Programme Specifications

The relevant QAA ‘Framework for Higher Education Qualifications” can be found here: http://www.qaa.ac.uk/Publications/InformationAndGuidance/Pages/The-framework-for-higher-education-qualifications-in-England-Wales-and-Northern-Ireland.aspx

Economics

January 2016

January 2013

• Provide training in the principles of economics and their application appropriate to the type of degree concerned: single honours, joint honours or combined studies
• Stimulate students intellectually through the study of economics and to lead them to appreciate its application to a range of problems and its relevance in a variety of contexts
• Provide a firm foundation of knowledge about the workings of economic systems and to develop the relevant skills for the constructive use of that knowledge in a range of settings
• Develop in students the ability to apply the knowledge and skills they have acquired to the solution of theoretical and applied problems in economics
• Equip students with appropriate tools of analysis to tackle issues and problems of economic policy
• Develop in students, through the study of economics, a range of generic skills that will be of value in employment and self-employment
• Provide students with analytical skills and an ability to develop simplifying frameworks for studying the real world. They should be able to appreciate what would be appropriate levels of abstraction in order to study a range of economic issues
• Provide students with the knowledge and skill base, from which they can proceed to further studies in economics, related areas or in multidisciplinary areas that involve economics
• Generate in students an appreciation of the economic dimension of wider social, political and environmental issues.

Intended learning outcomes

The learning outcomes of this programme are designed to meet the expectations of the latest QAA benchmarking statement for Economics (2007). The programme provides opportunities for students to develop and demonstrate knowledge and understanding, skills, qualities and other attributes in the following areas.

The learning outcomes of this programme are designed to meet the expectations of the Benchmarking Statement for Politics and International Relations. The structure and the delivery of the degree scheme recognizes the need to achieve an appropriate balance between the acquisition of subject specific knowledge, and the development of discipline specific and generic skills. Integrating these two components is a central feature of the learning outcomes. The programme provides opportunities for students to develop and demonstrate knowledge, understanding, qualities, skills and other attributes in the following areas:

A knowledge and understanding of:

1. The evolution of the international system from Westphalia to the present day

2. Key debates in the history of International Relations as a discipline

3. The core theories and concepts in the field

4. The core theories and concepts in the field

5. The key actors in international relations

6. The key dynamics, processes and problems facing contemporary Global Politics.

7. How these approaches help us to explain and understand events in the world

Teaching/learning and assessment methods:

Acquisition of 1-7 is through lectures, seminars, assessed coursework, exams and independent research. Students also learn through participation in discipline-specific student societies and public lectures as well as through other public resources such as newsprint media, TV, radio and the internet. Throughout, students are encouraged to undertake independent reading to supplement, consolidate and broaden individual knowledge and understanding of the subject. Knowledge and understanding (1-7) is tested through a combination of unseen and pre-seen written examinations (1-7), essays (1-7), dissertation (1-7, depending upon topic) and may, depending on option choices, include seminar presentations, reports, literature searches, book or film reviews, e-portfolios, learning logs or blogs. Students also learn through self-reflection when completing their entries to the Careers Development Programme.

To achieve these aims, the Economics Minor degree comprises the following elements:

1. Understanding of relevant mathematical and statistical techniques.
2. Critical understanding of analytical methods, both theory and model-based.
3. Appreciation of the history and development of economic ideas and the differing methods of analysis that have been and are used by economists.
4. Ability to apply core economic theory and economic reasoning to applied topics.
5. Ability to relate differences in economic policy recommendations to differences in the theoretical and empirical features of the economic analysis, which underlie such recommendations.
6. Ability to discuss, analyse and evaluate government policy and to assess the performance of the UK and other economies and of the global economy.
7. Understanding of verbal, graphical, mathematical and econometric representation of economic ideas and analysis, including the relationship between them.
8. Ability to use appropriate techniques to enable manipulation, treatment and interpretation of the relevant statistical data. 9. Knowledge and appreciation of the nature, sources and uses of economic data, both quantitative and qualitative.

Teaching, learning and assessment methods used to enable outcomes to be achieved and demonstrated

Lectures, tutorials, seminars and problem based scenarios, group work, presentations and computer practicals. Dissemination of individual module outlines complete with reading lists, assessment methods and assignment instructions. Contact with module co-ordinators and lecturers. Feedback on assignments. University e-learning facility (ALTO).

