Economics and Finance with International Foundation Year

Economics and finance is a combination that equips you to analyse the behaviour of markets, firms, and economies at both the macro level, including growth, inflation, trade, and policy, and the micro level of individual decisions, pricing, and risk. Finance brings this to bear on the specific challenges of investing capital, managing financial instruments, valuing assets, and understanding the behaviour of financial markets and institutions. Together they provide one of the most powerful analytical toolkits available to undergraduates entering a world shaped by economic and financial forces.

At the University of Reading, this four-year programme includes an international foundation year, providing a supported entry into higher education for students who need additional preparation before beginning the full degree. The foundation year builds academic English, quantitative methods, and introductory economics and business concepts, creating a strong platform for the degree that follows. Reading's economics and finance departments are well established, and the university's location in the Thames Valley gives it close connections to London's financial sector, which is an asset for students thinking about careers in banking, asset management, or financial services.

Graduates of economics and finance programmes are strongly placed for careers in banking, investment management, financial analysis, economic consultancy, the civil service, central banking, insurance, and corporate finance. The professional finance qualifications, including those offered by the CFA Institute and the Chartered Institute of Securities and Investments, are accessible to graduates and many pursue them alongside their early careers. Further study in economics, finance, or public policy is also a well-established route for graduates who wish to develop specialist expertise or pursue research.