Economics, Finance and International Business - 2012 entry
BSc (Hons)
- single
Typical A-level offer: BBC or equivalent
Overview
Robert Simmons talks to our students
This course is run by the Business School
If you want a career in business, government or the not-for-profit sector as an economist or financial analyst then this course will give you the knowledge, techniques and practical skills that employers are looking for. You will graduate with a broad knowledge of business from an international perspective and have specialist expertise in economic, financial and business analysis, preparing you for a role with skills in management, critical thinking and analysis.
We have links with leading employers in finance, manufacturing and services, enabling you to combine your classroom-based learning with input from company-based professionals, field visits and international placements.
Why Brookes?
If you have commercial ambition, if you wish to join a global blue chip company, work in an entrepreneurial sector or one day start your own business, then a degree from Oxford Brookes University Business School provides you with practical experience, critical thinking and management skills, as well as the contacts to succeed in industry.
We are the only business school to host a Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (in assessment) as well as the two national Higher Education Academy Subject Centres in business and management disciplines (Business, Management, Accounting and Finance, and Hospitality, Leisure, Sport and Tourism), putting us at the centre of business education in the UK.
We prepare you for a successful career. Our courses are academically rigorous and our teaching and learning methods make them exciting, fun and interesting to study. Along with studying the necessary theory, you will learn how to apply theory to the real world of business through the work placement scheme, visits by experts from the world of business and the insight provided by our commercially-experienced staff.
We take an international approach to teaching business and place a strong emphasis on making sure you have the skills that employers are looking for. When you graduate you will be confident and comfortable making presentations, working in diverse teams, communicating ideas, solving problems innovatively and managing yourself and others.
Ask any student, past or present, about their time at Oxford Brookes University Business School and the chances are that they will tell you about the friendly and supportive environment. Whatever your background or needs, you will find a warm welcome and ongoing support to ensure that you achieve your career goals.
Teaching, learning and assessment
Business at Oxford Brookes is known internationally for its learning and teaching, evidenced by the achievement of top scores in the last quality review. We adopt an innovative approach to teaching, which helps your learning experience to be vibrant and engaging. You will develop skills in critical enquiry along with a firm grounding in business practice which, together, enable you to confidently take on the demands of graduate jobs in leading international businesses.
We firmly believe learning should be exciting as well as challenging. You are encouraged to take an active approach to your studies through, for example, problem-solving classes, dragons’ den type assessments involving local employers, and working with actors to develop presentation skills. We want you to enjoy developing the skills you will need to succeed in the competitive business world.
Throughout the course you will have close contact with your academic adviser and you will be taught through workshops and seminar discussions supplemented and supported by lectures. You will be able to participate in activities such as group presentations, role plays, analysis of numerical data, discussions of topical material (for example newspaper articles, videos and websites) and computer-based simulations.
Lectures, seminars and workshops will be supplemented by a range of activities undertaken outside class. These will include a substantial e-learning component to the degree, providing the opportunity to undertake self-study quizzes and diagnostic assessments, to participate in online discussion groups and to work in groups to prepare wikis as part of the assessment process. E-learning activities will be complementary to face-to-face learning, forming part of a blended approach.
The degree will incorporate outside speakers and field trips wherever possible. Practitioners from outside academia are employed to run workshops at specific points in order to provide specialised input which can help to develop particular skills. Examples here might be the use of professional actors to develop presentation skills and financial journalists to develop investigative and research skills.
You will benefit from ongoing, in-depth specific feedback on your work, rather than relying only on summative feedback at the end of modules. You will know specifically what areas to focus on with your academic adviser to develop you for your future career.
Learning outcomes
As an Economics, Finance and International Business graduate, you will be able to:
- demonstrate understanding of the core economic and financial principles and policy from both national and international perspectives
- apply economic and financial analysis to practical problems in the context of markets and organisations
- understand how business decision making is constrained by cultural and social contexts at both an international and national level
- develop a holistic perspective, recognising the links between business, economic and financial decision-making
- extract the essential features of economic and financial theories, models and behaviour to provide a framework for understanding, evaluation and prediction
- formulate and analyse economic and financial arguments through the construction of assumption-based models (both quantitative and qualitative) and by the application of inductive and deductive reasoning
- evaluate economic and financial theories and interpret business behaviour through the quantitative or qualitative analysis of empirical data
- apply the knowledge, understanding and disciplinary skills of the economic and financial strategist to the analysis of international business behaviour and the formulation of effective business strategy
- use economic and financial reasoning to evaluate the effects of government policies on business and to predict the consequences of alternative policy choices.
