Bachelor of Arts (BA)

BA Modern Language and Business & Management (French)

Gain specialist knowledge of French culture and global business issues.
  • Duration: 4 years
  • Year of entry: 2025
  • UCAS course code: NR11 / Institution code: M20
  • Key features:
  • Study abroad
  • Study with a language

Full entry requirementsHow to apply

Fees and funding

Fees

Tuition fees for home students commencing their studies in September 2025 will be £9,535 per annum (subject to Parliamentary approval). Tuition fees for international students will be £26,500 per annum. For general information please see the undergraduate finance pages.

Policy on additional costs

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).

Scholarships/sponsorships

We offer dedicated financial support packages of up to £2,000 for residence abroad students, based on their household income.

You will be automatically assessed for the award based on your Student Finance financial assessment - you just need to make sure you apply for a financial assessment the academic year in which your residence abroad will take place.

Course unit details:
Topics in Economic History

Course unit fact file
Unit code ECON30542
Credit rating 20
Unit level Level 3
Teaching period(s) Semester 2
Available as a free choice unit? Yes

Overview

The unit aims to:

  • Provide an intermediate-level exposure to modern research in economic history, with a focus on comparative and quantitative aspects. 
  • Enhance student's understanding of how economics can be applied to explain or help to understand past events, many of which still affect us today. 

We will cover the economic (and when relevant, political) development of different societies in the past, with a focus on Europe but a comparative (and quantitative) dimension also present whenever possible.

Students will apply economic analysis to understand the past. But they will also realise 
how the past can itself be informative about economics as a discipline. By studying the economic aspects of past in a rigorous manner, students will develop a deeper understanding of not just history, but also the present. It will become clear to them which features of the modern world are recent, and which have been always with us. These skills will prepare them for a range of careers requiring knowledge of economic analysis and historical change, such as business administration or policy advising.

Students will develop presentation and interpersonal skills through participation in tutorial sessions.

Pre/co-requisites

Unit title Unit code Requirement type Description
Introductory Statistics for Economists SOST10062 Pre-Requisite Compulsory
Advanced Statistics ECON10072A Pre-Requisite Compulsory
Principles of Microeconomic Theory 1: Consumers, Welfare, Production and Costs ECON10171 Pre-Requisite Compulsory
Macroeconomic Analysis 1 ECON10181 Pre-Requisite Compulsory
Microeconomics 1 ECON10221 Pre-Requisite Compulsory
Macroeconomics 1 ECON10241 Pre-Requisite Compulsory
Macroeconomics 1 ECON10252 Pre-Requisite Compulsory
Microeconomics 1 ECON10331 Pre-Requisite Compulsory
Advanced Mathematics ECON10071B Pre-Requisite Compulsory
(ECON10221 OR ECON10331 OR ECON10171) AND (ECON10252 OR ECON10241 OR ECON10181) AND (ECON10072A OR ECON10072B OR SOST10062)

(ECON10221 or ECON10331 or ECON10171) and (ECON10252 or ECON10241 or ECON10181) and (ECON10072 or SOST10062)

Aims

The unit aims to: 

  1. Provide an intermediate-level exposure to modern research in economic history, with a focus on comparative and quantitative aspects. 
  2. Enhance student's understanding of how economics can be applied to explain or help to understand past events, many of which still affect us today.

Syllabus

Provisional

Topic 1: Introduction (1 lecture).
Topic 2: Geography (1 lecture). 
Topic 3: Institutions (1 lecture). 
Topic 4: Culture (1 lecture). 
Topic 5: Demography (1 lecture). 
Topic 6: Colonisation (1 lecture). 
Topic 7: Why did Northwestern Europe become rich first? (1 lecture). 
Topic 8: Britain’s Industrial Revolution (1 lecture). 
Topic 9: The rise of the modern economy (1 lecture). 
Topic 10: Industrialization and the world it created (1 lecture). 

Teaching and learning methods

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

Knowledge and understanding

We will cover the economic (and when relevant, political) development of different societies in the past, with a focus on Europe but a comparative (and quantitative) dimension also present whenever possible.

Intellectual skills

Students will apply economic analysis to understand the past. But they will also realise how the past can itself be informative about economics as a discipline. By studying the economic aspects of past in a rigorous manner, students will develop a deeper understanding of not just history, but also the present. It will become clear to them which features of the modern world are recent, and which have been always with us. These skills will prepare them for a range of careers requiring knowledge of economic analysis and historical change, such as business administration or policy advising.

Practical skills

Students will continue to develop their ability to read economic literature, including research articles; they will have to produce a sustained and coherent written argument; and they will engage in classroom discussion in the form of a weekly debate which contrasts two different interpretations about one particular historical episode (e.g. the Industrial Revolution).

Transferable skills and personal qualities

Students will develop presentation and interpersonal skills through participation in tutorial sessions.

Employability skills

Other
Students completing this course unit will be prepared for a range of careers requiring knowledge of economic analysis and historical change, such as business administration or policy advising. They will have learned to present an argument coherently in discussions and debates as well as in written form.

Assessment methods

40% Online short answer tests (in-term, 6 tests, 500 words max each, 2 will be randomly picked to be marked)

10% Research proposal and outline (500 words max) – group work  

50% Term paper (3000 words max) and reply to comments on proposal (250 words max) – group work

Feedback methods

  • Tutorial feedback.
  • Office hours.
  • Revision sessions.

Recommended reading

The textbook for this course is: 

  • Mark Koyama and Jared Rubin (2022). How the World Became Rich: The Historical Origins of Economic Growth. Wiley

In addition, students will be given two weekly research articles for the classroom discussion. 

For additional and background reading about economic history and comparative development, take a look at: 

  • Larry Neal and Rondo Cameron (2016). A Concise Economic History of the World: From Paleolithic Times to the Present. Oxford University Press 
  • Robert Allen (2011). Global Economic History: A Short Introduction. Oxford University Press 
  • Karl G. Persson and Paul Sharp (2015). An Economic History of Europe. Cambridge University Press 
  • Oded Galor (2022). The Journey of Humanity. Penguin 

Teaching staff

Staff member Role
Guillaume Blanc Unit coordinator

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