Economics and Mathematics

Economics and mathematics is a combination that gives you two of the most powerful analytical toolkits available in the social and formal sciences. Mathematics provides the logical rigour, abstraction, and formal reasoning that underpin modern economic theory, while economics provides a rich domain of substantive questions about how markets, incentives, policies, and institutions shape human behaviour and material welfare. Studied together, the two disciplines reinforce each other: mathematics sharpens your ability to construct and solve formal economic models, while economics gives mathematical skills a meaningful and consequential area of application.

At the University of St Andrews, this four-year programme leads to an MA (Hons) and gives you a structured and cumulative grounding in both disciplines. In economics you will develop your understanding of microeconomic and macroeconomic theory, learn the quantitative and model-based methods that economists use to analyse behaviour and policy, and build your ability to engage with empirical evidence. The programme includes a year abroad, giving you the opportunity to study in another country and gain an international academic perspective.

In mathematics you will develop rigour in analysis, algebra, and applied mathematics, building the formal skills that support advanced economic thinking.

Graduates from economics and mathematics degrees are among the most versatile in the job market. Finance and investment, economic consulting, government economic analysis, data science, and academic research are among the most common destinations. The combination of formal mathematical training with substantive economic knowledge is particularly prized in roles that require building or evaluating quantitative models.

Many graduates go on to postgraduate study in economics, finance, mathematics, or statistics, deepening their expertise for research or specialist professional careers.