Economics - 3543
Program Summary
Faculty: UNSW Business School
Contact: UNSW Business School Student Centre
Campus: Sydney
Career: Undergraduate
Typical Duration: 3 Years 
Typical UOC Per Semester: 24
Min UOC Per Semester: 3
Max UOC Per Semester: 24
Min UOC For Award: 144
UAC Code: 424400
Domestic Entry Requirements: See Domestic Entry Requirements
International Entry Requirements: See International Entry Requirements
Award(s):
Bachelor of Economics (Double Major)
Bachelor of Economics (Major)
View program information for previous years
Program Description
If you are a prospective student researching your study options, please visit UNSW Business School website for more information.
The Bachelor of Economics (BEc) is a highly regarded professional qualification allowing graduates access to an extremely diverse range of occupations. Our graduates work as professional economists and can be found in leading government and international agencies, private firms and consultancies.
Graduates who combine economics with other disciplines, such as accounting, finance or marketing, often work as professionals in those fields, with the economics training providing a highly valued understanding of the business environment.
More broadly, graduates develop analytical skills which have wide applications in business, finance and policy. The knowledge obtained from the degree also enables graduates to become economically literate, with an in-depth understanding of local and world economic issues.
Depending on your interests and career goals, you will choose one of three majors: economics, econometrics and financial economics.
In addition to your economics major your options to complete your studies in the Bachelor of Economics are:
- A 2nd major in economics (from Table A), or
- A 2nd major or a minor chosen from the Bachelor of Commerce (from Table B), or
- A minor in mathematics, statistics or psychology, from the Faculty of Science (from Table C). (A minor in mathematics or statistics reflects the increasingly quantitative nature of modern business and policy contexts, while psychology ties in with the increasing interest in behavioural economics) or
- A minor from the Bachelor of Arts degree to increase broaden your knowledge and compliment your economics studies (From Table C).
Program Benefits:
- Highly regarded by industry and government
- Prepares you academically, technically and professionally, providing a solid grounding in modern economics analysis
- Deals with important issues, such as why some countries grow rich and some remain poor, global interactions of nations, the role and impact of economic policy and regulation, unemployment, inflation, property and wealth, firm organisation and competition, decision making and strategic behaviour
Program Objectives and Graduate Attributes
On successful completion of the Bachelor of Economics, you will have the ability to:
- demonstrate understanding and application of economic concepts and processes
- demonstrate critical thinking and problem solving skills
- understand, analyse and use quantitative data to assist in making economic and business decisions
- present complex issues in coherent written statements and oral presentations
- demonstrate understanding of the global economic context in which business and governments operate
- understand the social and ethical dimensions in their chosen disciplinary areas
Program Structure
The Bachelor of Economics may be studied as a single degree or as part of a dual degree program. The approved dual degree programs are
- Actuarial Studies / Economics
- Commerce / Economics
- Economics / Arts
- Economics / Education (Sec)
- Economics / Law
- Economics / Science
- Economics / Science (Advanced)
- Economics / Science (Advanced Maths)
As a single degree, the Bachelor of Economics requires 24 courses (144 UOC) and consists of a depth component and a breadth component as detailed in the following table:
|
Depth component
|
96 UOC
|
|
|
Breadth component
|
48 UOC
|
|
A student completing the Bachelor of Economics as part of an approved dual degree only completes the 96 UOC of the depth component (blue zone). For the complete requirements for the dual degree, refer to the respective Handbook page.
Economics Requirements:
Students are required to complete at least 13 Economics courses including:
Economics Requirements:
Students are required to complete at least 13 Economics courses including:
- ECON1401 Economic Perspectives (enrolment on completion of ECON1101)
- A major in Economics, Econometrics or Financial Economics consisting of 10 courses (60 UOC); and
- At least 2 additional Economics elective courses (12 UOC)
Business School Requirements:
Students are required to complete 3 Business School courses:
Students are required to complete 3 Business School courses:
- You must choose at least 1 of the following (6 UOC) courses:ACCT1501, FINS1613, INFS1602, MARK1012, MGMT1001, or TABL1710; and
- At least 2 additional Business School elective courses (12 UOC)
General Education Requirements:
General Education courses account for 12 UOC (2 courses) and are to be taken outside the UNSW Business School. These courses allow you to select either courses that were developed especially for the General Education Program (beginning with GEN) or to choose 'mainstream' courses that are offered in the degree programs of other faculties.
For further information about General Education Requirements please refer to the UNSW Online Handbook.
Free Electives:
These courses account for 6 courses (36 UOC) to satisfy the degree requirement of 24 courses (144 UOC). These courses may be taken from the Business School or other Faculties within UNSW. GEN coded courses cannot be counted as free electives. You may choose to use these free electives to complete a second Business major or minor, or a minor from other faculties.
Note: You need to be mindful that you can only count maximum of 60 UOC of Level 1 courses (excluding General Education requirement) towards the Bachelor of Economics degree.
Course Substitution Options:
There are courses in the School of Mathematics and Statistics (Faculty of Science) and the School of Actuarial Studies (Business School) that are alternatives for the quantitative methods courses in Economics: ECON1202 and ECON1203. Therefore:
General Education courses account for 12 UOC (2 courses) and are to be taken outside the UNSW Business School. These courses allow you to select either courses that were developed especially for the General Education Program (beginning with GEN) or to choose 'mainstream' courses that are offered in the degree programs of other faculties.
For further information about General Education Requirements please refer to the UNSW Online Handbook.
