Improve your knowledge of global markets and economic theory, and sharpen your decision making skills – an Economics degree at Nottingham Business School is your gateway to a career in financial services, and a wide range of other opportunities.

Economics is built on some simple, yet important, ideas known as threshold concepts. These apply to decisions taken every day by individuals, firms and governments. Some of these decisions can have very important effects for all of us.

You’ll study the key concepts of modern economics, and learn how to apply these principles to understand decisions taken by individuals, businesses and governments. The course is not just about learning about economic theory, but focuses on preparing you for a career using these tools to guide business decisions, influence policy or benefit society more broadly. You’ll work with professionals and industry experts and test your knowledge in a range of real-world business environments.

As an Economics student you’ll have access to our unique Business Lab facility, including the industry-standard Bloomberg Terminals. With double-screen workstations, the room gives you a simulated experience of working in the fast-moving world of shares and trading. You can access sophisticated analysis tools and data on worldwide financial markets.

Nottingham Business School enrols its economics students with The Society of Professional Economists (SPE). SPE is the leading organisation serving professional economists in the UK and has more than 600 members, drawn from all areas of the profession including finance and commerce, industry, government departments, private sector consultants, business schools and universities.

This course can be studied over three years full-time or four years with a placement, and offers all students the opportunity to gain some industry experience or travel overseas to study abroad in one of our partner universities with our unique opportunities scheme.

Nottingham Business School is a UK leader in financial and business education – an Economics degree from NTU gives you the foundations and opportunities to pursue a wide range of exciting careers.

Flexible learning

Blend projects, internships and international study for a truly unique learning experience.

Our students get great jobs

We're Top 5 in the UK for employability (Uni Compare 2027).

Complete a paid placement

Our students have secured experience with organisations like Oracle and the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.

Study in the heart of Nottingham

One of the UK's top 10 student cities (QS Best Student Cities 2026).

The course begins in September 2027. You’ll cover a wide range of topics and build real-world skills. Find out more about the modules you'll cover below.

Study economics in a globally recognised business school

You’ll study this course at Nottingham Business School – part of the 1% of business schools worldwide to hold the Triple Crown of accreditation from EQUIS, AMBA and AACSB. For you, this means high-quality teaching, relevant course content and a degree that employers recognise and respect.

We’re also recognised by the United Nations as a PRME Champion, which means ethics, responsibility and sustainability are built into your learning from day one. That approach shapes how economics is taught here, helping you develop the skills and judgement you’ll need to make confident, responsible decisions as you start your career.

Module information

A standard full-time BSc (Hons) course is made up of 120 credits studied each year. Some courses may vary, however, and you can find information on the total number of credits achieved per module below.

Here’s a breakdown of what you’ll be studying throughout the

Year OneYear TwoOptional Placement YearFinal Year

ModulesExpand all +

Principles of Macroeconomics

This module will introduce you to key macroeconomic variables, such as growth, inflation, unemployment and trade, and to theoretical perspectives on their determination applying models in a national and international context. It provides the building blocks for further critical analysis later in the course.

20 credits

Principles of Microeconomics

This module will provide you with a comprehensive introduction to microeconomic theory and enable you to analyse markets, institutions and policy. In doing so, you will learn to understand the interconnectedness of economic participants, such as consumers and producers.

Quantitative Methods for Economists

An ability to understand and analyse quantitative data is an important part of an economist's toolkit. This module will develop your numeracy, enabling you to explore, describe and utilise data in economic and business analysis.

Introductory Finance for Economists

You'll learn how economic theory plays out in real financial decisions, from how businesses are valued to how markets set prices. Using the Bloomberg Business Labs, you'll get hands-on with the same data terminals used by analysts and traders, tracking live market movements and applying what you learn in lectures to real financial data.

Economic Policy in Context

Provides an historical background to the process of economic development and introduces influential economic scholars and schools of thought. You will reflect on the parallels between contemporary economic issues and debates with those of the past.

