The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide (2025)
10
10th for satisfaction with teaching: Economics
The Guardian University Guide (2025)
Introduction
What makes some countries richer than others? How should society fund social care? Why are footballers paid so much?
BA Economics provides you with the analytic skills and intellectual toolbox to help answer these pressing economics questions and many more. You will learn how to interpret data, understand (and quantify) the decisions made by individuals, organisations, and governments and evaluate economic policies.
Programme overview
The programme begins by introducing the foundational principles of Economic Theory. The BA then seeks to connect these analytical skills with insights from other Social Sciences such as Politics, International Relations, History and Sociology. This flexible programme is designed to allow you to take the skills you learn through an Economics degree and apply them to multiple careers.
You will cover the fundamentals of Economic theory and practice, and as your degree progresses and you discover more about both the subject and about yourself, you have the opportunity to flex this programme in ways that speak to your changing interests and strengths. This might lead you to choose modules in:
Development Economics
Economic Inequality
Health Economics
Labour Economics
Amongst many other specialisations. This leads to a degree unique to you, where you have played a major part in building the degree you want.
Our degree weaves theory and evidence into policy analysis. This allows you to understand fundamental issues and topical concerns. In the BA in Economics, we give students a broader appreciation of key issues in society, by combining Economic analysis with insights from the other social sciences. Therefore, in your first year, you will also choose at least one subject from the social science subjects: politics, international relations, history, or sociology, and another subject from a wide range of options. You will continue with your study of social science throughout your degree.
In the second year, you will progress to topics such as micro and macroeconomics, and quantitative methods, which provide many of the analytical tools used in economics, along with some economics options and one full unit from the social sciences.
Your final year sees you choosing six modules in economics and two in the social sciences. We offer a wide range of economics modules, from Public Economics to International Trade, Health Economics to Sports Economics, so you can tailor your studies to suit your aspirations.
Key facts
You do not need an A level in Economics Mathematics to enrol in BA Economics.
Throughout your degree, we’ll supply training in CV writing, interview assessment centres and telephone interviews. We are proud of our aspiring economists and aim to nurture the potential in every one of them.
BA Economics offers a grounding in the fundamentals of Economics. The most powerful aspect of Economics is that it teaches a way of thinking which can then be applied to a specific field. If you want to be a government economist advising on tax or social/welfare costs, you need specific knowledge and skills. The same is true for a career in finance. You need specific finance models – how much to invest here, or advise clients to invest there. But the mode of thinking is the same for both: it is the critical, disciplined way of thinking that you will get from an Economics degree at Lancaster University. Economics opens up the world because the critical and analytical thinking skills that it inculcates are applicable to whatever your passion, be they politics, finance, the trading floor, or working for an NGO, all use the same skills.
Find out what it's like to study BA Economics at Lancaster University Management School.
Three reasons to study with us
Economics is a flexible, academically rigorous programme of study that prepares you from day one for a fulfilling, challenging career. There is a lot to take in and we would love you to get in touch to find out more, but if you take away anything from your visit today let it be these three things:
We are Inclusive. We understand that our students come to economics from a variety of backgrounds and with a variety of outcomes in mind. We welcome them all and can help them fulfil those ambitions whether they are to work on the trading floor, or shape public policy.
We are Academically rigorous. Economics is a toolkit, a way of thinking that can be applied to many fields. We are academically rigorous and as such, we don’t just react to changes like NFTs or Crypto currencies, we take our students by the hand and show them how things really are.
We are Flexible. Our programmes are tailored to our students’ passions and interests. We offer Economics with other programmes of study and in some circumstances, allow students to change their programme of study at the end of part one.
You can contact our Part I admissions coordinator Dr Jiawen Li with any questions.
Careers
Our degrees are designed to prepare you for a career in industry, business, finance, consultancy or government. Recent Economics graduates have joined banks and financial consultancies such as HSBC and Deloitte, while others have been employed on graduate schemes with major companies, including BAE and the Swire Group.
Many of our Economics students have gained places on postgraduate courses at top institutions and then pursued specialised careers as economists – for example, at the Bank of England, the Institute for Fiscal Studies, and in academia.
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 allows you to complete key activities such as work experience, employability awareness, career development, campus community and social development. Visit our employability section for more details.
