Economics with Foundation Year
Economics is the discipline concerned with how resources are allocated under conditions of scarcity, how incentives shape the decisions of individuals, firms, and governments, and what the consequences of those decisions are for productivity, inequality, and welfare. It combines rigorous mathematical and statistical reasoning with the broader analytical thinking that connects theoretical models to the realities of economic policy and business strategy. The skills it develops are among the most transferable in any university education, valued equally in the public sector, financial services, technology, and academia.
At Birkbeck College in London, this programme includes a foundation year, making it accessible to students who have strong potential but who need to build their mathematical and analytical foundations before tackling the full degree. A typical entry tariff of 88 points at the foundation level reflects Birkbeck's longstanding commitment to widening access to rigorous academic education. The main degree is designed to provide a core of technically demanding yet applications-oriented skills in economics, equipping you to compete in the graduate job market while also developing the conceptual frameworks to understand economic phenomena at depth.
Birkbeck is an unusual institution: it has been a centre of adult and evening education in London since the nineteenth century, and while this programme is offered in a form accessible to school leavers with the foundation year, the institution's tradition of taking education seriously for students from all backgrounds shapes the quality and culture of the teaching.
Economics graduates from Birkbeck move into financial services, government economic services, management consultancy, business analysis, data analytics, international organisations, and academic research. The foundation year route provides access to the full range of graduate opportunities that an economics degree opens, and postgraduate study in economics, finance, or public policy is a natural further step for those who wish to develop their expertise.