Personal and Academic Development

From your first days at university, to the end of year one, you'll build the foundations a business career needs: data literacy, professional digital skills, and a clear picture of your own strengths. You'll explore Nottingham's real business landscape, understand what employers look for, and put together a development plan that maps your ambitions to the career you want.

Core modulesExpand all +

Intermediate Macroeconomics

Economies don't move in a straight line. Short-term shocks knock them off course, while deeper forces shape growth over the long run. You'll weigh up different views on macroeconomics' biggest debates. You'll trace both the short-term swings of an economy under strain and the longer-term drivers of growth and development. Throughout, you'll consider the policy implications: what governments and central banks can realistically do in response.

Intermediate Microeconomics

Resources are limited, but demands on them aren’t. You’ll explore the complex interconnectedness of individual decisions, as everyone competes for the same scarce resources. Real disagreements run through the subject too: different schools of economic thought don't agree on how to explain what's happening, and you'll examine why.

Economic Evaluation

This module provides a broad treatment of micro and macroeconomic policy issues that affect contemporary society. The module will use the toolkit of the economist to analyse contemporary economic issues.

Optional unique opportunitiesExpand all +

Study Abroad

Experience life in another country by studying at one of our partner universities. Choose from a host of countries in Europe or go further afield and study in the USA, South America, Australasia and South East Asia. This is a great opportunity to develop your independence and explore another culture.

60 credits

Enterprise Project

Turn your business idea into something real. Based in the award-winning Dryden Enterprise Centre, you’ll develop a new venture or grow an existing one with support from academic and business mentors. You’ll explore your market, define your audience, shape a practical marketing and growth plan, consider finances and sustainability, and learn how to pitch your idea with confidence inside a real start-up environment.

Internship

Get a taste of the working world and gain some essential industry insight with a 12-15 week work placement. The experience will allow you to put your learning in to practice, with the experience gained improving your future career prospects, and sharpening your interpersonal and professional skills.

Or continue with taught modules. Core modules:Expand all +

Applied Professional Development

This unique module supports you to refine the attributes and behaviours that will make you stand out in the workplace. The module features a dynamic week-long conference, packed with inspirational guest speakers to get you thinking about the future of work and the part you want to play. Later, you'll engage in a period of work or work-like experience, developing a range of practical skills and the mindset to navigate your future with confidence. You'll also complete a mock video job interview which will hone your ability to respond with strong, well-thought-through answers under time pressure, and help you to clinch your dream work placement or future graduate role.

Environmental and Resource Economics

You'll apply economic analysis to the environment and natural resources, starting with why they're different from ordinary markets. From there, you'll compare pollution control approaches, from command and control regulation to taxes and tradeable permit schemes, and look at how energy markets and natural resource management work in practice. You'll get to the economics of climate change, including the role institutions and international agreements play in tackling it.

And choose one from:Expand all +

Econometrics

This module will develop further the tools and techniques that enhance your ability to use quantitative data to evaluate economic and business decisions. It will help you to build and test models of economic phenomena and introduce you to forecasting and hypothesis testing.

Survey Research and Analysis

You'll learn to plan and run a survey, from designing a research instrument that gets you data you can trust, to collecting responses and analysing them with statistical software. You'll apply analytical methods to real data drawn from across the business world, then interpret your findings and communicate them clearly to a business audience. It's a skill you'll use in almost any role that depends on making decisions from evidence rather than guesswork.

In your third year, you can choose to spend a year in industry, study at one of our international partner institutions, or continue straight through to your final year.

A placement year is a chance to test what you've learned in a real working environment and build your CV before you graduate. Our recent Economics students have secured placements with companies including Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office, Oracle, Hewlett Packard Enterprise and Hilton.

Studying abroad is a different kind of experience, but equally valuable. Time at an international partner institution builds the adaptability, independence and cross-cultural awareness that stand out on a graduate application.

Whatever path you choose, our Employability team is here to help you prepare, whether that's finding placements, exploring self-employment, volunteering or getting advice on further study. As an NTU graduate, you'll also retain access to their services for three years after you finish.

Continue with taught modules

If you choose not to take a placement year or study abroad, you’ll continue directly into your final year. Please see the ‘Final Year’ tab for your list of modules.

