Economics and Mathematics (Industry) BSc Hons - 2020 Entry

Course Overview

How can governments prevent house price bubbles? What are the economic effects of immigration? What price should a product have?

If these types of questions intrigue you and if you have a numerate mind, this degree, which includes a valuable paid placement in industry, can help launch your career in the public sector, government or consulting.

You will be taught by leading academics, examining real-world issues. You don’t need an Economics A-Level as all first years study the Principles of Economics. However, you will need an A level in Mathematics or Further Mathematics.

We will introduce you to theory, evidence and policy analysis. This allows you to understand fundamental issues and topical concerns. In the first year, you will study Calculus, Further Calculus and Linear Algebra as well as Economics.

In your second year, you’ll progress to Computational Mathematics, Linear Algebra, Probability and Statistics. You can also select topics such as Game Theory, Econometrics and Intermediate Macroeconomics and Microeconomics.

Your third year is spent in industry. You’ll 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 final year sees you choosing modules taught by researchers active in that field. From Health Economics to Industrial Organisation, Medical Statistics to Advanced Macroeconomics, you can tailor your studies to suit your aspirations. High-performing students also have the chance to write a dissertation.

By the time you graduate, you will have acquired mathematical and analytical skills in demand by employers. You will have a powerful ‘intellectual toolbox’ to understand the world economy, business strategies, and financial dynamics.

Entry Requirements

Grade Requirements

A Level AAB

Required Subjects A level Mathematics or Further Mathematics grade A

GCSE Mathematics grade B or 6, English Language grade C or 4

IELTS 6.5 overall with at least 5.5 in each component. For other English language qualifications we accept, please see our English language requirements webpages.

Other Qualifications

International Baccalaureate 35 points overall with 16 points from the best 3 Higher Level subjects including 6 in HL Mathematics

BTEC May be considered alongside A level Mathematics and Further Mathematics with at least one at grade A

We welcome applications from students with a range of alternative UK and international qualifications, including combinations of qualification. Further guidance on admission to the University, including other qualifications that we accept, frequently asked questions and information on applying, can be found on our general admissions webpages.

Contact Admissions Team + 44 (0) 1524 592028 or via ugadmissions@lancaster.ac.uk

Course Structure

Many of Lancaster's degree programmes are flexible, offering students the opportunity to cover a wide selection of subject areas to complement their main specialism. You will be able to study a range of modules, some examples of which are listed below.

Year 1

Core

• Calculus

  Students are provided with an understanding of functions, limits, and series, and knowledge of the basic techniques of differentiation and integration. Examples of functions and their graphs are presented, as are techniques for building new functions from old. Then the notion of a limit is considered along with the main tools of calculus and Taylor Series. Students will also learn how to add, multiply and divide polynomials, and will learn about rational functions and their partial fractions.

  The exponential function is defined by means of a power series which is subsequently extended to the complex exponential function of an imaginary variable, so that students understand the connection between analysis, trigonometry and geometry. The trigonometric and hyperbolic functions are introduced in parallel with analogous power series so that students understand the role of functional identities. Such functional identities are later used to simplify integrals and to parametrise geometrical curves.

• Career and Employability I

  Each year students receive specific training by the Management School Career Team, to prepare them for the graduate labour market. In the first year the focus is on growing the student’s awareness of labour market dynamics and his or her professional aspirations and inclinations. The second year focuses on goal setting, action planning, and the development of a personalised career plan. The third year focuses on one-to-one sessions with career advisors. The Career Team is based in the Management School, organises events with employers and alumni, and coaches students on how to best perform in the graduate job market through seminars, surgeries, mock interviews and one-to-one advice.

• Further Calculus

  This module extends the theory of calculus from functions of a single real variable to functions of two real variables. Students will learn more about the notions of differentiation and integration and how they extend from functions defined on a line to functions defined on the plane. They will see how partial derivatives can help to understand surfaces, while repeated integrals enable them to calculate volumes. The module will also investigate complex polynomials and use De Moivre’s theorem to calculate complex roots.

  In mathematical models, it is common to use functions of several variables. For example, the speed of an airliner can depend upon the air pressure, temperature and wind direction. To study functions of several variables, rates of change are introduced with respect to several quantities. How to find maxima and minima will be explained. Applications include the method of least squares. Finally, various methods for solving differential equations of one variable will be investigated.

