Core modules
The first year consists of four core modules and up to three options. The second year has five core modules and no optional modules. In the third year, there are two core modules and up to four optional modules and a research project.
Within your course regulations, we will permit you to choose any year-specific option offered by any department in the University, provided that you satisfy the pre-requisites or other requirements for that module and that the offering department permits you to take the module.
The final degree classification is determined by your second and final year marks and each contributes 50%.
Important information
We are planning to make changes to our Economics and Industrial Organisation (BSc) degree for 2023 entry. Changes to core modules go through the University's rigorous academic processes. As module changes are confirmed, we will update the course information on this webpage. It is therefore very important that you check this webpage for the latest information before you apply and prior to accepting an offer. Sign up to receive updates.
Year One
Macroeconomics 1
You will consider the fundamental determinants of Gross Domestic Product, unemployment and inflation and look at how these variables interact in the short-run. By the module’s end, you should have become familiar with a range of macroeconomic issues, including topics on theories of consumption and investment, government finances, the Phillips curve, and monetary rules. You will be able to use the correct terminology and measurement practices of macroeconomics. There will be opportunities to apply your learning by devising simple structural models, including definitions, assumptions and the behavioural characteristics of key agents, using both mathematical and graphical techniques.
Read more about the Macroeconomics 1 moduleLink opens in a new window, including the methods of teaching and assessment (content applies to 2022/23 year of study).
Microeconomics 1
On this module, you will gain a thorough grounding in the basic principles of microeconomics and study several applications of theory, with the aim of being able to demonstrate your knowledge of major topics, including supply and demand, consumer theory and behavioural economics, competition, profit maximisation and cost minimisation, oligopoly, game theory and collusion, and the work of the major theorists Bertrand, Cournot and Stackelberg. You will learn to use appropriate terminology in a wide range of more advanced topics relevant to microeconomics, such as Nash equilibria, asymmetric information and moral hazard.
Read more about the Microeconomics 1 moduleLink opens in a new window, including the methods of teaching and assessment (content applies to 2022/23 year of study).
Quantitative Techniques
This module combines two modules: Mathematical Techniques and Statistical Techniques. You will cover topics ranging from algebra and calculus to distributions and hypothesis testing, which will provide you with key skills and knowledge that will then applied in many other modules. In addition, you will be introduced to some advanced statistical software packages, which will help you learn about a range of techniques to analyse data and different ways in which you can present data.
Read more about these modules, including the methods of teaching and assessment (content applies to 2021/22 year of study):
Foundations of Finance
The module will introduce you to the key concepts of Finance, giving you good preparation to study more advanced modules in related disciplines. It will teach you the main theories and models of Finance (and the assumptions that underpin them), enabling you to apply these theories to the financial press that you are encouraged to read daily. You will cover topics including present value of expected future cash flows, estimating the cost of capital, the Efficient Markets Hypothesis, Interest-rate parity and purchasing power parity theorems in the context of foreign exchange. You will also consider various shareholder ratios and learn about constructing spreadsheets to calculate net present values and internal rates of return. You will learn how to critically analyse and reflect on the limitations of models and develop the tools to solve numerical problems and analyse case studies.
Read more about the Foundations of Finance moduleLink opens in a new window, including the methods of teaching and assessment (content applies to 2022/23 year of study).
Plus up to three optional modules.
Year Two
Macroeconomics 2
On this module, you will learn to understand and apply the core theoretical models used in macroeconomics, for both closed and open economies, in order to enhance your comprehension of real-world macroeconomic experiences, especially involving macroeconomic policy. By the end of this module, you should be able to present clearly and methodically your understanding of a variety of common theoretical models and their inter-relationships, including through the use of equations and graphics. We will typically cover all major areas, including but not limited to, flexible pricing and sticky-price models; consumption and growth; wage-setting and unemployment; fiscal and monetary policy; international trade and exchange rate systems; and international financial markets.
Read more about the Macroeconomics 2 moduleLink opens in a new window, including the methods of teaching and assessment (content applies to 2022/23 year of study).
Microeconomics 2
You will gain a solid understanding of intermediate and some advanced principles of microeconomics and be exposed to a range of applications of theory. You will spend time on the use of mathematical concepts in the field for analysis, and cover important principles of general equilibrium and social welfare, market failure, choice and uncertainty, and static and dynamic games of complete and incomplete information. By the end of this module, you will be able to analyse a range of microeconomic concepts, using a range of approaches, including graphical and mathematical techniques and apply your knowledge to policy issues and to the analysis of different sectors.
