Economics is traditionally divided into two broad categories: microeconomics and macroeconomics. All of our students study the principles of microeconomics and macroeconomics, but there is also a great deal of choice within our programmes. You will have the opportunity to develop an interest in fields such as government policy, developing countries, the economics of business, and international trade and finance.

Year 1

In first year you will study

• Introduction to the market mechanism
• International trade
• Economic development
• Macroeconomics
• Macroeconomic policy in an open economy.

Year 2

In second year you will study

• Intermediate macroeconomics
• Intermediate microeconomics
• Introduction to mathematical economics
• Economic data analysis.

Years 3 and 4

If you successfully complete the courses in first and second year, you may progress to Honours (years three and four). At Honours level, Business Economics can be taken as a Single Honours or Joint Honours degree.

In your third year you will take two courses on the economics of business. These put economic tools to work analysing activities inside a business.
In fourth year you will study two courses in finance. These explore how stock markets and other financial markets work and how the strategic decisions of corporations interact with financial markets.

You can also choose from a wide range of courses, studying topics such as

• environmental economics
• regional economics and the Scottish economy
• international finance
• the economics of housing
• economics of development and policy in less developed countries
• economics of team sport
• international trade.

You can choose to spend part or all of your second or third year at another university within the EU as part of the Erasmus student exchange scheme. Alternatively, you can study in the United States, Canada, South America, Australia or New Zealand.

At Honours, it is possible to do this degree together with a language. It usually involves spending a year abroad between the second and third years of the programme. This type of degree is particularly useful if you hope to develop a career overseas.

There is strong evidence that our graduates are in demand from a wide range of employers thanks to their developed skills in research, analysis, communication, team working, decision making and problem solving. 90% of our graduates are in work or further study (Unistats 2010).

Our recent graduates have been employed by

• Morgan Stanley, financial analyst
• European Parliament (Glasgow Office), internship
• Speirs & Jeffrey, investment assistant
• BNP Paribas, investment banking operations
• Arcadia Group, management trainee/buyer
• CRISIL Irevna, research analyst
• Scottish Liberal Democrats, researcher
• PricewaterhouseCoopers, trainee accountant.