Studying economics provides you with a greater understanding of the world around you. It teaches you how the economy functions, how people make decisions, why an economic crisis occurs and what the different solutions are. Economics at Essex is not only about stocks, shares and financial markets it is concerned with the material wellbeing of human societies. Moreover, Economics isn't optional to study right now: it's vital to our future well-being in a post COVID-19 global society. The skills you learn at Essex will be in high demand from employers in the coming years to tackle the post-pandemic world.

At Essex we push the frontiers of accepted wisdom, critically examining the decisions of individuals, the strategies of firms, and the policies of governments to understand and challenge the standard paradigms of economics. On this course, you build a thorough understanding of the key areas of economics from first-year undergraduate to post-graduate level. Throughout the course you will study modern macroeconomics and microeconomics with applications to policy, as well as econometric methods and the use of data. Within and beyond these core areas you will study topics such as:

Strategic behaviour

Public choice

Labour markets

Fiscal and monetary policy

Theories of growth

In addition to learning the essentials of microeconomics, macroeconomics and econometric methods, you also have the option to explore a wide set of selected topics in economics to hone your skills, such as Management Economics and Market Analysis, International Trade and Financial Economics. We are 4th in UK for research power in economics and econometrics (Times Higher Education research power measure, Research Excellence Framework 2021). Much of this world-class research is related to policy, and we have particular strengths in the areas of:

Game theory and strategic interactions

Theoretical and applied econometrics

Labour economics

The quality of our work is reflected in our stream of publications in high-profile academic journals, including American Economic Review, Econometrica, and Review of Economic Studies.

Study abroad

Your education extends beyond the university campus. We support you in expanding your education through offering the opportunity to spend a year or a term studying abroad at one of our partner universities. The five-year version of our degree allows you to spend the third year abroad or employed on a placement abroad, while otherwise remaining identical to the four-year course. Studying abroad allows you to experience other cultures and languages, to broaden your degree socially and academically, and to demonstrate to employers that you are mature, adaptable, and organised.

If you spend a full year abroad you'll only pay 15% of your usual tuition fee to Essex for that year. You won't pay any tuition fees to your host university.

Placement year

Alternatively, you can spend your third year on a placement year with an external organisation, where you learn about a particular sector, company or job role, apply your academic knowledge in a practical working environment, and receive inspiration for future career pathways. You will be responsible for finding your placement, but with support and guidance provided by both your department and our Employability and Careers Centre.

If you complete a placement year you'll only pay 20% of your usual tuition fee to Essex for that year.