(BA) Bachelor of Arts
International Economics (Including Placement Year)
Current
University of Essex
University of Essex
Economics
Colchester Campus
Honours Degree
Full-time
Economics
BA 9O47
19/03/2014
Details
Professional accreditation
None
Admission criteria
A-levels: ABB-BBB
GCSE: Mathematics B
IB: 32-30 points, including Standard Level Mathematics grade 5, if not taken at Higher Level
Entry requirements for students studying BTEC qualifications are dependent on units studied. Advice can be provided on an individual basis. The standard required is generally at Distinction level.
IELTS (International English Language Testing System) code
English language requirements for applicants whose first language is not English: IELTS 6.0 overall. (Different requirements apply for second year entry.)
If you are an international student requiring a Tier 4 visa to study in the UK please see our immigration webpages for the latest Home Office guidance on English language qualifications.
Other English language qualifications may be acceptable so please contact us for further details. If we accept the English component of an international qualification then it will be included in the information given about the academic levels required. Please note that date restrictions may apply to some English language qualifications.
Course qualifiers
A course qualifier is a bracketed addition to your course title to denote a specialisation or pathway that you have achieved via the completion of specific modules during your course. The
specific module requirements for each qualifier title are noted below. Eligibility for any selected qualifier will be determined by the department and confirmed by the final year Board of
Examiners. If the required modules are not successfully completed, your course title will remain as described above without any bracketed addition. Selection of a course qualifier is
optional and student can register preferences or opt-out via Online Module Enrolment (eNROL).
None
Rules of assessment
Rules of assessment are the rules, principles and frameworks which the University uses to calculate your course progression and final results.
Additional notes
None
External examiners
External Examiners provide an independent overview of our courses, offering their expertise and help towards our continual improvement of course content, teaching, learning, and assessment.
External Examiners are normally academics from other higher education institutions, but may be from the industry, business or the profession as appropriate for the course.
They comment on how well courses align with national standards, and on how well the teaching, learning and assessment methods allow students to develop and demonstrate the relevant knowledge and skills needed to achieve their awards.
External Examiners who are responsible for awards are key members of Boards of Examiners. These boards make decisions about student progression within their course and about whether students can receive their final award.
Programme aims
BA International Economics is a three-year programme of study.
Its main learning and teaching aims are:
To provide students with an academic training in the principles of economics and international economics.
To provide students with an awareness of the quantitative methods appropriate for knowledge of economic principles and applied economics.
To foster in students an appreciation of the appropriate level of abstraction and simplification needed to explore a range of economic issues including those in the area of international economics.
To encourage in students the acquisition of autonomous study skills and the adoption of an investigative approach to tackle economic problems.
To develop in students the ability to construct logical arguments, to communicate arguments clearly in writing, and to appreciate, evaluate and respond to potentially conflicting interpretations of economic phenomena.
To provide students with the opportunity to apply their knowledge and skills constructively to international economics and the associated policies.
To allow students, through the study of economics, to acquire critical, analytical and research skills, problem-solving skills, and transferable skills.
To provide students with a foundation for further studies in economics, international economics and allied disciplines.
The outcomes detailed in this section represent the minimum that might be expected of a graduate of the Department of Economics at the University of Essex.
The Department anticipates and intends that the vast majority of economics graduates will accomplish significantly more.
Details of the differing standards expected to achieve the various course and degree classifications are available in the Undergraduate Economics Handbook, published annually by the Department of Economics.
Learning outcomes and learning, teaching and assessment methods
On successful completion of the programme a graduate should demonstrate knowledge and skills as follows:
A: Knowledge and understanding
A1: Knowledge of the fundamental principles of economics, including microeconomics and macroeconomics.
A2: Understanding of the application of economic reasoning to the study of relevant problems and policies.
A3: Knowledge of the mathematical methods needed to comprehend economic principles.
A4: Awareness of the sources of economic information and/or knowledge and understanding of sources available for historical research.
A5: Knowledge of statistical methods needed for the analysis of economic issues.
A6: Knowledge of the application of economic reasoning to the international dimension of economic affairs.
A7: An experience-based understanding of work roles
Learning methods
Lectures are the principal method of delivery for the principles, concepts and arguments in A1-A6.
Students are also assigned readings from textbooks, academic journal papers, unpublished research papers and on-line resources.
Students’‘ understanding is reinforced by classes, especially for outcomes A1, A2, A3, A5, A6.
Laboratory sessions are provided to support learning of quantitative methods (A5).
Individual supervision of the final year project provides additional support especially for outcomes A4 and A6, and reinforces A2, A3, A5.
Lectures and classes in final year courses are particularly important to enable students to achieve A6.
