Economics and Finance

Economics and finance together provide one of the most analytically demanding and professionally versatile degree combinations available. Economics is the social science that studies how resources are allocated, how markets function, and how individual and collective choices aggregate into the outcomes we observe at the level of the economy. Finance applies related analytical frameworks to the study of financial markets, investment, corporate capital allocation, and the pricing of risk, with a strong emphasis on quantitative methods and the real-world behaviour of financial institutions and instruments.

At the University of Manchester, this three-year programme develops your understanding of both disciplines simultaneously. In the economics strand, you will study microeconomics and macroeconomics at an advanced level, developing the mathematical and statistical tools needed to analyse economic questions rigorously. You will engage with labour markets, industrial organisation, international trade, and the macroeconomic questions of growth, inflation, and monetary policy.

In the finance strand, you will study corporate finance, investment theory, financial markets, and quantitative methods for financial analysis, connecting theoretical frameworks to the way that financial institutions and markets actually operate. Manchester's economics and finance department is part of one of the UK's leading research universities, and the programme benefits from faculty engaged at the frontiers of both fields.

Graduates from this combination are in very strong demand across a broad range of careers. Investment banking, asset management, financial analysis, and trading are the most directly finance-oriented routes. Economic consulting, roles in central banks and government economic departments, and positions with international organisations such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund draw those with a stronger economics emphasis.

Risk management, actuarial work, and financial regulation are further possibilities. The combination of economic thinking and financial expertise is also valued in consulting, where clients often face questions that span commercial strategy and macroeconomic context. Many graduates continue to postgraduate study in economics, finance, or related quantitative disciplines.