Economic degrees - anywhere else good apart from Russell Group

[MyBoysHaveDogsNames]

Hi

My son is interested in doing Economics at uni. He is still actually doing his GCSEs, but thinking ahead is motivating him.

He would like a BA rather than a BSc route and is thinking of Economics, Geography and either Business Studies or English Literature A Levels.

I have looked at courses on theuniguide and on the Russell Group list and there are lots of good options.

Has anyone else had any good experience of somewhere non-Russell Group? I didn't go to uni myself until I was old! So I haven't got much of a sense of how universities are perceived if they are not RG.

Thank you for any help.

If he is interested in Scottish Universities, Strathclyde has a great reputation for Economics.

The Russell group is not the be all and end all, and there is a lot of variation amongst different degrees.

A quick answer to your question is that Bath economics is extremely well regarded and not RG.

I wouldn’t recommend Economics and Business studies - pick one or the other. Some unis won’t accept both. I would recommend Maths just in case he changes his mind and wants to do a BSc instead of a BA.

Russell Group isn't an award. It's a marketing group. There are some very good universities in there but there are some equally good universities outside of the RG too. Strathclyde and Bath both do what they do very well.
Why is he stipulating BA over BSc? Is he worried about the Maths? Having sat through a few sixth form and university open days over the years, I think performance in Maths A level is a really good indicator of success in an Economics degree. BA or BSc can just reflect the school broader school the course sits in.

As a pp has said, its a bad idea to do economics and business studies. They're way too similar. Economics is the better choice.

Thank you for your answers. I will have a look at Strathclyde and Bath. Yes, he doesn't want to do Maths at A Level. He can probably get a 7 at GCSE. That's good feedback though, thank you.

Yes definitely agree about not doing both economics and business studies A Levels, abs that economics is the better regarded A Level.

English Lit is a great choice. A “classic” A Level that’s well regarded. Although Gove messed with the curriculum so much that a lot of the opportunity for independent thought and the enjoyment of language is gone.

He should look at a range of different courses at a range of universities to see what sparks his interest and which he’s a good fit for. As he isn’t doing maths A Level he’ll need a degree that doesn’t require this obviously. He may be attracted to multi-discipline degrees or even business studies.

Loughborough’s economics degree is meant to be v good. I don’t know if it requires maths but I do know it’s a very good university.

I'd seriously look at the business studies department at Bath too. A friend's daughter is there atm. Fulfilling all her expectations. It's competitive entry but worth it. She's able but like your son, Maths wasn't for her beyond A level.
I have heard from a head of economics at local private school that performance in Economics A level is closely linked to Maths A level too. Your DS might find business studies plays to his strengths

Thank you. We did start off looking at business studies but then that morphed into economics!

I did see a geography and economics degree at Loughborough which looked interesting. I think it's those more multi disciplinary degrees that would suit him, particularly one with a placement year. He has a good work ethic.

Thanks for all of the replies. It can seem a bit overwhelming to start with.

Loughborough has highly ranked economics and business studies degrees, much higher on some ranking systems including the Guardian’s and Times’s than many RG universities. It’s certainly one of the top non-RG ones for your DS to consider.

Loughborough still attracts the sporty types though and so that increases competition. Its not the best choice if you are not able to show sporting ability on your CV.

That's useful to know, thank you. He is quite sporty and goes to a very sporty school. Not in any school teams though Something else to work on!

Thanks Juno. We'll have a good look as there seems to be great choice .

St Andrews? My son has just started there studying Economics and Management. He applied for Management but you take up to 3 subjects in your 1st and 2nd year so the degree is very flexible. Strathclyde was his insurance - he really liked the feel of it at the open day and again a very flexible degree. He had an offer from Loughborough too and it was a tough choice between there and St Andrews for his firm choice. His other choices were Glasgow and Birmingham which might be worth a look at too? X

Essex
Sussex
Bath
Lancaster
City
St Andrews
Loughborough

I thought that universities want maths 'A' level to do economics? Maybe he should think about what sort of career he wants with economics without maths? Anyway I believe Bath is very good for economics.

It depends if it is s BSc or a BA. He would like to do a BA as leans more towards the social science side and may want to combine it with an arts subject

St Andrews looks great! Very competitive. I need to talk to his teachers. I don't know what kind of grades he could expect to get at A Levrl.

www.socialsciences.manchester.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/about-bass/
I am not sure that there's a whole degree from a good university to be made out of non-numeric economics tbh. If he's open to mixed honours, how about something like this from Manchester, for example. He could try out Economics in the first year.
Or LANS @Birmingham, where students can combine modules from a range of schools as long as they meet specific subject entry criteria.
www.birmingham.ac.uk/schools/liberal-arts-and-sciences/index.aspx

St Andrews is competitive but depending on your school/postcode/history of pupils attending from that area (i.e not many) you may get a widening participation offer. My son did, so needed ABB instead of AAA. There’s an offer calculator somewhere on their website.

You can do a BA in Economics (they call it political economy) at Glasgow. The course does require maths- you have to do a 'maths for economics' class in second year but it's doable. I would thoroughly recommend Glasgow. I did politics there but a lot of my friends did economics. Don't forget it's the home of Adam Smith!!

Most economics degrees even BAs either want Maths A level or you end up having to do maths modules at university. He may be better off looking at Business degrees rather than economics.

In terms of reputation in pure economics: Essex, Royal Holloway, UEA and Surrey. Sussex is less strong in pure economics but good for combining economics with other subjects, Bath is strong in Business Economics.

The level of maths required for / taught on economics degrees is quite a controversial and heated subject in the economics world, but generally the move at good universities is towards increasing the level and amount of quants required to complete a pure economics degree. This means that not doing maths A Level (when around three quarters of students studying economics at degree level do have A Level maths) is likely to become an increasing disadvantage both in terms of acceptance on to a good economics degree and in terms of doing well on the course.

If that's not his interest, he might be better looking at joint degrees or allied subjects in departments with strengths in the economic aspects of their subject, e.g. geography departments that are strong in economic geography, the more quantitative social policy or development studies departments, some of the business schools.

My son did do maths A level. One of his modules this term is maths for economics which he says follows on from A level work. He says he would struggle if he didn’t have maths A level.
Glasgow do an Economic history degree which might be an good alternative?

Bath offer International Development with Economics (4-year degree including an international placement year)? It’s AAB or ABB with an EPQ of A or above.

If he can do an EPQ, it’s a good idea as some unis will offer at a lower grade for a good EPQ.

Economics degrees are very different to A-level and there is a reason that most good Economics courses require Maths A-level, if not Further Maths as well.