Read more about the Microeconomics 2 moduleLink opens in a new window, including the methods of teaching and assessment (content applies to 2022/23 year of study).
Econometrics 1
You'll be equipped with important skills of both academic and vocational value, being an essential part of the intellectual training of an economist and also useful for your future career. This includes an awareness of the empirical approach to economics; experience in analysis and use of empirical data; understanding the nature of uncertainty and methods of dealing with it; and using econometric software packages as tools of quantitative and statistical analysis. With the required necessary skills and knowledge to critically appraise work in applied economics, you'll have a good grasp of the dangers, pitfalls and problems encountered in applied modelling. You will then be able to apply this knowledge to a research project of your own.
Read more about the Econometrics 1 moduleLink opens in a new window, including the methods of teaching and assessment (content applies to 2022/23 year of study).
Industrial Economics 1: Market Structure
Why are firms grouped together in industries in particular ways? How do the interactions between firms influence efficiency, profits, technical progress and welfare? What are the determinants of profitability? Does oligopoly always lead to collusion? These are some of the questions you’ll engage with as you study the nature of market power in industrial economies. This module will see you finding empirical support for theoretical models of economic performance, and solving algebraic problems as part of a team in order to refine your understanding of economic models and increase your grasp of the methodology of economic model-making, including through the study of game theory and the work of Bertrand, Cournot and Stackelberg.
Read more about the Industrial Economics 1: Market Structure moduleLink opens in a new window, including the methods of teaching and assessment (content applies to 2022/23 year of study).
Industrial Economics 1: Strategic Behaviour
You will develop your understanding of a range of business-pricing and related practices, including advertising, auctioning, franchising, consumer switching behaviour and vertical integration, through the lens of economics, moving from abstract modelling to applying strategies to real-life situations. You will learn how opportunities and constraints in pricing apply to different groups of consumers, including consideration of the influence of technological change, and will analyse the extent to which the models are supported by empirical studies. Practical work will enable you to refine your ability to structure an argument, and work as part of a team towards the achievement of specific objectives.
Read more about the Industrial Economics 1: Strategic Behaviour moduleLink opens in a new window, including the methods of teaching and assessment (content applies to 2022/23 year of study).
Year Three
Research in Applied Economics
You will have the opportunity to deepen and consolidate your knowledge by applying your understanding of economic theory to a research question that arouses your curiosity. You will use a combination of economic analysis and statistical and econometric techniques to formulate and pursue your research interest, supported by lectures on research methodology and supervision by a member of academic staff, who will support your research towards an independent project. The work will increase your confidence in formulating economic questions, and the scientific method of developing a suitable approach, conducting a literature review and data searches, identifying and testing hypotheses and using your findings to construct coherent, persuasive scholarly arguments, presented in both written and oral form.
Read more about the Research in Applied Economics moduleLink opens in a new window, including the methods of teaching and assessment (content applies to 2022/23 year of study).
Industrial Economics 2: Strategy and Planning
On this module, you will study more advanced economics topics in the modern theory and modelling of industrial organisation. You will increase your ability to formulate, model and analyse issues, such as multi-market monopolies, dynamic competition, advertising and obfuscation, product differentiation and behavioural industrial organisation. The module will place a special emphasis on the increasing importance of platforms and two-sided markets such as Uber and AirBnB alongside more traditional digital platforms such as Amazon and eBay.
Read more about the Industrial Economics 2: Strategy and Planning moduleLink opens in a new window, including the methods of teaching and assessment (content applies to 2022/23 year of study).
Industrial Economics 2: Market Economics, Competition and Regulation
This module aims to enable students to put industrial organisation theory into a practical context, focusing on the regulation of utility industries and competition policy issues. As such, it will provide students with an opportunity to analyse policy issues arising in different market structures. This module will also help enable students to build an understanding of how economics informs policy-making and how to apply effective policy in the areas of regulation and competition policy.
Read more about the Industrial Economics 2: Market Economics, Competition and Regulation moduleLink opens in a new window, including the methods of teaching and assessment (content applies to 2022/23 year of study).
Plus up to four optional modules.
Optional modules
Optional modules can vary from year to year. Example optional modules may include:
- World Economy: History and Theory
- Environmental Economics
- Development Economics
- Labour Economics
- International Trade
- Financial Economics
- Behavioural Economics
- Public Policy
