Start date
22 September 2025
Duration
4 years inc. placement year. Offered as a 4 year degree only, exception if you fail to find or complete a placement
Places available (subject to change)
50
About the course
Reasons to study
- Study at an AACSB International-accredited Business School. Globally, fewer than six per cent of institutions offering business degrees achieve this accreditation.
- Learn by doing at the University’s trading room, which enables you to use advanced technology to analyse economic, business, and financial data in real time.
- Economics is top in Yorkshire in the 2024 NSS for Teaching On My Course, Learning Opportunities, Student Voice and Assessment and Feedback.*
Graduates with a strong understanding of economics are currently in-demand in the global business industry. Make your mark in this sector, thanks to this Business Economics BSc(Hons) degree, which offers top-class teaching, the chance to gain industry experience, and a range of exciting modules.
This course aims to equip you with the integral skills in and knowledge of business operations and economics. You’ll be able to look at how economic issues are relevant in a business context, as well as learn how business managers make decisions after considering economic policies and other key financial issues, such as inflation. You’ll also learn in our state-of-the-art trading room.
Why study Business Economics BSc(Hons)
You’ll be studying at an AACSB International accredited Business School. Globally, fewer than six per cent of institutions offering business degrees achieve this accreditation. You can also look forward to a high-quality education here, as your teachers rank in the top three in England for the proportion who hold doctorates (HESA 2022). Economics at Huddersfield is also top in Yorkshire for learning experience, learning opportunities, academic support and more (National Student Survey 2023).
On top of option modules, you’ll study a wide range of subjects including:
- microeconomics and macroeconomics
- international economics
- industrial economics
- decision science
Away from campus, you’ll gain relevant real-world experience. After the second year of the course, you’ll put your knowledge and skills to the test in an optional 48-week work placement in your area of interest, in the UK or abroad, utilising our links with local, national, and international companies throughout many industries.
This course will prepare you for a variety of potentially exciting careers in a range of fields in the industry. You could work as a finance officer, audit associate or financial analyst. You’ll be able to work for other organisations, or even pursue your passions by creating your own business.
Course detail
Core modules:
Introduction to Macroeconomics
This module helps to develop an understanding of the basic concepts in macroeconomics and provides you with the foundations to develop macroeconomic theory in year two. You’ll have the opportunity to develop and apply analytical skills to understand and explain various macroeconomic events such as such as unemployment, recessions and inflation.
Introduction to Microeconomics
This module enables you to develop an understanding of microeconomic concepts and theories through a critical consideration of current economic issues, problems and institutions that affect everyday life. You’ll have the opportunity to apply microeconomic concepts and theories in a range of contexts and to appreciate their value and limitations in explaining real world events.
Statistics for Social Sciences
This module will introduce you to statistical methods necessary for the study of applied economics and social sciences. You’ll be introduced to modern economic theory and this will be linked to applied content. Statistical and quantitative techniques will be used to gain a greater understanding of economic data and applied economics and help you develop an understanding of how these might be applied to real world data, as well as giving you the skills and experience to carry out data analyses that are often required in the economics profession.
Mathematics for Social Sciences
This module introduces you to the mathematical methods necessary for the study of applied economics and social science. The main techniques applicable to the study of modern economic theory will be introduced and where appropriate linked to applied content and will be used to develop your understanding of economic theory. This module provides you with the opportunity to use quantitative techniques and gain an understanding of how these might be useful in theoretical and applied economics, as well as learning something about their limitations.
Understanding Business Analytics
In this module you'll understand the importance of data and how managing this data can help organisations to make decisions. This will be achieved through the analysis and identification of various data management techniques and how these methods are used to support organisational innovation and growth. You'll critically apply various data analytical approaches and look at the various concepts and current prevailing ideas in data management. In addition, you'll investigate some of the key legislative, operational, and strategic issues which support the collection and usage of data within a digital business environment. This will be underpinned by looking at both internal and external data sets such as, data.gov.uk and the World Bank.
Option modules:
Choose one from a list which may include:
Introduction to Financial Services
This module introduces you to the key areas in the financial services industry in the United Kingdom. You’ll have the opportunity to learn about different financial products and evaluate the needs of different clients and the relative benefits of those diverse financial products.
