Financial Economics BSc (Hons)

In the first two years of your degree (known as sub-honours) you will take the required modules in Financial Economics alongside modules in at least one other subject in the Faculty of Science.

1st Year

Students will take all the following compulsory first-year modules:

• Macroeconomics: introduces the study of economics at the national and global level.
• Mathematics for Economists: covers calculus and algebra to provide indispensable mathematical tools for modern economists.
• Microeconomics: explores the basics of the market system and consumer and producer behaviour.

Students with a school qualification in Economics may take a more advanced first-year module in Economics which assumes prior knowledge.

2nd Year

Students will take all of the following second-year modules:

• Intermediate Macroeconomics: explores theories of the determinants of long-run economic growth and theories of the causes of short-run “business-cycle” fluctuations.
• Intermediate Microeconomics: deepens the general understanding of microeconomics gained in first year.
• Statistics for Economists: introduces statistical methods and regression analysis.

If you decide to take Financial Economics in your third and fourth years, you must take four compulsory modules:

• Econometrics: introduces the application of statistics to study economic data.
• Financial Economics: Asset Pricing: provides a critical understanding of essential components of modern finance theory and a rigorous grounding in analytical economic models about the determination of risks and returns in financial markets.
• Financial Economics: Corporate Finance: investigates the problem of how a collection of corporate liabilities is affected in value by corporate actions.
• Portfolio Management: develops knowledge and understanding of key issues in asset allocation and portfolio composition and management at an intermediate level.

In addition, you may choose from a wide variety of advanced options. Here is a sample of Honours modules which have been offered in previous years:

• Decision and Game Theory
• Economic Fluctuations
• Economics of Development
• Economics of the Environment
• European Macroeconomics
• Incentives and Contracts
• Inequality and Redistribution
• Innovation Economics
• International Trade
• Mathematical Economics
• Political Economy
• Public Economics.

In fourth year, students may also undertake a dissertation or research project on a topic of their choice. This independent project enables you to develop key research skills which are desired by both prospective employers and by graduate schools offering postgraduate degrees.