Economics with a Foundation Year

Economics is the study of how individuals, firms, governments and societies make choices about how to allocate scarce resources, and how those choices shape the world around us. It uses mathematical and statistical tools alongside theoretical reasoning to understand markets, prices, growth, inequality, trade and the effects of policy. The discipline spans microeconomics, which examines how individual agents make decisions, and macroeconomics, which looks at the behaviour of entire economies, and it increasingly draws on data science and experimental methods to test hypotheses against evidence.

At Loughborough University this four-year full-time programme includes a foundation year that provides an alternative entry route for students who meet specific eligibility criteria. The foundation year builds the mathematical and academic foundations needed to engage with the full degree programme, after which you progress onto any of Loughborough's economics courses. The typical entry tariff for this programme is around 152 UCAS points.

Loughborough is consistently ranked as one of the UK's leading universities, and the economics department offers teaching that is strongly grounded in both theory and real-world application.

You will study microeconomic and macroeconomic theory, econometrics and data analysis, mathematical economics, economic history and applied policy analysis, developing both the conceptual understanding and the quantitative skills that professional economists and economics graduates need in a wide range of careers.

Economics graduates are among the most sought-after in the graduate labour market. Finance, banking and investment are traditional destinations, but economics graduates also work extensively in consultancy, the civil service, international organisations, think tanks, technology companies, policy research, central banking and academic research. The analytical rigour and quantitative skills the degree develops are valued across virtually every sector that needs to understand and respond to economic forces.

Postgraduate study in economics, finance, data science or public policy is a natural next step for those who wish to develop specialist expertise.