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.

Are you interested in understanding political systems in Australia and in other parts of the world? Do you want to find out what drives citizens’ political attitudes and behaviour, and how these affect policy outcomes? The Bachelor of Political Science is the only dedicated political science degree in Australia. In it, students:

• study the identities, values and norms that underpin citizens' attitudes, drive political behaviour, and contribute to policy outcomes;
• examine and compare the institutions and political systems of Australia and other countries;
• acquire and apply a broad range of analytical skills that are highly sought after in today’s job market.

Located in the nation's capital, ANU enables students to be in the hub of Australian politics while they study politics. Internships, including in Parliament House, give students the opportunity to see see and experience policymaking firsthand.

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. Solve economic problems using analytical reasoning.
2. Apply economic analysis to a wide variety of transdisciplinary issues.
3. Use basic empirical estimation techniques to test predictions pertaining to multiple disciplinary areas.
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. Communicate effectively rigorous economic analysis in a coherent way to multidisciplinary stakeholders.

1. demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the key areas of interest to political scientists, including citizen ideas/interests/attitudes/behaviour, policy actors and outcomes, and political/social/legal institutions;
2. apply political science theories and concepts to the key areas of interest to political science;
3. demonstrate knowledge of a specific region/historical era of relevance to political science; apply political science theories and concepts to that region/era; reflect critically on the theories'/concepts' utility and explanatory power;
4. apply analytical tools from political science and other social sciences to the evaluation of political phenomena across of a variety of issue-areas that are relevant toscholars and policymakers; and
5. communicate and debate both orally and in writing, and work with others, using a wide variety of media.

Further Information

Students in the Bachelor of Economics (a single or a combined degree with Economics) are not eligible to take Economic Studies major or/and minor.

Electives:  Electives can be selected from CBE or other Colleges.

Students wishing 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.

Students in the Bachelor of Economics (a single or a combined degree with Economics) are not eligible to take Economic Studies major or/and minor.

Electives:  Electives can be selected from CBE or other Colleges.

Students wishing 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.

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: HSC Mathematics Advanced or equivalent. More information about interstate subject equivalencies can be found here.

Adjustment Factors

Adjustment factors are combined with an applicant's secondary education results to determine their Selection Rank. ANU offers adjustment factors based on equity, diversity, and/or performance principles, such as for recognition of difficult circumstances that students face in their studies.

To be eligible for adjustment factors, you must have:

• achieved a Selection Rank of 70 or more before adjustment factors are applied
• if you have undertaken higher education, completed less than one year full-time equivalent (1.0 FTE) of a higher education program
• applied for an eligible ANU bachelor degree program

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:

42 units from completion of the following compulsory courses:

ECON1101 Microeconomics 1

ECON2101 Microeconomics 2

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:

ECON2016 Economics II (H)

ECON2102 Macroeconomics 2

minimum 12 units of Transdisciplinary courses:

CBEA2001 Indigenous Perspectives in Business and Economics

ECHI1006 The Australian Economy: Past and Present

ECHI3009 World Economy Since 1800

ECON2013 Behavioral Economics

ECON2014 Managerial Economics

ECON2108 Japanese Economy and Political Economy

ECON2141 Strategic Thinking: An introduction to Game Theory

ECON2900 Development Poverty and Famine

ECON3004 Health Economics

ECON3006 Financial Economics

ECON3127 Computational Methods in Economics

ECON3128 Resource and Environmental Economics

ECON3180 Advanced Behavioural Economics

ECON3023 Economic Policy Issues

minimum 18 units of the following courses:

ECHI1006 The Australian Economy: Past and Present

ECHI3009 World Economy Since 1800

ECON1100 Economics 1 (H)

ECON2009 Labour Economics and Industrial Relations Policy

ECON2013 Behavioral Economics

ECON2014 Managerial Economics

ECON2026 Money and Banking

ECON2091 The Economy, Politics and the State

ECON2108 Japanese Economy and Political Economy

ECON2125 Optimisation

ECON2131 Public Sector Economics

ECON2141 Strategic Thinking: An introduction to Game Theory

ECON2900 Development Poverty and Famine

ECON3004 Health Economics

ECON3006 Financial Economics

ECON3057 Industrial Organisation

ECON3100 Economics 3 (H)

ECON3103 International Economics

ECON3127 Computational Methods in Economics

ECON3128 Resource and Environmental Economics

ECON3152 Game Theory

ECON3180 Advanced Behavioural Economics

ECON3023 Economic Policy Issues

EMET3004 Econometrics II: Modelling

EMET3006 Applied Microeconomics

EMET3007 Business and Economic Forecasting

EMET3008 Applied Macro and Financial Economics

maximum 12 units from completion of elective courses offered by ANU, which may include courses from the following course codes:

BUSI, BUSN, CBEA, COMP, ECHI, ECON, EMET, FINM, INFS, MATH, MGMT, MKTG, STAT

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 Wide Elective.

