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Economics and Politics

Entry requirements


A level

B,B,B-C,C,C

The University will not necessarily make conditional offers to all Access candidates but will continue to assess them on an individual basis. If we make you an offer, you will need to obtain/pass the overall Access to Higher Education Diploma and may also be required to obtain a proportion of the total level 3 credits and/or credits in particular subjects at merit grade or above.

GCSE/National 4/National 5

Applicants should have grade 5 in Mathematics GCSE or a suitable equivalent level qualification.

120 Tariff points from your IB Diploma, Typically H5, H6, H6 or equivalent

The University will consider applicants holding BTEC National Diploma and National Extended Diploma qualifications (QCF; NQF; OCR) on a case by case basis. Applicants must also have one or more accompanying A levels.

Scottish Higher qualifications are considered on an individual basis.

UCAS Tariff

96-120

About this course


Course option

3years

Full-time | 2024

Subjects

Economics

Politics

Gain the modern tools economists use to analyse real economic problems, and the tools used in politics to understand how ideas and political systems shape what citizens, businesses, and governments do. This degree gives you analytical, data, and communication skills, and a unique perspective on the way the world works.

This unique - and informed - perspective on the world is valuable not only to you, but to employers. The understanding of the context our world operates in gives you a head start in any career you are looking to jump into. More specifically, we give you the ideal skillset, knowledge and confidence to go into careers where you can make a real difference. Your future could be in banking, NGO's, government or the UN, but whatever you do, you'll be able to effect change in the places you want to see it.

This programme is also available with a Year in Industry, so you can get a taste of whatever industry you want to go into and boost your career prospects as part of your degree.

Reasons to study Economics and Politics at Kent:
• Collaborate with inspiring lecturers who advise UK, European and international organisations and governments
• Gain real-world experience through a Year in Industry
• Access and ongoing support through our employability team, regular workshops and alumni talks, as well as our dedicated academic adviser and peer mentoring scheme.
• Shape your degree outside the classroom with our thriving student led societies. Kent Invest focusses on financial markets holding an annual trading competition. The Economics Society explores issues of the moment through the lens of the discipline, culminating in an annual networking conference. The Politics and International Relations Society hosts public speaker events covering thought-provoking topics which allow the opportunity for discussion between members.

Modules

You’ll be introduced to economic theory and practice as well as the fundamentals of political science. There’s also an opportunity to choose specialist modules that suit your interests in topics such as financial crises, policy analysis, mathematical economics, political economy, and the politics of the European Union.

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
£18,600
per year
International
£18,600
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:

University of Kent

Department:

School of 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.

82%
Economics
64%
Politics

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

74%
Staff make the subject interesting
83%
Staff are good at explaining things
82%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
79%
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
85%
IT resources
86%
Course specific equipment and facilities
83%
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?

91%
UK students
9%
International students
67%
Male students
33%
Female students
89%
2:1 or above
8%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

B
C
B

Politics

Teaching and learning

77%
Staff make the subject interesting
86%
Staff are good at explaining things
77%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
67%
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

74%
Library resources
90%
IT resources
81%
Course specific equipment and facilities
52%
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
49%
Male students
51%
Female students
85%
2:1 or above
10%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

C
B
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.

£24,000
med
Average annual salary
93%
low
Employed or in further education
71%
med
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

30%
Business, finance and related associate professionals
28%
Business, research and administrative professionals
6%
Other elementary services occupations

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.

Politics

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.

£19,656
med
Average annual salary
97%
med
Employed or in further education
45%
low
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

13%
Public services and other associate professionals
13%
Sales assistants and retail cashiers
12%
Business, finance and related associate professionals

The numbers of people taking politics degrees fell sharply last year and we'll keep an eye on this one - it can't really be because of graduates getting poor outcomes as politics grads do about as well as graduates on average. Most politics or international relations graduates don't actually go into politics - although many do, as activists, fundraisers and researchers. Jobs in local and central government are also important. Other popular jobs include marketing and PR, youth and community work, finance roles, HR and academic research (you usually need a postgraduate degree to get into research). Because so many graduates get jobs in the civil service, a lot of graduates find themselves in London after graduating. Politics is a very popular postgraduate subject, and so about one in five politics graduates go on to take another course - usually a one-year Masters - after they finish their degrees.

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.

£25k

£25k

£32k

£32k

£44k

£44k

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.

Politics

The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.

£20k

£20k

£26k

£26k

£34k

£34k

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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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.

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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