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Economics and Politics

Entry requirements


A level

B,B,C-B,C,C

BBC: Standard offer // BCC: If the student is also presenting either Core Maths or Extended Project Qualification (EPQ) grade B // BCC: Contextual offer (Please see this webpage for more details - https://www.aston.ac.uk/undergraduate/contextual-offer-aston-ready)

Access to HE Diploma

D:30,M:15

We accept the QAA-recognised Access Diploma which must consist of 45 credits at Level 3. You must obtain a minimum of 30 distinction and the rest must be at merit or distinction. Please note that we do not accept the English and Maths components within the Access qualification and you must meet the GCSE entry requirement.

GCSE/National 4/National 5

A minimum of 5 GCSEs at grade C or grade 4 and above are required, including English Language/Literature at grade C/4 and GCSE Mathematics at grade B/5.

International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme

29

5,5,4 in 3 Higher level subjects with at least 5 in Standard level Maths.

Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)

DDM

DDM: standard offer // The University also accepts the BTEC Level 3 National Extended Certificate/BTEC Level 3 Subsidiary Diploma and BTEC Level 3 National Diploma/BTEC Level 3 Diploma for entry onto degree programmes, provided that they are studied in combination with other qualifications that are equivalent to three full A2 Levels.

T Level

D

The following T levels are accepted qualifications for this course: T-Level - Design, Surveying and Planning for Construction Grade D T-Level - Digital Production, Design and Production Grade D T-Level – Education and Childcare Grade D T-Level – Onsite Construction Grade D T-Level – Building Services Engineering for Construction Grade D T-Level – Digital Business Services Grade D T-Level – Digital Support Services Grade D T-Level – Health Grade D T-Level – Healthcare Science Grade D T-Level – Science Grade D

UCAS Tariff

104-112

We've calculated how many Ucas points you'll need for this course.

About this course


Course option

4years

Sandwich | 2024

Subjects

Economics

Politics

**Course outline**
As a student on the BSc (Hons) Economics and Politics course, you’ll have the opportunity to explore political topics going beyond the UK and Europe, covering North America, South Asia, China, Japan or the emerging global powers. You will acquire the ability to analyse and understand political problems, socio-cultural change and political institutions and structures.

You’ll develop an ability to investigate a range of political and economic issues, and gain a sound understanding of how economic and political issues are often closely interrelated in today’s globalised mass society. You’ll become familiar with a range of tools needed to solve a variety of complex economic problems, and develop research and analytical skills, equipping you with highly relevant, adaptable skills that are transferable across whatever career path you choose.

**Key benefits**
- As part of your degree you’ll undertake a professional placement year, gaining valuable practical experience that employers demand. Aston University’s Careers and Placements team was recognised as the ‘Best University Placement Service’ at the National Undergraduate Employability (NUE) Awards 2022.

- Aston Business School is part of an elite group of business schools who hold the gold standard ‘triple crown’ accreditation from AACSB (Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business), AMBA (Association of MBA's) and EQUIS (European Quality Improvement System).

- Economics at Aston University was ranked among the top 15 universities for graduate-level employment, 15 months after graduation (Guardian, 2022).

- Politics at Aston University was ranked 5th in the UK for ‘graduate prospects – on track’ (Complete University Guide, 2023).

- Politics at Aston University was ranked among the top 10 universities in the UK for ‘student to staff ratio’ (Guardian, 2023).

Modules

For more information on this course and a full list of modules, visit the course page:
https://www.aston.ac.uk/study/courses/economics-and-politics-bsc/september-2022

Assessment methods

For more information on the methods of assessment on this course, visit the course page:
https://www.aston.ac.uk/study/courses/economics-and-politics-bsc/september-2022

Tuition fees

Select where you currently live to see what you'll pay:

England
£9,250
per year
International
£18,250
per year
Northern Ireland
£9,250
per year
Scotland
£9,250
per year
Wales
£9,250
per year

The Uni


Course location:

Aston University, Birmingham

Department:

School of Social Sciences and Humanities

Read full university profile

What students say


We've crunched the numbers to see if overall student satisfaction here is high, medium or low compared to students studying this subject(s) at other universities.

76%
Economics
72%
Politics

How do students rate their degree experience?

The stats below relate to the general subject area/s at this university, not this specific course. We show this where there isn’t enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.

Economics

Teaching and learning

69%
Staff make the subject interesting
84%
Staff are good at explaining things
78%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
80%
Opportunities to apply what I've learned

Assessment and feedback

Feedback on work has been timely
Feedback on work has been helpful
Staff are contactable when needed
Good advice available when making study choices

Resources and organisation

81%
Library resources
86%
IT resources
82%
Course specific equipment and facilities
73%
Course is well organised and has run smoothly

Student voice

Staff value students' opinions
Feel part of a community on my course

Who studies this subject and how do they get on?

