Why do you pay €20 for a CD that is manufactured for €2? Why are poor people poor? Why isn't every country in the euro zone, when it makes it so easy to travel in different countries? Why is there unemployment in some countries? Why are some countries in severe poverty? How can a country get on the path to economic development? What determines exchange rates?

Studying Economics, you learn a formal way to treat these economic questions. We develop tools and use these tools to interrogate and explore these questions. In a world of scare resources, Economics is the study of choice, looking at the factors that combine to influence the choices made to determine how to allocate and use these resources.

Economics looks at how resources are allocated to produce the goods and services necessary for the survival of society, and how these goods and services are distributed amongst people in society.

No, it is not necessary to have studied Economics in your Leaving Certificate to study Economics at NUI Galway. In first year, we start from scratch and assume students have no prior knowledge of Economics.

You can study economics as a major subject in a B.A. degree or take it as a subject for first year only in a B.A. degree. Alternatively, you can study Economics as a key component of the B. Commerce degree.

Economics is a also major subject in the B.A. in Public and Social Policy, the B.A. in Economic and Social Studies, the Diploma and the B.Sc. in Rural Development, B.Sc. in Financial Maths and Economics and the B.A. in Environment and Society/Youth and Family.

Follow the links to find out what is unique about each degree programme and to help you to decide how you might like to study Economics.

What jobs are available for Economics graduates?

With Economics in your degree, you can work anywhere. Graduates with Economics follow three different broad career paths:

• Economics - a good basis for a generalist
  
  Economics is an excellent training, providing you with good analytical skills and a broad understanding of economic issues, and preparing you for a wide variety of work environments. The majority of our graduates find employment in generalist roles in all sectors, such as business, banking, insurance and public administration, where the skills and knowledge gained through studying Economics are invaluable assets. Because there is an economic dimension to most decisions in all sectors, graduates with Economics have a head start.
   
• Economics - a stepping stone to a specialism
  
  Economics is an excellent degree on which to build a specialism. You can follow many different career paths, taking postgraduate and professional courses to specialise in specific areas such as accountancy, management, marketing, teaching, social and community work, law or the financial services.
   
• Economics - training future economists
  
  A small percentage of our Economics students follow their basic degree with further postgraduate study in Economics, at diploma, Masters or PhD levels. On graduating, these people find employment as:
  - economists in government departments, for example, Finance or Enterprise, Trade and Employment
  - economists in international organisations, for example, the European Union or the World Bank
  - as lecturers and researchers in universities and other third-level institutes
  - as consultants with organisations such as the ESRI
  - as economists in the private sector with companies such as Price Waterhouse and Irish Life

Job opportunities vary depending on your degree, so more detailed information about job opportunities are provided in the sections describing each degree. For example, a B.A. in Public and Social Policy opens up career possibilities in central and local government, while the B.Sc. in Financial Mathematics and Economics provides opportunities in financial institutions.

Are there postgraduate opportunities with a degree in Economics?

You can apply for entry to one of the taught postgraduate Economics programmes at NUI Galway:

• Master of Economic Science: Economic Policy Evaluation & Planning
• Master of Economic Science: Economic and Environmental Modelling
• Master of Economic Science in International Finance
• M.Sc.: Health Economics
• Higher Diploma in Economic Science

A high proportion of graduates with Economics in their degree also undertake further research or vocational training courses in preparation for employment in professions such as teaching, law, social work, politics, journalism, public administration and arts administration.

Courses are delivered using a range of teaching and learning modes:

• Lectures are primarily used to establish a theoretical framework and to explain key concepts and principles that underpin a course. The lectures provide you with a basic framework on which you can build your individual study and act as a forum for throwing out ideas, from which you can embark on individual exploration. Economics lectures challenge you to use your own sense of inquisitiveness to investigate ideas in greater depth.
   
• Tutorials are conducted on a group basis, with class sizes of 15-20. The objective of tutorials is to reinforce and further explain material covered in lectures. Tutorials are also used to provide answers to problems and assignments completed by students as part of their Continuous Assessment.
   
• Internet-based technologies are increasingly used to enhance classroom-based teaching . Course notes, reading lists, assignments, administrative information and other teaching aids are available using a state-of-the-art teaching system.
   
• Individual study and research is a very important component of the learning process. Most modules have an element of continuous assessment, which can take the format of essays, tests, projects, or problem sheets. Essays and projects require you to conduct your own research and retrieve information from various sources. Assignments and/or projects also require you to develop your sense of reasoning and to work with other students as part of a team.