Written by Lauren Herrmann, a 2nd year BA Econ student

Hello! I am Lauren, a second-year student doing BA (Econ) Economics and Finance. In this
blog, I will tell you why I chose this subject at the University of Manchester and tell you
about my experience so far.

When deciding which university to attend, I was sure I wanted to do a course in the field of
Economics, but I was unsure if only economics would be for me. Therefore, I looked for a
course that allows me to connect my passion for economics to another subject. The joint
honours course of Economics and Finance at the University of Manchester and its flexibility
is one of the main reasons why I decided to study here.

Today, I will tell you more about my reasons for deciding on the University of Manchester.
My reasons were the flexibility of the course, modules offered, and student life.

Firstly, the flexible structure of my course is what made it so interesting to me. It allows you
to combine different subjects, and if you find yourself unhappy with what you chose, you
even have the possibility to change later on. This allows you to explore your interests
without feeling the pressure of needing to stick to them meticulously. Over my first year, I
was unsure whether to keep doing my joint pathway or if I should switch to Finance only.
Knowing that I could do so, without complications, gave me peace of mind. Additionally, you
will get an academic advisor, who you can talk to on a one-to-one basis about matters like
that, which is extremely useful.

Secondly, my joint degree in BA (Econ) allows me to do modules in a wide variety of
subjects. Besides Finance and Economics modules, I have taken accounting, politics and even
language modules. My favourite coursework that I’ve done so far, had to do with connecting
different social sciences. In a module called “Perspectives of Social Sciences”, we had
different lecturers each week, ranging from statistics to criminology. At the end of the
semester, my task was to create a portfolio, showing what I’ve learned from the different
fields and how they all interconnect. This allowed me to explore economics and finance from
another angle and see their vast interconnections to other subject areas.

Lastly, BA (Econ) allows you to do a placement year in industry or even to study abroad at
one of many partner universities all around the globe! Personally, I was interested in both
these options, but not ready to commit to them before even having started university.
However, with the BA (Econ) degree, you have time to decide until after you have started
your course. This was a strong reason for me to choose Manchester. It took away the
pressure from knowing exactly what I wanted to do, before even having started studying.

All in all, my experience of studying in Manchester has been very positive, and I think it is a
great place to study Economics and Finance. The flexibility of tailoring the course to your
own interests and connecting them is what makes me enjoy my course a lot, and I would
choose it again if I would need to.

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