Economics at Warwick
Open Day May 9th 2009
Dennis Leech
Professor of Economics
Economics at Warwick
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The department
Research
Teaching and learning
Our degree courses
Careers
Some notable economics graduates
Applying for a place
Economics department
• Academic Staff
– Professors
– Associate Prof (SL/Reader)
– Assistant Prof (Lecturer)
28
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11
• Graduate Students
– Doctoral (research)
– Masters (taught)
• Undergraduates
~60
~80
~600
High quality research
• Research Assessment Exercise 2008
(official rating): ranked in the top five
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Third equal with Oxford and Essex
LSE and UCL ranked first and second
40% of research assessed rated as 4* (‘world leading’)
95% either 4* or 3* (‘internationally excellent’) – equal
first place
Why research matters for
students
• Research income brings cash for more
academic staff & research students
– Subsidises our teaching
• More resources for learning
– Better campus, library, computers…..
• Better academic staff, more of them
• Better class tutors, etc
• Teaching more authoritative
High quality teaching
QAA 2002 Teaching Quality Assessment:
top marks (24/24)
Our degree courses
• Economics department based
– Economics
– Econ, Politics & International Studies (EPAIS)
– Industrial Economics
– Economics and Economic History
Other degrees
– Philosophy, Politics & Economics (PPE)
– Maths, OR, Stats & Econ (MORSE)
– Maths and Economics
BSc Economics course
• A specialised programme
– Aims to make you think like an economist
– Mainstream economic principles & skills
– Also transferable skills
• Flexibility is limited
– Only a little each year that’s not economics
• no more than 25% of load can be non-economic
• E.g. finance, maths, a language, …..
• But: possibility of a year of study abroad
Teaching
• We teach from first principles
– A-level Economics is not required
• We use a lot of maths
– Geometry, algebra, calculus
– You have to work hard to keep up
• But support is available
– Staff are generally accessible
The course structure
• Year 1: Foundations (5 modules)
– Micro, Macro, Quant Tech, Econ History
– 1 Option: Language, Politics, History, WBS …..
• Year 2: Core (4 modules)
– Micro, Macro, Econometrics
– 1 Option: Industrial, Public,…, Language, WBS
• Year 3: Specialisation (4 modules)
– Research Project
– 3 Options: Labour, Econometrics,
Development,…
Year of study abroad
• After second year (making 4 year degree)
• Good partner institutions
– EU
• Amsterdam , Madrid , Munich, Paris, Barcelona,
Milan, Lille, Antwerp
– USA
• California
• Complements regular Warwick studies
• Some help with fees and expenses
• Numbers limited therefore selective
Employment by sector
Some distinguished alumni
• Cabinet Secretary: Sir Gus O’Donnell
• Chief Economist, BOE: Spencer Dale
• Professors: 2 @ Harvard; many other leading
academics at UK universities
• Christian Wolmar, Writer, transport policy
• Liam Halligan, economics journalist
• Steve Heighway, Liverpool footballer
Entry requirements
• Conditional offers only to students
expected to get straight A’s
• Typical or standard offer
– AAA at A2 (incl Maths*) plus a B at AS level
[*Statistics modules recommended]
• A personal statement showing interest in
and intelligent engagement with economics
• We are happy to defer entry
Our degrees are popular
Student numbers for Economics degrees
2009/10
Home/EU
Overseas
Places
130
110
Applications
2466
1282 (so far)
Apply if…
• You are expected to get straight A’s at
A level
• You have a real interest in how the
economy works
• You’re sure you want a specialised
degree
• You are comfortable with algebra
• You are prepared to be challenged
Economics at Warwick
Questions