Assessment -
Coursework - planning, preparatory research, writing and feedback.
Examination - seen, unseen and open book.
Project work - case studies, presentations and group work

Intellectual Skills:

1. Identify, describe and evaluate different approaches

2. Identify and research issues

3. Apply concepts, theories and ideas to concrete cases

4. Identify, investigate and formulate solutions to intellectual problems

5. Critically reason, analyse and interpret data and ideas

6. Demonstrate and exercise independence of mind

7. Reflect on experience of learning and adjust intellectual strategies accordingly

8. The ability to apply acquired knowledge to solving hypothetical or actual problems

9. The ability to distinguish relevance and irrelevance

10. Recognition that problems often have more than one solution

Teaching and learning methods and Assessment:

While lectures introduce students to topics and ideas, the development of intellectual skills takes place when students engage with the topic themselves and interact with others in the intellectual learning community both during discussions (in seminars, where tutors seek to guide and develop intellectual skills, and wider public debate), and in the process of reading and writing notes, essays or examinations. Reflection and self assessment are also integral to the learning of intellectual skills. Tutors form impressions of, and assess, a student's ability and progress through contact with students in seminars and in the assessment of written work. Intellectual skills (1-10) are assessed primarily in essay and examination performance, plus the other methods of assessment set out above. The published assessment criteria reflect these intellectual skills that in turn are mirrored in the feedback to students. Students can assess their own performance by gauging their rate of progress in comparison to that of their peers, and in the light of tutor's comments. Students are free to discuss the informal development and assessment of such skills during staff office hours. Personal learning (7) is not formally assessed but relative success is reflected in a student's ability to improve over time. Personal learning is also enhanced through engagement with the Careers Development Programme process.

Professional Practical Skills:

1. Seek, extract and effectively annotate information from a range of sources

2. Prioritise and organise information and deploy it as evidence in argument

3. Plan, undertake and complete written work (to strict deadlines) suitable for different audiences or tasks

4. Identify and retrieve relevant and up to date information

5. Collate information and arguments at short notice to answer specific questions

6. Express informed opinions through written work and discussion.

7. Listen and respond appropriately to the opinions of others

8. Formulate questions and explore links between divergent topics

9. Learn from experience

Teaching and learning methods and assessment:

All core modules, and in particular those taught at Part One, contain elements which directly address the development of practical skills (1-8). The process of writing essays, reports and presentations etc (1-6) and preparing for examinations (1-6, 9) allows the student to hone skills through practice, guided by feedback from tutors. Discussion in seminars or engagement with debate in public fora leads students to improve their intellectual communication skills (2, 5-9). Students also learn and improve such skills through personal reflection on their learning experience and purposeful adaptation of their learning methods; a process reflected upon in all modules. Personal learning is also enhanced through engagement with the Careers Development Programme process.

10.2.1 Cognitive and intellectual skills

Students should be able to demonstrate a range of cognitive and intellectual skills together with techniques specific to economics. Key intellectual features that characterise the economist's approach include (no particular order of importance):

1. First there is the ability to abstract and simplify in order to identify and model the essence of a problem.
2. Second is the ability to analyse and reason - both deductively and inductively.
3. Third is the ability to marshal evidence and to assimilate, structure, analyse and evaluate qualitative and quantitative data.
4. Fourth is the ability to communicate results concisely to a wide audience, including those with no training in economics.
5. Fifth is the ability to think critically about the limits of one's analysis in a broader socio-economic context.
6. Sixth is the ability to draw economic policy inferences, to recognise the potential constraints in their implementation and to evaluate the efficacy of policy outcomes in the light of stated policy objectives.

Teaching, learning and assessment methods used to enable outcomes to be achieved and demonstrated

Lectures, tutorials, seminars and problem based scenarios, group work, presentations and computer practicals. Individual module outlines complete with reading lists distributed. Contact with module co-ordinators and lecturers. Feedback on assignments. On-line information.

Assessment -
Coursework - planning, preparatory research, writing and feedback.
Examination - seen, unseen and open book.
Project work - case studies, presentations and group work.

10.2.2 Subject specific skills

Economics graduates should also possess subject-specific, rigorous skills. These skills may be summarised as follows.

1. Abstraction. From the study of economic principles and models, students see how one can abstract the essential features of complex systems and provide a useable framework for evaluation and assessment of the effects of policy or other exogenous events. Through this, the typical student will acquire proficiency in how to simplify while still retaining relevance. This is an approach that they can then apply in other contexts, thereby becoming more effective problem-solvers and decision-makers.
2. Analysis, deduction and induction. Economic reasoning is highly deductive, and logical analysis is applied to assumption-based models. However, inductive reasoning is also important. The development of such analytical skills enhances students' problem-solving and decision-making ability.
3. Quantification and design. Data, and their effective organisation, presentation and analysis, are important in economics. The typical student will have some familiarity with the principal sources of economic information and data relevant o industry, commerce, society and government, and have had practice in organising it and presenting it informatively. This skill is important at all stages in the decision-making process.
4. Framing. Through the study of economics, a student should learn how to decide what should be taken as given or fixed for the purposes of setting up and solving a problem, ie what the important 'parameters' are in constraining the solution to the problem. Learning to think about how and why these parameters might change encourages a student to place the economic problem in its broader social and political context. This 'framing' skill is important in determining the decision-maker's ability to implement the solutions to problems.

