My Favourite Economics Modules

Since I am coming to the end of my BA Economics undergraduate degree here at the University of Leicester, I thought I would share with you some of my favourite modules over the past three years. Some of these are optional modules and some are core. For more information on what modules you will both have to complete and get to choose from during your course, please check your courses departmental page on the University of Leicester website.

Economic History

• When?
  • 2nd year, 2nd term. Core module for BA Economics.
• Grade?
  • 70 (first)
• Exams?
  • 50% coursework; 5000 word essay with optional title
  • 50% exam; two essays
• Favourite Part? 
  • Economics can be a very maths oriented subject, so getting to study a module that was so focused on essays and learning real life facts rather than theoretical formulas, was so definitely my favourite part.

Introductory Econometrics 

• When?
  • 2nd year, 1st term. Core module for BA Economics.
• Grade?
  • 68 (upper second class)
• Exams?
  • 30% coursework; weekly problem sets
  • 70% exam; a mixture of maths, definitions and short answer questions
• Favourite Part? 
  • Econometrics is probably my favourite module I’ve ever studied in terms of actually understanding and enjoying the content. However, my favourite part was the weekly problem sets because they made sure I was constantly, but slowly revising and learning the subject.

Intermediate Macroeconomics II

• When?
  • 2nd year, 2nd term. Core module for BA Economics.
• Grade?
  • 71 (first)
• Exams?
  • 100% exam; 2 essay questions
• Favourite Part? 
  • During my time at Leicester, I have studied 4 different Macroeconomic modules. However, this particular one was my favourite because it was so applied. I normally do better in essay based exams rather than maths based, so this module was very suited to my strengths.

Development Economics 

• When?
  • 3rd year, 1st term. Optional module for BA Economics.
• Grade?
  • 68 (upper second class)
• Exams?
  • 20% coursework; a 3-page report answering a variety of short answer quesitions, with some data analysis
  • 80% exam; a mixture of multiple choice, maths, short answer and essay questions
• Favourite Part? 
  • Development Economics seemed to split a lot of people in terms of both grades and enjoyment. I personally enjoyed it a lot and did pretty well (I got 90% in the coursework, so it was the exam that unfortunately let me down). It combined maths, econometrics, standard economic theory and a lot of real life examples, which for me is the perfect combination in a module.

Industrial Economics 

• When?
  • 3rd year, 1st term. Core module for BA Economics.
• Grade?
  • 70 (first)
• Exams?
  • 100% exam; 2 problem sets consisting of maths and short answer questions/explanations of maths
• Favourite Part? 
  • A lot of the maths in economics is really formula and theory based, with very little numbers. I liked Industrial Economics because it was maths that actually used numbers and could be applied to real economic theory.