Course content

This course will provide you with the opportunity to become experienced in using professional software tools, such as Bloomber and Stata. These tools will enable you to analyse and interpret real economic and financial data.

This programme will enable you to develop and demonstrate practical skills, which are highly attractive to employers. You will also have the option to take a placement year between years two and three of your studies to enhance your experience and knowledge.

You will explore the economic behaviour of households, businesses and governments, the functioning of markets and the effects of fiscal and monetary policies. You will examine the behaviour of financial institutions, such as banks, hedge funds and portfolio managers, their instruments and how they interact in markets. Wider contemporary issues such as the ethics of banking and lending markets will also be analysed.

The course will equip you with a range of skills and capabilities, both subject-related and more general lifelong skills, such as analytical ability, critical thinking and advanced numeracy. Every year, at least one statistical module is compulsory, to prepare you to take advantage of the professional opportunities made possible by the Big Data revolution. All these skills will help you prepare for a graduate career and/or for further study.

 

Course structure

Our degree courses are organised into modules. Each module is usually a self-contained unit of study and each is usually assessed separately with the award of credits on the basis of 1 credit = 10 hours of student effort. An outline of the structure of the programme is provided in the tables below.

There are three types of module delivered as part of this programme. They are:

• Compulsory modules: a module that you are required to study on this course;
• Optional modules: these allow you some limited choice of what to study from a list of modules;
• Elective modules: a free choice of modules that count towards the overall credit requirement but not the number of subject-related credits.

A summary of the credit requirements per year is as follows, with a minimum of 90 subject credits (compulsory plus optional) required for each year.

Year	Compulsory	Optional Min	Optional Max	Electives Min	Electives Max
1	75	15	45	0	30
2	90	0	30	0	30
3	45	45	75	0	30

Year 1 (Level 4)

Compulsory modules	Credits	Optional modules	Credits
Semester one		Semester one
		Choose a min of one of the following:
Introductory Microeconomics ECO-10028	15	Quantitative Methods 1 ECO-100261	15
Accounting Principles MAN-10015	15	Management in Context MAN-100182	15
		Business Law LAW-10027	15
		The British and Global Economy ECO-10025	15
		Academic English for Business Students (Part 1) ENL-90003 3	15
Semester two		Semester two
Introductory Macroeconomics ECO-10029	15	Financial Accounting MAN-10024	15
Quantitative Methods 2 ECO-10027	15	Multinational Enterprise Business Perspectives MAN-100264	15
Economics of Financial Markets ECO-10017	15

Notes
(1) This module is compulsory for anyone who does not have A Level Maths (or equivalent). The module cannot be taken by anyone who already had A Level Maths (or equivalent)
(2) You need to choose this module if you wish to choose Social Enterprise and Alternative Organising (MAN-20093) at level 5
(3) Open only to non-native speakers of English and successful completion of ENL-10031 (EAP 1) with a score of over 60%, or ENL-90006 (EAP 2), or equivalent or by recommendation of the Language Centre. Cannot be taken with other ENL- module (English Language module) in the same academic year.
(4) Recommended for those wishing to take a Placement Year.

Year 2 (Level 5)

Compulsory modules	Credits	Optional modules	Credits
Semester one		Semester one
Intermediate Microeconomics ECO-20046	15	Banking ECO-20045	15
Asset Pricing ECO-20041	15	Academic English for Business Students (Part 1) ENL-900031	15
Statistics with Bloomberg ECO-20049	15	Academic English for Business Students (Part 2) ENL-900042	15
		Professional Development MAN-200903
Semester two		Semester two
Open Economy Macroeconomics ECO-20037	15	Introduction to Econometrics ECO-200424	15
Portfolio Choice ECO-20044	15	Social Enterprise and Alternative Organising MAN-200935	15
Contemporary Issues in Economics ECO-20040	15

Notes: (1) Open only to non-native speakers of English and successful completion of ENL-10031 (EAP 1) with a score of over 60%, or ENL-90006 (EAP 2), or equivalent or by recommendation of the Language Centre. Cannot be taken with other ENL- module (English Language module) in the same academic year.
(2) Open only to NON-NATIVE SPEAKERS OF ENGLISH after successful completion of AEB1 (Academic English for Business 1) with a score of under 60% or equivalent. Cannot be taken with other ENL- module (English Language module) in the same academic year
(3) Recommended for those wishing to take a placement year
(4) Required if you want to study Applied Econometrics (ECO-30050) at level 6 and/or Data Analysis - ISP(ECO-30051) at level 6
(5) Pre-requisite Management in Context (MAN-10018).

