BSc Economics

This unit provides students with the essential mathematical toolkit required by economics students. At the core of the unit are constrained, multivariate optimisation problems. Such problems form a core element of many economics units and students who took Advanced Mathematics will be familiar with the required solution techniques.

Students will also be introduced to the principles of matrix algebra, and of modelling dynamic variables.

Students will be provided with detailed material through lectures, tutorial, reading and online videos. A discussion board will allow students to receive frequent feedback on their understanding.

A Level Maths or very good AS level

The aim of this course is to introduce mathematical techniques useful in the economic and social sciences to those students who have the appropriate mathematical background.

The objectives of this course are that students will be able to:

1. Solve simple linear equations, find roots a quadratic equations and understand the solution to non-linear equations.
2. Understand functions, continuity and basic differentiation.
3. Solve one and two-variable unconstrained and constrained optimisation problems using the Lagrangian method.
4. Demonstrate their understanding of linear univariate difference equations.

Provisional

The preliminary syllabus is

• Preliminaries and Pre-requisites. A review of your mathematical background and some observations on logic
• Functions & Univariate Calculus. Functions, continuity. Roots of equations. Limits and basic differentiation. Stationary points and optimisation. Concavity and convexity.
• Vectors and Matrices. An introduction to vectors and matrices: their mathematical manipulation - addition, multiplication. Inverse matrix. Determinants. Rank. Quadratic Forms.
• Bivariate Functions
  Surfaces in 3D, contours. Partial functions and partial differentiation: the Jacobian and Hessian. Optimisation; saddle points. Concavity/convexity. Finding maxima/minima of functions of two variables subject constraints; e.g., maximising utility subject to a budget constraint.
• Dynamics. Simple dynamics. Geometric Series. Linear difference equations

Synchronous activities (such as Lectures or Review and Q&A sessions, and tutorials), and guided self-study

30% Mid-Term Online Tests

70% Final Exam

• Tutorial feedback.
• PASS sessions.
• Office hours.
• Discussion boards.

Recommended reading  

Detailed prescribed reading is provided on the CANVAS site. The ESSENTIAL TEXT is:  

Essential Mathematics for Economic Analysis (3rd Edition), by Knut Sydsæter and Peter Hammond  

Further Mathematics for Economic Analysis (2nd Edition), by Knut Sydsæter, Peter Hammond, Atle Seierstad and Arne StrØm  

This text will be available as a free online textbook from the unit's Canvas page.  

For every 10 course unit credits we expect students to work for around 100 hours. This time generally includes any contact times (online or face to face, recorded and live), but also independent study, work for coursework, and group work. This amount is only a guidance and individual study time will vary

Tuition fees for home students commencing their studies in September 2027 will be £10,050 per annum. Tuition fees for international students will be £35,300 per annum.

For general information please see the undergraduate finance pages.

All students should normally be able to complete their programme of study without incurring additional study costs over and above the tuition fee for that programme. Any unavoidable additional compulsory costs totalling more than 1% of the annual home undergraduate fee per annum, regardless of whether the programme in question is undergraduate or postgraduate taught, will be made clear to you at the point of application. Further information can be found in the University's Policy on additional costs incurred by students on undergraduate and postgraduate taught programmes (PDF document, 91KB).

We know that student finance can be complicated. The links below provide further information to help guide you.

Learn more about student finance options for UK students.

Learn more about fees and finance for international students.

As an international student you may be eligible for our Global Futures Scholarships . This is open to students starting their studies in September 2026.