Social Sciences: Economics, University of Southampton

The purpose of this programme is to provide you with a broad-based programme covering topics in mathematics, operational research, statistics and economics. These different topics are related in that they all rely on using mathematical methods to formulate, model, analyze and solve a wide range of problems.

OPERATIONAL RESEARCH: The efficient and effective management of many organisations relies on solution of problems with a significant mathematical content. This programme introduces you to the most important of the mathematical methods used in formulating and solving such problems. As well as being mathematically interesting, it thus equips you with skills and an expertise that is in very high demand in a truly wide range of businesses and organisations, spanning public and private corporations both large and small.

STATISTICS: A training in statistics offers a unique range of challenges and provides opportunities to work on a large variety of important problems in industry, environmental science, medical research, social science and within the government. Statisticians analyse uncertain data where the source of uncertainty may be due to measurement error, experimental error, sampling error or modelling error. The common language of all uncertain conditions is probability.

ECONOMICS: Mathematics is being applied increasingly in the social sciences, in particular in economics. Mathematical tools are used to formulate models of the complex interactions in an economic system. For example, what would be the effect on U.K. inflation of joining the European single currency? How should firms evaluate risky research and development projects? Why might an increase in union bargaining power in a country increase its share of world markets? Mathematical models are also used to help address ethical issues: should a developing country try to protect its domestic industries from foreign competition? Ought the government to provide state pensions, and if so what form should they take? Economists also use statistical techniques to test how well models like those above explain, and ultimately predict, what happens in an economy. Special statistical techniques called econometrics are required to take account of the fact that data available to economists are not derived from carefully controlled laboratory experiments, but come from the real world.

While studying for your degree, you will develop key study and work skills including written and oral communication, the use of IT, team working, time management and basic research skills including the use of the web and the library.

The programme is centred on a coherent framework of study but incorporates flexibility so that there is ample opportunity to choose topics of special interest to you.

The programme is delivered on a semester pattern, each semester being of 14 weeks duration. The last two weeks of each semester are set aside for examinations. The programme requires three years of full-time study, and may lead to a BSc Honours degree in MORSE: Mathematics, Operational Research, Statistics and Economics. Students take eight 7.5 ECTS (15 CATS points) modules each year, four each semester. The degree programme comprises core and compulsory Mathematics (including Operational Research and Statistics) and Economics modules, which occupy the whole of the first year, and parts of the second and third years, together with options chosen by you.

In addition there are the following exit points:

• Certificate of Higher Education (CertHE), following successful completion of Part I.
• Diploma of Higher Education (DipHE), following successful completion of Part II.
• Ordinary Degree of MORSE (BSc (Ordinary)), following the successful completion of at least 150 ECTS (300 CATS points), including 30 ECTS (60 CATS points) in Level 3 modules.

Each of Part I, Part II, and Part III carries 60 ECTS (120 CATS points).