Students preparing for their graduation ceremony at Canterbury Cathedral

Financial Economics - BSc (Hons)

UCAS code L111

This is an archived page and for reference purposes only

2017

Our Financial Economics degree introduces you to the tools that economists have developed in financial and money markets. This work has been enormously influential in contributing to the development of financial instruments used by households, firms and governments in their respective decisions to save or borrow. A particular feature of the course is that it emphasises real-world examples.

Overview

The first year of this programme introduces you to the way in which economists think about different issues and develops the kinds of tools that economists use for analysing real economic problems.

In your second and final years, you take compulsory modules in macroeconomics, microeconomics, quantitatitve economics, the economics of money and banking, and the economics of finance, together with a number of specialised modules from the wide variety offered by the School.

About the School of Economics

Economics at Kent is in the UK for student satisfaction and teaching quality. Our passion for the subject and research-led approach to teaching helps provide students with a first-class academic experience, as well as building personal skills and enhancing career prospects. Our cosmopolitan academic and student community, coupled with a thriving research culture, creates an inspiring and challenging environment to study economics.

We offer a range of flexible undergraduate and postgraduate taught degrees that combine up-to-date real-world applications with solid theoretical knowledge and an excellent training in core economics. Our programmes allow students to specialise in areas such as finance, econometrics, microeconomic theory, international development, and agri-environmental economics.

At Kent, you will be taught by economists who are internationally recognised for their research but who also take a practical approach to the subject, combining modern theoretical and applied economics, taught in exciting and innovative ways.

Many of our Economics staff advise government bodies including the UK’s Department of Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), the Department for International Development (DFID) and the European Commission. Staff also advise international organisations including the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the Bank of England, the European Central Bank (ECB), and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).


Independent rankings

Economics at Kent was ranked 8th in The Guardian University Guide 2017. In the National Student Survey 2016, 92% of Economics students were satisfied with the overall quality of their course.

For graduate prospects, Economics at Kent was ranked 2nd in The Guardian University Guide. Of Economics students who graduated from Kent in 2015, 92% were in work or further study within six months (DLHE).

Course structure

The course structure below gives a flavour of the modules that will be available to you and provides details of the content of this programme. This listing is based on the current curriculum and may change year to year in response to new curriculum developments and innovation.

Year in industry

Students can opt to take a year in industry with any of our single honours programmes, or the Economics and Management joint honours programme. The year in industry is not available on other joint programmes in Economics or the four-year European Economics programmes.

The year in industry is taken between the second year (Stage 2) and third year (Stage 3) of the degree and contributes towards your final degree classification. The placement must be with a suitable employer, but the reference to 'in industry' is intended to cover employers in any service sector as well as in manufacturing.

Students are responsible for finding their placements, but the School offers structured support for the application process in the form of a non-contributory module, 'Preparing for a Placement'.

Students must have passed Stage 2 of their degree before they can embark on the year in industry.

Teaching and assessment

All of our modules are taught by a combination of lectures and small group sessions, which include seminars, computing practicals, problem sets, debates and role-play games. On average, you have a total of 12-14 hours of lecture, seminar and other formal contact time per week.

The School of Economics is committed to making sure that you leave Kent with much more than just a degree in Economics. We put great emphasis on the development of transferable skills, including numeracy, analytical problem solving, data analysis, and written and oral communication, as well as subject-specific skills for further study at postgraduate level.

The modules are assessed by continuous assessment of coursework throughout the year and an end-of-year exam in the final term. A number of modules at each stage are assessed solely through coursework.

Programme aims

The programme aims to:

  • provide a stimulating education in the principles of economics and finance along with their application to the real world, and motivate students to achieve their full potential
  • provide a flexible and progressive curriculum that is suitable for students who have or have not studied economics or finance before
  • develop in students the ability to apply economic knowledge, analytical tools and skills in a range of theoretical, applied and policy problems
  • provide a range of options to enable students to study selected areas of economics and financial economics in depth, informed by the research and scholarship of teaching staff
  • provide students with the knowledge, analytical and other skills to equip them for employment in, for example, the City of London, or in a related area to economics and finance or further study in economics and/or finance
  • provide information and advice on future employment and higher education opportunities.

Learning outcomes

Knowledge and understanding

You gain knowledge and understanding of:

  • the main concepts, principles, theories, models and methods of modern economic analysis and their application in different areas of economics and finance
  • the analytical skills to formulate and consider a range of economic and finance problems
  • the mathematical, statistical and computing methods used in economics and finance
  • economic data and methods used to analyse such data
  • the economic analysis of policy
  • specific problems, issues and policies in a range of areas in economics and finance
  • key concepts affecting decision making
  • critical discussion of economic problems, issues and policies in politics and the media
  • an economic topic of your choice, submitted as a supervised final-year project
  • the study of other social science subjects in the first year.

Intellectual skills

You gain the following intellectual skills:

  • abstract the essential features of a complex system
  • consider the important variables and fixed parameters in solving a problem
  • analyse complex issues using deductive and inductive reasoning
  • organise and use information to analyse complex issues and test different hypotheses
  • review critically alternative explanations and analyses of a problem
  • manage a final-year supervised project on an economic topic of your choice.

Subject-specific skills

You gain subject-specific skills in the following:

  • analytical skills in economics
  • apply economic principles and analysis to a range of issues, problems and policies in economics and finance
  • abstract the essential features of an economic issue, problem or system
  • knowledge of the principal sources of economic and financial data, and use and present this information
  • carry out economic/econometric analysis of economic data
  • the ability to offer advice on how to make economic and financial decisions
  • synthesise and compare critically different economic analyses of an economic or finance issue
  • research the literature on an economic or finance issue
  • apply economic skills to investigate a supervised final-year project on an economic or finance topic of your choice.