Free Electives:
These courses account for 6 courses (36 UOC) to satisfy the degree requirement of 24 courses (144 UOC). These courses may be taken from the Business School or other Faculties within UNSW. GEN coded courses cannot be counted as free electives. You may choose to use these free electives to complete a second Business major or minor, or a minor from other faculties.
Note: You need to be mindful that you can only count maximum of 60 UOC of Level 1 courses (excluding General Education requirement) towards the Bachelor of Economics degree.
Course Substitution Options:
There are courses in the School of Mathematics and Statistics (Faculty of Science) and the School of Actuarial Studies (Business School) that are alternatives for the quantitative methods courses in Economics: ECON1202 and ECON1203. Therefore:
- Any one of the following courses is an acceptable substitute for ECON1202: MATH1031 or MATH1131 or MATH1141 or MATH1151.
- Any one of the following courses is an acceptable substitute for ECON1203: MATH1041 or MATH2089 or MATH2099 or MATH2801 or MATH2841 or MATH2901 or ACTL2002 or ACTL2131.
- If you complete the sequence MATH1131/MATH1231 or MATH1141/MATH1241 you may use this as a substitute for the sequence ECON1202/ECON1203
These substitutes for the compulsory core courses count towards the 16 Business School courses (96 UOC) required for the degree.
Note: ECON1202 and ECON1203 may not be good substitutes for the indicated MATH and ACTL courses depending on your program. You should check with your program authority regarding course substitutions.
Second Major
You can elect to undertake a second major from any one of the other approved disciplines listed in Tables A and B. You should note that the second major may also have some required Level 1 courses so this should be a consideration in selecting additional courses to be taken in your first year of study.
Refer to specific rules for the majors of interest.
Table A: Economics Majors:
Note: ECON1202 and ECON1203 may not be good substitutes for the indicated MATH and ACTL courses depending on your program. You should check with your program authority regarding course substitutions.
Second Major
You can elect to undertake a second major from any one of the other approved disciplines listed in Tables A and B. You should note that the second major may also have some required Level 1 courses so this should be a consideration in selecting additional courses to be taken in your first year of study.
Refer to specific rules for the majors of interest.
Table A: Economics Majors:
- Economics
- Econometrics
- Financial Economics
If you choose to study a 2nd major from Table A you must choose another 6 courses (36 UOC) from the second major that do not overlap with the first major.
Table B: Other Approved UNSW Business School Majors and Minors:
Table B: Other Approved UNSW Business School Majors and Minors:
- Accounting
- Business Law
- Finance
- Human Resource Management
- Information Systems and Information Technology
- International Business
- Management
- Marketing
- Real Estate Studies
- Taxation
Minors
You may choose to complete an optional minor in any one of the other approved disciplines listed in Tables B and C. For a Business School minor listed in Table B, you may use your Business School electives and your free electives to satisfy the requirements of the minor. For approved disciplines in Table C, you may use your free electives to satisfy the requirements of the minor.
Table C: Approved Minors from other Faculties
You may choose to complete an optional minor in any one of the other approved disciplines listed in Tables B and C. For a Business School minor listed in Table B, you may use your Business School electives and your free electives to satisfy the requirements of the minor. For approved disciplines in Table C, you may use your free electives to satisfy the requirements of the minor.
Table C: Approved Minors from other Faculties
- Mathematics
- Statistics
- Psychology
- Asian Studies
- Australian Studies
- Chinese Studies
- Development Studies
- European Studies
- Environmental Humanities
- French Studies
- German Studies
- History
- Indigenous Studies
- International Relations
- Japanese Studies
- Korean Studies
- Politics
- Sociology and Anthropology
- Spanish and Latin American Studies
Honours
High-achieving students who have completed a Bachelor of Economics in either Single or Dual mode should consider applying to the Honours program BEc (Hons) 4502. For informtaion on Honours in Economics refer to the School of Economics Honours information page.
Academic Rules
Please refer to the Program Structure for the academic requirements relating to this program.
Rules relating to the award of the degree of Bachelor of Economics shall apply wherever relevant. You are advised to consult the Academic Rules for further information.
Rules relating to the award of the degree of Bachelor of Economics shall apply wherever relevant. You are advised to consult the Academic Rules for further information.
Fees
For information regarding fees for UNSW programs, please refer to the following website: UNSW Fee Website.
Further Information
Please note that these requirements may be subject to change. Students should always follow the program requirements according to the year they started their degree. For more information please visit Previous UNSW Online Handbooks
Contact the UNSW Business School Student Centre for advice.
tel: + 61 2 9385 3189
location: Level 1, room 1028, Quadrangle Building
Forms, policies and procedures
Frequently asked questions
Contact the UNSW Business School Student Centre for advice.
tel: + 61 2 9385 3189
location: Level 1, room 1028, Quadrangle Building
Forms, policies and procedures
Frequently asked questions
Area(s) of Specialisation
- Accounting
- Asian Studies
- Australian Studies
- Business Law
- Chinese Studies
- Development Studies
- Econometrics
- Economics
- Environmental Humanities
- European Studies
- Finance
- Financial Economics
- French Studies
- German Studies
- History
- Human Resource Management
- Indigenous Studies
- Information Systems and Information Technology
- International Business
- Japanese Studies
- Korean Studies
- Management
- Marketing
- Mathematics
- Oceanography
- Politics
- Politics and International Relations
- Psychology
- Real Estate Studies
- Sociology and Anthropology
- Spanish and Latin American Studies
- Statistics
- Taxation
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