Developing Professional Impact

This module provides an opportunity for you to reflect on the skills and behaviours you've developed throughout your degree and put them to the test in a "live" consultancy project set by a real organisation. Working in a team with other students you'll address the brief and present your findings and recommendations to the client and your tutors. Later in the module you'll explore subject specific competences for career readiness and debate important themes on the agenda of all businesses such as diversity and inclusiveness, ethics and sustainability. By the end of the module, you'll have a sharper understanding of the impact you want to make to business and society and the confidence to take your next steps forward with purpose.

Behavioural Microeconomics

The module builds on the microeconomic theory developed previously on the course to provide a critical analysis of economic theories, concepts and techniques of relevance to individual, government, business and managerial decision-making. In doing so, students will apply economic ideas to analyse a range of issues of concern to individuals, policy makers and businesses in a contemporary setting.

Macroeconomics Issues and Policy

The module extends and uses economic theory already encountered on the degree to analyse macroeconomic issues facing policy-makers in the modern economy. By applying economic concepts and theories to macroeconomic problems, the module aims to deepen understanding of macroeconomic debates about policy.

The World Economy

This module critically applies relevant economic theories to develop your understanding of key contemporary issues in the world economy. Individual country differences will see different countries exposed to, and respond to, common problems in different ways. The module therefore introduces you to several of the common economic issues and challenges that all countries face.

Optional modules - choose one from twoExpand all +

Applied Business Research Project

For this module you will undertake a purposeful, individual, in depth study of a relevant topic, developing your independent learning, critical thinking and knowledge of research techniques relevant to your subject area. The project will develop your ability to manage a major piece of work, for which you will be completely responsible, and will be completed over a period of several months. You will learn to utilise and improve your time management and communication skills, as well as test your initiative and resourcefulness. To support your development during this module you will study essential skills such as critical thinking, conducting a literature review, understanding the appropriate research framework, practical research methods and skills, report and academic writing skills.

Sustainability Impact Project

This module is designed to give you a deeper understanding of sustainability issues affecting firms. It incorporates a live consultancy experience, where you are required to apply your knowledge to critically review aspects of enterprise practice and infrastructure and recommend ways to reduce carbon emissions. You will learn how to critically review sustainability issues presented by an enterprise and analyse evidence, arguments, concepts and data to formulate sustainability and carbon management recommendations for an enterprise.

Optional modules - choose one from threeExpand all +

Contemporary Economic Perspectives

This module will provide you with a critical perspective on the methods and analysis of economists. You will compare the different interpretations of contemporary economic issues and events and the lessons that can be drawn. The module adopts a pluralistic approach enabling a critique of mainstream economic thinking.

Investment and Portfolio Management

This module examines appropriate Investment and Portfolio Management theory. You will have the opportunity to put this theory into practice principally via the construction and running of a portfolio of equities.

Econometric Methods

This module build on the econometrics from earlier in the course to develop your ability to use appropriate statistical methods to test economic and financial theories to aid the evaluation of government, business and investments policies and strategies.

We regularly review our course content based on student and employer feedback to ensure they remain current and relevant. This may result in changes to module content or availability in future years. Optional modules will only run where there is sufficient demand. This will be determined on a case-by-case basis to protect the academic and student experience.

Student experience

Kieran McKenna

“I worked as a claims handler for the second half of my second year. I had to complete two projects for the University alongside my time at the Insurance brokers and I enjoyed the real-life application of my course within a workplace.”

View profile

Video Gallery

A placement year in the energy sector | Iqra’s story

How you're taught

We use a mixture of teaching methods including traditional lectures and seminars, IT workshops, guest lectures, problem-based learning and group discussions. You can explore one of our lecture theatres on our Virtual Tour. You'll then be expected to increase your understanding of the subject area through independent study for each module.

In addition to this you will also be involved in a variety of practical work such as individual and group presentations, student-led seminars, role play, industry-sponsored competitions, and project work. The project-based learning and group activities form important elements of your learning, developing your ability to work in a team and enhancing your employability.

