Economics and Business with Foundation Year
Birkbeck, University of London
UCAS Code: LN12 | Bachelor of Science (with Honours) - BSc (Hons)
Birkbeck, University of London
UCAS Code: LN12 | Bachelor of Science (with Honours) - BSc (Hons)
Entry requirements
GCSE/National 4/National 5
Applicants are expected to have GCSE grade C or grade 4, or equivalent, in English and mathematics.
UCAS Tariff
The UCAS tariff score is applicable to you if you have recently studied a qualification that has a UCAS tariff equivalence. UCAS provides a tariff calculator for you to work out what your qualification is worth within the UCAS tariff.
About this course
This course has alternative study modes. Contact the university to find out how the information below might vary.
This BSc Economics and Business gives you the chance to develop leadership skills and knowledge of economic decision-making, market forces, government policy and data analysis. You will learn to intelligently connect business interests with economic realities and communicate your findings effectively at every level.
**Why choose this course?**
- This course equips you with a strong understanding of both economics and business while its practical focus develops your ability to apply this knowledge confidently to a range of real-world situations.
- On this course, you will learn from leading academics who are professional practitioners in economics, providing advice and in-house training for government, City firms and banks.
- We have an excellent reputation for the quality of our teaching, providing training for employers such as the Treasury and the Bank of England.
- Graduates of our economics-related courses are among the highest paid of London institutions. Earnings after five years have been the third highest among London universities for three consecutive reporting years. (Department for Education)
**What you will learn**
This course will provide you with essential skills to prepare you for a range of jobs in both the private and public sectors.
The economics component builds your skills in data analysis, economic decision-making, identifying market failures, and monetary and fiscal policy. You will then develop further skills in leadership, teams management, marketing, innovation and financial management. You can also tailor your degree to your career goals by choosing option modules in business management, data analysis and finance.
**How you will learn**
You will be able to choose between full- and part-time study on this course which has an evening timetable to enable you to balance your studies with work or other commitments.
It is delivered through a combination of lectures, which provide you with foundational knowledge, and small-group tutorials which offer you hands-on learning.
**Foundation Year**
If you opt for the Foundation Year route, this will fully prepare you for undergraduate study. It is ideal if you are returning to study after a gap, or if you have not previously studied the relevant subjects, or if you didn't achieve the grades you need for a place on your chosen undergraduate degree.
**Highlights**
- You will study with academics working at the frontiers of economic research who are recognised as world-class experts in their fields and whose research feeds directly into their teaching.
- Birkbeck Economics and Econometrics research was ranked 25th in the UK in the most recent 2021 Research Excellence Framework.
- We bring together research and teaching across economics and finance, mathematics and statistics, which creates significant interdisciplinary synergies.
- Goldman Sachs and Birkbeck Diversity Scholarships are available for this course for students from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) backgrounds.
**Careers and employability**
On successfully graduating from this BSc Economics and Business, you will have gained an array of important transferable skills, including in:
- data analysis and visualisation
- the management of individuals in teams, and strategic direction of organisations
- the economic analysis of individual, business and government decisions
- the practical application of theoretical concepts
- effective communication to diverse audiences.
Studying this course will prepare you for a career path in a range of fields and professions including in:
- finance
- government
- business
- data analysis
- nonprofit and NGOs
- academia.
Modules
For information about course structure and the modules you will be studying, please visit Birkbeck’s online prospectus.
Assessment methods
Unseen written examinations, in-class tests, assessed assignments and project work.
The Uni
Birkbeck, University of London
Birkbeck Business School
What students say
We've crunched the numbers to see if the overall teaching satisfaction score here is high, medium or low compared to students studying this subject(s) at other universities.
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.
Business studies
Teaching and learning
Assessment and feedback
Resources and organisation
Student voice
Who studies this subject and how do they get on?
Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)
Economics
Teaching and learning
Assessment and feedback
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
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.
Business studies
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
The number of business studies graduates fell significantly last year after a long period of increase. But there were still more than 14,000 degrees awarded and this is the third most popular subject for new graduates. Because so many graduates get business studies degrees, you can find them everywhere in the economy, and very few jobs are completely out of reach for a good business studies graduate. Around 40% go into jobs in finance, sales, recruitment, management (particularly retail) or marketing. There is also a small (but well paid) group who take their technical skills into computing and IT. Thousands of graduates from this subject go into professional jobs every year, and average starting salaries are above the average for all subjects and particularly healthy in London where they top £25k. Graduates with good degree grades in business studies are much more likely to get good jobs, so don’t be complacent, and keep a close eye on your grades.
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.
What about your long term prospects?
Looking further ahead, below is a rough guide for what graduates went on to earn.
Business studies
The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.
£29k
£34k
£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.
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.
£30k
£33k
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.
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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
