Financial Economics
Entry requirements
A level
Access – 112 UCAS Tariff points from the Access course
GCSE/National 4/National 5
GCSE English Language and Maths grade 4/C
112 UCAS Tariff points from the IB with English grade 4 HL, Maths grade 4. International Baccalaureate Career-related programme will be considered on a case-by case basis
Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)
Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)
112 UCAS Tariff points
UCAS Tariff
About this course
This course has alternative study modes. Contact the university to find out how the information below might vary.
Financial economics is all about managing financial assets such as trade and share prices, interest rates and exchange rates. You’ll not only be introduced to financial economics, but also gain a solid foundation in general economic concepts, principles, analysis, techniques and knowledge.
Learning how to predict and advise on the impact of economic, social and public policy issues on monetary activities, you’ll develop your analytical and decision-making abilities, expanding your skills in data gathering, handling and interpretation, quantitative analysis and forecasting.
In our state-of-the-art Bloomberg virtual trading room, you will use industry-standard software, including Bloomberg, SAGE, FAME, Excel and other statistical packages, to analyse data, build models and produce forecasts. You will also develop key soft skills such as communicating complex economic ideas to a non-expert, presentation skills and teamwork.
We enjoy strong links with employers, including the Government Economic Service and Society of Professional Economists, which was relaunched here at Westminster Business School in 2018. Membership of the Society is offered to all final-year economic students and there are opportunities to attend their monthly meetings, conferences and continuous professional development courses.
You can also gain valuable professional experience by taking a paid placement year and begin to build the networks that will help your career take off. Previous economics students have been employed by Goldman Sachs, Boxington Corporate Finance and with the Government Economic Service, to name just a few.
Since our economics degrees share a common first year, you get to experience all the main areas in financial economics and, if you choose Crises and Controversies in Economics as an option, you may be eligible to change to the Financial Economics course at the start of your second year. A variety of optional modules also enables you to tailor your studies to suit your interests. For example, in studying Global Economic Issues, we show how economic analysis is used to understand key concerns like climate change, trade and migration.
Tuition fees
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The Uni
University of Westminster, London
School of Organisations, Economy and Society
What students say
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How do students rate their degree experience?
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Economics
Teaching and learning
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Resources and organisation
Student voice
Who studies this subject and how do they get on?
Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)
After graduation
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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.
Top job areas of graduates
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.
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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?
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