Entry requirementsSelected entry requirements A level: ABB. If one or more A Levels which have less than 60% theoretical content are offered as part of three A Levels, offer may be above the standard level. Unit grade information: The University of Manchester welcomes the provision of unit grade information which, like all other available information, will inform the consideration of applications. Unit grades will not normally form part of offer conditions, except for Mathematics programmes. GCSE: Minimum grade C in English Language and Mathematics. Key Skills qualification: The University warmly welcomes applications from students studying the Key Skills qualification. However, as the opportunities to take these modules are not open to all applicants, currently this is not an essential requirement of the University. International baccalaureate: 34 points overall. 6,6,5 at Higher Level. No lower than 5 in any subject. Additional entry requirements Additional entry requirements exist for this course. You may view these by selecting from the list below.
Academic titleBAEcon Development Studies
Course descriptionFlexibility and choice are the key to the BA(Economic and Social Studies) programme. There are 29 different combinations covering Accounting, Business Studies, Development Studies, Finance, Economic and Social History, Economic Studies, Politics, Social Anthropology, Criminology and Sociology. You can decide which is for you as you move through the three years. When you apply you use a specific UCAS code which indicates an interest in that area but does not commit you. This degree programme specialises in Development Studies. It is run by the School of Social Sciences and Manchester Business School. In the first year of the degree all students follow a general and broad programme of study which includes Economics, Politics, the Social Sciences and either Quantitative Methods or Social Research Methods, depending on your intended area of specialisation. In addition, you take a course in computer applications and can choose to take a course in study skills. The aim of the first year is to provide a broad introduction to the social sciences, to provide some of the basic transferable skills you will need as a student and in later life and to enable you to make an informed choice of the subject areas you will study in the second and third year. In the second year you can take the majority of your course modules in a single area, but many students choose to work within two, and sometimes three, areas. In the final year you specialise in one area or combine two areas of study. In total, more than 260 course units are available, giving you remarkable choice and the opportunity to put together a programme of study that suits your particular interests.
Course content for year 1
The object of the first year is to provide a broad introduction to the social sciences, enabling you to make an informed choice of areas to study in your second and final years. This means that you take a mixture of compulsory and optional courses.
Course content for year 2
In the second year you have a choice of options from ten areas of study. It is at this stage that you begin to specialise, and your choice of course units will largely determine and be determined by what you intend to specialise in during your final year.
Course content for year 3
In the third year you focus your studies in either one 'Single' or two 'Joint' areas of study. If you choose to undertake a single specialisation you will take at least 80 credits in that area. If you choose joint specialisations you will need to take at least 50 credits in each. On graduating, your degree certificate will state that you have been awarded a BA Economic and Social Studies Honours degree specialising in your chosen area or areas of study.
Career opportunities
Graduates have a wide variety of career opportunities in both the private and the public sectors because of the large number of pathways through the degree. Recent graduates have pursued careers in management, accounting, consultancy, the Civil Service and the Bank of England, journalism and the media, social work, teaching and the law.