The Management School has an award-winning careers team to provide a dedicated careers and placement service offering a range of innovative services for LUMS 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 one of your degree.
Entry requirements
Grade requirements
A Level ABB
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 web pages.
Other qualifications
International Baccalaureate 32 points overall with 16 points from the best 3 Higher Level subjects
BTEC Distinction, Distinction, Merit
We welcome applications from students with a range of alternative UK and international qualifications, including combinations of qualifications. 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 web pages.
Lancaster University offers a range of programmes, some of which follow a structured study programme, and some which offer the chance for you to devise a more flexible programme to complement your main specialism.
Information contained on the website with respect to modules is correct at the time of publication, and the University will make every reasonable effort to offer modules as advertised. In some cases changes may be necessary and may result in some combinations being unavailable, for example as a result of student feedback, timetabling, Professional Statutory and Regulatory Bodies' (PSRB) requirements, staff changes and new research. Not all optional modules are available every year.
Each year, students receive specific training by the Management School Careers 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.
This module aims to train first-year students how to access, analyse and visualise data and how to effectively communicate the results. This year-long module will teach you how to understand and present data to discover patterns in the real world. Throughout the course, you will learn the necessary techniques to present data in an engaging and accessible way. We will endeavour to keep the concepts as intuitive as possible and keep formal notation to a minimum.
Throughout the year, you will go through topics focusing on how to tell stories using economic data, how to present data using graphs and maps and how to use data to discover relationships that characterise the economic world.
The lectures are complemented by a series of seminars and labs which aim to introduce you to the techniques of data visualisation, as well as the use of specialised software for data analysis.
Upon completion of the module, you will be able to recognise and avoid common statistical manipulation, use the appropriate data to approach the problem at hand, and express your interpretation of the data in a concise and persuasive way.
This full-year module is a self-contained introduction to Economics, and can be taken by students both with and without prior knowledge of the subject. It is divided into three parts. The first part provides a thorough introduction to Microeconomics (including the theory of demand, costs and pricing under various forms of market structure, and welfare economics). The second part provides a thorough introduction to Macroeconomics (including national income analysis, monetary theory, business cycles, inflation, unemployment, and the great macroeconomic debates).
The third part of the module, taught in parallel with the first two parts, first covers the key mathematical tools required for a good understanding of Economics (including linear and nonlinear equations, and differentiation), and then shows how the key Micro- and Macroeconomics ideas can help us understand the world around us. In this part, you will participate in economic experiments involving games with and without strategic behaviour. We will also discuss the lessons from the Great Depression and the Great Recession, speculative attacks and currency crises, inequality, democracy and growth, government deficits and inflation, and the macroeconomic implications of Brexit and Covid-19.
Optional
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This module is taught across the whole of the academic year and is designed to extend and deepen your understanding of the past, simultaneously equipping you with the cognitive, analytical, and digital skills needed to study history. The module will provide both a survey of the last two thousand years of history, and an introduction to the issues and challenges involved in attempting to know and understand the past.
The module is organised to provide a rounded and multi-dimensional introduction to the discipline of history. We will help you to understand humanity through its past, but also to understand which elements of human life resonate with you: people’s conflict or their co-operation; their sense of self or their altruism; their hierarchies or their destructiveness; their peculiarity or how recognisable the past can be.
This module includes three components:
The first introduces you to broad patterns of continuity and change within the standard chronological division of history: Ancient, Medieval, Early Modern and Modern.
The second, ‘Disputed Histories’, introduces new perspectives and methodologies to the study of themes encountered earlier in the course.
The final component explores the skills that you will derive from this module as well as the numerous careers that you can pursue with a history degree.
Each week’s lecture is usually taught by a different faculty member, and so you will be introduced to the historians in the department and the subjects they research.
What our students say:
‘The teaching was very good and the lecturers were consistently engaging.’ (Anonymous student evaluation)
‘The seminars were very helpful on gaining new perspectives on different topics and the group discussions were engaging.’ (Anonymous student evaluation)
We will introduce you to some of the central aspects of the discipline of International Relations, providing a firm grounding in the major concepts and debates necessary to understand the modern world of international politics. You will have the opportunity to learn about: the dominant features and power relations of the contemporary global system; the nature of sovereignty and security, their expression and limitations; the real-world problems confronting the international community today.