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 Political Science flexible double degree component requires the 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:

12 units from completion of the following compulsory Introductory and Methods courses:

POLS1002 Introduction to Politics

POLS1009 Introduction to Data and Methods for Political Science and International Relations

A minimum of 6 units and a maximum of 12 units from the completion of courses from the following Theory list:

POLS2102 Political Belief and Deceit

POLS2119 Ideas in Politics

POLS2130 Public Choice

A minimum of 6 units and a maximum of 12 units from the completion of courses from the following Australian and Comparative Politics list:

POLS2010 Comparative Politics

POLS2114 Australian Politics

A minimum of 6 units from the completion of courses in the following list:

POLS2044 Quantitative Methods in Politics and International Relations

POLS2045 Qualitative Methods in Politics and International Relations

POLS2137 Meaning in Politics: Interpretation, Method and Critique

A minimum of 6 units and a maximum of 18 units from the completion of the following Political Science and Social Science Enquiry courses, of which no more than 6 units can come from courses taken outside POLS:

DEMO1001 Global population challenges

ENVS1003 Introduction to Environmental and Social Research

HIST2110 Approaches to History

INDG1001 Country, Kinship and Continuities: An Introduction to Australian Indigenous Studies

INDG1002 Resilience, Responsibilities, Resurgence

POLS1005 Introduction to International Relations

POLS2002 Public Policy: Theory and Practice

SOCR1001 Foundations of Social Research

SOCY2038 Introduction to Quantitative Research Methods

SOCY2043 Introduction to Qualitative Research Methods

STAT1003 Statistical Techniques

 Or any other 2000 level POLS course with permission of the program convenor

24 units from the completion of the following 3000-level courses, of which:

A minimum of 18 units must come from the following Political Science Depth list:

POLS3002 Comparative European Politics

POLS3029 Comparative Federalism

POLS3043 Pressure Groups and Political Lobbying

POLS3095 Politics in Latin American

POLS3111 Elections, Political Behaviour and Public Opinion in Australia

POLS3113 Human Rights

POLS3125 Game Theory and Social Sciences

POLS3126 Democracy and Dictatorship

POLS3127 U.S. Politics

POLS3134 The Politics of Gender, Race, and Identity

A maximum of 6 units from the following Social Science Enquiry Depth list:

ANIP3003 Australian National Internships Program

ENVS3028 Environmental Policy

INDG3001 First Nations Peoples, the State and Public Policy in Australia

SOCR3001 Data for Decision Making

6 units from the completion of courses from the following Area Expertise list:

ASIA1025 Asia and the Pacific: Power, Diversity and Change

ASIA1030 Asia and the Pacific in Motion

ASIA1035 Introduction to Asian Politics

ASIA1999 The Origins of Political Order in Asia

ASIA2026 The Politics of China

ASIA2031 Japanese Politics

ASIA2065 Asia’s Changing Politics in Comparative Perspective

ASIA2070 Democracy in Southeast Asia

ASIA2096 North Korea: History, Culture, Politics

ASIA2222 Taiwanese Society and Politics

ASIA2516 Indonesia: Politics, Society and Development

DEMO2003 Migration in the Modern World

ECHI1006 The Australian Economy, Past and Present

EURO1004 Europe in the Modern Era

HIST2022 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander History

HIST2128 Colonies and Post-Colony: 19th Century Australia and its Legacies

HIST2221 The Birth of Modernity: Britain 1688-1848 

HIST2226 Nazi Germany

HIST2227 Australian Political History

HIST2240 Democracy and Dissent: Europe Since 1945

HIST2242 The Soviet Union: From the Russian Revolution to the Collapse of Communism

INDG1002 Resilience, Rights and Resurgence

MEAS1001 Introduction to the Modern Middle East

MEAS1002 Islam: History and Institutions

MEAS2000 Iran: History, Politics and Culture

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

MEAS2105 The Political Economy of the Middle East

PASI1011 Pacific Encounters: Introduction to Pacific Studies

PASI2001 Pacific Studies in a Globalising World

POLS2031 Politics of the Middle East

POLS2055 Pacific Politics

POLS2069 Politics of Russia

Minors

Bachelor of Economics Minors

Study Options