Programme Specifications

Programme summary

1. Programme Aims

On successful completion of this programme, students should be able to:

• Know and understand the core of economic theory and applied economics, with a particular application to the world of business and finance.
• Know and understand the behaviour of agents in  financial markets, and the behaviour of firms and consumers in the national and international economy
• Discuss in an informed manner the major policy directions and regulations to implement economic policy
• Know and understand the nature of incentives in economic decision making by agents in the economy
• Evaluate the outcomes of market and policy changes in all spheres of the economy, with special emphasis on business and finance

To provide students with the opportunity to study a broad curriculum in both Economics and Politics.

• To provide training in the principles of economics and their application.
• To stimulate students intellectually through the study of economics and to lead them to appreciate its application to a range of problems and its relevance in a variety of contexts.
• To provide a firm foundation of knowledge about the workings of the economy and to develop the relevant skills for the constructive use of that knowledge in a range of settings.
• To develop in students the ability to apply the knowledge and skills they have acquired to the solution of theoretical and applied problems in economics.
• To equip students with appropriate tools of analysis to tackle issues and problems of economic policy.
• To develop in students, through the study of economics, a range of transferable skills that will be of value in employment and self-employment.
• To provide students with analytical skills and an ability to develop simplifying frameworks for studying the real world.
• To develop in students the ability to appreciate what would be an appropriate level of abstraction for a range of economic issues.
• To provide students with the knowledge and skill base, from which they can proceed to further studies in economics, related areas or in multi-disciplinary areas that involve economics.
• To generate in students an appreciation of the economic dimension of wider social and political issues.
• To provide specialised training in the aspects of economics relevant to industry, commerce and financial services.

2. Relevant subject benchmark statements and other external reference points used to inform programme outcomes:

• 1. QAA Subject Benchmark Statements: Economics.
  2. Framework for Higher Education Qualifications.
  3. International links with a network of eleven European Universities within the Erasmus exchange programme.
  4. University Learning and Teaching Strategy.
  5. Departmental learning and teaching policies.
  6. Links, both formal and informal, with external examiners.
  7. Staff research specialisms and professional involvement in the discipline.

3. Programme Learning Outcomes

3.1 Knowledge and Understanding

On successful completion of this programme, students should be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:

K1.  A coherent core of economic principles. The understanding of these might be verbal, graphical or mathematical.

These principles cover the microeconomic issues of decision and choice, the production and exchange of goods, the interdependency of markets, and economic welfare. They also include macroeconomic issues, such as employment, national income, the balance of payments and the distribution of income, inflation, growth and business cycles, money and finance. The understanding should extend to economic policy at both microeconomic and macroeconomic levels. In all these, students should show understanding of analytical methods and model-based argument and appreciate the existence of different methodological approaches.

K2.  Relevant quantitative methods and computing techniques. These cover mathematical and statistical methods, including econometrics. Students will have exposure to the use of such techniques on actual economic, financial or social data. A knowledge and appreciation of economic data, both quantitative and qualitative. Students should also have some knowledge of the appropriate methods that the economist might use to structure and analyse such data.

K3.  The applications of economics. Students should have the ability to apply a core of economic principles and reasoning to a variety of applied topics. They should also be aware of the economic principles that can be used to design, guide and interpret commercial, economic and social policy. As part of this, they should have the ability to discuss and analyse government policy and to assess the performance of the UK and other economies.

The above implies that the attainments of students should have:

• Ability to demonstrate specialised knowledge relating to Politics.
• Ability to evaluate the interaction between the principal institutions of government in Britain
• Ability to analyse how political power is exercised through policy-making and administrative bodies
• Ability to develop a critical awareness of the many arguments for reform presented in this area
• Ability to apply core economic theory and economic reasoning to applied topics.
• Ability to identify and evaluate the ideologies and aims of major political parties and groups.
• Ability to evaluate the relationship between ideology and organisation.
• Ability to appraise the factors motivating individual and collective political behaviour in contemporary Britain.
• Ability to relate differences in policy recommendations to differences in the theoretical and empirical features of the economic analyses which underlie such recommendations.
• Ability to discuss and analyse government policy and to assess the performance of the UK and other economies.
• Understanding of verbal, graphical, mathematical and econometric representation of economic ideas and analysis, including the relationship between them.
• Understanding of relevant mathematical and statistical techniques.
• Understanding of analytical methods, both theory- and model-based.
• Appreciation of the history and development of economic ideas and the differing methods of analysis that have been and are used by economists.
• Understanding of the appropriate techniques to enable manipulation, treatment and interpretation of the relevant statistical data.

3.2 Skills and other attributes

a. Subject-specific cognitive skills:

On successful completion of this programme, students should be able to: 

C1.  Abstraction. From the study of economic principles and models, students see how one can abstract the essential features of complex systems and provide a useable framework for evaluation and assessment of the effects of policy or other exogenous events. Through this, the typical student will acquire proficiency in how to simplify while still retaining relevance. This is an approach that they can then apply in other contexts, thereby becoming more effective problem-solvers and decision-makers.

