Financial Economics

Our BSc Financial Economics will provide you with a core set of technically demanding, yet applications-oriented, skills in financial economics and an extensive knowledge of the financial sector. You will acquire the knowledge and skills needed for working in professions requiring economic and financial literacy and gain hands-on experience in academic research and data analysis.

This is a rigorous course that combines an open admissions policy with high standards. Where there are gaps in your previous education we will fill those gaps, but you will also achieve the same standard of training in the core skills of finance and economics as in any other financial economics degree in the UK. The course is fairly demanding in terms of its use of quantitative techniques. If you have not studied maths for some time, we offer an intensive two-week evening preliminary or refresher course prior to the start of the degree.

The course features two routes, which allow you to focus either on the technical or the applied aspects of financial economics.

If you opt for the Foundation Year route, this will fully prepare you for undergraduate study. It is ideal if you are returning to study after a gap, or if you have not previously studied the relevant subjects, or if you didn't achieve the grades you need for a place on your chosen undergraduate degree.

This course has an evening timetable with lectures, seminars and classes taking place in the evening.

Highlights

Birkbeck was ranked in the top 25 universities in the UK for its Economics and Econometrics research in the 2021 Research Excellence Framework.

The course offers a well-integrated interdisciplinary core, allowing you to obtain a broad and balanced perspective, while the unique two-pathway structure allows you to tailor your studies and focus on either the technical or the applied aspects of financial economics.

We have an excellent reputation for the quality of our teaching, providing training for employers such as the Treasury and the Bank of England.

You will be taught by academics who are professional practitioners in the world of economics and international finance, and who provide specialist advice and in-house training for government departments and City firms and banks.

We bring together research and teaching across economics and finance, mathematics and statistics in a single department, which creates significant interdisciplinary synergies.

Goldman Sachs and Birkbeck Diversity Scholarships are available for this course for students from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) backgrounds.

Careers and employability

Graduates can pursue career paths in the financial sector or economics. Possible professions include:

financial risk analyst

bank manager

economist

statistician.

We offer a comprehensive careers service - Careers and Enterprise - your career partner during your time at Birkbeck and beyond. At every stage of your career journey, we empower you to take ownership of your future, helping you to make the connection between your experience, education and future ambitions.