Areas of study typically include:
+ International Relations Theory: the study of how relations between states can and should be viewed and theorised, Realism, Liberalism, Constructivism and Feminism.
+ Regional Studies: the study of some of the key regions of the world, and the politics of their interactions.
+ International Institutions and Law: the international organisations, customs, and rules that govern inter-state relationships.
+ Global Politics and Belief: the study of how religious and ideological belief can shape international politics and the relation of states.
+ International Crises: the study of pressing issues confronting the international community, such as environmental collapse, technological advance, the rise of non-state actors, and terrorism.
+ International Relations and the Domestic: the study of how the domestic agendas can shape and influence international politics.
Because of the increasing interdependence of the national and global, domestic politics and international relations can no longer be properly understood in isolation from one another. To ensure the best possible foundation for a degree in International Relations, in first year, we strongly recommend you also take Politics in the Modern World.
You’ll be introduced to some of the key themes in the study of modern politics, and will have the chance to gain critical insight into the nature and use of political power in the contemporary world. You will learn about: the foundations of the modern nation-state, and the ways in which our institutions can reflect or fail to meet the ideals of liberal democracy; the behaviour of individuals and groups in political contexts; the workings of national constitutions and international organisations; the interaction of global events and domestic agendas.
Areas of study typically include:
+ Political Theory: the study of the scope, nature, and justification of state authority, and the history of political thought.
+ British Politics: the study of the theory, and political reality, of British governance in the twenty-first century.
+ Comparative Politics: the study of the various institutions of the nation-state, in a comparative context.
+ Ideologies: the study of political ideologies such as (neo-)liberalism, (neo-)conservatism, socialism, and fascism, their cohesiveness and social/political function.
+ Political Behaviour: the study of the ways in which agents and groups engage with politics in the age of mass and social-media.
+ Politics and Religion: the study of the relevance of religion to politics in contemporary society.
+ Politics in a Global World: the influence of global movements and events on domestic and international politics.
Because of the increasing interdependence of the national and global, domestic politics and international relations can no longer be properly understood in isolation from one another. To ensure the best possible foundation for a degree in Politics, in first year, we strongly recommend you also take International Relations: Theory and Practice.
What does it mean to ‘think sociologically’? When there are so many academic disciplines and non-academic areas of professional expertise, what is unique and important about starting with the social? This module begins with fundamental questions about the value of sociology in understanding the contemporary world and goes on to explore how the significance of our questions and everyday experiences are transformed when investigating all kinds of contemporary social problems, from inequality to globalisation, sociologically.
This full-year module is organised into different ‘blocks’ that connect themes in sociology – such as the relationship between self and society or between self and power – to both long-standing and newly emerging research. Whether or not you have studied sociology before, this module will introduce you to new areas of sociology, as well as demonstrating how key themes such as consumption, identity, social justice, or culture and media intersect with different sociological questions and sites of enquiry. Lecturers draw upon the ongoing research undertaken at Lancaster, giving you access to current insights that are inspiring change in policy and professional organisations.
The benefit of having multiple topics and themes addressed within one year-long module is that the assessments are carefully designed to slowly build up your research and study skills over your first year of study, whilst still giving you the flexibility to write major essays on the topics that are most interesting to you. The module provides you with a fantastic opportunity to explore new ideas and find new inspiration for understanding how we lead our lives today, and what possibilities there are for change tomorrow.
Core
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Each year, students receive specific training by the Management School Careers 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 developing 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.
Economic problems are often addressed using mathematical models. The aim of this module is to provide you with training in the mathematical skills which are an essential part of the economist's toolkit, and which are needed to successfully complete further modules in Economics. The module assumes no prior knowledge of mathematics beyond GCSE.
On successful completion of this module, you should have a knowledge and understanding of analytical methods, in particular model-based ones. The interpretation of the results derived from the modelling process in the context of economic problems and phenomena and their use in the decision-making process.
The objective of the course is to train students to use macroeconomic models to understand real-world economic phenomena. The students will learn how to interpret macroeconomic data and understand the implications of economic policies. The course will put emphasis on major issues related to economic growth, the causes of economic fluctuations, and the effectiveness of economic policy. We will investigate the link between financial openness and economic growth, and we will explain why emerging countries experience capital outflows. We will study the impact of the exchange rate regime on the effectiveness of fiscal policy, we will rationalise the increase of current account deficits in Europe after the beginning of the nineties, and we will analyse the cause(s) of cross-country differences in hours worked.
