Economics degree without maths

[Bufftailed]

Hi all,

My DS is finalising A level options, subject to results. If he doesn’t do maths I can see most of top Unis would be ruled out for Economics, although there are some BA options and joint honours. In terms of job hunting post uni (finance, banking, economics) would be a BA or joint honours hold him back? I don’t know much about these fields so any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks

My DD did a joint honours (IR and Economics) without Maths. She found the Economics hard, and chose her options very carefully. That said, she ended up with a First (this being MN, it goes without saying this was RG). She got a job with one of the Big Four after graduation - and did say that she was the only one in her cohort without Maths (she loathed it, but that’s a different story).

Get the Tutor2u guide to Economics at University. It's free and has good advice on this.

Economics at University 2025/2026 Student Guide | Reference Library | Economics | tutor2u https://share.google/iwLnKcKlC90j7GaVO

I don’t know about employment prospects @Bufftailed, no experience. I do know tho that economics is very competitive as a degree course and know of YP with great grades who did not get offers from certain unis. For BSc tho not BA.

But I wonder why, if not enough if a maths fan to take A level , you would want to do economics at uni? And then a career in finance? Or is BA econ not mathsy at all? I could be wrong so don’t take this as gospel. But if a subject is often needed for a uni course, doesn’t that suggest it’s going to come up? Ds needed a level bio for his degree and biology comes up a lot. Same for dd with Eng lit. Just a thought. No point dong something you don’t like for the rest of your life.

Thank you!

If he doesn’t want to do maths why is he thinking economics? It would be a tough career without liking maths.

having said that there are plenty of jobs in ‘business’ that require social/sales skills so he doesn’t have to do a levels he hates to succeed

Ds did a BSc Econ without Maths or Economics. He failed his Maths in first year - used the resit as an opportunity to really get to grips with the Maths. He ended up with a 2:1 and got a place on a big 4 grad programme. At his graduation- his maths tutor said the Maths in first year was the thing that caused the biggest challenge and they threw loads of resources into it, he was thrilled with dis’s achievement. And whilst ds struggled in year 1 - he smashed year 2, which apparently rarely happens - I’d say it was character forming for him.

He would need to look carefully at course content to see how viable it is without Maths. I did an Economics degree at Cambridge without Maths and you had a Maths test in year 1 which did not count just had to pass and then you could avoid Maths options though was a year 1 stats paper and a year 2 econometrics. Both of those I found fine, econometrics is quite like computing and stats was easy to pick up if you were good at GCSE level Maths.

It won't affect jobs - I have worked as a macroeconomist in banks / finance / civil service / international development and never had an issue with jobs or doing the role. The jobs do require GCSE level maths and stats so better if you have a 9 in that and can do calculations quickly. Accountancy would also be fine to get into. DD is at Oxford doing a joint Economics degree but that did require Maths A level. Joint are generally easier to get offers on and something like Politics would go well. My degree had a lot of history, politics, development economics learning about South America, Russia, Africa etc which was very useful for policy roles and also macroeconomics. I found the heavy maths jobs in finance where done with those with Maths degrees / physics and Maths phds. Econometrics is being increasingly requested and Maths does help with that.

I do have an A-level in Maths but my interest in Economics is on the Humanities side. I got a first class degree (joint honours with History) and have been teaching Economics for 15 years.

Don't believe the quants!

Not all jobs in finance are maths based - when I worked in risk there were people with maths phds or similar doing country risk calculations. Then we would look at things like property price changes, political events, news, economic variables, stock markets - there were numbers in it but more like making a graph and % changes, GCSE level stuff and it was more writing reports and presenting them and doing events.

PPE is another route.

Thanks everyone - really useful advice.

DS likes maths but is an all rounder and also likes MFL, history etc. I don’t actually know how much maths economics would involve, my assumption is there are more or less maths based options. He isn’t clear yet about uni, but I want him to understand how A level choices are ruling in or out future options he has mentioned. He has done tasters for Economics A level and bridging work and loved it, but appreciate that is a tiny tip of the iceberg.

I wouldn’t recommend it. My DS is doing PPE at a RG uni and got an A star for maths at A level and he has found the maths element in his Economics modules very challenging.

A lot in finance are fluent in other languages though its often something they have done as well as degree and are foreign. Maths A level would open up more Economics degree options but if you are very careful with degree selection you could do without. It is a common reason for people to change from Economics when they can't do the Maths but if you research well in advance should be OK. You need one ideally with a lot of options and no compulsory maths.

