Why is something as superfluous as diamonds so costly, but something as essential as water so cheap? How can the cost of the coffee beans make up only a few cents of the price of a cup of coffee? With the world’s highest minimum wage rate, can Australia ever compete with low wage countries?

The ANU Bachelor of Economics provides a framework and a way of thinking to help answer questions like these. Your coursework will span economics (both theory and applied), economic history, and econometrics while developing your analytical problem-solving and quantitative skills.

Whether working as an economist or in some other role, your Bachelor of Economics degree and training will be sought after.

When undertaking the Bachelor of Visual Arts at the ANU, you will be immersed in a program of rigorous scholarship and intensive studio practice, tailored to your aspirations and informed by internationally renowned art practitioners within Australia’s top-ranking university. You will graduate with the essential creative skills and critical knowledge to address the grand challenges of a rapidly changing world.

You will develop deep disciplinary knowledge and learn specialist skills offered across the School of Art and Design studio disciplines, including animation and video, ceramics, furniture, glass, hybrid art practice, jewellery and object, painting, photomedia, printmedia and drawing, sculpture and spatial practice, and textiles. You will extend your study through access to courses in the Centre for Art History and Art Theory, combined with access to electives from across the ANU.

Employment Opportunities

Economics provides a foundation for careers in:

• Public policy
• International development
•  Business and management
• Government and politics 
• Law
• Finance and insurance
• Teaching and education
• Marketing and tourism 
• Examples of job titles in economics are listed below.

Government Departments
Australian and overseas governments provide many career paths for economists.  Departments like Finance, Treasury, the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the Productivity Commission and the Australian Bureau of Agriculture and Resource Economics recruit heavily from the ANU.  Economists are also much in demand in other government departments dealing with issues such as Trade, Education, Employment and Social Security.  

Business and Management
Firms recruit economists because their advice is vital to businesses in understanding their business environment, how competitors react, and how changes in things such as interest rates, oil prices, exchange rates and consumer demand are likely to affect the business.  Consultancy and accounting firms employ economists to advise their clients which include both private firms and governments.

International Agencies
International agencies such as the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and Oxfam recruit economists to advise them on the effects of policy changes, financial crises and conflicts in one part of the global economy on another, as they are transmitted through trade and financial flows.  Economists advise on trade policy and macroeconomic policy coordination.

Resource and Environmental Economist
Economists are employed to study natural resource use and environmental problems and their relationship to economic behaviour.  Employers include mining firms and regulatory agencies.  Economists contribute to the better management of natural resources and improving the global environment.

Schools and Universities
There is a thriving national and international market for academic economists in High Schools / Colleges and Universities. 

Finance and Banking
Financial institutions including Banks, and in particular the Reserve Bank of Australia, actively recruit economists to advise them on the state of the economy and on risks from factors such as interest rate changes and exchange rate movements.

Economics provides a foundation for careers in:

• Public policy
• International development
•  Business and management
• Government and politics 
• Law
• Finance and insurance
• Teaching and education
• Marketing and tourism 
• Examples of job titles in economics are listed below.

Government Departments
Australian and overseas governments provide many career paths for economists.  Departments like Finance, Treasury, the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the Productivity Commission and the Australian Bureau of Agriculture and Resource Economics recruit heavily from the ANU.  Economists are also much in demand in other government departments dealing with issues such as Trade, Education, Employment and Social Security.  

Business and Management
Firms recruit economists because their advice is vital to businesses in understanding their business environment, how competitors react, and how changes in things such as interest rates, oil prices, exchange rates and consumer demand are likely to affect the business.  Consultancy and accounting firms employ economists to advise their clients which include both private firms and governments.

International Agencies
International agencies such as the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and Oxfam recruit economists to advise them on the effects of policy changes, financial crises and conflicts in one part of the global economy on another, as they are transmitted through trade and financial flows.  Economists advise on trade policy and macroeconomic policy coordination.

Resource and Environmental Economist
Economists are employed to study natural resource use and environmental problems and their relationship to economic behaviour.  Employers include mining firms and regulatory agencies.  Economists contribute to the better management of natural resources and improving the global environment.

Schools and Universities
There is a thriving national and international market for academic economists in High Schools / Colleges and Universities. 

Finance and Banking
Financial institutions including Banks, and in particular the Reserve Bank of Australia, actively recruit economists to advise them on the state of the economy and on risks from factors such as interest rate changes and exchange rate movements.

