to the recordings from the relevant lecture.

A brilliant lecture, delivered by an academic who is a leading researcher in their field can be a wonderful experience: you are strongly encouraged to attend the in-person lecture at the time of delivery, so that you can experience the benefits of being taught by academics whose work is at the cutting edge of research.

Taking notes in lectures will help you stay alert; the experts call this “promoting concentration.” Studies show that going over your notes later on the day of the lecture produces a significant improvement in understanding and retention. But attending lectures alone is not sufficient for you to acquire an active grasp of economics.

Lecture capture

Recordings in the lecture capture system are intended for use by students registered on the relevant module and should be clearly marked as Warwick resources. Access is limited to the staff and students of the University and you are not permitted to share recordings further. The continued provision of lecture recordings on any given module are contingent on attendance at lectures remaining sufficiently high.

We do not permit personal capture of lectures or classes without explicit approval of the lecturer or tutor concerned.

The University's Lecture Capture PolicyLink opens in a new window and Policy on Recording of Lectures by StudentsLink opens in a new window provides further information on recording lectures.

Module Support and Feedback Classes

'Module Support and Feedback classes,' 'seminars,' 'classes,' 'tutorials' and 'supervisions' are all different names for essentially the same thing; compulsory teaching in small groups. Some modules do not have Support and Feedback classes, due to their small size, whereby live lectures themselves provide the same purpose. Other modules will have these classes every week, while some will have fortnightly classes. Module Support and Feedback classes allow for more informal, less scripted interaction and occur. Each of these classes is managed by a tutor who will :

• invite you to raise problems
• provide feedback on your understanding of material
• lead discussion
• invite you to lead discussion, usually after some preparation
• assign and grade coursework
• record your attendance, participation and marks
• offer you any individual advice, in or out of the module Support and Feedback class.
  

Your preparation for module Support and Feedback classes and participation in the class discussions are essential to your economics education. Here are some reasons for this:

• through your independent reading and discussion with others you will be exposed to a variety of viewpoints, learn to choose among them, and you will be better prepared to develop your own distinctive ideas
• by discussing the module materials with other students you will identify common problems and misunderstandings and overcome them
• studies show that students remember a far higher proportion of the material they have actively discussed, compared with the proportion of material they have heard passively
• by preparing presentations, collaborating with others, and engaging in debate you will develop your own transferable skills which will prove invaluable in post-university employment.

Feedback

Learning is a dynamic process and feedback plays an important role in helping you to develop your knowledge and build confidence in your own abilities. Our aim, therefore, is to provide you with as much feedback as is reasonably achievable, given the volume of students taught on any module. You will receive various forms of feedback throughout your Diploma course, including:

Written comments

The annotations and constructive comments provided when marked work is returned to you, which should guide you as to improvements you can make and allow you to reflect on your performance.

Generic feedback

The performance of previous cohorts is given on the Student Performance and Feedback page of each module webpage. You should use this information to reflect on your performance and how you ranked relative to your peers in previous years. For each assessment, you will also receive a set of generic comments on how well your cohort performed, together with a distribution of marks so you can consider your performance against your current cohort.

Solutions

All tests/problem sets will have a set of written solutions, which should be used by you to work back over the test paper and learn from any mistakes.

Module Support and Feedback classes

These feedback sessions are a prime opportunity to ask questions and generate discussion. Solutions will be provided to some of the exercises that are completed in class, but in other cases, solutions will be discussed only in class. Any solutions that are provided, whether written or verbal are an invaluable source of feedback.

Advice and Feedback hours

These are an opportunity for you to meet with your lecturers and tutors on a one-to-one basis and receive invaluable feedback and guidance or simply discuss interesting topics.

Forums

The online forums for each module allow you to raise questions and ideas for further discussion with your peers, module leaders and class tutors.

Feedback from module evaluations

In the Autumn and Spring Terms you will be asked to fill in an online evaluation questionnaire for each economics module that you take. This gives you the opportunity to express your views on various aspects of the module.

Our module evaluation form is online and includes space for written comments.

• The written comments are retained by the module leader, though they are also read by the Head of the Department.
• Each module leader writes a response to the main points raised in the module evaluation. These responses are shared with students via module webpages.
• A summary of the responses to module evaluations is shared with the SSLC.
  
• At the end of the year each module leader writes an annual module report, incorporating both qualitative and quantitative feedback results.
• These reports are reviewed by the Director of Undergraduate Studies, who summarises the main issues for the Department’s Undergraduate Management Committee. This identifies causes for concern, suggests action to overcome problems, and monitors trends from year to year. Reports may also be made available to outside agencies such as QAA subject review assessors.
• At the end of the year we produce an annual course report covering all the modules within the degree courses, identifying any positive features and issues for action where improvement is needed.
• Finally, sections of both module and course reports will be made available to your Student-Staff Liaison Committee and will be uploaded to module web pages.

The feedback you provide is an essential input into our quality management process. It will help to improve the teaching and learning environment for yourselves and for future students. We ask you to take part in it thoughtfully and seriously.

Monitoring points

We want to be sure that you are coping with your work, engaging with your course, and not falling behind and so we ask that you meet 13 ‘Monitoring Points’ throughout the academic year.

As you progress through the academic year you will be able to see on your Tabula page how many Monitoring Points you have successfully attained and how many you have missed. Please inform the Undergraduate Office as soon as possible should you believe a mistake to have been made in your Monitoring Points record. You will also be prompted at various points to check your monitoring points record on Tabula for accuracy, and it is important that you respond to this before the given deadline or it may not be possible to make any amendments.

 
Please be aware that you will be contacted should we become concerned about your missed Monitoring Points.

Student visa students should be particularly aware of the consequences of missing Monitoring Points: the Academic Office is obliged to report to the Home Office UK Visas and Immigration (formerly the UK Borders Agency) if any student visa students have been found not to be engaging with and attending their degree course. This will normally lead to the curtailment of their visas.

1. After three Monitoring Points are missed we will contact you to investigate whether you are having any problems that are preventing you from fully engaging with your course.
2. After four Monitoring Points are missed, we will contact you again and we may refer you to the relevant professional within the University welfare system who could help you, such as the Dean of Students, the Disability Coordinator or Mental Health Coordinator, as appropriate.
3. After five Monitoring Points are missed you will be contacted to make you aware that you are at serious risk of being recommended for termination of your registration at the University.
4. After six Monitoring Points are missed the Department is able to invoke Regulation 36 to begin termination of registration proceedings and your case is handed over to the Academic Office.

Monitoring class absences

You are required to attend all of your allocated module Support and Feedback classes. At the start of each module Support and Feedback class your tutor will record your attendance or absence and input this data into Tabula within 24 hours (please note that late arrival (after 15 minutes) may result in an absence being recorded by your class tutor). You can see which module Support and Feedback class you have been allocated to or have signed up to by logging into Tabula. In order to keep module Support and Feedback class sizes stable, you are not permitted to swap your group unless you have the prior express permission of the UG Office and you have a compelling reason, like a timetable clash. If you attend a different group from the one to which you have been allocated, you will simply be marked as absent from your group. Module Support and Feedback class tutors do not have the authority to give permission for students to swap between classes.

If you are taking a module in another department, you should make sure you are aware of that particular department’s procedures regarding class absences. However, you should note that it is still the Department of Economics (your home department) who will either condone or uphold your absence accordingly.