Transferable skills

You gain transferable skills in the following:

  • effective communication of analysis and ideas both orally and in writing
  • the ability to assemble, analyse, use and present data
  • understanding of, and ability to, use economic, mathematical and quantitative methods to analyse issues and problems
  • analyse and make decisions using economic concepts, such as opportunity cost and strategic behaviour
  • knowledge of IT using statistical and econometric packages
  • independence in initiating and executing work
  • the ability to think critically about proposed analyses and solutions to a problem
  • responsibility for managing your own learning and academic performance
  • manage a supervised final-year project on an economic topic of your choice.

Careers

Economics at Kent has a high success rate in the graduate employment market, with past students going on to careers in accountancy, banking, finance, journalism, management consultancy and business. Our range of modules provides the opportunity to tailor your degree to support your particular career choice, giving you a competitive edge in the employment market. Additionally, there are modules that concentrate on preparing you for life as a professional economist.

Our degrees not only provide you with economics training but also with many transferable skills. Most employers are looking for skills such as good communication, initiative and proactiveness, team working, time management, planning and organisation, analysing information and problem solving.

Economics at Kent has been recognised for its excellent employability record in the national league tables:

  • 2nd for graduate prospects in The Guardian University Guide 2017
  • 5th for graduate prospects in the Complete University Guide 2017

Recent Economics graduates have gone on to work for Deloitte, the Government Economic Service, HMRC, Citibank, KPMG, PwC, Bank of America, Schroders, Goldman Sachs and Barclays.

Entry requirements

Home/EU students

The University will consider applications from students offering a wide range of qualifications. Students offering alternative qualifications should contact us for further advice. 

It is not possible to offer places to all students who meet this typical offer/minimum requirement.

New GCSE grades

If you’ve taken exams under the new GCSE grading system, please see our conversion table to convert your GCSE grades.

Qualification Typical offer/minimum requirement
A level

ABB from 3 full A levels, or BBB if A level Mathematics is included

GCSE

Mathematics at grade B

Access to HE Diploma

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

BTEC Level 3 Extended Diploma (formerly BTEC National Diploma)

BTEC National Diploma at DD or BTEC Extended Diploma at DDD plus A level Mathematics at grade B

International Baccalaureate

34 points overall or 15 points at HL, including Mathematics SL or HL at 4, or Mathematical Studies at 5

International students

The University welcomes applications from international students. Our international recruitment team can guide you on entry requirements. See our International Student website for further information about entry requirements for your country.

If you need to increase your level of qualification ready for undergraduate study, we offer a number of International Foundation Programmes.

Meet our staff in your country

For more advise about applying to Kent, you can meet our staff at a range of international events. 

English Language Requirements

Please see our English language entry requirements web page.

Please note that if you are required to meet an English language condition, we offer a number of 'pre-sessional' courses in English for Academic Purposes. You attend these courses before starting your degree programme. 

General entry requirements

Please also see our general entry requirements.

Fees

The 2017/18 tuition fees for this programme are:

UK/EU Overseas
Full-time

For details of when and how to pay fees and charges, please see our Student Finance Guide.

UK/EU fee paying students

The Government has announced changes to allow undergraduate tuition fees to rise in line with inflation from 2017/18.

In accordance with changes announced by the UK Government, we are increasing our 2017/18 regulated full-time tuition fees for new and returning UK/EU fee paying undergraduates from £9,000 to £9,250. The equivalent part-time fees for these courses will also rise from £4,500 to £4,625. This was subject to us satisfying the Government's Teaching Excellence Framework and the access regulator's requirements. This fee will ensure the continued provision of high-quality education.

For students continuing on this programme, fees will increase year on year by no more than RPI + 3% in each academic year of study except where regulated.* 

The University will assess your fee status as part of the application process. If you are uncertain about your fee status you may wish to seek advice from UKCISA before applying.

Fees for Year Abroad/Industry

As a guide only, UK/EU/International students on an approved year abroad for the full 2017/18 academic year pay an annual fee of £1,350 to Kent for that year. Students studying abroad for less than one academic year will pay full fees according to their fee status. 

Please note that for 2017/18 entrants the University will increase the standard year in industry fee for home/EU/international students to £1,350.

General additional costs

Find out more about accommodation and living costs, plus general additional costs that you may pay when studying at Kent.

Funding

University funding

Kent offers generous financial support schemes to assist eligible undergraduate students during their studies. See our funding page for more details. 

Government funding

You may be eligible for government finance to help pay for the costs of studying. See the Government's student finance website.

The Government has confirmed that EU students applying for university places in the 2017 to 2018 academic year will still have access to student funding support for the duration of their course.

Scholarships

General scholarships

Scholarships are available for excellence in academic performance, sport and music and are awarded on merit. For further information on the range of awards available and to make an application see our scholarships website.

The Kent Scholarship for Academic Excellence

At Kent we recognise, encourage and reward excellence. We have created the Kent Scholarship for Academic Excellence. The scholarship will be awarded to any applicant who achieves a minimum of AAA over three A levels, or the equivalent qualifications (including BTEC and IB) as specified on our scholarships pages.

The scholarship is also extended to those who achieve AAB at A level (or specified equivalents) where one of the subjects is either Mathematics or a Modern Foreign Language. Please review the eligibility criteria.

The Key Information Set (KIS) data is compiled by UNISTATS and draws from a variety of sources which includes the National Student Survey and the Higher Education Statistical Agency. The data for assessment and contact hours is compiled from the most populous modules (to the total of 120 credits for an academic session) for this particular degree programme. Depending on module selection, there may be some variation between the KIS data and an individual's experience. For further information on how the KIS data is compiled please see the UNISTATS website.

If you have any queries about a particular programme, please contact information@kent.ac.uk.