Economics
The Course
Economics at oxford can be read at the undergraduate level only as part of a joint degree. Exeter accepts students to read Politics, Philosophy and Economics (PPE); Economics and Management (E&M); or Engineering, Economics and Management (EEM).
In their first year, PPE and E&M students spend the first term attending lectures and tutorials in microeconomics and the second term attending lectures and tutorials in macroeconomics. the topics introduced in the first-year microeconomics course are consumer behaviour, firm behaviour, and the consequences of monopoly power. the following term focuses on macroeconomic issues such as unemployment and inflation. Students assess the relative merits of policies that may be used to manage the economy, and develop a framework for understanding the rationale behind recent government economic policy.
In their second year, PPE and E&M students read compulsory papers in microeconomics, macroeconomics and quantitative methods. the courses develop and apply topics that were introduced in the first year. After completing tutorials on the compulsory papers, third year undergraduate economists are able to take more specialised papers from a wide range of options that include: Industrial Economics, labour Economics, Public Economics, International Economics, Money and Banking, Economics of developing Countries, Economic theory, Statistics and Econometrics.
EEM students follow a rather different pattern from PPE and E&M students. In the first two years all EEM students take a full set of core Engineering courses. In addition, in the second year they then begin studying economics by attending basic lectures and tutorials in microeconomics and macroeconomics. After completing the basic lectures and tutorials, EEM students proceed to attend lectures and tutorials in more advanced microeconomics and macroeconomics courses that focus on the firm and the national economy. Management courses begin in the third year, and additonally students choose option courses from a range of Engineering, Economics and Management papers. In the final year most EEM students undertake an industrial placement for one term.
Although a background in Mathematics is not formally required for admission to the PPE course, PPE applicants should have sufficient interest in, and aptitude for, mathematics to cope with the mathematical elements of the course. Mathematics is a particular advantage for the Economics component of the course, as well as for the first year logic course in philosophy, and for understanding theories and data in politics.
Last year around 90% of the applicants who were offered places for PPE had studied Maths to at least AS-Level, or equivalent. You may like to consider taking Maths to AS-level, or an equivalent qualification such as IB Standard Level, even if you do not pursue it further. It is useful to have learnt the basics of differentiation before starting your university course in PPE.
