Economics~ Behaviour and Data Science with a Placement Year

Economics, behaviour, and data science is a forward-looking combination that brings together the rigorous economic analysis of how markets and agents make decisions with the methods of behavioural economics, which investigates how people actually behave rather than how traditional models assume they do, and the data science tools that allow both sets of questions to be investigated with increasing precision and at large scale. As organisations from government departments to technology platforms come to rely more heavily on behavioural insights and large-scale data analysis to understand and shape human behaviour, the demand for graduates who can work fluently across these three fields has grown substantially.

At the University of East Anglia, this four-year full-time programme with a placement year integrates theoretical study with an extended period of professional experience. The placement year gives you the opportunity to work in a role where economic analysis, behavioural science, or data skills are applied, building a professional record alongside your academic qualification. UEA has strong research traditions in economics and in behavioural science, and the programme draws on that research expertise directly.

You will study microeconomics and macroeconomics, behavioural economics and the psychology of decision-making, statistics and econometrics, programming and data analysis, and research design.

The analytical skills you develop are in sustained demand: the combination of economic reasoning, understanding of human behaviour, and data literacy is sought by employers in policy, finance, technology, marketing, consulting, and the public sector alike.

Graduates work in economic consultancy, policy analysis, behavioural insights teams in government and the private sector, marketing analytics, financial services, technology companies, and data science roles across many sectors. The placement year gives graduates a significant advantage in competitive graduate recruitment. Postgraduate study in economics, behavioural economics, or data science is a natural continuation for those who want to develop their expertise further or pursue academic careers.