Teaching and learning on the economics course involves a blend of three crucial elements.

Exposure to a variety of economic perspectives.

Application of theories and concepts to policy issues in business, trade and finance.

Development of quantitative and qualitative skills of economic analysis.

You will also have a number of one-to-one sessions with your course tutor each year, which will allow you to:

discuss your personal and professional development

discuss and gain feedback about your work

ask questions about the projects you're working on.

raise any difficulties you are experiencing relating to your work, personal circumstances or your University experience.

You'll also use our virtual learning environment, NOW, which is a flexible web-based system that gives you 24-hour access to module learning materials and reading lists. It allows you to discuss work with tutors and submit coursework electronically from anywhere in the world.

How you're assessed

This course uses a range of assessments across all levels to support you in building key skills alongside demonstrated your knowledge and application of what you have studies. Methods of assessment can include, but are not limited to, business reports, group presentations, essays, time-constrained assessments, in-class activities, and poster presentations.

This course has several modules that are assessed using on-campus, closed book examinations on key topics within the curriculum. Where this is the case a wide range of support is provided.

Contact hours

For each 20-credit module, you’ll spend about 200 hours learning overall. Around 40 of those hours will be taught in lectures or seminars. The rest of the time is for independent study, reading, research, or working on assignments.

Who will teach you?

Alexandra Arntsen

Senior Lecturer

Alexandra is the Course Leader for the Economics Suite at Nottingham Business School. This includes the courses BSc Economics, BSc Economics with Business and BSc Economics with International Finance and Banking. She is a Senior Lecturer in Economics, specialising in Microeconomics and Environmental & Resource Economics.

Visit Alexandra Arntsen's staff profile

Tom Newham

Tom is a Senior Lecturer in personalisation and experiential learning in Nottingham Business School.

Visit Tom Newham's staff profile

Entry requirements

UK students

Standard offer: 112 UCAS Tariff points from up to four qualifications.

Contextual offer: 104 UCAS Tariff points from up to four qualifications

Other requirements: GCSE English grade C / 4 and Maths grade B / 5.

To find out what qualifications have tariff points, please use our tariff calculator.

Additional requirements

Additional requirements for UK students

There are no additional requirements for this course.

Contextual offers

We consider every application in the context of your individual circumstances and educational background. This may include information about where you live, the school or college you attended, or experiences that may have shaped your educational journey. This is known as a contextual offer, and we use information provided through UCAS to help inform our decisions. By considering achievement in context, we can better recognise academic potential and ensure applicants are assessed as fairly and fully as possible.

Meeting our entry requirements

Hundreds of qualifications in the UK have UCAS Tariff points attached to specific grades, including A-levels, BTECs, T Levels and many more. You can use your grades and points from up to four different qualifications to meet our criteria. Enter your predicted or achieved grades into our Tariff calculator to find out how many points your qualifications are worth.

Other qualifications and experience

NTU welcomes applications from students with non-standard qualifications and learning backgrounds, either for year one entry or for advanced standing beyond the start of a course into year 2 or beyond.

We consider study and/or credit achieved from a similar course at another institution (otherwise known as credit transfer), vocational and professional qualifications, and broader work or life experience.

Our Recognition of Prior Learning and Credit Transfer Policy outlines the process and options available for this route. If you wish to apply via Recognition of Prior Learning, please contact the central Admissions and Enquiries Team who will be able to support you through the process.

Getting in touch

If you need more help or information, get in touch through our enquiry form.

International students

Academic entry requirements: 112 UCAS Tariff points from up to four qualifications. We accept equivalent qualifications from all over the world. Please check your international entry requirements by country.

English language requirements: See our English language requirements page for requirements for your subject and information on alternative tests and Pre-sessional English.

Additional international requirements

Additional requirements for international students

If you need help achieving the academic entry requirements, we offer a Foundation preparation course for this degree. The course is offered through our partner Nottingham Trent International College (NTIC) based on our City Campus.

English language requirements

View our English language requirements for all courses, including alternative English language tests and country qualifications accepted by the University.

