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Economics with Foundation Year

Entry requirements


32-80 points minimum of 2 A Levels.

Pass Access Course (any subject) plus GCSE English and Maths grade C / 4 or above or equivalent

Accept in combination with other level 3 qualifications

International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme

24-25

in any subjects.

32-80 points from Irish Leaving certificate.

OCR Cambridge Technical Extended Diploma

PPP-MMP

Any subject considered.

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

PPP-MMP

in any subject.

32-80 points from Scottish Highers or Advanced Highers in any subject

T Level

P

Pass (D or E on the core). Any subject considered.

UCAS Tariff

32-80

About this course


This course has alternative study modes. Contact the university to find out how the information below might vary.

Course option

4years

Full-time including foundation year | 2024

Other options

5 years | Sandwich including foundation year | 2024

Subject

Economics

Whether you want to be a financial forecaster, a researcher or even a future leader of industry, our lively and involving economics courses prepare you for success. Develop the ability to analyse economic information through theoretical and practical research-based modules, and gain essential analytical and numerical skills.

The course starts with a foundation year 0, specifically designed to introduce and develop essential skills for success in Higher Education, including critical thinking and research skills, and the knowledge and understanding of key facets of business, accounting and economics.

- The foundation year is an integral part of the extended degree and you will benefit from experienced university lecturers. Whilst completion of the foundation year will not lead to a separate award or qualification in its own right, you will be able to confidently progress to further study within the Plymouth Business School.

- We emphasise a real-world application based approach in many modules which integrates theoretical and evidence based analysis in order to best support your development as a professional economist.

- We recognise that our students are diverse with different backgrounds and interests. Our course offers contemporary electives enabling you to tailor your degree to your personal interests. In addition to our flexible economics pathway we offer a financial economics pathway that allows you to specialise in international trade and finance.

- Enhance your employability by completing a placement year. You will be supported by the University's excellent careers service and dedicated placement preparation sessions.

- A programme not only designed to develop your skills and capabilities as an economist but also to offer numerous opportunities to build your CV in other ways for example through opportunities for micro-credentialing, engaging in real world problem based learning and active researching. We do this because we know it is key to student academic and graduate success.

- The Bloomberg Interactive Learning Suite allows students to research fields such as corporate finance, derivative markets, portfolio and risk analytics, real-time data and investment simulations.

Modules

In your foundation year, you’ll experience a supportive environment to assist in the transition to successful study in higher education. You will learn about academic writing, critical thinking skills and begin to develop your research skills, as well as develop your knowledge and understanding through an introduction to key aspects of business, accounting and economics. You’ll also have the opportunity to do independent research into an area of your studies that interests you, with a supervisor to guide and support you through the process.

In the first year you'll lay the foundations for future study by building a comprehensive overview of core economic theory and its use.

In the second year you'll study micro- and macroeconomics in depth and improve your quantitative and analytical skills with the study of econometrics and research methods. You can add to this, an elective module or choose to specialise in financial economics by selecting it as a pathway.

In the optional placement year you'll get paid for hands-on work experience and develop your economic flair. We support you to find the most suitable private or public sector placement. Apply and deepen your knowledge to develop a range of skills that will be invaluable to your future career.

In the final year you'll learn more about the global economy and specialise in business, finance, environmental or economics topics of your choice, including economic modelling and game theory.

Assessment methods

For up to date details, please refer to our website or contact the institution directly.

The Uni


Course location:

University of Plymouth

Department:

Plymouth Business School

Read full university profile

What students say


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

Sorry, no information to show

This is usually because there were too few respondents in the data we receive to be able to provide results about the subject at this university.


Who studies this subject and how do they get on?

77%
UK students
23%
International students
80%
Male students
20%
Female students
77%
2:1 or above
17%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

C
C
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.

£22,250
med
Average annual salary
96%
med
Employed or in further education
69%
med
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

23%
Business, finance and related associate professionals
22%
Business, research and administrative professionals
18%
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.

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.

£22k

£22k

£34k

£34k

£35k

£35k

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.

Explore these similar courses...

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UCAS Points: 104-120
Nearby University
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UCAS Points: 144-168

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Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF):

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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