Business Economics (Industry) BSc Hons at Lancaster University

Economics plays a vital role in business and management. Through this flexible degree, embedded within our wide-ranging Management School and delivered by high-quality researchers recognised for their teaching with the TEF Gold accreditation, you will apply your learning to real-world issues: Should a company open a new store? Who gains from interest rate changes? What are the implications of performance-related pay?

This degree includes a valuable paid placement in industry, where you will experience economics in action, and balances a thorough grounding in economics with the chance to explore subjects from across the Management School.

In your first year, you can choose to find out more about accounting, finance, strategy, organisations and their people, marketing and the principles of economics. You do not need an A level in Economics and there is less focus on maths and statistics than with some of the other economics options.

All second-year students learn about macroeconomics, microeconomics and social research methods. This includes topics such as competitive advantage, the international financial sector and strategic behaviour. The flexible degree structure offers options covering the economics of crime, game theory and the role of governments within the economy. You are taught by expert researchers working at the cutting-edge of the field.

Your third year is spent in industry. You will be supported in securing a placement, with past students joining companies such as IBM, Lloyds Bank, Microsoft, PwC and the Bank of England. Roles on offer range from project management and logistics to investment, business development and risk. Most placements are in the UK, but there are some options overseas.

Your placement experiences form the basis of your final-year dissertation. You will also be able to specialise further in specific fields such as econometrics, health economics, industrial organisation and monetary macroeconomics.

We train our graduates in how to think, not what to think. Your analytical skills, practical experience and economic knowledge will stand you in good stead in the jobs market.

You will have support from our careers team, which includes a dedicated departmental careers coach who works with you from day one, helping with internships, placements and graduate employment. We will supply training in CV writing, interview assessment centres and telephone interviews. Recent graduates have continued on to professional training as financial advisers, traders and underwriters or secured roles in finance, accountancy and advertising.

The University will use all reasonable effort to support you to find a suitable placement for your studies. While a placement role may not be available in a field or organisation that is directly related to your academic studies or career aspirations, all placement roles offer valuable experience of working at a graduate level and gaining a range of professional skills.

If you are unsuccessful in securing a suitable placement for your third year, you will be able to transfer to the equivalent non-placement degree scheme and would continue with your studies at Lancaster, finishing your degree after your third year. The University offers a range of shorter placement and internship opportunities for which you would be welcome to apply.