If you need help achieving the language requirements, we offer a Pre-Sessional English for Academic Purposes course on our City campus which is an intensive preparation course for academic study at NTU.

If you have the right level of qualifications, you may be able to start your Bachelors degree at NTU in year 2 or year 3. This is called ‘advanced standing’ entry and is decided on a case-by case basis after our assessment of your qualifications and experience.

You can view our Recognition of Prior Learning and Credit Transfer Policy which outlines the process and options available, such as recognising experiential learning and credit transfer.

Sign up for emails

Sign up to receive regular emails from the International Office. You'll hear about our news, scholarships and any upcoming events in your country with our expert regional teams.

If you need advice about studying at NTU as an international student or how to apply, our international webpages are a great place to start. If you have any questions about your study options, your international qualifications, experience, grades or other results, please get in touch through our enquiry form. Our international teams are highly experienced in answering queries from students all over the world.

Policies

We strive to make our admissions procedures as fair and clear as possible. To find out more about how we make offers, visit our admissions policies page.

Fees and funding

UK students - see the fees for this course, as well as information about funding and support.

£10,050 per year

If you choose to do a placement year, you'll pay a reduced fee for that year. Please be aware that you will be charged the fee set for the year this takes place, rather than being fixed at the rate applicable when you start your course, and any increases are subject to Government approval. As a guide, the fee for the 2027/28 academic year is £2,010.

Find out about the extra support we may be able to provide to help pay for uni, including NTU bursaries and scholarships.

You will need to pay tuition fees for each year that you are at university. The tuition fees, including the placement year and study abroad options are subject to government policy and may change in future years of study.

Preparing for the financial side of student life is important, but we don’t want you to feel anxious or confused about it. Visit our fees and funding pages if you have any concerns.

International students - see the fees for this course, as well as payment advice and scholarships.

£19,150 per year

You will need to pay tuition fees for each year that you are at university. The tuition fees might increase from the second year of your undergraduate course, in line with inflation and as specified by the UK government.

Scholarships

We offer international scholarships of up to 50% of your tuition fee. You can apply for a scholarship when you have an offer to study at NTU.

Living costs

See our advice on managing your money and the cost of living as an international student in Nottingham.

Paying fees

As an international student, you'll need to make an advance payment as part of your offer conditions. You'll then need to pay your tuition fees in full, or have an agreement to pay in two further instalments, in order to enrol on the course.

Find out how and when to pay your fees, including information about your advance payment, instalment dates and how to make payments securely to the University.

Enquiries

If you have any queries relating to advance payments or arrangements to pay, please contact our friendly and experienced international enquiries team.

Additional costs

Your course fees cover the cost of studies and include loads of great benefits, such as the use of our library, support from our expert Employability team and free use of the IT equipment across our campuses. There are just a few additional things you may need to budget for:

Textbooks and library books

Your modules will point you to key textbooks and recommended reading. Many are available online, and in our libraries, but some students choose to buy their own copies. You’ll receive resource lists showing where to access eBooks, digital resources and physical copies. Our friendly Library team is always on hand to help you find what you need.

Printing and photocopying costs

The University allocates an annual printing and copying allowance of £20 depending on the course you are studying. For more details about costs for additional print and copying required over and above the annual allowance please see the printing and photocopying information on the Library website.

Placements

If you're undertaking a placement year, you'll need to budget for accommodation and any travel costs you may incur whilst on placement. Many of our placement students do earn a salary whilst on placement which can help to cover these living costs.

Year abroad

If you choose to study abroad for a year, you may need to consider additional costs such as visas, vaccinations, accommodation and travel expenses.

Fees and funding advice

For more advice and guidance, phone the Student Money Team on +44 (0)115 848 2494.

Cost of living information and support

Managing your money can help you make the most of life at NTU. Here's how we can support you, and now you can make your funding go further.

