Economics and Mathematics

Economics and mathematics is a degree that combines two disciplines which have an exceptionally productive relationship. Economic theory increasingly relies on sophisticated mathematical modelling to describe how markets work, how agents make decisions, and how economies evolve over time. Mathematics provides the tools, from calculus and linear algebra to probability theory and optimisation, that make those models tractable and testable.

Studying both together equips you with a level of analytical rigour that opens some of the most competitive career paths available to any UK graduate.

At Leeds, this three-year full-time programme includes a sandwich year, a year abroad and a work placement, giving you a combination of professional experience and international academic exposure that is unusual in mathematical economics. The sandwich year allows you to apply your quantitative skills in a real professional context, whether in financial services, economic consultancy, government analysis or technology, and you return to your final year with experience that sharpens your focus and strengthens your graduate profile. The year abroad offers the opportunity to study economic and mathematical theory in a different national academic tradition.

Across the programme you will develop mathematical fluency in the areas most relevant to economics, including probability and statistics, real analysis and optimisation, alongside a deep grounding in microeconomic and macroeconomic theory, econometrics and applied economic analysis.

Graduates of economics and mathematics programmes are sought by employers in investment banking, asset management, economic consulting, fintech, data science, actuarial work and government economic analysis. The combination of mathematical depth and economic understanding is genuinely rare and consistently valued. Postgraduate study in economics, finance, mathematics or data science is a well-supported option.