Financial Economics - BSc (Hons)

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Address the role financial markets play in today's profound issues - poverty and development, environmental protection, and financial and monetary crises. Learn the tools economists have developed in financial and money markets, analyse real-life economic problems, and shape their solutions.

Overview

Economics is everywhere - it's at the core of many societal and global issues, with financial markets playing a fundamental coordinating role. By specialising in financial economics you will gain the skills and tools to make a difference in the world around you, and expand your employment opportunities. Recent graduates have gone on to work at the Bank of England, Government Economic Service (GES), Ernst & Young, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and more.

Reasons to study Financial Economics at Kent

  • Collaborate with inspiring lecturers who advise UK, European and international organisations.
  • Apply your academic skills and gain invaluable experience by taking a Year in Industry.
  • Study in our new Kennedy building, home to our economics community, with excellent facilities.
  • Shape your degree outside the classroom with our thriving student-led societies. Kent Invest focuses 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.
  • Access support through our employability team, regular workshops and alumni talks, as well as our dedicated academic adviser and peer mentoring scheme.

What you'll learn

Think like an economist, and learn the tools used to analyse real economic problems. Develop the skills to analyse and discuss crucial aspects of the subject, such as macroeconomics, microeconomics, and quantitative economics.

Our wide range of modules allows you to tailor your degree to support your particular career ambitions; for example, you can choose modules that prepare you for life as a professional economist. Graduate roles have included: Corporate Banking Analyst, Graduate Broker, and Demand Forecast Analyst.

Year in Industry

You have the option to take this programme with a year in industry. In previous years students have worked at:

  • Bank of England
  • Government Economic Service (GES)
  • Deloitte
  • Ernst & Young
  • PwC
  • Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

You don’t have to make a decision before you enrol at Kent but certain conditions apply.

Year in Computing / Year in Journalism

The Year in Computing and the Year in Journalism are both free-standing, self-contained years and can be taken after stage 2 or 3 (that is, between your second and final year, or after your final year). You can take a Year in Computing or a Year in Journalism if you are a current undergraduate student at the University of Kent, studying a non-computing or non-journalism degree programme respectively.

You can only apply for a Year in Computing or a Year in Journalism once you are a student at Kent.

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Entry requirements

The University will consider applications from students offering a wide range of qualifications. All applications are assessed on an individual basis but some of our typical requirements are listed below. Students offering qualifications not listed are welcome to contact our Admissions Team for further advice. Please also see our general entry requirements.

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    A level

    BBB-BBC from three full A levels

  • medal-empty GCSE

    Mathematics grade B / 5

  • medal-empty Access to HE Diploma

    The University welcomes applications from Access to Higher Education Diploma candidates for consideration. A typical offer may require you to obtain a proportion of Level 3 credits in relevant subjects at merit grade or above.

  • medal-empty BTEC Nationals

    The University will consider applicants holding BTEC National Diploma and National Extended Diploma qualifications (QCF; NQF; OCR) on a case-by-case basis.

  • medal-empty International Baccalaureate

    30 points overall or 15 points at HL, including Mathematics at 4

  • medal-empty International Foundation Programme

    Pass all components of the University of Kent International Foundation Programme with a 65% overall average including 65% in the Economics module (plus 70% in LZ013 Maths and Statistics if you do not hold GCSE Maths at 7/A or equivalent).

  • medal-empty T level

    The University will consider applicants holding T level qualifications in subjects closely aligned to the course.

International students

If you are an international student, visit our International Student website for further information about entry requirements for your country, including details of the International Foundation Programmes. Please note that international fee-paying students who require a Student visa cannot undertake a part-time programme due to visa restrictions.

Please note that meeting the typical offer/minimum requirement does not guarantee that you will receive an offer.

English Language Requirements

Please see our English language entry requirements web page.

Please note that if you do not meet our English language requirements, we offer a number of 'pre-sessional' courses in English for Academic Purposes. You attend these courses before starting your degree programme.

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Course structure

Duration: 3 years full-time

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.

Fees

The 2023/24 annual tuition fees for this course are:

  • Home full-time £9,250
  • EU full-time £13,500
  • International full-time £18,000

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

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.* 

Your fee status

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.

Additional costs

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

Funding

We have a range of subject-specific awards and scholarships for academic, sporting and musical achievement.

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

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 A*AA over three A levels, or the equivalent qualifications (including BTEC and IB) as specified on our scholarships pages.

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.

Contact hours

For a student studying full time, each academic year of the programme will comprise 1200 learning hours which include both direct contact hours and private study hours.  The precise breakdown of hours will be subject dependent and will vary according to modules.  Please refer to the individual module details under Course Structure.

Methods of assessment will vary according to subject specialism and individual modules.  Please refer to the individual module details under Course Structure.

