Economics
Qualifications
Overview
Economics is the study of how people behave. Every day, people and society are confronted by choices. Should you go to university or start a career? What should you do with your next dollar? Should the government raise the minimum wage, or not? How do we address the big issues in the world, such as poverty and climate change?
Choices involve trade-offs where we are choosing between two things. The outcomes of choices have both costs and benefits to consider. Economics is the study of how people and societies make such decisions in the production, exchange, distribution, and consumption of goods and services.
- At UC, students can specialise in Economics or study it alongside other disciplines. As Economics can be studied as part of an Arts, Commerce, or Science degree, you can decide which combination suits your personal strengths and interests best. Common combinations include studying Economics with Finance, Political Science and International Relations, Psychology, and Mathematics. Students who wish to combine the study of Economics with another business discipline as part of a BCom degree may be interested in the Business Economics major.
- There is a 'compact study route' available, which is a pathway for students looking to combine Economics with another major or another degree but who have little interest in postgraduate study in the subject. Visit the Department of Economics and Finance website for more information on this route.
- The Department of Economics and Finance operates a consultancy project and internship programme where students have the opportunity to gain real world experience that enhances the valuable work-ready skills that an Economics degree provides.
While previous study of economics is useful preparation, it is not essential to have studied this subject at secondary school.
Students can major in Economics without having to take any mathematics. However, students who wish to keep open the option of progressing to postgraduate study in Economics are strongly advised to include calculus, statistics, and modelling in their Year 13 programme.
A broad education, including history and English, is useful to develop the ability to write clearly and analyse written material.
Students with very good Year 13 results in economics may be offered direct entry to 200-level Economics courses at the discretion of the Head of Department.
UC offers a major in Economics as part of the Bachelor of Science, and as a major and minor within the Bachelor of Arts and the Bachelor of Commerce.
100-level courses
The first-year, 100-level courses required to complete a BCom majoring in Economics are:
- ACCT 102 Accounting and Financial Information
- ECON 104 Introduction to Microeconomics (or ECON 199, a STAR course for secondary school students)
- ECON 105 Introduction to Macroeconomics
- INFO 123 Information Systems and Technology
- MGMT 100 Fundamentals of Management
- STAT 101 Statistics 1
- Plus 30 points from 100-level Commerce or any other UC courses.
For the complete, three-year Bachelor of Commerce Economics major degree plan and minor courses, see the UC Business School | Te Kura Umanga website.
200-level courses
Students who wish to major in Economics are required to take Intermediate Microeconomics and Intermediate Macroeconomics. Econometrics is also required for postgraduate study. Your other course choices should be determined by your interests and strengths, and there are a range of options to choose from.
Graduates in Economics find employment in many areas of government and business, where it is recognised that an economist's education provides valuable specialist training for a professional career as well as good general preparation and background for an executive, entrepreneurial, or administrative career.
The increasingly large volume of information available to decision makers has created a demand for people with well-developed quantitative analysis skills, such as those developed in econometrics.
Professional economists are employed to conduct research and give advice on economic matters in various organisations such as government ministries and state-owned enterprises (eg, Kaitohutohu Kaupapa Rawa | Treasury, Health, Social Development, Agriculture and Forestry, and Manatū Aorere | Foreign Affairs and Trade). Graduates also find work in marketing organisations, Te Pūtea Matua | Reserve Bank, Tatauranga Aotearoa | Stats NZ, trading and merchant banks, stockbroking, insurance, trade commissions, local authorities, market research and other consultancies, and large businesses.
Those who are passionate about economics and education can also go on to teaching careers in schools or universities.
Find out more about what you can do with a degree in Economics.
Contact us
Department of Economics and Finance
Phone +64 3 369 3888
Email studybusiness@canterbury.ac.nz
Location
Reception Level 2, Meremere Building – see campus maps
Postal address
College of Business and Law | Te Rāngai Umanga me te Ture
University of Canterbury | Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha
Private Bag 4800
Christchurch 8140
New Zealand
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