The module requires basic knowledge of basic calculus, logical thinking and problem-solving skills.
Various topics of interest to prospective managers are covered within this module, including production and demand, competition and strategic behaviour, advertising and distribution, capital budgeting and inventories, the foreign exchange market, the economics of the multinational enterprise and the politics of corporate economics. The module provides knowledge of aspects of microeconomics relevant to general management, and also emphasises techniques and tools of analysis alongside relevant theory.
The module is designed to as an introduction to aspects of the firm and its environment which are of particular relevance to management. The topics selected aim to bridge the gap between the traditional approach to managerial economics and the more modern study of the organisation.
Optional
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This module focuses on the international relations of one of the most influential actors in world politics: China. The course explores the key question of when and how China’s actions conform with – and diverge from – various international relations (IR) theories. This offers students a twofold payoff. Students gain a broad understanding of how China’s foreign policies are made, its relations with its neighbours in East Asia, with international organizations, and with other global powers including Britain. At the same time, students gain a deeper, more concrete understanding of the uses and limitations of IR theory in explaining global politics.
This module will introduce students to sociological thinking on climate change. Debates about climate change are shifting, and beginning to make much stronger links between a vast and complex planetary perspective (a globe in crisis) and the private sphere (the home, low-carbon lifestyles, urban living, consumer demand, etc.). In this context, social theorists have been considering what sociological thinking can offer to contemporary debates on climate change issues. The module aims to introduce you to a range of new and emerging sociological analyses which examine: climate change and social change; new subjectivities, institutions and collectives under climate change; climate activism; dynamics of crisis and denial; the contested politics of climate change science; the global political economy of climate change; utopias and dystopias of climate change.
This module focuses on the role of governments within the economy, looking at the extent to which they can intervene in markets and in other areas such as climate change. It builds your skills in evaluating the effectiveness of economic policies, and provides insights into the difficulties of decision-making in collective-choice environments.
This module helps you improve your strategic thinking. Over the course of this module, you will learn how to use ‘games’ to model strategic situations in the real world, and how to analyse and find out solutions to these games in situations in which players are intelligent and rational. Games including “normal form games”, “extensive form games”, “Bayesian games”, “repetitive games”, and “games with correlation device” will be introduced. Opportunities for playing games with the lecturer and other students will also be provided. The module requires a basic knowledge of algebra, calculus, and economics.
Some twenty years ago, the mass digitisation of historic materials catapulted historians from the ‘Age of Scarcity’ into the ‘Age of Abundance.’ Vast amounts of printed text, images, maps, objects and ephemera have since been digitised and delivered to audiences in keyword searchable form. Digital archives, such as British Library Newspapers, Early English Books Online, Eighteenth-Century Collections and Nineteenth-Century Periodicals, have long been the first point of call for historians. Ancestry and Findmypast’s capitalisation on the well-documented boom in family history means we can now access the census, birth, marriage and death records and other social and personal records at the touch of a button. Add in publicly funded, open access resources such as Old Bailey Online, Slave Voyages, Digital Panopticon and countless others to the mix, digital historians have been particularly well-served by the creation of the Western print archive 2.0.
But an over-reliance on digital collections has the potential for historians to be less critically reflexive about online resources, so we need to open the ‘black box’ of digital archives and develop new forms of source criticism. On the module, you will evaluate the ‘infinite archive’ and experiment with a range of tools, that may include artificial intelligence, heritage mapping, crowdsourcing, and data visualisation. You will develop a digital historians’ toolkit that provides a beginner-level introduction to the debates, concepts, and techniques used in digital history. These techniques can be applied to a wide range of historical topics. As well as providing you with an understanding of the new ways in which historians are researching their discipline, these skills can be applied to other modules, such as your dissertation, and provide transferable skills that can enhance employability.
What our students say:
‘I really enjoyed the module. [...] It offered an insight into a different approach to studying History.’ (Anonymous student evaluation)
Core
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Each year, students receive specific training by the Management School Careers 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 developing 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.
