Program Overview

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Accounting and Economics (with Foundation Year)

Overview

Build valuable accounting skills and a strong understanding of economics with our BSc Accounting and Economics programme at Oxford Brookes University. This course blends academic study with practical experience to prepare you for a career in business.

Our BSc Accounting and Economics with a Foundation Year begins with essential business-focused study, developing your skills for degree-level learning. Passing this year guarantees your place on the BSc Accounting and Economics programme, where you’ll gain expertise in financial management, economic analysis, and business strategy.

Why Oxford Brookes University?

• Perfect preparation: Build essential study skills with an integrated foundation year. Gain academic confidence, improve critical thinking, and strengthen subject knowledge for your degree journey.
• Personalise your experience: Optional modules and different final year pathways let you discover your passion and focus on your interests.
• Gain experience: We believe you should learn through experiences, so much of the course is practical. You also have the option to go on placement to gain practical business experience.
• Cutting-edge research: Oxford Brookes Business School is exploring big issues like AI and corporate responsibility. Be part of our forward-looking community.
• Open up career paths: The skills you learn will be useful in a huge range of careers, whether you want to work in a global corporation, government, academia, or set up your own company.
• Learn a language: Our university-wide language programme is available to full-time undergraduate and postgraduate students on many of our courses, and can be taken as a credit on some courses.
• Study abroad: You may be able to go on a European or international study exchange while you are at Brookes. Most exchanges take place in the second year. Although we will help as much as we can with your plans, ultimately you are responsible for organising and funding this study abroad.

Accreditation(s)

• Accredited by Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA)
• Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA)
• Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW)

Course details

Course structure

In your foundation year, you’ll build confidence and develop academic skills while studying a broad introduction to the world of business, finance, and economics.

In the first year of your degree, you’ll be introduced to micro and macro-economic theory and the fundamentals of accounting. We’ll help you build academic skills like sourcing data and referencing.

In your second year, you’ll explore intermediate-level accounting and economics topics. You’ll study research methods to prepare for your final year project and take a module focused on career development. You’ll also have access to our Bloomberg Virtual Trading Suite to make mock transactions and apply your learning.

You’ll have the option to take a work placement or support a local charity with its accounts. Both options will give you practical experience and valuable industry insight - helping you build contacts for the future.

In your final year, you can specialise in accounting or economics and select optional modules to match your interests or career ambitions.

Learning and teaching

Your learning experience on this course will be varied and challenging. We combine face-to-face teaching and e-learning activities, including:

• Lectures
• Workshops
• Seminar discussions
• Group presentations
• Analysis of numerical data
• Case study analysis
• Discussions of topical material (such as newspaper articles, videos and websites)
• Computer-based exercises.

The e-learning component includes:

• Quizzes and diagnostic assessments
• Online discussion groups.

Throughout the course you will have close contact with your tutors and academic adviser.

Assessment

We will assess your progress with a variety of approaches including:

• Reports
• Essays
• Case study analysis
• Presentations
• Examinations.

Each semester, practice assessments help you identify key strengths and weaknesses. You will benefit from ongoing in-depth, specific feedback on:

• Your work
• Placement year
• Voluntary charitable accounting experiences.

This allows you to know exactly which areas you need to focus on to do the best you can in your studies. As well as develop yourself for your future career.

Most teaching and assessment activities take place between Mondays and Fridays, 9.00am to 7.00pm. There may be occasions when such activities may fall outside of these hours.

Study modules

Foundation Year

• University Study Skills
• Culture and Communication
• Business Fundamentals
• Critical Thinking and Problem Solving
• Extended Research Essay
• Economics for Business

Year 1

• Intro to Accounting I
• Macroeconomics I
• Microeconomics I
• Mathematics for Economics and Finance
• Introduction to Accounting II
• Statistics for Economics, Finance and Business

Year 2

• Financial Accounting and Reporting
• Macroeconomics II
• Microeconomics II
• Exploring and Enhancing Employability
• Management Accounting
• Placement Search and Preparation (only compulsory if you take the optional Year 3 work placement)

Optional Placement Year

• Placement
• Full Year International Study Abroad
• Short Placement
• Work-based Learning

Final Year

• Accounting Synoptic
• Perspectives on Global Economics
• Contemporary Issues in Economics
• Business Aspects of Management Accounting
• Financial Accounting Theory

Careers

We’ve created a supportive environment. Your tutors will make sure you develop professional skills throughout the course, and help you discover a career destination that’s right for you.

Past graduates on our accounting, business, finance, and economics courses often go into accountancy based roles in the financial sector and are working in organisations like:

• KPMG
• PricewaterhouseCoopers
• Grant Thornton
• Haines Watts
• HM Treasury
• Foreign & Commonwealth Office.

If you’re not ready to jump straight into work at an established organisation, there are other options too. Some students go on to postgraduate study, others join graduate schemes. Some even start their own business.

Your practical skills and deep knowledge of accountancy and economics will be valuable whatever your destination.

Entry requirements

• UCAS Tariff Points: 48
• A Level: DD
• IB Points: 24
• BTEC: PPP or MP

English language requirements

Please see the University's standard English language requirements.

Funding your studies

• Oxford Brookes Bursary for Continuing Students
• Undergraduate maintenance loans for part-time UK students
• Undergraduate maintenance loans for full-time UK students
• Undergraduate tuition fee loans for UK students
• Oxford Brookes Bursary for New Students

Tuition fees

• Home (UK) full time: £5,760 (Foundation); £9,535 (Degree)
• Home (UK) part time: £720 per single module (Foundation); £1,190 per single module (Degree)
• International full time: £17,100

Additional costs

• It’s your responsibility to cover print / binding costs where coursework submission is required.
• You may choose to purchase books to support your studies.
• Accommodation fees in Brookes Letting (most do not include bills)
• Accommodation fees in university halls (bills included, excluding laundry costs)
• Graduation costs include tickets, gowning and photography.
• Students are responsible for their own travel to and from university for classes.