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Economics with Placement Year

Entry requirements


A level

A,B,B

Access to HE Diploma

D:30,M:15

Cambridge International Pre-U Certificate - Principal

D3,M2,M2

Extended Project

B

In recognition of the excellent preparation that the Extended Project Qualification provides to students for University study, we now include achievement in the EPQ as part of a formal offer.  Eligible applicants would receive two offers,  our usual offer plus an alternative offer of a B in the EPQ and one grade lower in their A level subjects

GCSE/National 4/National 5

GCSE Mathematics at grade B (or 6)/SL4 for IB.

International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme

32

Leaving Certificate - Higher Level (Ireland) (first awarded in 2017)

H2,H2,H3,H3,H3

Leaving Certificate - Ordinary Level (Ireland) (first awarded in 2017)

O1

Minimum grade O1 is required in Mathematics.

OCR Cambridge Technical Diploma

DD

The Cambridge Technical Diploma is only accepted when taken alongside one other acceptable level 3 qualification such as an A level or Cambridge Technical Introductory Diploma.

OCR Cambridge Technical Extended Certificate

D,D,M

The Cambridge Technical Extended Certificate can also be accepted when taken alongside two other acceptable level 3 qualifications e.g. two A levels or a Cambridge Technical Diploma.

OCR Cambridge Technical Extended Diploma

DDM

OCR Cambridge Technical Introductory Diploma

D,D,M

The Cambridge Technical Introductory Diploma can also be accepted when taken alongside two other acceptable level 3 qualifications e.g. two A levels or a Cambridge Technical Diploma.

Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)

DD

The Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Diploma is only accepted when taken alongside one other acceptable level 3 qualification such as an A level or BTEC Level 3 National Extended Certificate.

Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Certificate (first teaching from September 2016)

D,D,M

The Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Certificate can also be accepted when taken alongside other acceptable level 3 qualifications e.g. two A levels or a BTEC National Diploma.

Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)

DDM

Scottish Advanced Higher

A,B,B

Scottish Higher

A,A,B,B,B

T Level

D

Minimum grade C in the Core Component.

Welsh Baccalaureate - Advanced Skills Challenge Certificate (first teaching September 2015)

A-B

The Advanced Welsh Baccalaureate Skills Challenge Certificate will be accepted in lieu of one A Level at the grade achieved.

UCAS Tariff

128-152

We've calculated how many Ucas points you'll need for this course.

About this course


Course option

4years

Sandwich | 2024

Subject

Economics

Explore how economic theory can be applied to the major domestic and global issues of today – and gain valuable skills in the workplace – with our BA Economics with Placement Year degree.

This four-year course focuses on how economic tools can be applied to different markets and situations. You will acquire the skills, knowledge and understanding that will enable you to solve the problems that are challenging policy makers and businesses all over the world.

We also offer a BSc Economics with Placement Year degree at the University of Reading, which covers a narrower range of economic markets and social policy issues but focuses more on techniques for working with data.

**Choose economics at the University of Reading**

- Established for more than 50 years.

- 100% of our research impact has been classed ‘outstanding’ or ‘very considerable’ (REF 2021, combining 4* and 3* submissions – Business and Management Studies, and Anthropology and Development Studies).

- In 2022, 93% of BA Economics with Placement Year students agreed their course has provided them with opportunities to explore ideas or concepts in depth and to apply what they have learnt (National Student Survey 2022).

The Reading BA will allow you to understand what’s happening in the world and how policy makers can respond to it: how do economies grow, how can policy makers manage business cycles, is inflation a problem, how can unemployment be reduced, is a five-day week really necessary and so on. You will analyse these issues using a range of economic theories and methods including the theory of games and strategic interactions, natural and behavioural experiments. Your degree will help you to understand the levers of policy and provide policy advice in response to economic problems.

You’ll study practical economic issues and examine the relationship between economics and society more widely, including:

- Macroeconomics

- Microeconomics

- Economic Institutions

- Economics of Social Policy.

You will also be trained in empirical methods used by professional economists to identify economic relationships and make predictions using different types of data.

Optional modules will bring your studies to life and relate to what is happening outside of the classroom, with interactive modules.

- Development Economics - understanding of the causes and consequences of underdevelopment and the policies that help to bring people out of poverty.

- Economics of Banking - exploring the weaknesses in the banking sector, the strategies adopted by banks to address risks, and the rationale for government intervention in the financial sector and banking regulation.

- Economics of Sport and Games - studying how the competitive and controlled environments within sport can provide laboratories to study human behaviour, to test theories, and to observe the impacts of policy.

- Public Economics - offering you the chance to assume the role of a government adviser and write policy briefs that address public policy issues.

**The integrated placement year**

Enhance your employability by doing a year-long work placement, in an industrial setting, between your second and final year. A placement is a valuable way to develop your skills, experience the workplace, and build your network.

We have a dedicated placement coordinator who can provide advice and support in your search for a placement.

Our students have undertaken placements with:

- 3M

- Airbus

- Bank of England

- Crowe

- Deloitte

- Disney

- Emperor

- HP Enterprise

- IBM

- Johnson & Johnson

- NHS England

- Nissan

- Oracle

- the Government Economic Service (including the Treasury, the Office for National Statistics, and Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office).

Modules

The following modules have been approved in principle for delivery in 2024/25. Please note that as part of our current curriculum improvement process, all modules require final University approval and may be subject to change. Core modules for this course:
Principles of Economics 1, Principles of Economics 2, Applied Economics and Policy, Quantitative Methods and Data Analysis, Intermediate Microeconomics, Intermediate Macroeconomics, Introductory Econometrics, Economics of Social Policy, Placement Year. The University cannot guarantee that all optional modules will be available to all students who may wish to take them. Further information about the content of final approved modules will be available between May and July 2023. We suggest that you regularly revisit this webpage during this time to ensure you have the most up-to-date information regarding the modules offered on this programme.

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
£22,350
per year
International
£22,350
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 Reading

Department:

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.

78%
Economics

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

71%
Staff make the subject interesting
78%
Staff are good at explaining things
84%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
70%
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

66%
Library resources
82%
IT resources
85%
Course specific equipment and facilities
74%
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?

80%
UK students
20%
International students
72%
Male students
28%
Female students
73%
2:1 or above
20%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

B
C
B

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.

£22,000
med
Average annual salary
93%
med
Employed or in further education
81%
med
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

31%
Business, research and administrative professionals
28%
Business, finance and related associate professionals
11%
Administrative occupations: finance

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.

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.

£26k

£26k

£32k

£32k

£41k

£41k

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.

Explore these similar courses...

Higher entry requirements
Coventry University | Coventry
Economics
BA (Hons) 3 Years Sandwich 2024
UCAS Points: 120-162
Same University
University of Reading | Reading
Politics and Economics
BA (Hons) 3 Years Sandwich 2024
UCAS Points: 120-141

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Course location and department:

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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