Understanding Global Dynamics
This module is designed to raise your awareness of an increasingly dynamic business environment. You'll explore pressing global issues, such as globalisation, climate change, digital age and sustainability. You'll have the opportunity to develop an understanding of how these issues present challenges and create opportunities to businesses. As you progress through the module, you'll develop the skills to follow the developments of global events, give them a meaning and consider the causes and consequences of ongoing developments.
Core modules:
Intermediate Macroeconomics
The main purpose of this module is to develop a deeper understanding of modern macroeconomics. It will develop your analytical and policymaking skills and enhance your ability to analyse the implications of macroeconomic issues for government, business, and financial decision-making.
Intermediate Microeconomics
This module provides you with an understanding of the fundamental concepts and techniques of intermediate microeconomic analysis. This module looks at the application of microeconomic theory and how it is relative to real issues and problems, such as the decisions that individuals and households make and organisations and their strategic behaviours and market failures.
Econometrics
This module will help you to gain an understanding of important econometrics concepts used in the analysis of applied economics. It will encompass techniques and materials which will build on those introduced in the pre-requisite modules and apply the statistical techniques to real world economic problems. You’ll gain an understanding of the possibilities and limitations of such econometric techniques in order to understand the usefulness and limitations of quantitative methods in economics. The module is aimed at giving you important marketable skills such as data mining and forecasting.
International Economics and Globalisation
The purpose of this module will be to familiarise you with different perspectives on international trade and international finance. We will cover both “old” and “new” trade theories as well as selected trade policy issues. Our goal is to enable you to analyse those economic issues that result from a country’s interaction with the outside world i.e. trade with other countries, international factor movements, trade and balance of payments imbalances, exchange rate vitality, debts and currency crisis.
Applied Business Economics
In this module you’ll have the opportunity to learn how to integrate economic theory, mathematical methods, statistical techniques and data to study current economic issues in the business context. You’ll also learn how businesses operate and how managers make decisions and learn the different theoretical approaches to the analysis of public policy and business problems and what methods might be appropriately applied to the analysis of economics and business data.
Option modules:
Choose one from a list which may include:
Business Creation and Development
In this module, you'll explore the theory and practices that inform and enable business start-up and small enterprise development. You'll follow the entrepreneurial journey in four phases; creativity and conceptualising the business; understanding context; opportunity spotting and scoping; and business model development. You'll use case studies to explore entrepreneurial practices in a variety of contexts. You'll experiment with opportunity spotting and the formulation of a business model, which will help you understand the practice and theory of new venture creation, from ideation to creating a business enterprise.
Leadership: Theory and Practice
The module is designed to provide you with an understanding of the challenges faced by those involved in leading organisations. You will learn models, theories, and research in the area of leadership, before looking at how leadership is enacted or applied. Approaches to understanding and improving leadership will be introduced and developed over the course of the programme of study.
The course offers a one-year (48 weeks) work placement after the second year, in the UK or abroad.
Core modules:
Applied Econometrics
This module builds on the knowledge obtained in the second year Econometrics module and develops skills needed to apply econometric techniques to real world data. By the end of this course you should have a more comprehensive understanding of central methods used in econometric analysis and be able to demonstrate knowledge of the potential problems with such approaches and potential remedies to apply. The module is aimed at giving you the skills to carry out advanced empirical analyses that are often required by public and private institutions in the professional environment, such as policy counterfactual and scenario analyses.
Undergraduate Dissertation
This module is an opportunity for you to conduct a research project in an area of business and management that relates to your personal and professional interests. You'll work one-to-one with an experienced supervisor who will help you develop and implement your research ideas. This module will not only deepen your knowledge of a particular business and management topic, but also help you build your practical research and report-writing skills.
Decision Science
This module offers explanations of both the theories individuals would like to adopt to make better decisions, and the theories that explain how those around us behave. The focus will be on some fundamental principles developed in decision theory, as well as on violations of these principles derived from psychological literature, namely, behavioural economics. The module develops crucial insights into the decision-making process in social and business contexts.
Climate Economics and Finance
This module offers opportunities to explore climate change issues and form the necessary quantitative skills required to evaluate the impact of climate change on the economy and business organisations. The module will also focus on the responses and policies to mitigate the effects of climate change. You'll be required to understand the role of financial and economic instruments in designing appropriate climate change tools and policies.
Option modules:
Choose one from a list which may include:
Industrial Economics
This module considers the strategic decisions taken by firms relating to key competitive variables such as pricing; advertising; research and development; mergers and acquisitions. You’ll develop an understanding on how an organisations decision making is affected by industry structure and also the implications. You’ll also explore the impact of regulatory regimes on this decision-making.