• Linear Algebra

  Introducing the theory of matrices together with some basic applications, students will learn essential techniques such as arithmetic rules, row operations and computation of determinants by expansion about a row or a column.

  The second part of the module covers a notable range of applications of matrices, such as solving systems of simultaneous linear equations, linear transformations, characteristic eigenvectors and eigenvalues.

  The student will learn how to express a linear transformation of the real euclidean space using a matrix, from which they will be able to determine whether it is singular or not and obtain its characteristic equation and eigenspaces.

• Principles of Economics A

  Providing a thorough introduction to the discipline of Economics, this module is divided into two parts. The first part covers microeconomic analysis, including the theory of demand, costs and pricing under various forms of industrial organisation, and welfare economics. Many applications of theoretical models are examined. The second part focuses on macroeconomic analysis, including national income analysis, monetary theory, business cycles, inflation, unemployment, and the great macroeconomic debates.

• Probability

  Probability theory is the study of chance phenomena, the concepts of which are fundamental to the study of statistics. This module will introduce students to some simple combinatorics, set theory and the axioms of probability.

  Students will become aware of the different probability models used to characterise the outcomes of experiments that involve a chance or random component. The module covers ideas associated with the axioms of probability, conditional probability, independence, discrete random variables and their distributions, expectation and probability models.

• Statistics

  To enable students to achieve a solid understanding of the broad role that statistical thinking plays in addressing scientific problems, the module begins with a brief overview of statistics in science and society. It then moves on to the selection of appropriate probability models to describe systematic and random variations of discrete and continuous real data sets. Students will learn to implement statistical techniques and to draw clear and informative conclusions.

  The module will be supported by the statistical software package ‘R’, which forms the basis of weekly lab sessions. Students will develop a strategic understanding of statistics and the use of associated software, which will underpin the skills needed for all subsequent statistical modules of the degree.

Year 2

Core

• Career and Employability II

  Each year students receive specific training by the Management School Career Team, to prepare them for the graduate labour market. In the first year the focus is on growing the student’s awareness of labour market dynamics and his or her professional aspirations and inclinations. The second year focuses on goal setting, action planning, and the development of a personalised career plan. The third year focuses on one-to-one sessions with career advisors. The Career Team is based in the Management School, organises events with employers and alumni, and coaches students on how to best perform in the graduate job market through seminars, surgeries, mock interviews and one-to-one advice.

• Computational Mathematics

  Students will gain a solid understanding of computation and computer programming within the context of maths and statistics. This module expands on five key areas:

  • Programming and R
  • Numerical solutions of equations
  • Numerical differentiation and integration
  • Monte Carlo methods
  • Numerical solutions to ODEs

  Under these headings, students will study a range of complex mathematical concepts, such as: data structures, fixed-point iteration, higher dimensions, first and second derivatives, non-parametric bootstraps, and modified Euler methods.

  Throughout the module, students will gain an understanding of general programming and algorithms. They will develop a good level of IT skills and familiarity with computer tools that support mathematical computation.

  Over the course of this module, students will have the opportunity to put their knowledge and skills into practice. Workshops, based in dedicated computing labs, allow them to gain relatable, practical experience of computational mathematics.

• Linear Algebra II

  Students will be provided with the foundational results and language of linear algebra, which they will be able to build upon in the second half of Year Two, and the more specialised Year Three modules. This module will give students the opportunity to study vector spaces, together with their structure-preserving maps and their relationship to matrices.

  They will consider the effect of changing bases on the matrix representing one of these maps, and will examine how to choose bases so that this matrix is as simple as possible. Part of their study will also involve looking at the concepts of length and angle with regard to vector spaces.

• Probability II

  Probability provides the theoretical basis for statistics and is of interest in its own right.

  Basic concepts from the first year probability module will be revisited and extended to these to encompass continuous random variables, with students investigating several important continuous probability distributions. Commonly used distributions are introduced and key properties proved, and examples from a variety of applications will be used to illustrate theoretical ideas.

  Students will then focus on transformations of random variables and groups of two or more random variables, leading to two theoretical results about the behaviour of averages of large numbers of random variables which have important practical consequences in statistics.

