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University of Essex

UCAS Code: L106 | Bachelor of Arts (with Honours) - BA (Hons)

Entry requirements

A level

B,B,B

Offers will be made in the range of BBB to BBC or 120-112 UCAS tariff points from a minimum of the equivalent of 2 full A-levels

Access to HE Diploma

D:6,M:39

We can only accept QAA approved Access to HE Diplomas

International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme

29-30

Or three Higher Level certificates with 555-554. Including Standard Level Mathematics or Maths Studies grade 5 or above (if not taken at Higher Level). Maths in the IB is not required if you have already achieved GCSE Maths at grade B/5 or above or 5 in IB Middle Years Maths. We are happy to consider a combination of separate IB Diploma Programmes at both Higher and Standard Level. Exact offer levels will vary depending on the range of subjects being taken at higher and standard level, and the course applied for. Please contact the Undergraduate Admissions Office for more information.

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

DDM

Offers will be made in the range of DDM to DMM or 120-112 UCAS tariff points from a minimum of the equivalent of 2 full A-levels Entry requirements for students studying BTEC qualifications are dependent on subjects studied. Advice can be provided on an individual basis.

UCAS Tariff

112-120

Offers will be made from a minimum of the equivalent of 2 full A-levels

About this course

Course option

4years

Full-time | 2025

Subject

Economics

What will a post COVID-19 world look like? Can you predict when the economy will recover? How will we adapt to overcome the challenges posed by pandemic uncertainty? Economics isn’t optional to study right now: it’s vital to our future well-being in a post COVID-19 world. The skills you learn at Essex will be in high demand from employers in the coming years.

At Essex we have a unique strength in public policy measures to stimulate and manage the economy, including the behavioural techniques to get messages across. You could combine study of health economics with public economics and development economics to get a broad view of how one can respond to a threat such as Covid-19, balancing home and global needs.

Economic recovery is probably one of the most pressing and urgent challenges right now and studying an economics degree gives you the unique tools to take on this challenge, find a solution, and improve well-being.

Studying economics provides you with a greater understanding of the world around you. It teaches you how the economy functions, how people make decisions, why an economic crisis occurs and what the different solutions are. Economics at Essex is not only about stocks, shares and financial markets; it is concerned with the material wellbeing of human societies.

Our course gives you a thorough introduction to all aspects of economics, including micro and macroeconomics, and qualitative and mathematical research methods. Examine the decisions of individuals, the strategies of firms and the policies of individuals to understand and challenge the standard rules of economics.

BA Economics offers you a large degree of flexibility, giving you freedom to focus on a broad range of areas which inspire you. You’ll study all of the major mainstream fields, but we have particular strengths in these areas:

- Game theory and strategic interactions

- Theoretical and applied econometrics

- Labour economics

Your education is inspired and informed by this pioneering research, so that you graduate with a strong training in economics.

Modules

Many of our courses offer a choice of optional modules to tailor your learning experience. More information about these can be found on the University of Essex website.

Tuition fees

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

Channel Islands
£9,250
per year
England
£9,250
per year
EU
£20,500
per year
International
£20,500
per year
Northern Ireland
£9,250
per year
Republic of Ireland
£9,250
per year
Scotland
£9,250
per year
Wales
£9,250
per year

The Uni

Course location:

Colchester Campus

Department:

Economics

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.

84%
Economics

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

70%
Staff make the subject interesting
83%
Staff are good at explaining things
82%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
73%
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

85%
Library resources
86%
IT resources
85%
Course specific equipment and facilities
79%
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?

72%
UK students
28%
International students
72%
Male students
28%
Female students
95%
2:1 or above
8%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

C
C
C

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.

£22,500
med
Average annual salary
90%
low
Employed or in further education
58%
low
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

24%
Business, finance and related associate professionals
15%
Sales, marketing and related associate professionals
14%
Sales assistants and retail cashiers

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.

£23k

£23k

£30k

£30k

£37k

£37k

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...

This is what the university has told Ucas about the criteria they expect applicants to satisfy; some may be compulsory, others may be preferable.

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This is the percentage of applicants to this course who received an offer last year, through Ucas.

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This is what the university has told Ucas about the course. Use it to get a quick idea about what makes it unique compared to similar courses, elsewhere.

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Course location and department:

This is what the university has told Ucas about the course. Use it to get a quick idea about what makes it unique compared to similar courses, elsewhere.

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Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF):

We've received this information from the Department for Education, via Ucas. This is how the university as a whole has been rated for its quality of teaching: gold silver or bronze. Note, not all universities have taken part in the TEF.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

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.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

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.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

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.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

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

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

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