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of a Bachelor of Economics, graduates will be able to:

1. to solve economic problems using analytical reasoning;
2. apply economic analysis to a wide variety of economic issues;
3. use basic empirical estimation techniques to test economic predictions;
4. provide insight into the way that households and individuals make decisions and interact, and the role of government in providing public goods and regulating the market sector;
5. learn how to communicate rigorous economic analysis in a coherent way

1. apply technical skills and specialist knowledge to realise artworks, artefacts and related forms of creative expression;

2. demonstrate skills and knowledge of the practices, languages, forms, materials, technologies and techniques in the visual arts;

3. recognise and reflect on social, cultural and ethical issues, and apply historical and theoretical perspectives to practice in the visual arts;

4. develop, express and evaluate ideas, concepts and processes by thinking creatively, critically and reflectively;

5. interpret, communicate and present ideas, problems and arguments in modes suited to a range of audiences; and

6. work independently and collaboratively in response to project demands.

Further Information

• ECHI1006 The Australian Economy: Past and Present
• ECON2013 Behavioural Economics: Psychology and Economics
• ECON2900 Development Poverty and Famine(P)
• ECON2901 Development Poverty and Famine(H)

Students have 48 units of electives in a single degree program. Electives can be selected from CBE or other Colleges. No more than 10 courses at 1000 level.

Students wish to undertake an out of college elective may contact the relevant College directly.

Student Responsibility:

It is the student's responsibility to select electives in such a way that:

• they satisfy prerequisites for the corresponding course/s.
• they conform to the rules set out in Programs and Courses or if unsure seek advice from the CBE office.

It is the student's responsibility to select the courses appropriate for his/her program.

Study Plans:
Study Plans for Commencing Semester 1 or 2

• ECHI1006 The Australian Economy: Past and Present
• ECON2013 Behavioural Economics: Psychology and Economics
• ECON2900 Development Poverty and Famine(P)
• ECON2901 Development Poverty and Famine(H)

Students have 48 units of electives in a single degree program. Electives can be selected from CBE or other Colleges. No more than 10 courses at 1000 level.

Students wish to undertake an out of college elective may contact the relevant College directly.

Student Responsibility:

It is the student's responsibility to select electives in such a way that:

• they satisfy prerequisites for the corresponding course/s.
• they conform to the rules set out in Programs and Courses or if unsure seek advice from the CBE office.

It is the student's responsibility to select the courses appropriate for his/her program.

Study Plans:
Study Plans for Commencing Semester 1 or 2

Admission Requirements

At a minimum, all applicants must meet program-specific academic/non-academic requirements, and English language requirements. Admission to most ANU programs is on a competitive basis. Therefore, meeting all admission requirements does not guarantee entry into the program.

In line with the university's admissions policy and strategic plan, an assessment for admission may include competitively ranking applicants on the basis of specific academic achievement, English language proficiency and diversity factors.

The University reserves the right to alter or discontinue its programs and change admission requirements as needed.

Domestic applicants

Before applying for a program, you should review the general information about domestic undergraduate admission to ANU programs and how to apply, and the program-specific information below.

• Applicants with recent secondary education are assessed on:
  • completion of Australian Year 12 or equivalent, and the minimum Selection Rank (from their academic qualifications, plus any adjustment factors) requirement for this program; and
  • co-curricular or service requirement (applies to applicants who complete secondary education in the year prior to commencing at ANU); and
  • English language proficiency; and
  • any program-specific requirements listed below.
• Applicants with higher education study are assessed on:
  • previous higher education studies; or secondary education results if completed less than one full-time equivalent year (1.0 FTE) of a degree; or the result from a bridging or preparatory course; and
  • English language proficiency; and
  • any program-specific requirements listed below.
• Applicants with vocational education and training (VET) study are assessed on:
  • previously completed VET qualifications at AQF level 5 or higher (i.e. a Diploma or above); or secondary education results if the VET qualification is not completed; and
  • English language proficiency; and
  • any program-specific requirements listed below.
• Applicants with work and life experience are assessed on:
  • ATAR or equivalent if secondary education was completed; or the Special Adult Entry Scheme (SAES); or work experience; and
  • English language proficiency; and
  • any program-specific requirements listed below.

International applicants

Applicants who complete a recognised secondary/senior secondary/post-secondary/tertiary sequence of study will be assessed on the basis of an equivalent selection rank that is calculated upon application. A list of commonly observed international qualifications and corresponding admission requirements can be found here. Applicants must also meet any program specific requirements that are listed below.

