Bachelor of Arts in Economics - Data Science and Economics The University of Manchester, UK

Data drives decision-making across almost every sector, from economics and finance to government and policy making. On our BA (Econ) Data Science and Economics you will gain cutting-edge, technical data science expertise while developing strong foundations in core economic principles. This interdisciplinary combination prepares you with the technical skills required to interpret real-economic questions going beyond numbers to discover patterns, make predictions and solve complex challenges.

You will learn how to apply the principles of data science to economic and social questions, from discovering and using different types of data (including ‘Big Data’), to evaluating the effectiveness of economic policy, understanding economic behaviour, predicting and classifying economic trends, and analysing networks of relationships between firms, institutions and society.

By completing the core and optional units, you will develop highly sought after quantitative and analytical skills, including how to:

• collect, describe, and visualise empirical evidence;
• build models from data to explain real-world phenomena;
• quantitatively evaluate the effectiveness of policies;
• map and analyse complex social networks;
• apply sophisticated machine learning algorithms;
• implement social data science approaches using AI tools, programming languages, and other commonly used statistical software.

This course places equal emphasis on economics and data science, giving you both the theoretical grounding and the practical experience to address real-world economic challenges. You will be taught by experts from both the Economics, Social Statistics and Social Science departments.

You will also study the underlying theory, enabling you to progress into competitive careers in policy and industry, or to advanced postgraduate courses in either Data Science or Economics, amongst other fields.

• Combine data science with economic theory techniques to analyse and interpret complex, real-world information.
• Use data analytic methods, such as programming, data visualisation, and machine learning, to evaluate policies, understand macroeconomic trends, predict and classify economic phenomena, and map and analyse complex network relationships between firms, institutions, policy makers, and other agents in society.
• Gain hands-on experience with Python, R, and other statistical software to collect, process, and model diverse forms of data.
• Apply to study abroad or complete a professional placement as part of a four-year optional course.
• Study at UK Top 10 and Global Top 40 university for Economics and Econometrics (Times Higher Education World University Rankings by Subject 2025).
• Join a department that has been home to four Nobel Laureates, including Simon Johnson who received his award in 2024 for his groundbreaking research into wealth disparities between different nations.