Cost of living in Nottingham

Our student benefits and free services

Money advice for international students

Careers and employability

The NBS Graduate Series - your journey from student to professional

The NBS Graduate Series is our three-year development programme that runs alongside your degree, designed to help you grow from student to graduate professional. Through a mix of mindset-building activities, real-world skill development, career exploration, networking and personal branding, you’ll build the confidence, clarity and practical tools you need to step into your future with purpose.

Guest Lectures

Through our popular Business Leaders Lecture Series, you'll have the chance to listen to experts from a wide range of industries who will share their knowledge with you. Recent guests have included Jason Bates, the co-founder of digital banks Monzo and Starling.

Employability Promise

Personalised support, one-on-one coaching and industry-specific advice – it’s all part of our Employability Promise. And it doesn’t end when you leave NTU – you’ll have access to all our careers services for three years after you graduate (conditions apply).

Your graduate salary

Recent graduates from this course are typically earning £31,226 after completing a placement year within 15 months after leaving NTU. And don’t forget, our Employability team can help you to progress into your first graduate role with CV and interview support, jobs fairs, and more.

Graduate employers

Graduates from this course have successful careers in organisations such as:

Deloitte

Home Office

Office for National Statistics

Lloyds Banking Group

Our graduates are…

Graduates from this course now work in a wide range of roles such as:

Data Analyst

Commercial Officer

Portfolio Manager

Business Development Manager

Public Sector Audit

Project Coordinator

Assessed work-like experience

We’ve embedded at least eight weeks of assessed work-like experience into all of our courses. This gives you the opportunity to apply your learning in real-world scenarios, build your confidence, and develop the experience employers are looking for.

NTU Enterprise

If you’re a budding entrepreneur, NTU Student Enterprise can help you to develop your ideas and innovations and turn them into a reality. We also offer training, mentoring, workshops, financial advice and more to develop your business skills.

Campus and facilities

You’ll mainly be studying in the Newton building, at the centre of our vibrant City Campus. As well as a range of classrooms and lecture theatres, our facilities include dedicated market research reporting platforms and digital resources (e.g. Mintel, Passport, SPSS, and Adobe Creative Cloud) and the Business Lab — a trading floor equipped with Bloomberg terminals, which enables you to delve into the global markets for real.

NTU’s City Campus has everything you’ll need to keep occupied between lectures. As well as the Boots Library and its beautiful roof garden, there’s our superb Students’ Union building and two-storey, 100-station gym; a whole host of cafés, bars, restaurants and food outlets catering to every taste; our much-loved Global Lounge; performance and rehearsal spaces for musicians; and so much more!

If that’s not enough, just take a few steps off campus, and you’ll find yourself in the beating heart of Nottingham — one of the UK’s top 10 student cities, and one of the top 25 in all of Europe. It’s a city stuffed with history, culture, and well-kept secrets to discover at your leisure: enjoy lush green spaces, galleries, hidden cinemas and vintage shopping by day, and an acclaimed food, drink and social scene by night.

Explore City Campus in 360°

Explore the Link Lounge in 360°

Newton and Arkwright

For more information visit the Newton and Arkwright page.

Step inside the Bloomberg Business Labs

Boots Library

For more information visit the Boots Library page.

Take a virtual tour

Applying

Ready to join us? Apply through UCAS. Make sure you check the entry requirements above carefully before you do.

Apply through UCAS

You can apply for this course through UCAS. If you are not applying to any other UK universities, you can apply directly to us on our NTU applicant portal.

Please read our application guidance before you start your application.

We advise you to prepare and apply as early as you can as Student visa processing time can vary.

We'll send you important emails throughout the application process. Please check your emails regularly, including your junk/spam mail folder.

Apply through NTU portal

Personal statement guidance

You’ll submit a personal statement with your UCAS application – here are our tips on what to include and how to structure your personal statement.

Application support

If you have any questions about applying, get in touch through our online form or call us on 44 (0)115 848 4200.

Related courses

Economics (with Foundation Year)

BSc (Hons)

Economics with Business

Economics with International Finance and Banking

Business Management and Economics

BA (Hons)

More from this subject

View more courses on the Economics subject page

Further study

View Economics postgraduate courses

Our course statistics

Keeping in touch

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