Diversity factors & English language proficiency  
As Australia's national university, ANU is global representative of Australian research and education. ANU endeavours to recruit and maintain a diverse and deliberate student cohort representative not only of Australia, but the world. In order to achieve these outcomes, competitive ranking of applicants may be adjusted to ensure access to ANU is a reality for brilliant students from countries across the globe. If required, competitive ranking may further be confirmed on the basis of demonstrating higher-level English language proficiency.

Further information is available for English Language Requirements for Admission

Prerequisites

There are no formal program prerequisites. But assumed knowledge is:-ACT: Mathematical Methods (Major)/Further Mathematics/Specialist Mathematics (major)/ Specialist Methods or NSW: Mathematics or equivalent. More information about interstate subject equivalencies can be found here.

Adjustment Factors

Adjustment factors are additional points added to an applicant's Selection Rank (for example an applicant's ATAR). ANU offers adjustment factors based on performance and equity principles, such as for high achievement in nationally strategic senior secondary subjects and for recognition of difficult circumstances that students face in their studies. 

Selection Rank adjustments are granted in accordance with the approved schedules, and no more than 15 (maximum 5 subject/performance-based adjustment factors and maximum 10 equity-based adjustment factors) can be awarded. 

You may be considered for adjustment factors if you have:

• applied for an eligible ANU Bachelor degree program
• undertaken Australian Year 12 or the International Baccalaureate
• achieved an ATAR or equivalent at or above 70
• not previously attempted tertiary study.

Please visit the ANU Adjustment Factors website for further information.

Scholarships

ANU offers a wide range of scholarships to students to assist with the cost of their studies.

Eligibility to apply for ANU scholarships varies depending on the specifics of the scholarship and can be categorised by the type of student you are.  Specific scholarship application process information is included in the relevant scholarship listing.

For further information see the Scholarships website.

Program Requirements

The Bachelor of Economics flexible double degree component requires completion of 96 units, of which:

A maximum of 48 units may come from completion of 1000-level courses

The 96 units must consist of:

36 units from completion of the following compulsory courses:

ECON1101 Microeconomics 1

ECON3101 Microeconomics 3

ECON3102 Macroeconomics 3

EMET1001 Foundations of Economic and Financial Models

EMET2007 Econometrics I: Econometric Methods

STAT1008 Quantitative Research Methods

6 units from completion of a course from the following list:

ECON1100 Economics I (H)

ECON1102 Macroeconomics 1

6 units from completion of a course from the following list:

ECON2101 Microeconomics 2(P)

ECON2111 Microeconomics 2(H)

6 units from completion of a course from the following list:

ECON2016 Economics II (H)

ECON2102 Macroeconomics 2(P)

ECON2112 Macroeconomics 2(H)

6 units from completion of a course from the following list:

ECHI1006 The Australian Economy: Past and Present

ECHI3008 History of Economic Thought(P)

ECHI3009 World Economy Since 1800

ECHI3018 History of Economic Thought (H)

ECHI3019 The World Economy Since 1800 (H)

ECON2013 Behavioral Economics

ECON2014 Managerial Economics

ECON2026 Money and Banking

ECON2091 The Economy, Politics and the State

ECON2120 Law and Economics(P)

ECON2139 Law and Economics(H)

ECON2141 Strategic Thinking: An introduction to Game Theory

ECON2900 Development Poverty and Famine

ECON2901 Development Poverty and Famine(H)
 

18 units from completion of courses on List 1 of the ANU College of Business and Economics
 

18 units from completion of courses on List 2 of the ANU College of Business and Economics

If your flexible double degree is within the College of Business and Economics (for example Commerce and Economics), the below study plan may show the same course twice. If this is the case, you must only do the course once and replace the other course with a University Wode Elective or CBE List 1 elective. Please note that you cannot exceed 8 out of college electives.

For majors and minors offered by the ANU College of Business and Economics, students may count a course towards multiple majors and minors. If a minor is a subset of all stated courses and/or prerequisites for a major, then completion of the major overrides completion of the minor, and only the major is regarded as having been completed. If all courses in a major and/or minor are compulsory courses in the degree, the major and/or minor will not be listed on the transcript.