In addition you will have developed the following transferable skills:
- self-management
- communication
- teamwork
- problem solving, including numeracy
- IT skills.
In detail
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Course content
International businesses are always looking ahead to new opportunities and challenges. They need the best possible employees to help shape their strategies and provide educated advice to make important decisions. This course gives you a well-informed overview of the world’s major markets and their leading players, and provides you with the necessary skills for these challenges.
We introduce you to the key issues involved in international production, investment and trade and give you the skills in economic analysis and modelling which can inform complex decision-making. You can view the course structure here. The course includes an innovative second-year module, Skills and Knowledge of a Graduate Economist, which is designed on the basis of research and discussion about what employers really want from economists in the world of work. Above all, you will gain the confidence to apply your expertise in practice by ensuring that you can create detailed and well-informed reports, present arguments persuasively, think critically and strategically, and work co-operatively in cross-cultural teams.
In your final year the Synoptic Module in Economics, Finance and International Business will be based around independant project work and will reinforce your exposure to strategic analysis at the international level.
You will join a community of learners and will be fully supported in your learning throughout your time at Brookes, developing transferable skills alongside knowledge of macro and micro economics, accounting and finance, international finance and global business strategy.
Our approach is to blend critical enquiry with practice, which means that you will explore economic, financial and international business issues and problems that are set in a real-world context, allowing theory to be considered in a variety of contemporary global situations. This ensures that you develop the necessary transferable skills for the dynamic world of modern business.
Year 1
You are introduced to the course through the week-long induction programme, including a social event for the group.
In the first year you will be introduced to the fundamental concepts that underpin economics and finance in an international business setting. The modules include introductory microeconomics and macroeconomics and will cover the use of accounting and financial information. An introduction to communicaion and team working skills and the development of quantitative skills will take place in the compulsory Year 1 modules on Global Business Communication and Interpreting Economic and Financial Data.
You can then choose two electives from within the school or across the university.
Years 2, 3 and 4
The start of the second year has been identified as a key moment for students, and the module on Skills and Knowledge of a Graduate Economist in Semester 1 will introduce you to the changes in approaches to study required of Year 2 students compared to first-year work. This will be supplemented by a set of social and discussion-based events which also help you consider extracurricular aspects of moving into your second year.
Your understanding of the theory and practice of economics and finance, and its relevance to international organisations, will be extended and developed in intermediate micro and macroeconomics as well as in modules covering international finance, international markets and competition and international labour markets.
Year 3
You have the opportunity to undertake a placement year in the field of economics, finance and international business.
Year 4 (Year 3 if you are not taking a work placement)
In your final year you will take a synoptic (or capstone) module which brings together the various aspects of the course through a project based on a field visit to an organisation abroad, organised with one of the international partners of the Business School. This module also includes a reflective assignment dealing with preparation for careers or further study after Oxford Brookes, which is supplemented by activities with the university careers service, visiting speakers, employers and alumni.
The final year also includes compulsory modules dealing with key topical issues in the areas of finance and economics. There is a range of optional modules including the chance to undertake an independent study research project.
Work placements
Students have enjoyed exciting and intellectually-challenging positions at Microsoft, the Government Economic Service, Rolls-Royce, Oxford Economic Forecasting, Marriott, Four Seasons, Caterpillar, Innocent, Hewlett-Packard and a host of other organisations, many of which operate internationally.
Study abroad
You have the opportunity to study abroad for a semester. Our exchange partners include Burgundy Business School, Copenhagen Business School, International Business School in Budapest, Nebrija University Madrid and LIUC Milan. All teaching in the exchanges takes place in English.
Further information about exchanges, European work placements and other study abroad programmes, is available here.
Free language courses for students - the Open Module
Free language courses are available to all full-time undergraduate and postgraduate students who are studying any course on our Headington (including Marston Road), Harcourt Hill or Wheatley Campuses, and can be taken as a credit on some courses.
Key facts
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- Accounting and Finance
- Business, Management and Communications
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- International Business
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Department
Course length
Full-time: 3 years, or 4 if a work placement is chosen
Part-time: up to 8 years
Teaching location
Wheatley Campus
Start date
September
2012
January
2013
UCAS code
LN13 BSc/DF
Fees / funding
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RELATED COURSES:
- Accounting and Finance
- Business, Management and Communications
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- Business Management
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- Information Technology Management for Business
- International Business
- International Business Management
- International Hospitality Management
Tuition fees
UK/EU students
Full-time: £9,000
Part-time: £750 per module. You can take up to five modules per academic year.
Tuition fees
International students
Full-time: £11,200
Questions about fees?