• Work independently
• Work in a team
• Respect the views and beliefs of others
• Listen
• Communicate orally
• Communicate in writing
• Communicate electronically
• Word-process
• Use the Web
• Manage time and work to deadlines
• Research issues
• Solve problems
• Adapt to change
• Develop career awareness

From learning economic principles, the typical student acquires a facility with some key concepts that are present in most of the decision problems that they are likely to face subsequently in their careers. This transferability is evidenced by the wide range of careers into which graduates in economics move. The development of these skills is particularly emphasised in the course of an undergraduate degree through the study of economic principles and economic methods.

Key skills include:

1. Communicate effectively, orally and in writing, using a range of media and formats which are widely used in Economics and its applications.
2. Demonstrate effective self-management in terms of time, planning and behaviour, motivation, self-starting, individual initiative and enterprise.
3. Demonstrate self reflection and criticality including self awareness, openness and sensitivity to diversity in terms of people, cultures, and the impact of economic decisions on a wide range of issues.
4. Demonstrate the skills of learning to learn and developing a continuing appetite for learning; reflective, adaptive and collaborative learning.

Students should also be able to demonstrate mastery of the following key concepts:
5. Opportunity cost - a problem solver or decision-maker must routinely ask 'what would have to be given up if...', where the answer does not always involve a simply calculated financial cost. It is often the case that actions are proposed that fail to recognise forgone alternatives. Opportunity cost allows the economist to think about the costs in terms of all resources. There are many examples of economic policies which enhance efficiency yet reduce equity and vice-versa, or where gains in one time period involve costs in other time periods. All of these examples encourage an appreciation of inevitable trade-offs.
6. Incentives - economists are trained to recognise and evaluate the incentives implied by particular rules, and how to establish sets of rules that actually lead people to react in ways that give rise to some intended outcome. The ability to think logically about these issues is essential in the effective design of both policy and strategy
7. Equilibrium, disequilibrium and stability - these are concepts that economists make heavy use of and the typical graduate will have seen these deployed in economic argument with great regularity. The concept of equilibrium is a state where no participant has any incentive to change behaviour. The ability to recognise disequilibria and appreciate their stability properties, and to think coherently about reactions to this, are essential ingredients of good decision-making
8. Strategic thinking - economists learn the importance of strategic thinking, and the roles of opportunities, strategies, outcomes, information and motivation in the analysis of strategic actions, including conflict, bargaining and negotiation
9. Expectations and surprises - economists learn that behaviour partly depends on experience and partly on peoples' perceptions of what is expected to happen. Thus behaviour may change when unanticipated events occur. Effective decision-making requires the skill of reacting in a context where people's behaviour is based on expectations that may be confounded by subsequent surprises. Students in economics will have been exposed to these issues and this will enhance their potential effectiveness as decision-makers
10. The relevance of marginal considerations - economists are trained to recognise that important decisions often relate to small variations in key variables and parameters. An action is worth undertaking if the additional benefit that accrues is greater than the additional cost incurred. The typical student in economics will be fully aware of the importance of the margin relative to the average
11. The possible gains from voluntary exchange - economists study and measure the net gains that people, institutions and countries can obtain from economic interaction in the form of specialisation, employment, exchange and trade. The identification and measurement of gains relative to costs and the barriers to maximising net gains are important in devising appropriate policies to optimise the use of scarce resources with respect to various individual, institutional, political, social and environmental objectives
12. Systems and dynamics - many economic decisions or events can start a complex chain of events. Economists gain an understanding of the interrelationships between economic phenomena and how effects can accumulate or die away. The ability to see beyond the direct or short-term effects is a crucial insight that economists can bring to analysing the effects of both deliberate decisions and external shocks.

Teaching, learning and assessment methods used to enable outcomes to be achieved and demonstrated

Formal teaching in lectures. Use of seminars and tutorials to reinforce subject teaching, often by means of problem based scenarios and case studies. Guided learning is provided by individual module outlines and supplementary reading lists specifying sources of relevant information, available in hard copy and on blackboard. Group work and presentations may be used as appropriate. Prompt feedback on assignments is provided.