The Bachelor of Visual Arts flexible double degree component requires completion of 96 units, of which:

A maximum of 48 units may come from completion of 1000-level courses

The 96 units must include:

24 units from completion of the following compulsory courses:

ARTH1006 Art and Design Histories: Form and Space

ARTH1007 Art and Design Histories: Making and Meaning

ARTV3035 Creative Research Practice: Extending and Consolidating an Independent Project

6 units from completion of a foundation course from the following list:

ARTV1020 Figure & Life

ARTV1021 Image and Object

ARTV1033 Hold Everything: Studio Foundation

DESA1021 Precise Drawing and Model Making

DESN1002 Visual Communication: Design and Production

DESN1003 Contemporary Design in Context

12 units from completion of art history and theory courses from the following list:

ARTH2043 After the Bauhaus: Design from the Interwar Period to the Age of Climate Crisis

ARTH2044 Art and Its Context: Materials, Techniques, Display

ARTH2045 Curatorship History and Evolution

ARTH2050 Photography and Art

ARTH2052 Art of the Modern Print

ARTH2056 Art and Architecture of Southeast Asia: Tradition and Transformation

ARTH2059 Art of Asia: Histories and Traditions

ARTH2061 The Postmodern and the Contemporary: World art, 1970 to the present

ARTH2080 Art and Visual Culture of the Long Eighteenth Century, 1660-1815

ARTH2081 Art of the European Courts, 1500-1815

ARTH2082 Art, War and Conflict

ARTH2097 Victorian and Edwardian Art: Australia and Europe 1837-1914

ARTH2098 Australian First Nations Art and Culture

ARTH2104 Asian Art In-Country

ARTH2161 Contemporary Australian Art

ARTH2162 Art in the Digital Age

ARTH2166 Individual Research Unit

ARTH2167 Issues in Contemporary Craft and Design

ARTH2168 Renaissance and Baroque Art

ARTH2169 Introducing Asian Modernisms

ARTH2170 Contemporary Asian Art

ARTH2171 Australian Art: The Modern Period

ARTH2173 Art and the Moving Image

ARTH2174 Art, Medicine, Gender from the Renaissance until Today

ARTH2175 Across the Pacific: Australian Interactions with American Art and Art-Worlds

ARTH3004 City Sites: studies in art, design and urbanity

12 units from completion of introductory studio courses from the following list:

ARTV1101 Ceramics: Introduction to Clay Forming and Technology

ARTV1102 Ceramics: Throwing & Surface Decoration

ARTV1201 Furniture: Shape/Structure

ARTV1202 Furniture: Elevate/Surface

ARTV1301 Glass Hot Forming Introduction: Fundamentals for Contemporary Practice

ARTV1302 Glass Kiln Forming Introduction: Fundamentals for Contemporary Practice

ARTV1403 Jewellery & Object: Introduction to Precise Miniature Construction

ARTV1404 Jewellery & Object: Maker, Wearer, Viewer, User

ARTV1501 Painting: Introducing Painting

ARTV1502 Painting: Composition & Space

ARTV1601 Hyperanalogue: the alchemy of darkroom photography

ARTV1610 PhotoVideo: Interrogating the Camera

ARTV1611 Expanded Studio Practice: Constructing Worlds

ARTV1612 Video Art: Editing & Montage

ARTV1613 Foundations of Animation

ARTV1614 Post-Digital Photography: bending the image

ARTV1703 Drawing into Print: Etching and Relief

ARTV1704 Drawing into Print: Screen Printing and Stencils

ARTV1803 Supports: conceptual and material

ARTV1804 Place, time, and wood

ARTV1901 Textiles: Plants & Place

ARTV1902 Textiles: Pattern & Print

18 units from completion of intermediate/advanced studio courses from the following list:

ARTV2027 Professional Practice: Economies and Ecologies in the Australian Cultural Sector

