Undergraduate
Economics
Contact us
Address
Student Central
The University of Western Australia (M355), 35 Stirling Highway, Perth, Western Australia 6009
Telephone
131 UWA (131 892)
International
(+61 8) 6488 1000
Hours
Frequently asked questions
Careers and further study
This course opens up a world of future study pathways and career opportunities.
Career Pathways
Further Study
Master of Economics
Fees and scholarships
Domestic Student Fees
For Commonwealth-supported places, student contribution amounts are charged by unit, based on area of study. For a fee estimate, go to the Fee Calculator and select “I want to price my units”. Fees are subject to annual indexation. Refer to the Handbook to identify the units required. More information on how fees are calculated.
Scholarships
Scholarships are available to students from a diverse range of backgrounds, including academic achievement, financial need, educational disadvantage, leadership and community service, artistic or sporting achievements, and being from a rural or remote area.
Cost of living
Admission requirements
The University of Western Australia welcomes applications from international and domestic school-leavers. If you’re interested in studying one of these majors, find out the admission details below.
Minimum entry requirements
- 12.5
- 10
- 82.5
- 288
- 336
- 320
- 70
- 1220
- 64
- 85
Admission requirements
Maths requirement
Prerequisite subjects: Mathematics Applications ATAR
English competency
English is the language of instruction and assessment at UWA and you will need to meet the English language requirements of the University to be eligible for a place.
Minimum overall IELTS score of 6.5, with no band less than 6.0.
How to apply
The application process to this course is different for the assured and graduate entry pathways, and for international and domestic applicants.
Refer to the below regarding application processes for each of the pathways . More information regarding admission requirements and prerequisites for each pathway can be found on the 'Admission Requirements' tab.
Domestic Pathways
- Domestic Assured Pathway/School Leaver Entry: Applications are lodged via TISC. Refer to TISC Online for current course codes and application deadlines.
- Domestic Graduate Entry: Applications are lodged via GEMSAS, which open and close in accordance with the GEMSAS timeline. All domestic applicants must submit a valid GAMSAT score by the application closing date.
International Pathways
- International Assured Pathway/School Leaver Entry: Applications are lodged via UWA's online application system or via an authorised international education agent.
- International Graduate Entry: Applications are lodged via UWA's online application system or via an authorised international education agent.
Course details
About the course
Quick details
- Available
- Perth (Crawley campus)
- Full-time
- Part-time
- On-campus
- Semester 1, Semester 2
- 12-15 contact hours, plus at least twice as much of your own study time
- Undergraduate
- MJD-ECNPF
- 3 years (BCom); 4 years (BPhil [Hons])
Dominic White
Dominic White
The facilities at UWA are excellent and the staff – both teachers and administration – have always been easy to approach and kind. The Business School has been outstanding for advertising and offering internship and graduate roles and showing me what directions my career could take.
The most valuable thing I have gained from the course is the application of the theories I learnt to the real world. I enjoy economics because it will always be applicable and has a range of avenues to study and explore.
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If you’re a female considering a career in economics or finance, you could be pursuing more than your dream career. Here’s just a few reasons why.
Serena Russell
Serena Russell
"Hi, I’m Serena! Some background about me: I graduated from UWA at the end of 2019 after completing my Honours in Economics, with an undergraduate degree majoring in Economics and Finance. I then started my career as an analyst in the Reserve Bank of Australia’s Graduate program. After working there for a couple years, I moved back to Perth and I am currently an analyst in the Economic and Revenue Forecasting team at the WA Department of Treasury.
So: why choose to study economics?
There are many reasons, but to put it simply, economics is everywhere and studying it allows us to better understand the world around us. It teaches you to look at the world more critically, and helps to explain a variety of questions from ‘why is fuel so expensive right now?’ to ‘why are women on average still being paid less than men?’.
For me personally, studying and working in economics has allowed me to contribute to a range of really exciting work. As you can imagine, starting my career at the beginning of 2020 was a bit of a rollercoaster. I had only worked at the RBA for 6 weeks when we first went into lockdown. My role at the time was in the International Financial Markets team, where I focused on monitoring developments in Chinese fiscal and monetary policy and the evolution of their financial system. This work was used to keep senior management and the Board informed about major market developments and inform policy discussions at the RBA. Watching the policy landscape change so quickly throughout the COVID-19 crisis and having the opportunity to contribute to discussions that ultimately lead to the use of unconventional monetary policy for the first time in Australia was an incredible experience that I am very thankful for.
If that wasn’t convincing enough, you can travel! While the specific conditions will vary wherever you are, the economic fundamentals that you learn at uni can be taken with you and applied in almost any place/job. Many of my past and present colleagues have worked all over the world doing all sorts of amazing work, from working at the IMF or BIS in the US and Europe, to tackling development issues and foreign aid in Asia and the Pacific.
And for those that are interested in economics, but aren’t necessarily sure if it’s what you want to do as a career - don’t think studying economics means you can only become an economist. Even if you choose to pursue a career outside of the economics field, you will be surprised at how often you apply the knowledge you learn in only a few economics courses at uni. Your economics knowledge will only ever broaden your skillset and make you more employable, regardless of what path in life you choose."