Optional
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Behavioural Economics is the interface between economics and psychology. It is one of the fastest-growing fields in economics, and since the past decade, it is regarded as a standard tool for policymaking. The course will survey the empirical tools used by behavioural economists and in particular lab and field experiments. We will explore behavioural biases affecting economic and financial decision making, and the role of trust and cooperation in teamwork. We will discuss models and experimental results explaining how we make decisions in various contexts such as choice under uncertainty, intertemporal choice or decision making in a social framework.
Current Issues in Economics is a course which is designed to familiarise you with contemporary policy issues. The broad curriculum and the range of issues that will be discussed include the crisis in social care, job retention schemes, the Great Resignation following Covid-19, Brexit, interest rate policy, government debt and the returns to education. During this course, you will prepare a number of reports on a selection of these topics. These will include contemporary data and analyses and will be accessible to policymakers and industry leaders. For one of these reports, you will also deliver a podcast or video log to enhance your verbal presentation skills. There is no formal examination for this module; assessment is via the reports and the video log/podcast.
This module introduces up-to-date knowledge and understanding of the quantitative analysis of economic data based on machine learning and big data methods. We will overview statistical learning and how to use statistical software R for adequate use of data visualisation and manipulation techniques.
Key topics include linear regression, classification, resampling methods (cross-validation and the Bootstrap), Ridge Regression and The Lasso, Tree-Based Methods (Decision Tree, Bootstrap Aggregation (Bagging) and Random Forests), Support Vector Machines, Deep Learning and Neural Networks.
This course focuses on the economics of growth and development, both from a theoretical and empirical perspective. Using examples from developing countries, it explores wide-ranging, policy-relevant topics such as investments in health, education and infrastructure, microeconomics of credit markets, corruption and other determinants of economic development.
This course explores how income and wealth inequality arises and how we can potentially “tame” it. It also provides ways to measure inequality and evaluate inequality numbers we see in the media or academic studies. The course aims to stimulate critical thinking by examining the existing theory and applying it to real-world examples and data. The topics covered include skill accumulation, discrimination, luck, mobility, wealth accumulation and the role of bequests. Optional for year II or final year students. The module requires algebra, elementary calculus, introductory econometrics and logical thinking.
This applied module is an introduction to the economics of health and health care and will develop your awareness of the main policy issues in this field. It provides a comprehensive set of economic tools for critically appraising fundamental issues in the economics of health while offering a broad overview of the UK’s National Health Service and other health care systems around the world. The emphasis is on the use and interpretation of microeconomic models and the latest empirical evidence.
This module builds on basic microeconomics concepts to explore competition between firms and the evolution of market structure. It focuses on understanding the way firms make decisions and the effects of those decisions on market outcomes like prices, quantities, the type of products offered, and social welfare. The module first introduces basic concepts in Industrial Organisation to study imperfect competition and the determinants of market power. It then proceeds to analyse important topics in competition policy, such as cartels and merger policy.
The module requires an understanding of intermediate microeconomics (especially production/cost theory), basic concepts of game theory, and basic calculus.
This course provides an introduction to the economics of International Business and their key role in the global economy, incorporating the analysis of internationalising firms and multinational enterprises (MNE). Its conceptual foundations derive from the critical application of relevant economic theories and addresses policy issues highlighting the economic, strategic and financial challenges facing businesses that operate across international borders in a multiple exchange rate environment.
The course covers a range of important topics that facilitate a deeper understanding of the determinants and implications of the activities of international firms in the global economy. These topics include: global trends in research and development (R&D) and implications; the Global Factory, global value chains and the decline of the global firm; the growth and employment effects of international business; and exchange rates, risk and international financial management.
This module develops your understanding of concepts and theories of international trade and factor flows, with particular reference to the way in which such material can inform policymaking. Topics covered include the Ricardian model, the Heckscher-Ohlin model, international trade under imperfect competition, outsourcing and offshoring, trade models based on heterogeneous firms and multinational firms, and trade policy under perfect and imperfect competition. Throughout the module we emphasise the applicability of the models learned, and their relevance to real-world events. Examples include the relationship between labour productivity and wages, opinions toward free trade, and the impact of immigration.
Focusing on the microeconomics of labour and personnel, this module covers topics such as the economics of migration, wage determination, job search and labour market discrimination.
There is a particular emphasis on principal agent problems in human resources and the design of incentives within firms.