The industrial placement will enable students to achieve A7.
Assessment methods
Achievement of knowledge and understanding is assessed through marked assignments (A1, A2), tests (A1, A2, A3, A5), term papers (A1, A2, A4, A6), project work (A1-A6) and unseen closed-book examinations (A1, A2, A3, A5, A6).
Learning outcomes A2, A4 are assessed by tests and unseen closed-book examinations.
Learning outcome A6 is assessed by term papers and unseen closed-book examinations particularly in final year, EC3xx, economics courses.
Learning outcome A4 is assessed especially via term papers (in second year and final year economics courses) and the final year project.
Learning outcome A7 is assessed via a portfolio.
B: Intellectual and cognitive skills
B1: Analyse a specified problem and choose the most suitable methods for its solution.
B2: Assess the relative merits of a range of theories, techniques and tools needed to articulate arguments and policies.
B3: Synthesise and interpret information from a range of sources (lectures, classes, journals, books, etc.) developing a critical evaluation of the importance and relevance of the sources to an area of study.
B4: Construct reasoned, informed and concise descriptions and assessments of economic ideas.
B5: A capacity to connect subject-specific theory to practice in a work environment
Learning methods
Students‘ acquisition of intellectual and cognitive skills, B1-B4, is enabled primarily through lectures and further sustained via classes.
Outcome B1 is developed particularly in exercises designed for core economic theory, mathematical methods and quantitative methods classes.
Outcomes B2, B3 and B4 are key elements in students’‘ preparation for assignments.
Individual project supervision and guidance for term paper study are especially important in providing opportunities for students to acquire B2, B3 and B4.
The industrial placement will enable students to achieve B7.
Assessment methods
Achievement of intellectual/cognitive skills is assessed through marked assignments (especially B1 and B3), tests (especially B1), term papers (especially B2, B3, B4), project work (especially B2, B3 and B4) and unseen closed-book examinations (especially B1, B2 and B4).
C: Practical skills
C1: Identify, select and gather information, using the relevant sources.
C2: Organise ideas in a systematic way.
C3: Present economic ideas and arguments coherently in writing.
C4: Use and apply economic terminology and concepts.
C5: Present economic and/or historical ideas and arguments coherently in writing.
C6: Communicate with a range of colleagues and clients in a working environment
Learning methods
Skill C1 is developed via directed reading from textbooks and academic journal articles together with searches for online materials.
Skill C2 is acquired during lectures and classes, and as a consequence of studying course materials.
Skill C3 is articulated in the preparation of assignments and term papers.
Skill C4 is developed in classes and is emphasised in the preparation of assignments, term papers and projects.
Skill C5 is developed in the industrial placement.
Assessment methods
Achievement of practical skills C1, C3 and C4 is assessed directly through marked assignments, tests, term papers, project work and unseen closed-book examinations.
Skill C2 is assessed indirectly via assignments, term papers, projects and final examinations.
Skill C5 is assessed via a portfolio.
D: Key skills
D1: Communication in writing, using appropriate terminology and technical language:
(a) the articulation of economic theories,
(b) the description of economic evidence,
(c) the critical assessment of economic arguments and policies
D3: Understanding of quantitative methods, an awareness of the contexts in which the methods are relevant and a knowledge of how they are applied in practice to analyse economic data.
D4: Understanding of how economic reasoning is used to address problems involving opportunity cost, incentives, households' and firms' decision-making, strategic thinking, expectations and market outcomes in equilibrium and disequilibrium.
D6: Capacity to:
(a) organise and implement a plan of independent study;
(b) reflect on his or her own learning experience and adapt in response to feedback; and
(c) recognise when he or she needs to learn more and appreciate the role of additional research
D7: Capacity to work in a team within a work environment
D8: Improve personal professional practice through a reflective approach within a work environment.
Learning methods
Students are guided in lectures, classes and individual advice from teachers in acquiring skills D1, D3, D4, D6.
Skills D3 and D4 are reinforced through the quantitative methods course, and courses in theoretical and applied economics.
Skill D6 is enhanced as students reflect upon the knowledge they need when researching term papers and their final year projects.
Only minimal formally assessed requirements for the completion of the programme are listed here.
In reality, the overwhelming majority of economics students acquire a much broader range of key skills, and at greater depth, in ways that are integrated seamlessly throughout their studies of the subject.
Assessment methods
Skills D1 and D4 are assessed through marked assignments, tests, term papers, projects and unseen closed-book examinations.
Skill D3 is assessed particularly through tests and unseen closed-book examinations.
Skill D6 is assessed indirectly through students' capacity to construct submitted work (assignments, term papers and projects for which feedback is given) and their study plans for unseen tests and examinations.