Economics and Finance with a Foundation Year
Economics and finance together provide the analytical foundations for understanding how markets, economies and financial systems work. Economics examines how scarce resources are allocated, how prices are set, how firms and households behave and how government policy can address market failures and social outcomes. Finance focuses more specifically on the workings of financial markets, the pricing of assets, the management of risk and the financial decisions of firms and investors.
Together they equip you to understand both the macroeconomic context in which financial decisions are made and the microeconomic and financial principles that govern those decisions at the level of firms, markets and individual actors.
At the University of Kent this four-year, full-time programme begins with a foundation year, giving a supported entry point for students who may not have the standard academic prerequisites for direct entry to the full degree. You will develop a thorough grounding in microeconomics, macroeconomics, mathematics, statistics and econometrics alongside specialist knowledge in areas such as financial markets, corporate finance, monetary economics, international economics and economic policy. The combination prepares you to understand the forces that shape the world's economies and financial systems and to engage with the quantitative tools that economists and financial analysts use to model and interpret economic behaviour.
Graduates of economics and finance programmes pursue careers in financial services, including investment banking, asset management, insurance and financial analysis, as well as in economic consultancy, government economic departments, central banking, regulatory bodies and international organisations. The combination of economic rigour and financial knowledge is also valued in management consultancy, technology companies, data-driven businesses and the growing field of financial technology. Many graduates continue to postgraduate study in economics, finance, financial economics or related fields.