Contact Student Finance on:
+44 (0)1865 483088
finance-fees@brookes.ac.uk
Funding and scholarships
For general sources of financial support, see:
Apply / Entry reqs
DOWNLOADS
RELATED COURSES:
- Accounting and Finance
- Business, Management and Communications
- Business
- Business Management
- Business and Enterprise
- Business and Management
- Business and Marketing Management
- Economics, Politics and International Relations
- Information Technology Management for Business
- International Business
- International Business Management
- International Hospitality Management
Typical offers
A-level: BBC or equivalent
IB Diploma: 30 points
Advanced Diploma: grade B, including A-level at grade B
BTEC National Diploma: DMM
AS-levels will be recognised in place of a maximum of 1 A-level (may include 12-unit vocational A-level). Key skills are not required but would be a positive feature of an application, as would free-standing AS-levels such Critical Thinking.
Specific entry requirements
GCSE: Mathematics (grade B or above) and English (grade C or above)
Please also see the university's general entry requirements.
Please also see the university's general entry requirements.
English language requirements
Please see the university's standard English language requirements.
English language requirements for visas
If you need a student visa to enter the UK you will need to meet the UK Border Agency's minimum language requirements as well as the university's requirements. Find out more about English language requirements.
Full-time students should apply for this course through UCAS.
Part-time students should apply directly to the university.
Conditions of acceptance
When you accept our offer you agree to the conditions of acceptance. You should therefore read those conditions before accepting the offer.
Credit transfer
Oxford Brookes operates the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS). All undergraduate single modules are equivalent to 7.5 ECTS credits and double modules to 15 ECTS credits. More about ECTS credits.
Student experience
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RELATED COURSES:
- Accounting and Finance
- Business, Management and Communications
- Business
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- Business and Enterprise
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- International Business
- International Business Management
- International Hospitality Management
Why Oxford is a great place to study Economics, Finance and International Business
As one of the most famous cities in the world, Oxford offers everything any student could want and more. It is a bustling and stunning cosmopolitan city with excellent shopping, restaurants, cafes, pubs and clubs.
Situated in the heart of rural England and home to 150,000 people, Oxford offers students a clean and safe environment less than an hour from London and international airports.
Oxford is not only a centre of education but also has a growing hi-tech community. Many businesses are located in Oxford and there are an increasing number of business parks in the surrounding area.
The department is based at Wheatley, a leafy 80-acre site just 25 minutes from Oxford on the inter-campus Brookes Bus service. Wheatley campus has a wide range of sports facilities and there are pubs and shops in the nearby village.
Specialist facilities
The Simon Williams Undergraduate Centre is an innovative social learning space for the use of Business School undergraduates, based on Wheatley Campus. It provides a welcoming, vibrant atmosphere in which students can socialise, study, work collaboratively, and grab a drink and something to eat.
Completed in 2007, the building is 'a breath of fresh air' - a bright, open space, filled with the most up-to-date technology, and featuring a cafe which serves high quality food and refreshments. It includes workstations and areas for collaborative working, plus facilities for practising, recording and reviewing group presentations. In addition, there is a Business School teaching room on the first floor, which is equipped with state-of-the-art presentation technology, as well as the Undergraduate Office, the Placements Office and other student-facing staff offices.
The aim of the centre is to provide a space in which both students and staff can interact, collaborate and share ideas.
General support services
Supporting your learning
From academic advisers and support co-ordinators to specialist subject librarians and other learning support staff, we want to ensure that you get the best out of your studies.
Personal support services
We want your time at Brookes to be as enjoyable and successful as possible. That's why we provide all the facilities you need to be relaxed, happy and healthy throughout your studies.
Accommodation
At Brookes we understand that when you live away from home it's important to be somewhere that you feel comfortable and safe.
After graduation
DOWNLOADS
RELATED COURSES:
- Accounting and Finance
- Business, Management and Communications
- Business
- Business Management
- Business and Enterprise
- Business and Management
- Business and Marketing Management
- Economics, Politics and International Relations
- Information Technology Management for Business
- International Business
- International Business Management
- International Hospitality Management
Career prospects
This degree will give you the skills to work as an economist in the private, public or not-for-profit sector; in financial management, corporate finance, or investment banking; or as a business analyst. Recent graduates from our economics programmes have been recruited by a wide variety of organisations including the Government Economic Service, Unilever, Siemens and Liverpool Victoria, the UK’s largest Friendly Society.
Our aim is to give you a challenging and rewarding experience and to prepare you for employment. Our active careers office ensures that you have help in finding the right job for your specific skills.
