Arts - Economics
Our BA degree programme at University College Cork is the gateway to the immense and exciting possibilities of education. We offer a wide variety of subjects across diverse fields – this allows you the flexibility and opportunity to choose your career pathway or postgraduate route.
| Award Name | Degree - Honours Bachelor (Level 8 NFQ) |
|---|---|
| NFQ Classification | Major |
| Awarding Body | National University of Ireland |
| NFQ Level | Level 8 NFQ |
| Award Name | NFQ Classification | Awarding Body | NFQ Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| Degree - Honours Bachelor (Level 8 NFQ) | Major | National University of Ireland | Level 8 NFQ |
Duration
3 years, full-time.
Specific Subjects or course requirements
Leaving Certificate Entry Requirements
At least six subjects must be presented. Minimum grade H5 in two subjects and minimum grade O6/H7 in four other subjects. English and Irish are requirements for all programmes unless the applicant is exempt from Irish. Applicants will need to meet the following minimum entry requirements:
English O6/H7
Irish O6/H7
Other Language O6/H7
Leaving Certificate Vocational Progamme LCVP
Leaving Certificate Vocational Programme LCVP
Distinction 66 points
Merit 46 points
Pass 28 points
QQI FET Applicants General Information
Careers / Further progression
Skills and Careers Information
Economics provides a whole range of skills (analytical, problem-solving, computers, data handling, presentation and communication) and knowledge required by employers. Our teaching approach at UCC, with its emphasis on transformative education, will prepare you for the knowledge economy, the need for continual change and for life-long learning.
Graduates with Economics have traditionally gone into a wide variety of different types of jobs, including:
teaching
banking and finance
business consultancy
journalism
Many of our students have continued into postgraduate education and professional training in areas such as economics, finance, and business-related courses such as marketing, management and computing.
Further information
September 2026
CK101 Arts: Approximate Available Places 50
Find out about the mature entry requirements at https://www.ucc.ie/en/study/undergrad/entryreqs/matureapplicants/
CK101 Arts: Approximate Available Places Overall 500
Entry 2026
Early online application (discounted): Fee €35 Closing Date: 20 January 2026 at 5pm
Normal online application: Fee €50 Closing Date: 1 February 2026 at 5pm
Late online application - restrictions apply (see page 3 2026 CAO Handbook): Fee: €65 Closing Date: 1 May 2026 at 5pm
Change of Mind - restrictions apply (see page 3 2026 CAO Handbook): Fee: Nil Closing Date: 1 July 2026 at 5pm
Be sure to complete any action well in advance of closing dates. You should avoid making an application close to a closing date. No extensions to closing dates will be allowed and all application fees are non-refundable.
LATE APPLICATIONS
Late Applications are those which are received after 5pm on 1 February 2026. The closing date for late applications is 5pm on 1 May 2026, subject to the restrictions listed on page 3 of the 2026 CAO Handbook. The online facility for late applications opens on the 5 March 2026 at 12:00 noon - a fee of €65 applies.
Restrictions
As a CAO applicant you may experience one or more of the following restrictions based on your course choices, your category of application, or restrictions imposed by the HEIs that you wish to apply to. Please read the section on 'Restrictions' on page 3 of the 2026 CAO Handbook carefully. This section includes information on:
General Restrictions
1. Making a late application
2. Making changes to your course choices
Restricted Courses
3. Applying for a restricted course
Mature Applicants
4. Mature applicants
Supplementary Admissions Routes
5. Applying for DARE and/or HEAR
This programme gives you the space to explore your options. Ultimately you will not only excel in specific subject knowledge you will develop those intellectual, social and management skills essential for today’s working environment.
Our Arts CK101 programme is a full-time three-year honours programme, based at the College of Arts, Celtic Studies & Social Sciences (CACSSS). If you wish to spend a year abroad at one of our partner institutions in Europe and beyond, you can apply to our four-year Arts (International) CK108 programme which is open to language and non-language students.
Subject options on registration: Students choose four subjects from the list below in Year 1, with not more than one subject from any group.
Students continue with 2 of these subjects in Years 2 & 3:
Group 1: Asian Studies, Computer Science***, History, Portuguese
Group 2(a)*: History of Art
Group 2(b)*: European Studies, Folklore, Gaeilge/Irish, Greek and Roman Civilisation, Studies in Psychology****
Group 3: Archaeology, Chinese Studies, German, Latin***, Mathematical Studies, Politics
Group 4: French, Sociology, Studies in Music
Group 5: Béaloideas, Economics, English, Greek***, Religions and Global Diversity
Group 6(a)**: Geography, Italian
Group 6(b)**: Celtic Civilisation, Philosophy, Spanish
*Groups 2(a) and 2(b): Students can combine History of Art with any subject from Group 2(a) in Year 1 only.Students can only study one subject from Groups 2(a) and 2(b) in Years 2 & 3.
**Groups 6(a) and 6(b): From Year 2, students may combine Italian with Spanish, but students may not combine Italian with Celtic Civilisation or Philosophy; or Geography with Celtic Civilisation, Philosophy or Spanish.
***These subjects are available in First Arts and thereafter only as a 10-credit subject in the Single Subject Programme
****This subject is available in Year 1 only
Economics is the study of people’s motives, expectations, decisions, hopes, disappointments and uncertainties. It can be used to examine a variety of issues, from social media to poverty.
The language of work, business, government and the media is increasingly drawn from economics.
Graduates with an economics qualification are needed to address the problems and challenges that are facing business, government and society today.
Choosing economics will give you an excellent foundation for a career in business, finance, government, teaching and the media, and for doing further study in business courses such as marketing, management and computing. The teaching approach that we use will prepare you for working in the knowledge economy.
You do not need to have Economics in the Leaving Certificate to study Economics at UCC.
Modules
Year 1 Modules:
EC1106 Introductory Microeconomics (5 credits)
EC1116 Introductory Macroeconomics (5 credits)
EC1131 Economic Decision Making (5 credits)
Year 2 Modules:
Students are encouraged to take 30-credits of economics in both second and third year. The 30-credit option in second year allows students to meeting Teaching Council of Ireland (TCI) requirements. Twenty-five of the TCI requirements are met the core 30-credits in second year. These core 30-credit modules include 10 credits of microeconomics, 10 credits of macroeconomics, and 10 credits of quantitative economics. Selecting the 30-credit option also ensures students do not have timetable clashes.
Year 3*/4 Modules:
Students build on and apply, the material from second year. The greater emphasis on application is illustrated by the fact that there is a 5-credit project course in both semester 1 and semester 2. Students are also required to take 5 credits of econometrics in semester 1.
Students are exposed to the application of economics to areas like human resources, financial markets, regional economies, and sport.
Modules:
The Economics of Corporate Strategy; Capital Markets and Asset Valuation; Portfolio Theory and Asset Management; Economics of the Labour Market; Human Resource Economics; Health Economics; Public Expenditure; Public Finance; Growth and Competitiveness; Growth and Innovation; Principles of Insurance; Quantitative Methods: Econometrics; Survey Methods
*BA International students spend third year studying in an approved foreign university in a country of the student's major language or subject. They will return to complete their final year in UCC in Year 4.
Dr John Considine
J.Considine@ucc.ie
+353 (0)21 490 2850
http://www.ucc.ie/en/economics/