Economics

Economics is the science of choice under scarcity, the study of how individuals, firms, and societies decide how to allocate limited resources across competing ends. At its core, economics builds formal models of behaviour and uses them to understand market prices, production decisions, employment, growth, inflation, and the effects of policy. But the discipline also engages with some of the most pressing challenges of our time: inequality, climate change, development, and the role of institutions in shaping economic outcomes.

A degree in economics trains a form of rigorous quantitative and analytical thinking that is among the most broadly applicable in higher education.

At Hull, the programme is built around making economic theory genuinely useful, developing your ability to apply formal tools to real-world questions rather than treating theory as an end in itself. You will study microeconomics and macroeconomics at a rigorous level, alongside econometrics and the statistical methods needed to test economic hypotheses against data. The curriculum develops your quantitative skills, your capacity for evidence-based argument, and your understanding of how economic analysis relates to the decisions of governments, firms, and individuals in practice.

Economics graduates are among the most sought-after in the graduate labour market. The analytical and quantitative skills the degree develops are valuable in financial services, government, consultancy, central banking, international organisations, the civil service, and research. Many graduates also enter non-economic careers in business, law, data science, journalism, and policy, where the ability to think rigorously about evidence and incentives is consistently valued.

Further study at postgraduate level in economics, finance, public policy, or data science is a common and well-supported route for those who want to specialise or pursue research.