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Resources / Course Guides / Economics
Parent Course Guide
Economics at the top universities is a mathematical discipline — closer to applied mathematics than to current affairs — and it is the single most direct undergraduate route into the City. No degree is more intensively targeted by the milk round.
The core spine is identical everywhere; the badge on the certificate changes the doors that open:
Micro- and macroeconomics, mathematics for economists (calculus, linear algebra), statistics. A-level Further Maths territory from week one.
Econometrics — the statistical machinery of the subject — plus intermediate theory. This is the year internship applications begin in earnest.
Options from financial economics to development, game theory to behavioural; a dissertation at most schools.
Teaching is lecture-led with small-group classes; the contact hours look light on paper, but the problem sets are relentless and the mathematics is unforgiving.
Lectures & classes — 10–14 hours weekly — all in person at the top schools
Office hours — academics hold weekly drop-ins; the students who use them pull ahead
Problem sets — 20–25 hours weekly of genuinely hard quantitative work
The hidden workload — internship applications from autumn of year 2 — effectively an extra module
Economics is a three-year sprint at LSE and Oxbridge, but several top schools offer a formal placement route:
Warwick, Bath and others offer four-year “with placement” degrees — a salaried year (typically £20,000–£35,000 in finance) between years 2 and 3. Tuition for that year is capped at 20% of the normal fee (≈£1,960).
At LSE/Oxbridge the placement happens in the summers: a “spring week” in year 1, a summer internship in year 2, converting to a graduate offer before final year even starts.
dedicated careers teams, bank-sponsored societies and on-campus recruiter events — at the target schools the employers come to the students.
This is the milk round’s heartland. Investment banks, asset managers, consultancies and the Government Economic Service recruit directly on campus; typical first-year total compensation at a bulge-bracket bank is £70,000+, and the majority of interns receive return offers. Read our parent’s guide to the Milk Round →
Mathematics A-level is required everywhere; Further Mathematics is expected at the very top. TMUA is used by several schools (LSE, Cambridge, Durham, Warwick encourage or require it).
| University | Course & variant | Duration | Typical offer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cambridge | Economics BA | 3 years | A*A*A + TMUA |
| LSE | BSc Economics | 3 years | A*AA (A* Maths) + TMUA |
| Oxford | Economics & Management | 3 years | A*AA + TSA |
| UCL | BSc Economics | 3 years | A*AA (A* Maths) |
| Warwick | BSc Economics (+ placement option) | 3–4 years | A*AA |
| Edinburgh | MA Economics | 4 years (Scottish) | AAA–AAB |
| Bristol | BSc Economics | 3 years | A*AA–AAA |
| Manchester | BEconSc | 3 years | AAA |
An economics offer from a target school is, statistically, the most reliable route to a six-figure City career before age 25. The catch is that the race starts early: A* Mathematics, Further Maths, the TMUA, and a first-year CV built for spring weeks. We plan all of it — from GCSE option choices onward.
We help families choose the course variant that fits the child — then build the application that wins the place: subject strategy, personal statement, admissions tests and interview preparation, led by the academics themselves.
Fees shown are the government-regulated home undergraduate cap for 2026/27 (£9,790; rising to £10,050 in 2027/28). International fees vary by university and are typically £28,000–£45,000 per year, and up to £65,000+ for clinical courses. Entry offers, contact hours and placement statistics are typical published figures and vary by institution and year — we verify current details for your child’s exact shortlist during consultancy.
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