ARTV2038 Workshop Atelier

ARTV2057 Hands On: Material Language

ARTV2059 Immersive Media

ARTV2060 Contexts of Making: Globalisation and Change

ARTV2061 Contexts of Making: Materiality and Value

ARTV2117 Ceramics: Glaze & Colour Development

ARTV2119 Ceramics: Experimental Methods and Meanings

ARTV2120 Ceramics: Designing for the Table and Home

ARTV2124 Ceramics: Surface, Form and Connectivity

ARTV2125 Ceramics: Moulding, Casting & Digital Technologies

ARTV2206 Furniture: Bend/Curve

ARTV2207 Furniture: Support/Body

ARTV2208 Furniture: Contain/Display

ARTV2209 Furniture: Collect/Treasure

ARTV2313 Glass Kiln Casting for Contemporary Practice

ARTV2314 Glass Blowing for Contemporary Practice: Materiality and Form

ARTV2315 Glass Kiln Forming for Contemporary Practice

ARTV2316 Glass Blowing for Contemporary Practice: Utility and Narrative

ARTV2401 Jewellery & Object: Making with machines

ARTV2402 Jewellery & Object: Utility as Context

ARTV2410 Jewellery & Object: Experimenting with process

ARTV2421 Jewellery & Object: Hollow Construction

ARTV2506 Painting: Approaches to Abstraction

ARTV2507 Painting: Painting in the Photo Digital Age

ARTV2508 Painting: Taking Your Own Direction

ARTV2509 Painting: Approaches to Composition and Colour

ARTV2605 The Photographic Document: Materiality and Form

ARTV2607 Photomedia: Large Format Photography

ARTV2608 Photomedia: Experimental Processes

ARTV2609 Animation and Video: Visual Storytelling

ARTV2610 Animation and Video: Character development

ARTV2613 Animation and Video: Landscape and Environment

ARTV2614 Animation and Video: Non-linear Forms

ARTV2706 Printmedia and Drawing: Drawing Beyond the Line

ARTV2707 Printmedia and Drawing: Extended Etching and Relief Printing

ARTV2708 Printmedia and Drawing: Construct Meaning with Drawing

ARTV2715 Printmedia and Drawing: Typography

ARTV2717 Printmedia and Drawing: The Book as Art

ARTV2723 Printmedia and Drawing: Extended Screen Printing

ARTV2727 Printmedia and Drawing: Lithography

ARTV2801 Socially Engaged Art Practice: Authorship, Dialogue and Community

ARTV2802 Politics of Memory: Video Installation, Sculpture, Documentary and Monuments

ARTV2810 Politics of Bodies: Sculpture, Figure Modelling, Performance and Choreography

ARTV2820 Politics of Spaces: Installation, Sculpture and Spatial Practice

ARTV2821 Posthuman Sculpture Practice with Active Materials: Bronze Casting, 3D Modelling and Bio Art

ARTV2830 Automation and Autonomy: Process, Accident, Sculpture

ARTV2906 Textiles: Approaches to Drawing for Craft and Design

ARTV2907 Subverting Stitch

ARTV2908 Woven Worlds

ARTV2909 Social Fabric: Crafting Communities

ARTV2911 Spatial/Temporal Methods

ARTV2921 Environment Studio: field based research and studio practice in visual arts

ARTV3031 Making Research for a Studio Practice in the Visual Arts

ARTV3032 Demonstrating research methods for a studio practice in the visual arts

ARTV3507 Painting: Open to Influence Studio Research

ARTV3508 Painting: Materiality and Meaning

ARTV3510 Painting: Critical Analysis and Reflection in the Studio

12 units from completion of courses listed in either the ‘introductory studio courses’ list or the ‘intermediate/advanced studio courses’ list above.

6 units from completion of an advanced studio course from the following list:

ARTV3028 Developing a Contemporary Craft Practice

ARTV3033 Creative Research Practice: Developing an Independent Work Proposal

6 units from completion of an engagement course from the following list:

ARTV2027 Professional Practice: Economies and Ecologies in the Australian Cultural Sector

ARTV2921 Environment Studio: field based research and studio practice in visual arts

ARTV3031 Making Research for a Studio Practice in the Visual Arts

ARTV3032 Demonstrating research methods for a studio practice in the visual arts

Majors

Bachelor of Visual Arts Majors

Minors

Bachelor of Visual Arts Minors

Bachelor of Economics Minors

Study Options

Honours

Alongside the courses in the economics degree, an Honours stream is offered commencing in second semester of first year. This stream is designed for (but not exclusive to) students whose performance in economics is at credit level or better. It aims to provide students with a deeper understanding of economic analysis and to impart greater confidence and capacity in addressing economic issues. Participation in the Honours stream is important for students who may wish to work as professional economists or who want to go on to further study of economics at the fourth year or at graduate level. The Honours stream involves an additional lecture and tutorial per week, plus an additional examination each semester. Students are able to enter, or leave, the Honours stream at any stage during the degree.

After the standard three-year program, students can undertake Honours as a fourth year of study in Applied Economics, Economics, Econometrics or Economic History. Entry is by invitation to high achieving students. Anyone with high grades in three-year economics undergraduate degrees at other universities may also be eligible to enter the Honours year.

Interested students can obtain advice from the Honours Convenor in the Research School of Economics.