Year 3 (Level 6)

Compulsory modules	Credits	Optional modules	Credits
Semester one		Semester one
Corporate Finance ECO-30038	15	Advanced Topics in Microeconomics ECO-30047	15
		Dynamic Macroeconomics ECO-30033	15
		SME Live Project MAN-30072	15
		Applied Econometrics ECO-30050 1	15
		Academic English for Business Students (Part 2) ENL-90004 2	15
		Advanced Business English Communication ENL-900053	15
Semester two		Semester two
		Choose a min of one of the following:
International Finance ECO-30037	15	Data Analysis ISP ECO-300514	15
		Analysing Company Performance ISP MAN-30064	15
		Choose a min of one of the following:
		Industrial Organisation ECO-30046	15
		Labour Economics ECO-30032	15
		Enterprise Business Plan MAN-30070	15

Notes: (1) Prerequisite Introduction to Econometrics (ECO-20042) (2) Open only to NON-NATIVE SPEAKERS OF ENGLISH after successful completion of AEB1 (Academic English for Business 1) with a score of under 60% or equivalent. Cannot be taken with other ENL- module (English Language module) in the same academic year. (3) Open only to THIRD-YEAR NON-NATIVE SPEAKERS OF ENGLISH on successful completion of AEB2 or EAP4; or AEB1 or EAP3 with a score of over 60%; or equivalent. Cannot be taken with other ENL- module (English Language module) in the same academic year (4) Prerequisite Introduction to Econometrics (ECO-20042)
Students may choose to study elective modules which are offered as part of other programmes in the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences and across the University. These include:

• Modules in other subjects closely related to Economics and Finance.
• Modules in other subjects in which they may have a particular interest.
• Modules designed to help students for whom it is not their first language to improve their use of English for Academic Purposes.
• Modern foreign languages modules at different levels in French, German, Spanish, Russian, Japanese and Chinese (Mandarin).
• Modules related to the development of graduate attributes, student volunteering, and studying abroad as part of the University’s exchange programme.

For further information on the content of modules currently offered, including the list of elective modules, please visit: www.keele.ac.uk/recordsandexams/az

The module details given above are indicative and will give you a good idea of the range of subjects that we teach. We regularly review our teaching to ensure that the modules we offer are up-to-date; therefore, the modules available to study are liable to change.

Entry requirements

The entry grades outlined in this section indicate the likely offer or range of offers which would be made to candidates along with any subject specific requirements. This is for general information only. Keele University reserves the right to vary offer conditions depending upon a candidate’s application. Read more about our undergraduate entry requirements for United Kingdom, European Union and International students.

A Level requirements

• A Level requirement  - CCC

GCSE requirements

• Maths at B (or 6) 
• English at C (or 4)

BTEC

• BTEC requirements MMM

International Baccalaureate

• 26 points including Standard Level Maths or Maths Studies at 5 or above.

Access to HE Diploma requirements

• Obtain Access to Higher Education Diploma with 96 UCAS Tariff points including a minimum of 15 Level 3 credits at Distinction.

PREPARATION PROGRAMMES FOR INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS

International students who do not meet the direct entry requirements for this course have the opportunity to study an International Foundation Year programme.

These courses are designed to prepare international students to enter into Keele University undergraduate degrees.

Fees and funding

Going to university can be a daunting as well as an exciting experience. It can be difficult to understand the true costs of being a student, as well as the financial support that is available to help you meet those costs.

We can help you to manage your funds, create a budget and ensure that you receive any funding for which you may be eligible. We also offer financial support such as the Keele University Hardship Fund and emergency loans.

For more information visit our money, advice and guidance section.

Career prospects

You will have a foundation for many careers in business and government. You might work as an economist in the City or with the prestigious Government Economic Service. You could go into banking, insurance or management consultancy or use your transferable skills in an indirectly related career of your choice. You could go on to study at postgraduate level within these fields.

Recent employers

• Barclays Bank
• HSBC
• Santander
• Compass Group UK and Ireland
• Local Government
• British Gas
• Ernst and Young
• Natwest Bank
• NHS
• RBS
• Allianz Insurance
• Corona
• Sparta Global
• Dow Jones
• Capita
• HMRC
• National Trust

Jobs that a graduate of this course could go on to do:

• Economist
• Statistician
• Investment Analyst
• Financial Adviser
• Financial Trader
• Investment Banker
• Banker
• Chartered Accountant
• Management Accountant
• Tax Adviser
• Insurance Broker

Regardless of which career you pursue after Keele, employers will want evidence of the range of skills and personal qualities you possess and which are required for the job. Your degree is clearly important in this respect but don’t forget the extra-curricular activities, positions of responsibility, jobs and voluntary work you may have been engaged in while studying at Keele. These activities allow you to demonstrate the skills and personal qualities required by employers and will be vital in your attempts to secure graduate employment.

It is estimated that 60% of jobs are open to graduates of any discipline. This demonstrates the flexibility of many graduate employers when setting out their academic requirements and that students are not necessarily restricted to careers related to their degree.