C2.  Analysis, deduction and induction. Economic reasoning is highly deductive, and logical analysis is applied to assumption-based models. However, inductive reasoning is also important. The typical student will have been exposed to some or all of these and be able to use some of them. Such skills also enhance their problem-solving and decision-making ability.

C3.  Quantification and design. Data, and their effective organization, presentation and analysis, are important in economics. The typical student will have some familiarity with the principal sources of economic information and data relevant to industry, commerce and government, and have had practice in organising it and presenting it informatively. This skill is important at all stages in the decision-making process.

C4.  Framing. Through the study of economics, a student should learn how to decide what should be taken as given or fixed for the purposes of setting up and solving a problem, i.e. what the important 'parameters' are in constraining the solution to the problem. Learning to think about how and why these parameters might change encourages a student to place the economic problem in its broader social and political context. This `framing' skill is important in determining the decision-maker's ability to implement the solutions to problems.

b. Subject-specific practical skills:

On successful completion of this programme, students should be able to:

P1.  Construct economic models using verbal, diagrammatic, mathematical, statistical and econometric techniques and reasoning.

P2.  Access, search for and evaluate relevant data sources for validation of economic models

P3.  Apply and use specialised software including spreadsheets for the analysis of economic models and financial calculations.

c. Key transferable skills:

On successful completion of this programme, students should be able to demonstrate the key skills of:

T1. Analysis and decision making.

T2. Communication, both written and verbal.

T3. Numeracy and computation.

T4. IT, information handling and retrieval, including library skills.

T5. Independent study and group work.

T6. Time management.

T7. Problem solving.

4. Programme structure

Students must have a total modular weighting of 120 credits per year.  This must include the compulsory modules.  The remaining optional modules may be chosen to give a 60:60 split over the two semesters, or alternatively, 50:70 or 70:50.  Except in exceptional cases, the University allows only a maximum of 80 credits to be chosen from 20 weighted long-thin modules.   These are modules that are studied continuously over both Semesters 1 and 2.

The prefixes on module codes represent the credit levels as follows:

            A          level 4;             B          level 5;             C         level 6.

Candidates following the Placement Stream are required to spend the third academic year undertaking professional training leading to the Diploma in Professional Studies, in accordance with Senate Regulation XI. 

Candidates following the Study Abroad Stream are required to spend the third academic year studying at an approved academic institution leading to the Diploma in International Studies (DIntS) in accordance with Senate Regulation XI. 

Candidates following the Split Stream are required to spend six months of the third academic year undertaking professional training, and the other half of the third academic year studying at an approved academic institution.  This leads to the Diploma in International Studies (DIntS) in accordance with Senate Regulation XI.

4.1       Part A – Economics with Politics Introductory Modules     

2.2       Part B – Economics with Politics

4.3       Part I : Optional  (8 semester programme only)

Candidates pursue one of the following streams: 

The duration of the programme is either six semesters or six semesters plus one academic year if candidates select one of the following three streams: 

Candidates following the Placement Stream are required to spend the third academic year undertaking professional training leading to the Diploma in Professional Studies, in accordance with Senate Regulation XI.

Candidates following the Study Abroad Stream are required to spend the third academic year studying at an approved academic institution leading to the Diploma in International Studies (DIntS) in accordance with Senate Regulation XI.

Candidates following the Split Stream are required to spend six months of the third academic year undertaking professional training, and the other half of the third academic year studying at an approved academic institution.  This leads to the Diploma in International Studies (DIntS) in accordance with Senate Regulation XI. 

The third academic year (Part I) occurs between Part B and Part C.  Permission to transfer to the eight semester programme will be at the discretion of the Associate Dean (Teaching) for the School.

 4.4       Part C – Economics with Politics

The School may offer new modules to be provided during the academic year. 

5. Criteria for Progression and Degree Award

5.1 Progression Criteria

In order to progress from Part A to Part B and from Part B to C and to be eligible for the award of an Honours degree, candidates must satisfy the minimum credit requirements set out in Regulation XX.

A Diploma in Professional Studies will be awarded to students who have satisfactorily completed the programme of study required for Part I.

5.2 Reassessment

Candidates must accumulate at least 60 credits in a Part of a Programme in order to be eligible for reassessment in the relevant Part during the University’s Special Assessment Period.         

If a student registers to resit a module, they will be required to resit all failed components of that module (ie if their coursework mark was less than 40% they must resit the coursework and if their exam mark was less than 40% they must resit the exam).  If a student resits the coursework element of a module and there was more than 1 coursework assignment for that module, then the student would be required to resit all coursework assignments in which they achieved a mark below 40%.  Marks for elements of a module not being re-sat will be carried forward.

6. Relative Weighting of Parts of the Programme for the Purposes of Final Degree Classification

Candidates' final degree classification will be determined on the basis of performance in degree level Module Assessments in Parts B and C in accordance with the scheme set out in Regulation XX.  The average percentage marks for each Part will be combined in the ratio Part B 30% : Part C 70% to determine the final Programme Mark.