- Serena Russell
Course Structure
Our undergraduate degrees offer you a broad range of options allowing you to combine subjects in a way that matches your career goals and personal interests.
Find out more about studying at UWA
Put theory into practice
Current UWA students are eligible to take one of our professional experience units. These units bridge the gap between university and the workplace by providing opportunities to gain hands-on, practical experience. You can master new skills, make connections and network, get a taste of the opportunities in the workforce and add experience to your resume, all before graduating.
Find out more about Work Integrated Learning.
Outcomes
Students will learn to:
- Employ the framework of micro and macro economics to rationally analyse general economic problems and arrive at analytically sound conclusions
- Interpret and undertake quantitative economic research
- Identify and critically reflect on landmark events in Australia's economic history and in the rise of the global economy
- Undertake specific economic research that critically evaluates theoretical and/or applied issues in the area of economics
- Communicate the results of economic research to fellow economists as well as to a range of potential stakeholders including other business professionals, policymakers in government and the public at large
- Achieve the preceding objectives irrespective of whether they are working as an individual analyst or as a member of a team of professionals
- Demonstrate an awareness of, and sensitivity to, the personal, social, ethnic and/or international backgrounds of other team members as well as stakeholders
Top 10 in Australia
Your degree options
Bachelor of Economics
Bachelor of Philosophy
Bachelor of Economics (Honours)
Economists, financial analysts, statisticians, management consultants, policy analysts, or investment advisors. Make yourself a top candidate for the best jobs in the government and the private sector with a Bachelor of Economics (Honours) degree. You'll receive extensive training in theoretical modelling, applied econometric and program evaluation techniques, mastery of data analysis software, and will produce an independent research thesis - skills and achievements highly attractive to employers engaged in data-driven activities.
For more information about the Bachelor of Economics (Honours), including admission requirements please access our Handbook webpage. Please note, there is only one intake per year and applications are due in the December of the preceding year. You'll find further information about how to apply for honours and application dates on our How to Apply webpage.
If you have any specific enquiries please contact Professor Alison Preston.
Meet our students
Accreditation
The UWA Business School is accredited by EQUIS and the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), and is a Communicating Signatory to Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME).
EQUIS and AACSB are the leading business school accreditations in Europe and North America respectively, meaning that your business degree will be recognised by employers around the world.
Tyler Reysenbach
Tyler Reysenbach
"Studying economics has led to such interesting opportunities for me. It is more than dollars and cents and can be applied to so many different and interesting problems.
With my economics degree, I have thought about 'how does the government assess the effectiveness of policies for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people', 'how to better target the COVID-19 vaccine rollout' and, now I am thinking about 'how to set up our migration system for success once borders open'.
Economics has so many different applications – you’re never limited to just one area.
An economics degree also gives me the flexibility to work a variety of different jobs. At the Productivity Commission, I worked on long-term policy research, summarising the evidence to produce recommendations for government. At the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, I was working on quick-turnaround data analytics to track the vaccine rollout. There’s no end to what you can do with an economics degree – it gives such a strong grounding to think through different problems (both in theory and empirically)."
- Tyler Reysenbach
Tyler is an associate at the Grattan Institute. Previously, she worked as a data analyst in the Central Analytics Hub at the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet on topics including the COVID-19 vaccine rollout and Australia’s reopening. She started her career at the Productivity Commission working on the Indigenous Evaluation Strategy and Vulnerable Supply Chains inquiries. Tyler graduated from UWA in 2018 after completing her Honours looking at the effect on migrant networks on labour market outcomes.
Sophie Harwood
Sophie Harwood
"After finishing my Bachelor of Commerce at UWA, I completed an Honours in Economics. I was interested in assessing how the economy affects mental wellbeing, and my thesis investigated links between job insecurity, macroeconomic conditions and the mental wellbeing of employed Australians (using the HILDA and ABS data).
In 2019, I moved to Canberra to participate in the Productivity Commission’s graduate program. The Commission is the Australian Government’s independent research and advisory body, which is largely focused on economic issues that affect the welfare of Australians. As a graduate at the Commission, I worked on the Mental Health Inquiry (released in 2020), assessing government-run income and employment support programs for people with mental ill-health. From this work, a recommendation for the government to trial further expansion of the Individual Placement and Support program to assist people with mental illness to participate in the workforce was given $5.7 million in funding in the 2021-22 federal budget.
For the last two years, my work has focused on electrical and electronic waste, such as waste TVs, computers and small appliances. This has included a chapter in the Commission’s Right to Repair inquiry on electrical and electronic waste, which looked into how this waste stream is managed. I continued to work on this waste stream as a secondee to the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment as part of the Waste Reform and Integration Taskforce. Once my secondment has finished at the end of June, I will be returning to the Commission to work on the Closing the Gap reporting and data repository."
- Sophie Harwood