97%
UK students
3%
International students
72%
Male students
28%
Female students
89%
2:1 or above
4%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

C
B
B

Politics

Teaching and learning

81%
Staff make the subject interesting
87%
Staff are good at explaining things
84%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
71%
Opportunities to apply what I've learned

Assessment and feedback

Feedback on work has been timely
Feedback on work has been helpful
Staff are contactable when needed
Good advice available when making study choices

Resources and organisation

75%
Library resources
80%
IT resources
81%
Course specific equipment and facilities
74%
Course is well organised and has run smoothly

Student voice

Staff value students' opinions
Feel part of a community on my course

Who studies this subject and how do they get on?

91%
UK students
9%
International students
47%
Male students
53%
Female students
83%
2:1 or above
8%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

C
B
B

After graduation


The stats in this section relate to the general subject area/s at this university – not this specific course. We show this where there isn't enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.

Economics

What are graduates doing after six months?

This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.

£26,000
med
Average annual salary
94%
med
Employed or in further education
87%
high
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

36%
Business, finance and related associate professionals
32%
Business, research and administrative professionals
6%
Sales, marketing and related associate professionals

This is a degree in demand, as business increasingly needs workers who can examine and explain complex data. And yet the number of economics graduates fell by nearly 10% last year, which means demand is even greater. As so many economic grads go into banking and finance, it's not surprising that over half of all 2015's economics graduates who did go into work were working in London. And don't think it's just the finance industry that's interested in these graduates - there's a significant number who enter the IT industry to work with data as analysts and consultants. It's quite common for economics graduates to go into jobs such as accountancy and management consultancy which may require you to take more training and gain professional qualifications - so don’t assume you won’t have to take any more exams once you leave uni. And the incentive to take them, of course, is better pay, which will be on top of an already healthy average starting salary of over £30,000 for graduates working in the capital.

Politics

What are graduates doing after six months?

This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.

£21,000
med
Average annual salary
96%
med
Employed or in further education
70%
high
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

17%
Sales, marketing and related associate professionals
10%
Public services and other associate professionals
9%
Administrative occupations: records

The numbers of people taking politics degrees fell sharply last year and we'll keep an eye on this one - it can't really be because of graduates getting poor outcomes as politics grads do about as well as graduates on average. Most politics or international relations graduates don't actually go into politics - although many do, as activists, fundraisers and researchers. Jobs in local and central government are also important. Other popular jobs include marketing and PR, youth and community work, finance roles, HR and academic research (you usually need a postgraduate degree to get into research). Because so many graduates get jobs in the civil service, a lot of graduates find themselves in London after graduating. Politics is a very popular postgraduate subject, and so about one in five politics graduates go on to take another course - usually a one-year Masters - after they finish their degrees.

What about your long term prospects?

Looking further ahead, below is a rough guide for what graduates went on to earn.

Economics

The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.

£25k

£25k

£34k

£34k

Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.

Politics

The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.

£23k

£23k

£28k

£28k

£33k

£33k

Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.

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This information comes from the National Student Survey, an annual student survey of final-year students. You can use this to see how satisfied students studying this subject area at this university, are (not the individual course).

This is the percentage of final-year students at this university who were "definitely" or "mostly" satisfied with their course. We've analysed this figure against other universities so you can see whether this is high, medium or low.

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This information is from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), for undergraduate students only.

You can use this to get an idea of who you might share a lecture with and how they progressed in this subject, here. It's also worth comparing typical A-level subjects and grades students achieved with the current course entry requirements; similarities or differences here could indicate how flexible (or not) a university might be.

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Post-six month graduation stats:

This is from the Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education Survey, based on responses from graduates who studied the same subject area here.

It offers a snapshot of what grads went on to do six months later, what they were earning on average, and whether they felt their degree helped them obtain a 'graduate role'. We calculate a mean rating to indicate if this is high, medium or low compared to other universities.

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Graduate field commentary:

The Higher Education Careers Services Unit have provided some further context for all graduates in this subject area, including details that numbers alone might not show

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The Longitudinal Educational Outcomes dataset combines HRMC earnings data with student records from the Higher Education Statistics Agency.

While there are lots of factors at play when it comes to your future earnings, use this as a rough timeline of what graduates in this subject area were earning on average one, three and five years later. Can you see a steady increase in salary, or did grads need some experience under their belt before seeing a nice bump up in their pay packet?

Have a question about this info? Learn more here