Marketing for Small Business
Marketing is important, entrepreneurship is vital, and 95% of businesses anywhere in the world are small. When large organisations seek to improve performance – they often turn to the young dynamic small businesses as their role model. We weave these themes together into what can be called entrepreneurial marketing
Managing Across Cultures
In this module, you'll explore how culture affects business and management. You'll learn the essential knowledge and theories in cross-cultural management, which will enable you to compare cultures systematically. You'll also investigate the latest developments in cross cultural research, which will develop your capability in understanding and analysing cross cultural scenarios. You are encouraged to develop an open-minded approach to cultural differences and an understanding of culture’s influence on business and management.
Advances in Leadership
The module is designed to offer you an advanced course in leadership. Building on the themes from the second-year module ‘Leadership: Theory and Practice’, this module invites you to engage with critical and contemporary perspectives and debates shaping the current academic field of leadership studies. We will consider the challenges of leading effectively and ethically in complex 21st century organisational settings.
On average 16%* of the study time on this course is spent with your tutors (either face to face or online) in lectures, seminars, workshops etc. Study and assessments will be based on your choice of modules. Your module specification/course handbook will provide full details of the assessment criteria applying to your course.
Feedback (either written and/or verbal) is normally provided on all coursework submissions within three term time weeks – unless the submission was made towards the end of the session in which case feedback would be available on request after the formal publication of results. Feedback on final coursework is available on request after the publication of results.
*based on 22/23 programme specifications
Further information
The teaching year normally starts in September with breaks at Christmas and Easter, finishing with a main examination/assessment period around May/June. Timetables are normally available one month before registration.
Your course is made up of modules and each module is worth a number of credits. Each year you study modules to the value of 120 credits, adding up to 360 credits in total for a bachelor’s qualification. These credits can come from a combination of core, compulsory and optional modules but please note that optional modules may not run if we do not have enough students interested.
If you achieve 120 credits for the current stage you are at, you may progress to the next stage of your course, subject to any professional, statutory or regulatory body guidelines.
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The University of Huddersfield has been rated Gold in all three aspects of the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) 2023. We were the only university in Yorkshire and the Humber and the North West to achieve Gold ratings in all three aspects of the TEF among those announced in September 2023. In fact only 13 Universities, out of the 96 that were announced in September 2023, were Gold in all three ratings.
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Further proof of teaching excellence: our staff rank in the top three in England for the proportion who hold doctorates, who have higher degrees, and hold teaching qualifications (HESA 2024). So, you’ll learn from some of the best, helping you to be the best.
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We are joint first in the country for National Teaching Fellowships, which mark the UK’s best lecturers in Higher Education, winning a total of 23 since 2008 (2024 data).
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We won the first Global Teaching Excellence Award, recognising the University’s commitment to world-class teaching and its success in developing students as independent learners and critical thinkers (Higher Education Academy, 2017).
Read more about academic staff at the University of Huddersfield
At Huddersfield, you'll study the Global Professional Award (GPA) alongside your degree* so that you gain valuable qualities and experiences that could help you to get the career you want, no matter what your field of study is. On completion of the Award, you'll receive a GPA certificate from the University of Huddersfield, alongside the specialist subject skills and knowledge you gain as part of your degree, which may help to set you apart from other graduates.
Giving students access to the Global Professional Award is one of the reasons the University won ‘Best University Employability Strategy’ award at the National Graduate Recruitment Awards 2021. Find out more on the Global Professional Award webpage.
*full-time, undergraduate first degrees with a minimum duration of three years. This does not include postgraduate, foundation, top-up, accelerated or apprenticeship degrees.
Entry requirements
BBB-BBCat A Level |
120-112 UCAS tariff points from a combination of Level 3 qualifications |
Merit at T Level |
DDM-DMM in BTEC Level 3 Extended Diploma |
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In addition you must have GCSE Maths at grade 5 or above, or grade B or above if awarded under the previous GCSE grading scheme.
If your first language is not English, you will need to meet the minimum requirements of an English Language qualification. The minimum for IELTS is 6.0 overall with no element lower than 5.5, or equivalent. Read more about the University’s entry requirements for students outside of the UK on our International Entry Requirements page.
