Program Overview

Our BSc Accounting with Economics (including foundation year) is open to Home and EU students. It will be suitable for you if your academic qualifications do not yet meet our entrance requirements for the three-year version of this course and you want a programme that increases your subject knowledge as well as improves your academic skills.

This four-year course includes a foundation year (Year Zero), followed by a further three years of study. During your Year Zero, you study four academic subjects relevant to your chosen course, preparing you for a further three years of undergraduate study, as well as a compulsory English language and academic skills module.

You are an Essex student from day one, a member of our global community based at the most internationally diverse campus university in the UK.

After successful completion of Year Zero in our Essex Pathways Department, you progress to complete your course with Essex Business School. On this course, you learn how to be a more effective accountant, business consultant or manager by combining accounting knowledge with economic theories. By understanding key accounting principles, as well as how the economy functions, fluctuates and impacts organisations, you can make better informed recommendations that positively influence business strategy and performance, skills which will be in increasingly high demand from employers over the coming years.

You are encouraged to take on a paid industry placement in your third year to put your knowledge into practice and further develop your professional skills.

You acquire knowledge and practical skills by exploring a broad range of topics such as:

• financial and management accounting
• the preparation of financial statements
• costing, budgeting and performance evaluation
• micro and macroeconomics
• international trade

In your first year, we also introduce you to important aspects of marketing, management and finance. These core areas ensure you gain a fully-rounded business education, providing a solid foundation for your second and final years and future career.

In your final year, you have the opportunity to put your knowledge into practice by completing an in-depth, independent research project or dissertation (subject to approval). This will give you the chance to further develop vital employability skills in areas of research, time management and critical thinking.