Economics Major - Bachelor of Arts at Auckland University of Technology

About

Economics is vital to both the social sciences and public policy. This major develops and applies concepts and frameworks that are essential for understanding and addressing critical economic and social issues.

Economics is about choice; the choices people, companies and governments make every day – from how we respond to price changes to how governments address issues like growing income inequality or climate change. In a world with increasingly scarce resources these decisions are crucial. That’s why economists are highly sought after in both the private and public sector.

Not open to new students from 2025. If you want to study economics as part of your Bachelor of Arts, you could include it as a second major or a minor in economics.

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Requirements

Entry Requirements

Standard

Tertiary requirements

One year of successful study at bachelor level at a recognised institute, or equivalent, or

Successful completion of an Associate degree at a recognised institute, or

Successful completion of a Diploma at a recognised college of technology, or

Successful completion of a junior Health Diploma at a recognised institute, or

Successful completion of a higher technical institute Diploma at a recognised institute

English Program Requirements

Interpreting and NZ Sign Language - English Interpreting majors: IELTS (Academic) 7.0 overall with 7.0 in Writing and Speaking, and 6.5 in Reading and Listening; or equivalent.

All other majors: IELTS (Academic) 6.0 overall with all bands 5.5 or higher; or equivalent.

Career

The Economics major helps you develop a sound understanding of economic principles and advanced concepts. Our emphasis is on developing core competencies in economic analysis in the context of real-life settings that can serve as a platform for a wide range of future career options.

Apart from the courses below you also need to complete courses from your second major, your chosen minor(s) or electives.

Core courses

All Bachelor of Arts students need to complete core courses that help you develop transferable skills and support your work in all other courses in the degree.

Academic Communication

Choose one of:

Culture and Society

Complete one course from each of the following clusters. Each cluster aligns with one of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Partnerships and Reduced Inequalities

Choose one of:

Peace and Justice, Climate Action and Economic World

Choose one of:

CRIM580 Criminology and Criminal Justice
EVNT500 Introduction to Event Management
HIST500 Introduction to New Zealand History
HIST501 The Holocaust: Its Causes, Character, and Legacy
PSYC580 Introduction to Psychology A
SOSC582 Social Thinking
SOSC583 Social Institutions
SOSC585 Climate Action
TOUR511 Global Issues in Tourism

Sustainability, Health and Wellbeing

Choose one of:

FOOD501 Food and the Senses
CLSY513 Organisation and Human Behaviour Perspectives
HOSP509 Hospitality Social Enterprise
TOUR512 Tourism and Sustainability

Quality Education, Gender Equality and Reduced Poverty

Choose one of:

Knowledge and Inquiry

Choose one of:

Workplace experience

Workplace experience is an important part of your degree, and the Work Integrated Learning course is the final part of your degree. This is a supervised work placement related to your major(s), for an organisation of your choice. It's a great way to get industry experience while still being able to get feedback from AUT lecturers, and for many of our students this workplace experience also leads to a job offer.

You could also take the Foundations in Research course if you’re considering continuing into postgraduate study.

Want more info about work integrated learning at AUT?

Read more about workplace experience in AUT programmes, how it works and why it’s so beneficial when you start your career.

Workplace experience in AUT programmes

Economics courses

If you're majoring in economics, this is the main subject area you specialise in. It makes up one third of your degree and consists of eight economics-related courses you study throughout your degree.

Year 1 courses

Complete the following courses:

ECON520 Principles of Microeconomics
ECON521 Principles of Macroeconomics

Year 2 courses

Complete the following courses:

ECON620 Microeconomics: Choice and Welfare
ECON621 Macroeconomics: Models, Data and Policy
ECON622 Introduction to Econometrics

Year 3 courses

Complete the following courses:

ECON720 Microeconomics: Competition, Risk and Strategy
ECON721 Applied Macro-econometrics
ECON722 Applied Econometrics: Causal Inference

Ready to enrol in your courses?

Find out how you can enrol in the courses and classes for your programme if you’re already studying with us. If you’re looking for a course timetable or more info on a specific course use our course search.

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Build your degree

Use our online tool to build your own degree and see what your three years of study could look like.

https://www.aut.ac.nz/courses/bachelor-of-arts/economics-major

Fee Information

Tuition Fee

NZD 35,092

Application Fee

NZD

Economics Major - Bachelor of Arts

Auckland University of Technology

Auckland University of Technology

Key Facts

Start & Deadlines