Economics (Industry)

BA Hons

  • UCAS code L111
  • Entry year 2025
  • A level requirements AAB
  • Duration Full time 4 years

We welcome applications from the United States of America

We've put together information and resources to guide your application journey as a student from the United States of America.

Overview

Top reasons to study with us

  • 9

    9th for graduate prospects: Economics

    The Guardian University Guide (2025)

  • 10

    10th for Economics

    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 (Industry) provides you with the analytic skills and intellectual toolbox to help answer these pressing economics questions and many more and the possibility of directly applying them through a paid placement in industry. You will learn how to interpret data, understand (and quantify) the decisions made by individuals, organisations, and governments and evaluate economic policies.

Course overview

The course 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 degree 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 course 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 with a valuable paid industry placement where you’ll experience economics in action. 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 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 a further module from the social sciences.

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 available overseas.

Your final year sees you choosing most of your modules in Economics along with some additional options from 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 or Mathematics to enrol in BA Economics (Industry).

Throughout your degree, we’ll provide 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.

The University will use all reasonable effort to support you in finding 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 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.

Course outcomes

BA Economics (Industry) offers a grounding in the fundamentals of economics. The most powerful aspect of economics is that it teaches a way of thinking that can be applied to a specific field. You need specific knowledge and skills if you want to be a government economist advising on tax or social/welfare costs. 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. However, 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 can be applied whatever your passion: politics, finance, the trading floor, or working for a Non-governmental organisation; all use the same skills.

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

These are the typical grades that you will need to study this course. You may need to have qualifications in relevant subjects. In some cases we may also ask you to attend an interview or submit a portfolio. You must also meet our English language requirements.

Find more about these qualifications and others not shown here

Learn about how we will assess your application

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Contact Admissions

If you are thinking of applying to Lancaster and you would like to ask us a question, please complete our enquiry form and one of our team will get back to you.

International foundation programmes

Delivered in partnership with INTO Lancaster University, our one-year tailored foundation pathways are designed to improve your subject knowledge and English language skills to the level required by a range of Lancaster University degrees. Visit the INTO Lancaster University website for more details and a list of eligible degrees you can progress onto.

Contextual admissions

Contextual admissions could help you gain a place at university if you have faced additional challenges during your education which might have impacted your results. Visit our contextual admissions page to find out about how this works and whether you could be eligible.

Course structure

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.

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Fees and funding

Our annual tuition fee is set for a 12-month session, starting in the October of your year of study.

Our Undergraduate Tuition Fees for 2025/26 are:

Home International
£9,535 £25,450

Fees and funding information

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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.

Browse Lancaster University's scholarships and bursaries.

Important information

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.

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