Programme aims

The programme aims to:

  • To provide a flexible and progressive curriculum that is suitable for students who have or have not studied economics or finance before.
  • To provide a stimulating education in the principles of economics and finance along with their application to the real world, in which high quality teaching motivates students to achieve their full potential.
  • To stimulate students intellectually through the study of economics and to lead them to appreciate its application to a range of problems and its relevance in a variety of contexts
  • To provide a firm foundation of knowledge about the workings of economic systems and to foster an understanding of alternative approaches to the analysis of economic phenomena
  • To provide students with the ability to abstract and to develop simplifying frameworks for studying the real world.
  • To develop in students the ability to apply economic knowledge, analytical tools and skills in a range of theoretical, applied and policy problems.
  • To provide a range of options to enable students to study selected areas of economics and financial economics in depth, the teaching of which is informed by the research and scholarship of academic staff
  • To provide students with the knowledge and skill base from which they can proceed to employment in a related area to economics and finance or further study in economics and/or finance.
  • To develop in all students, through the study of economics and finance, a range of skills that will be of value in future employment; for example, working in the City of London.
  • To develop in all students, through the study of economics, a range of skills that will be of value in employment and self-employment.

Learning outcomes

Knowledge and understanding

You gain a 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 history and development of economic ideas and the differing methods of analysis that have been and are used by economists.
  • The analytical skills that allow students to formulate and consider a range of economic and finance problems and issues.
  • The mathematical, statistical and computing methods used in Economics and Finance. 
  • Economic data and methods used to analyse such data.
  • 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 media.
  • An economic or finance topic chosen by the student and submitted as a supervised dissertation or extended essay in final year.

Intellectual skills

You gain the following intellectual skills:

  • Ability to abstract the essential features of a complex system.

  • Ability to think about what are the important variables and fixed parameters in solving a problem.

  • Ability to analysis complex issues using deductive and inductive reasoning.

  • Ability to organise and use information to analyse complex issues and test different hypotheses.

  • Ability to review critically alternative explanations and analyses of a problem.

  • Ability to manage a supervised final year dissertation or extended essay on an economic topic chosen by the student.

Subject-specific skills

You gain the following subject-specific skills:

  • Analytical skills in Economics and Finance. 
  • Ability to apply economic principles and analysis to a range of issues, problems and policies in economics and finance.
  • Ability to abstract the essential features of an economic or finance issue, problem or system.
  • Knowledge of the principal sources of economic and financial data and information and ability to use and present this information.
  • Be able to carry out economic and/or econometric analysis of economic and/or financial data.
  • Knowledge and ability to make and provide advice on how to make economic decisions.
  • Ability to synthesise and compare critically different economic analyses of an economic or finance issue.
  • Ability to research the literature on an economic or finance issue.
  • Ability to apply economic skills to investigate a supervised final year project on an economic or finance topic chosen by the student.

Transferable skills

You gain the following transferable skills:

  • Effective communication of analysis and ideas both orally, aurally and in written form
  • Ability to assemble, analyse, use and present data.
  • Understanding and ability to use economic, mathematical and quantitative methods to analyse issues and problems.
  • Ability to analyse and make decisions, using economic concepts, e.g. opportunity cost and strategic behaviour.
  • Development of Information Technology skills through using statistical and econometric packages.
  •  Independence in initiating and executing work.
  • Ability to think critically about proposed analyses and solutions to a problem or issue.
  • Become responsible for managing own learning and academic performance.
  • Manage a supervised final year dissertation or extended essay on an economic or finance topic chosen by the student.

Careers

Graduate destinations

Our Economics graduates have developed careers in accountancy, banking and finance, journalism, management consultancy and business. Recent graduates have gone on to work for:

  • Deloitte
  • the Government Economic Service
  • HMRC
  • Citibank
  • KPMG
  • PwC
  • Bank of America
  • Schroders
  • Goldman Sachs
  • Barclays.

Help finding a job

The School of Economics supports and advises you in deciding what to do after your Economics degree. We offer:

  • one-to-one advice from a member of our employability team
  • employability workshops
  • talks from alumni and outside employers.

The University also has a friendly Careers and Employability Service which can give you advice on how to:

  • apply for jobs
  • write a good CV
  • perform well in interviews.

Work experience

Internships, either for a week or two or for the whole summer, can be a valuable addition to your studies. We provide guidance and assistance on where to look and how to apply.

Career-enhancing skills

Alongside a thorough understanding of economic issues, you develop key transferable skills that will appeal to employers. These include the ability to:

  • think critically
  • communicate your ideas and opinions succintly
  • work independently
  • use your initiative and be proactive
  • work as part of a team and independently
  • manage your time and plan effectively
  • problem solve.

You can also gain extra skills by signing up for one of our Kent Extra activities, such as learning a language or volunteering.

Apply for Financial Economics - BSc (Hons)

If you are from the UK or Ireland, you must apply for this course through UCAS. If you are not from the UK or Ireland, you can apply through UCAS or directly on our website if you have never used UCAS and you do not intend to use UCAS in the future.

Find out more about how to apply

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United Kingdom/EU enquiries

Enquire online for full-time study

T: +44 (0)1227 768896

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International student enquiries

Enquire online

T: +44 (0)1227 823254
E: internationalstudent@kent.ac.uk

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