Course details

Summary

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.

Courses

100-level courses

UC offers a major and a minor in Economics as part of the Bachelor of Commerce (BCom).

The first-year, 100-level courses required to complete a BCom majoring in Economics are:

ACCT102 Accounting and Financial Information

ECON104 Introduction to Microeconomics or ECON199 (a STAR course for secondary school students)

ECON105 Introduction to Macroeconomics

INFO123 Information Systems and Technology

MGMT100 Fundamentals of Management

STAT101 Statistics 1

Plus 30 points from 100-level Commerce or any other UC courses.

200-level and beyond

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.

Career opportunities

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, Treasury, Health, Social Development, Agriculture and Forestry, and Foreign Affairs and Trade). Graduates also find work in marketing organisations, the Reserve Bank, Statistics New Zealand, trading and merchant banks, stock broking, 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.

Further study

The Certificate in Science can be used as a stepping stone to a Bachelor of Science.

Entry criteria

Admission to UC with University Entrance, or equivalent, is required to enrol for a Certificate in Arts. Applicants must have completed New Zealand University Entrance through NCEA; or Cambridge International Examinations (CIE); or International Baccalaureate Diploma (IB) or any other equivalent overseas qualification.

Other English language requirements: TOEFL PBT with a minimum score of 550 and TWE with a minimum score of 4.5; CCEL EAP Level 2 with a minimum C+ grade; CAE or CPE minimum score of 169 with at least 162 in reading, writing, listening and speaking; Pearson Test of English (Academic) - PTE with an overall score of 57 and no PTE communicative skills score below 50.