Program Overview

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Politics and Economics (BSc)

Award: Bachelor of Science

Typical Offer: ABB

Duration: 3 years

Course Type: Full-time

Campus: Highfield

UCAS Course code: LL12

About this course

Politics and economics are at the heart of society and affect everyone. You'll gain an in-depth understanding and interest in both fields. You'll graduate with transferable skills in analysis, critical thinking, and independent research. This will put you in a position to pursue a career in government, finance, and business or advocacy organisations.

On this BSc Politics and Economics degree, you'll gain a specialist knowledge of:

• Microeconomics (the behaviour of individuals and businesses)
• Macroeconomics (the behaviour of the economy as a whole)
• Political concepts such as democracy and international relations

You'll also have the freedom to shape your studies by choosing optional modules to suit your interests or career plans. Examples include Chinese politics, ethics, criminology, and industrial economics.

You'll take part in lectures and small classes. You'll be able to use the behavioural economics laboratory and the Bloomberg suite, which is a realistic trading-room environment with access to the most detailed financial data available.

As part of this course, you can also:

• Take part in a 2-week economics summer school at Xiamen University, China
• Spend a semester abroad in your third year

Entry requirements

For Academic Year 2025/26

• A-levels: ABB including Mathematics
• International Baccalaureate Diploma: Pass, with 32 points overall with 16 at Higher Level, including 5 points from Higher Level Mathematics (Analysis and Approaches or Applications and Interpretation)
• BTEC: D in the BTEC National Extended Certificate plus AB from two A levels including Mathematics
• Access to HE Diploma: 60 credits with a minimum of 45 credits at Level 3, of which 30 must be at Distinction and 15 credits at Merit
• Irish Leaving Certificate: H1 H2 H2 H2 H3 H3 including Mathematics at H3
• Scottish Qualification: Offers will be based on exams being taken at the end of S6. Subjects taken and qualifications achieved in S5 will be reviewed.
• Cambridge Pre-U: D3 M2 M2 in three Principal subjects including Mathematics at M2
• Welsh Baccalaureate: ABB from 3 A levels including Mathematics or AB from two A levels including Mathematics and B from the Advanced Welsh Baccalaureate Skills Challenge Certificate

English language requirements

• IELTS score requirements: overall score 6.5, reading 6.0, writing 6.0, speaking 6.0, listening 6.0

Course structure

Year 1

• Comparative Politics
• Economics Skills and Employability 1
• Engaging Political Ideas
• Introduction to International Relations
• Principles of Macroeconomics
• Statistics for Economics
• Optional modules:
  • Foundations of Microeconomics
  • Introduction to Mathematics for Economics
  • Mathematics for Economics
  • Principles of Microeconomics

Year 2

• ECON Dissertation: Prelim Info
• Economics Skills and Employability 2
• Intermediate Macroeconomics
• Intermediate Microeconomics
• The Struggle for Democracy
• Optional modules:
  • American Political Thought
  • Anarchism in Theory and Practice
  • Applied Econometrics
  • Children and Human Rights
  • Chinese Politics
  • Collective Action and Social Change
  • Contemporary Theories of Justice
  • Democratic Theory
  • Development Economics
  • Dynamic Macroeconomics
  • Econometrics with Big Data
  • Education Policy and Reforms: Global Experiences and Local Contexts
  • Ethics of Public Policy
  • Ethics of War
  • European Power and the Geopolitics of Europe and Asia
  • Games
  • Gender and Society
  • Gender, Power and Politics
  • Green Political Thought: Humans and other stories
  • Industrial Economics
  • Intersectional Perspectives on Modernisation Processes
  • Introduction to Econometrics
  • Introduction to Experiments in Social Science
  • Introduction to Social Data Analytics
  • Migration, Borders, Refuge: Political Ethics in an Age of Mobility
  • Partisans, Public Opinion and Elections: Understanding the Political Mind
  • Politics and Protest
  • Power and Ethics Before Machiavelli
  • Public Opinion in Action: What we know and how we know it
  • Qualitative Research in Politics & International Relations
  • Race and Ethnicity in Society
  • Reinventing Democracy: Innovation, Participation and Power
  • Techno Harms: Discrimination, Conspiracy Theories and Extremism
  • The Government Lab
  • The Politics and Governance of the EU

Year 3

• Dissertation in Politics & International Relations
• Dissertation: Literature Review
• Economics Skills and Employability 3
• International Macroeconomics
• Optional modules:
  • American Political Thought
  • Anarchism in Theory and Practice
  • Applied Economics
  • Children and Human Rights
  • Chinese Politics
  • Choice and Decision
  • Collective Action and Social Change
  • Contemporary Theories of Justice
  • Democratic Theory
  • Dissertation: Research Project
  • Dissertation: Research Topics
  • Education Policy and Reforms: Global Experiences and Local Contexts
  • Ethics of Public Policy
  • Ethics of War
  • European Power and the Geopolitics of Europe and Asia
  • Gender and Society
  • Gender, Power and Politics
  • Green Political Thought: Humans and other stories
  • International Trade
  • Intersectional Perspectives on Modernisation Processes
  • Introduction to Experiments in Social Science
  • Labour Economics
  • Migration, Borders, Refuge: Political Ethics in an Age of Mobility
  • Partisans, Public Opinion and Elections: Understanding the Political Mind
  • Politics and Protest
  • Power and Ethics Before Machiavelli
  • Principles of Finance
  • Public Economics
  • Public Opinion in Action: What we know and how we know it
  • Race and Ethnicity in Society
  • Reinventing Democracy: Innovation, Participation and Power
  • Techno Harms: Discrimination, Conspiracy Theories and Extremism
  • The Government Lab
  • The Politics and Governance of the EU
  • Topics in Macroeconomics

Learning and assessment

• Lectures
• Classes and tutorials
• Coursework
• Individual and group projects
• Independent learning

Assessment breakdown

• Year 1: 42% written exam, 48% coursework, 10% practical exam
• Year 2: 38% written exam, 52% coursework, 10% practical exam
• Year 3: 30% written exam, 69% coursework, 1% practical exam

Careers and employability

• Employability skills: research, critical thinking, communication, teamwork, problem-solving
• Career pathways: economist, financial manager, financial risk analyst, internal auditor, investment analyst, government social research officer, policy officer, political assistant, public affairs consultant, social researcher
• Wider career opportunities: academic researcher, advice worker, business development manager, charity officer, diplomatic service officer, forensic accountant, local government officer, market researcher, marketing executive, journalist

Fees, costs, and funding

• Tuition fees: UK students £9,535, EU and international students £24,200
• What your fees pay for: full cost of tuition and standard exams
• Bursaries, scholarships, and other funding: University of Southampton bursary, scholarships, grants
• Support during your course: Student Support fund, other sources of financial support

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