Economics theory is used to analyse the operation of labour markers and assess the empirical evidence. Areas covered include:
the firm's demand for labour
labour supply at an individual and aggregate level
causes of wage rigidity
the economic impact of trade unions
inflation and unemployment
Belonging to a nation is widely seen to be as natural as belonging to a family or a home. This module will explore how such assumptions about national belonging come about by introducing students to a range of theoretical approaches and debates.
You will explore how notions of belonging are socially constructed, how the nation is defined, who belongs and who doesn’t. The module addresses these notions by examining what everyday practices, discourses and representations reveal about the ways people think about, and inhabit, the nation. The module also pays particular attention to nation formation in relation to debates about multiculturalism, diversity and migration and asks: What are the impacts of migration and multiculturalism on definitions of the nation? How is multiculturalism defined and perceived?
Although focus will be on the example of Britain, the issues raised will be of interest to all students concerned with the effects of nationalisms and ideas of belonging and entitlement, which many countries of the contemporary world are presently debating in the context of the 'Age of migration' (Castles and Miller 1998).
Policymakers at Central Banks lie in a unique position to influence economic activity. This module examines the role of monetary policy in influencing the expectations and behaviour of agents in the economy and the implications this has for outcomes such as inflation, GDP and household welfare. Students will focus on applications of monetary theory to central banks problems and the recent objectives of the Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee. Topics include Central Bank independence, inflation targeting and the zero lower bound on interest rates, money creation and quantitative easing, and the macroeconomics of pandemics.
This module presents an overview of the interactions between the government, firms, and citizens, using a mix of theory and empirical work. Sometimes, markets are not efficient, and government intervention is necessary. Sometimes, markets are efficient, but equity concerns create the need for government. There is often a tension between the socially optimal policy and the outcome of the democratic process.
Some questions we study in this module:
What is the role of government in the economy?
Is it fair to redistribute money through taxation?
Are some taxes better than others?
How to deal with pollution, discriminations, and other inefficiencies of the market?
How to make multinational companies pay taxes?
Is there such a thing as an ideal voting system?
This module will explore how the politically powerful and the politically radical use the internet to consolidate and revolutionise the distribution of power around the globe.
Like many communication platforms before it, the internet is mobilised by the politically and economically powerful as well as those seeking radical change. However, unlike other platforms, it has created an almost universally accessible platform for public dialogue. Pro-democracy revolutionaries, freedom hackers, feminist mediasmiths, anti-capitalists, data leakers, and others use the internet to organise their social movements. Conversely, those opposed to the liberal project, such as authoritarians and extremist groups, also use the affordances of the internet to distribute their message and rally their supporters.
This module examines these issues and investigates the implications of “big data” control by governments and corporations. The module looks also at the understanding social networkers and other content uploaders have of this “big data” control along with the consequences that it comes with.
This module looks at how theoretical and empirical methods can be applied to the growing field of sports economics.
It helps you to understand the particular characteristics of labour and product markets in professional sports, and what implications these have for economic analysis. You will also learn more about how theoretical and empirical work in the economics of sport can be used to inform policy issues, including competitive structures in sports leagues, free agency and player mobility, and the financing of professional sport. You will also gain insights into how betting markets function and why people gamble on sports.
Global capitalism is at crossroads. It faces a deepening crisis in the world of work, its engine of growth is sputtering out while the climate emergency is aggravating. For some the 2008 recession, COVID-19 and the 2022 cost-of living of crisis offered tragic glimpses of the world that is to come if radical change is not pursued. How can we govern a world characterised by perpetual emergencies and chronic economic crises? Can capitalism be reformed? What does it take to address inequality, precarity or biodiversity collapse? What are the challenges and constraints faced by governments today? The module offers an opportunity to discuss these questions by examining a range of political economy approaches to the study of global capitalism. In doing so the module analyses the most important transformations of the past 50 years that radically transformed the global economy and the issues they raise for economic policy. It examines the constraints, limits and opportunities facing the governance of the global economic order and explores the governing dilemmas that arise in the era of so-called late capitalism.
Fees and funding
Our annual tuition fee is set for a 12-month session, starting in the October of your year of study.
There may be extra costs related to your course for items such as books, stationery, printing, photocopying, binding and general subsistence on trips and visits. Following graduation, you may need to pay a subscription to a professional body for some chosen careers.
Specific additional costs for studying at Lancaster are listed below.
