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.

Do you see yourself shaping Australia's foreign policy decisions? Or working with elite international organisations like the United Nations or our top spy agencies? The Bachelor of International Security Studies can help you make your dream career a reality.

When you study the Bachelor of International Security Studies you will delve deeply into the contemporary security threats facing nations, international organisations and businesses around the world – including the threat of military power, civil war, terrorism, cybercrime, environmental degradation and food security to name just a few.

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

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. Identify and explain the key concepts, ideas and principal actors in international security.
2. Evaluate the major theoretical frameworks for understanding the complexities of contemporary international security challenges.
3. Demonstrate a thorough knowledge of the historical and contemporary dimensions of international, internal and transnational security, especially in the Asia-Pacific region.
4. Analyse the key challenges facing Australian security and defence policy in the ‘Asian Century’.
5. Reflect critically on the principal factors that determine the security policies of Australia and the major Asia-Pacific powers
6. Employ communication and presentation skills (oral, written and electronic)
7. Demonstrate teamwork and interpersonal skills
8. Exhibit the ability to write for both academic and professional audience

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

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 International Security Studies flexible double degree component requires completion of 96 units, of which:

A maximum of 36 units may come from completion of 1000-level courses

The 96 units must consist of:

The 144 units must consist of:

24 units from completion of the following compulsory course list:

STST1001 Introduction to International Security Studies

STST1003 Coping with Crisis: The Practice of International Security

STST2001 Security Concepts in the Asia-Pacific

STST3002 Australia's Security in the Asian Century

Minimum of 6 units from completion of a course from the following concepts and methods course list:

HIST2110 Approaches to History

POLS2123 Peace and Conflict Studies

POLS2125 Game Theory and Social Sciences

SOCY2043 Introduction to Qualitative Research Methods

POLS2044 Contemporary Political Analysis

WARS2001 Theories of War: An historical and global perspective

POLS3001 Foreign Policy Analysis

POLS3017 International Relations Theory

Minimum of 36 units from completion of courses from the following list of Security Studies courses:

Asia-Pacific Security

ASIA2060 Southeast Asian Security

ASIA2111 Indonesian Foreign and Security Policy

INTR2012 Chinese Foreign and Security Policy

INTR2014 Indian Foreign and Security Policy

INTR2016 US Foreign and Security Policy in Asia

INTR2018 Japanese Foreign and Security Policy

INTR2020 (In)Stability on the Korean Peninsula

INTR2024 The Politics of Nuclear Weapons

STST2020 Study tour: Southeast Asia's Security Choices

Global Security

MEAS2001 New States of Eurasia: Emerging Issues in Politics and Security

HIST2240 Democracy and Dissent: Europe Since 1945

POLS2132 Current Issues in International Security

STST2124 Politics of Nuclear Weapons

Australian Security

STST2003 Australia and Security in the Pacific Islands

STST3003 Honeypots and Overcoats: Australian Intelligence in the World

Non-traditional Security

ASIA2093 Natural Resource Conflicts in Asia and the Pacific

DIPL2000 Leadership and Diplomacy

INTR2047 Human Security: Conflict, Displacement and Peace Building

POLS3004 Emotions in International Politics

POLS3033 Environment, Human Security and Conflict

POLS3036 International Terrorism

History and Security after 1945

HIST2141 The Cold War: 1945-1989

STST2004 Special Topic in International Security

STST3003 Honeypots and Overcoats: Australian Intelligence in the World

WARS2002 Vietnam Wars: 1941-1989

WARS2003 The Korean War

A maximum of 30 units from the completion of courses within the following Language, Security and Area Studies minors:

Language

Advanced Arabic

Advanced Chinese Language

Advanced French Studies

Advanced German Studies

Advanced Italian Studies

Advanced Japanese Language

Advanced Korean Language

Advanced Sanskrit Language

Advanced Spanish Studies

Arabic Language

Burmese Language

Chinese Language

French Language and Culture

German Language and Culture

Hindi Language

Indonesian Language

Italian Language and Culture

Japanese Language

Korean Language

Mongolian Language

Persian

Russian

Spanish

Tetum Language

Thai Language

Tibetan Language

Tok Pisin Language

Vietnamese Language

Area Studies and Methods

Asian Studies

Asia-Pacific International Relations

Contemporary Europe

Gender and Sexuality

International Communication

International Relations

Latin American Studies

Middle Eastern and Central Asian Studies

Northeast Asian Studies

Pacific Studies

Philosophy

Political Science

Social Research Methods

Southeast Asian Studies

Sustainable Development

Security

Criminology

Historical International Security

Peace and Conflict Studies

Technology, Networks and Society

War Studies

A maximum of 6 units from the completion of courses from VCUG Vice Chancellor’s Undergraduate Courses or the following list:

ANIP3003 Australian National Internships Program Internship A

ASIA2110 International Affairs Internship

ASIA2098 Asian and Pacific Studies Internship

ASIA3023 Asia Pacific Week Internship

LING2107 Advanced Academic English

Minors

Bachelor of International Security Studies Minors

Bachelor of Economics Minors

Study Options