On completion of the programme, you will have acquired comprehensive skills relevant to economic, social and political analysis. You will be able to think clearly and rigorously for yourself as you are encouraged to take responsibility for your own learning by being an active participant in the learning process.

With small class sizes and a very favourable staff/student ratio, this degree programme has proved very popular, as illustrated by a significant increase in applications in recent years, with an overall reduction of applicants for many similar courses across third-level institutions.

The inter-disciplinary nature of the course allows you to avail of a broad education in the areas of political science, sociology and economics. These three subject areas are interlinked and will give you a good basis for a wide range of careers.

What type of student is suited to the B.A. in Economic and Social Studies?

If you already have a general interest the economic and social affairs and in the impact society has on individuals and on governments, you are likely to find this degree programme stimulating.

The programme continually attracts both mature students and students from the ACCESS course offered at St. Angela’s College. The knowledge gained from life experience, where you have seen economic factors at work, is a good foundation from which to undertake this degree programme.

This degree programme provides you with a sound foundation in the key areas of economics, applied economics and public policy, in addition to enabling you to develop skills in essay writing, teamwork, problem-solving and discursive analyses. The Economics courses introduce you to a way of thinking about the economic world around us and the various complex issues that arise. You acquire the analytical tools to explore these issues.

In First Arts, you study Economics by exploring:

• The decision-making behaviour of individual economic actors, for example, individual consumers, business entrepreneurs, bankers and government ministers - this is called microeconomics
• The collective behaviour of these actors, looking at how all these decisions interact - this is called macroeconomics

In second and third years, you delve deeper into microeconomcis and macroeconomics, and begin to apply the theories learned into other aspects of society. You consider GDP, employment, unemployment, inflation - you gain an understanding of many issues that are driving forces in the modern economy. Other courses offered include Irish economic history, monetary economics, public sector economics and health economics.

For detailed descriptions of the courses in each year, check out the Current Students section of this web site.

Where might you work?

The B.A. in Economic and Social Studies as a qualification is very suited to a wide range of employment opportunities or for further training in specific areas. It provides an excellent foundation if you are interested in a career in social work, community work, management, public administration, industrial relations or journalism or if you would like to work with development agencies, research institutions or various international organizations.

When you graduate with a B.A. in Economic and Social Policy, you can apply for entry into four taught Economics postgraduate programmes at NUI Galway: the Higher Diploma in Economic Science and three different Master of Economic Science programmes, a masters programme in Economic Policy Evaluation & Planning, a masters programme in International Finance or a masters programme in Economic and Environmental Modelling. You can also apply for a number of other postgraduate programmes in the Cairnes Graduate School of Business and Public Policy at NUI Galway.

"I chose the BA in Economic and Social Studies as I found the various courses in the degree interesting and also because of the wide choice of career options that the degree offered. The small class size facilitated good interaction between the lecturers and the students and we all got to know each other well. I have just completed the MA in Economic Policy Evaluation and Planning and I feel that the subjects taught in the BA prepared me well for my postgraduate studies."

Valerie Moran , B.A. (Economic and Social Studies) 2004; M.A. (Economic Policy Evaluation and Planning) 2005