Its worth checking what others on the course have in terms of Maths and FM A levels. My DD finds the Maths fine with A level maths and a 50% course but is very mathematical.

@Bufftailed Looking at his general ability, consider which universities might be suitable because the top ones will want maths. The CU Guide might help with the ranking of the non maths ones. Then look at the BA courses in more detail. Are they what DS would expect? Could he see himself doing these courses?

Plus, being a bit negative, what people achieved years ago is not now! The world for grads has changed. The IFS looked at the salaries of economics grads. They vary a lot! So university matters. Elite uni, elite jobs. The work sectors he’s aiming for can be ultra competitive and many get in via internships. So there’s competition way before you graduate.

If he’s going to pursue this, be very careful about university and course. There’s also the lemming effect. Huge pressure to get the high paying jobs at some universities. At others, students live local and stay local. They are not looking for the higher paying jobs so there’s less ground swell to get one. Often the students at the high tarrif universities do well is that they caught up in the internship/job applications merrygoround. So I would think very carefully about job snd suitable degree as well as student cohort.

There are universities which offer a "with Maths A-level" and "without Maths A-level" parallel route for Economics. Worth setting filters carefully on Unifrog or whatever programme your DC's school sunscribes to.

Course requirements | Discover Economics https://share.google/V2uUPtQ6iu4iGxSYu

This thread has made me realise I know nothing about uni applications - my knowledge is virtually 30 years old. Can I check, given you all seem to be knowledgeable, what is the rough timetable? Uni applications October year 13? Predicted grades based on end of year 12 mocks? Visits take place when?? Do degree apprenticeships work to same time frame? Year 12 was a bit of a doss year in my day, not now!!!

DS has to go to new sixth form as his school doesn’t have one. I’m sure they will explain everything, but I’d like to have some idea. Thanks all

Your DC's school should advise, but briefly:

Apply by mid Jan of year 13 - unless applying for Oxford, Cambs, vet, med or dental - in which case by mid-October. You can submit your UCAS form with fewer than five choices and then add unis as long as you are within the deadline. Offers can come through within days but can also take months (that may be uni dependent – some seem to play it very late – or may depend on popularity of course and where you are in the order)

PGs usually based on year 12 mocks/work but it varies by school. DS2 had a low PG for one A level and put in a lot of work at the start of year 13 and they pulled it up.

Visits to unis ideally in the summer of year 12; there are also open days autumn of year 13. They tend to clash tho (only so many weekends) and it's not practicable to go to more than one in a day IMHO. Plan this in advance as they get booked up.

Degree apprenticeships are much talked of on MN and elsewhere as a great solution; in practical terms they are hugely competitive; it's a lot easier to get a place even at a top uni. I know someone whose DC is doing one and it doesn't sound great tbh but obvs there are some excellent ones. Not sure about the timescale tho. It may depend on the apprenticeship tbh (it does for post-16 ones).

Thanks this is really helpful. I assume he can apply to degree apprenticeships and unis as degree apprenticeships must be direct to organization.

No let up now then, good to be prepared!

To add to @clary's clear advice: students applying anywhere competitive should do so in the autumn and earlier rather than later, as some universities make offers on a first come (with decent predictions), first serve basis. Plus the later you leave it the more frazzled the school UCAS advisor gets!

While predicted grades can and often do change in September/October, in practice the school will have a deadline for changes, and students pressuring teachers to give unrealistic predicted grades right through to November or early December helps no-one, least of all the student - it's a distraction from actually studying!

Oh I meant to add that UCAS apps and degree apprenticeship apps are separate but on a similar schedule, so students can wait and compare when some offers are in.

The UCAS website is very informative.

I have twice had students get good university offers and a degree apprenticeship offer. Both went for the degree apprenticeship and both seem very happy on them (if a bit wistful about having to get up in the morning...)

The “first come, first served” point is not true. The equal consideration UCAS deadline is just that: applications arriving on the date must be treated with the same consideration as those arriving on 1st September. Most competitive unis and courses sort applicants by strength, and balance offers throughout the process. They know that each student has five choices, so they can’t assume that every high achiever will firm them.
I tell my students that they aren’t disadvantaged by applying later in the process, and it’s worth delaying if you’re unsure - but if you’re early you’ll get lots of nice offers immediately for courses where your predicted grades match or exceed the stated entry grades.