College fees
Lancaster is proud to be one of only a handful of UK universities to have a collegiate system. Every student belongs to a college, and all students pay a small college membership fee which supports the running of college events and activities. Students on some distance-learning courses are not liable to pay a college fee.
For students starting in 2025, the fee is £40 for undergraduates and research students and £15 for students on one-year courses.
Computer equipment and internet access
To support your studies, you will also require access to a computer, along with reliable internet access. You will be able to access a range of software and services from a Windows, Mac, Chromebook or Linux device. For certain degree programmes, you may need a specific device, or we may provide you with a laptop and appropriate software - details of which will be available on relevant programme pages. A dedicated IT support helpdesk is available in the event of any problems.
The University provides limited financial support to assist students who do not have the required IT equipment or broadband support in place.
Study abroad courses
In addition to travel and accommodation costs, while you are studying abroad, you will need to have a passport and, depending on the country, there may be other costs such as travel documents (e.g. VISA or work permit) and any tests and vaccines that are required at the time of travel. Some countries may require proof of funds.
Placement and industry year courses
In addition to possible commuting costs during your placement, you may need to buy clothing that is suitable for your workplace and you may have accommodation costs. Depending on the employer and your job, you may have other costs such as copies of personal documents required by your employer for example.
The fee that you pay will depend on whether you are considered to be a home or international student. Read more about how we assign your fee status.
Home fees are subject to annual review, and may be liable to rise each year in line with UK government policy. International fees (including EU) are reviewed annually and are not fixed for the duration of your studies. Read more about fees in subsequent years.
We will charge tuition fees to Home undergraduate students on full-year study abroad/work placements in line with the maximum amounts permitted by the Department for Education. The current maximum levels are:
Students studying abroad for a year: 15% of the standard tuition fee
Students taking a work placement for a year: 20% of the standard tuition fee
International students on full-year study abroad/work placements will be charged the same percentages as the standard International fee.
Please note that the maximum levels chargeable in future years may be subject to changes in Government policy.
Scholarships and bursaries
You will be automatically considered for our main scholarships and bursaries when you apply, so there's nothing extra that you need to do.
You may be eligible for the following funding opportunities, depending on your fee status:
Unfortunately no scholarships and bursaries match your selection, but there are more listed on scholarships and bursaries page.
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We also have other, more specialised scholarships and bursaries - such as those for students from specific countries.
The Becketts Scholarship supports widening participation students from the Fylde Coast studying programmes in Accounting, Business Management, Economics and MORSE at LUMS.
Becketts Scholarships accordion
Study level: Undergraduate students studying Accounting, Business Management, Economics, and MORSE.
Fee status: Home students
Year of entry: 2024
Eligibility: Based on postcode, subject, widening participation status and application
Amount: £3,000 in the first year and then £1,000 a year for each subsequent year of on-campus study (Years, 1,2 and 4 for Industry or Study Abroad programmes).
"I have realised how lucky I am to be studying at this institution. I’ve met industry leaders in the world of banking and finance, successful entrepreneurs, top graduate recruiters and so on. You can learn a lot by listening to someone’s experience and career journey, it grows you as a person and makes you aware of the world out there."
The information on this site relates primarily to 2025/2026 entry to the University and every effort has been taken to ensure the information is correct at the time of publication.
The University will use all reasonable effort to deliver the courses as described, but the University reserves the right to make changes to advertised courses. In exceptional circumstances that are beyond the University’s reasonable control (Force Majeure Events), we may need to amend the programmes and provision advertised. In this event, the University will take reasonable steps to minimise the disruption to your studies. If a course is withdrawn or if there are any fundamental changes to your course, we will give you reasonable notice and you will be entitled to request that you are considered for an alternative course or withdraw your application. You are advised to revisit our website for up-to-date course information before you submit your application.
More information on limits to the University’s liability can be found in our legal information.
Our Students’ Charter
We believe in the importance of a strong and productive partnership between our students and staff. In order to ensure your time at Lancaster is a positive experience we have worked with the Students’ Union to articulate this relationship and the standards to which the University and its students aspire. View our Charter and other policies.
Undergraduate open days 2024
Our summer and autumn open days will give you Lancaster University in a day. Visit campus and put yourself in the picture.
Our historic city is student-friendly and home to a diverse and welcoming community. Beyond the city you'll find a stunning coastline and the picturesque Lake District.