• Statistics II

  Statistics is the science of understanding patterns of population behaviour from data. In the module, this topic will be approached by specifying a statistical model for the data. Statistical models usually include a number of unknown parameters, which need to be estimated.

  The focus will be on likelihood-based parameter estimation to demonstrate how statistical models can be used to draw conclusions from observations and experimental data, and linear regression techniques within the statistical modelling framework will also be considered.

  Students will come to recognise the role, and limitations, of the linear model for understanding, exploring and making inferences concerning the relationships between variables and making predictions.

Year 4

Core

• Business Placement Dissertation

  This module equips students with experience of working within a business environment. You are expected to acquire not only knowledge of business problems and practices, but also experience of interpersonal relationships within a business context. The dissertation is undertaken during the work placement year.

• Career and Employability III

  Each year students receive specific training by the Management School Career Team, to prepare them for the graduate labour market. In the first year the focus is on growing the student’s awareness of labour market dynamics and his or her professional aspirations and inclinations. The second year focuses on goal setting, action planning, and the development of a personalised career plan. The third year focuses on one-to-one sessions with career advisors. The Career Team is based in the Management School, organises events with employers and alumni, and coaches students on how to best perform in the graduate job market through seminars, surgeries, mock interviews and one-to-one advice.

• Likelihood Inference

  Statistical inference is the theory of the extraction of information about the unknown parameters of an underlying probability distribution from observed data. Consequently, statistical inference underpins all practical statistical applications.

  This module reinforces the likelihood approach taken in second year Statistics for single parameter statistical models, and extends this to problems where the probability for the data depends on more than one unknown parameter.

  Students will also consider the issue of model choice: in situations where there are multiple models under consideration for the same data, how do we make a justified choice of which model is the 'best'?

  The approach taken in this course is just one approach to statistical inference: a contrasting approach is covered in the Bayesian Inference module.

Lancaster University offers a range of programmes, some of which follow a structured study programme, and others which offer the chance for you to devise a more flexible programme. We divide academic study into two sections - Part 1 (Year 1) and Part 2 (Year 2, 3 and sometimes 4). For most programmes Part 1 requires you to study 120 credits spread over at least three modules which, depending upon your programme, will be drawn from one, two or three different academic subjects. A higher degree of specialisation then develops in subsequent years. For more information about our teaching methods at Lancaster visit our Teaching and Learning section.

Information contained on the website with respect to modules is correct at the time of publication, but changes may be necessary, for example as a result of student feedback, Professional Statutory and Regulatory Bodies' (PSRB) requirements, staff changes, and new research.

Careers

As a graduate of Lancaster you’ll enjoy excellent employment prospects. Your qualification in Economics and Mathematics, along with your problem-solving skills, analytical abilities and organisational expertise, will make you highly desirable to employers.

Former graduates have been taken on as professional economists and economic advisers by the Bank of England, the Civil Service, management consultancies and diverse companies in a wide range of areas.

Your skills are also easily transferable to various roles such as marketing, management, advertising and consultancy.

Lancaster University is dedicated to ensuring you not only gain a highly reputable degree, you also graduate with the relevant life and work based skills. We are unique in that every student is eligible to participate in The Lancaster Award which offers you the opportunity to complete key activities such as work experience, employability awareness, career development, campus community and social development. Visit our Employability section for full details.

Lancaster Management School has an award winning careers team to provide a dedicated careers and placement service offering a range of innovative services for management school students. Our high reputation means we attract a wide range of leading global employers to campus offering you the opportunity to interact with graduate recruiters from day 1 of your degree.

Fees and Funding

Fees

We set our fees on an annual basis and the 2020/21 entry fees have not yet been set.

Channel Islands and the Isle of Man

Some science and medicine courses have higher fees for students from the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. You can find more details here: Island Students.

Funding

For full details of the University's financial support packages including eligibility criteria, please visit our fees and funding page

Students may incur travel costs dependant on their placement location.

Students also need to consider further costs which may include books, stationery, printing, photocopying, binding and general subsistence on trips and visits. Following graduation it may be necessary to take out subscriptions to professional bodies and to buy business attire for job interviews.