Other suitable experience or qualifications will be considered. For further information please see the University's minimum entry requirements.
Placements
The course offers an optional one-year (48 weeks) work placement after the second year, in the UK or abroad.
Our Placement Office works with national and international employers to ensure excellent work experience opportunities are available to you on placement courses as well as giving advice in areas such as interview skills and preparing CVs and covering letters.
Previous placement providers have included Bewley's Tea and Coffee UK (The Roastery), CLS (Conveyancing Liability Solutions), Cummins Turbo Technologies, Freemans Grattan Holdings (FGH), Government Economic Service, Hellmann Worldwide Logistics, Kiddies Kingdom, Kirklees Council Transport Services, LiFE Residential, Lloyds Banking Group, NHS England, PwC and Thornton and Ross.
The placement year is a valuable tool that can enhance your employability and help you to develop as an individual. It is acknowledged that graduates with industry experience are generally much more attractive to employers.
A placement with Enterprise has made me more confident and developed my skills, which I can utilise in the final year of my degree. Having industry experience, coupled with theory from my academic studies, has strengthened my position in the competitive graduate job market.
Amandeep Flora, Management Trainee at Enterprise Rent-A-Car.
Facilities
Student support
At the University of Huddersfield, you'll find support networks and services to help you get ahead in your studies and social life. Whether you study at undergraduate or postgraduate level, you'll soon discover that you're never far away from our dedicated staff and resources to help you to navigate through your personal student journey. Find out more about all our support services.
Important information
Although we always try and ensure we deliver our courses as described, sometimes we may have to make changes for the following reasons
When you enrol as a student of the University, your study and time with us will be governed by our terms and conditions, Handbook of Regulations and associated policies. It is important that you familiarise yourself with these as you will be asked to agree to them when you join us as a student. You will find a guide to the key terms here, along with the Student Protection Plan.
Although we always try and ensure we deliver our courses as described, sometimes we may have to make changes for the following reasons
Changes to a course you have applied for but are not yet enrolled on
If we propose to make a major change to a course that you are holding an offer for, then we will tell you as soon as possible so that you can decide whether to withdraw your application prior to enrolment. We may occasionally have to withdraw a course you have applied for or combine your programme with another programme if we consider this reasonably necessary to ensure a good student experience, for example if there are not enough applicants. Where this is the case we will notify you as soon as reasonably possible and we will discuss with you other suitable courses we can transfer your application to. If you do not wish to transfer to another course with us, you may cancel your application and we will refund you any deposits or fees you have paid to us.
Changes to your course after you enrol as a student
Changes to option modules:
Where your course allows you to choose modules from a range of options, we will review these each year and change them to reflect the expertise of our staff, current trends in research and as a result of student feedback or demand for certain modules. We will always ensure that you have an equivalent range of options to that advertised for the course. We will let you know in good time the options available for you to choose for the following year.
Major changes:
We will only make major changes to non-optional modules on a course if it is necessary for us to do so and provided such changes are reasonable. A major change is a change that substantially changes the outcomes, or a significant part of your course, such as the nature of the award or a substantial change to module content, teaching days (part time provision), type of delivery or assessment of the core curriculum. For example, it may be necessary to make a major change to reflect changes in the law or the requirements of the University’s regulators or a commissioning or accrediting body. We may also make changes to improve the course in response to student, examiners’ or other course evaluators’ feedback or to ensure you are being taught current best practice. Major changes may also be necessary because of circumstances outside our reasonable control, such as a key member of staff leaving the University or being unable to teach, where they have a particular specialism that can’t be adequately covered by other members of staff; or due to damage or interruption to buildings, facilities or equipment, or pandemics.
Major changes would usually be made with effect from the next academic year, but may happen sooner in an emergency. We will notify you as soon as possible should we need to make a major change and will carry out suitable consultation. If you reasonably believe that the proposed change will cause you detriment or hardship we will, if appropriate, work with you to try to reduce the adverse effect on you or find an appropriate solution. Where an appropriate solution cannot be found and you contact us in writing before the change takes effect you can cancel your registration and withdraw from the University without liability to the University for future tuition fees. We will provide reasonable support to assist you with transferring to another university if you wish to do so.
In exceptional circumstances, we may, for reasons outside of our control, be forced to discontinue or suspend your course. Where this is the case, a formal exit strategy will be followed in accordance with the student protection plan.
The Office for Students (OfS) is the principal regulator for the University.