Programme Specification: Bsc Economics and Economic History

Programme Specification: BSc Economics and Economic History

1. Awarding Body / LSE
2. Details of accreditation by a professional/statutory body, e.g. ESRC; BPS etc / N/A
3. Name of final award / BSc
4. Programme Title / Economics and Economic History
5. Duration of the course / 36 months full-time
6. Based in the Department/Institute: / Economic History
7. Relevant QAA subject benchmark statements / History (2007) and Economics (2007)
8. UCAS Code / VL31 BSc/EcEcH
9. First written/last amended / September 2003/ amended November 2012
10. The programme aims to:

Provide students with the resources and experience to understand and evaluate claims about how and why the economic world changes;
Provide training in economics and economic history to the level where students can marshal economic arguments and analyse economic evidence in making such claims;
Provide students with a sound grasp of the principles of economic analysis to the intermediate level;
Provide students with knowledge of the quantitative techniques appropriate for the analysis of economic data;
Prepare students for careers requiring the use of economic arguments and analysis;
Prepare students for graduate study in economic history or economics.

11. Programme outcomes: knowledge and understanding; skills and other attributes
Subject knowledge:

a substantial body of economic history knowledge involving both breadth and depth;
an appreciation of the complexity of reconstructing the past and understanding present economic problems, and of the problematic nature of evidence;
a sound grasp of the theoretical principles and application techniques of economics;
an ability to apply their economic knowledge to a range of contemporary and historical economic problems.

Transferable understanding and skills;

understand complex problems by framing them in ways which simplify while still retaining relevance;
ability to undertake independent research on their own formulated question;
gather, deploy and assess evidence;
make logical arguments consistent with inferences from evidence;
examine critically the arguments and evidence presented by others;
communicate these arguments and conclusions in clear, concise and persuasive forms.

General skills:

skills in IT for general use;
library and information search skills;
research report writing;
oral presentations;

use of quantitative analytic techniques, including use of econometric software.

Information relating to careers can be accessed here
12. Teaching, learning and assessment strategies to enable outcomes to be achieved and demonstrated
Teaching strategies
This is a joint degree programme tutored in the Economic History department. The programme is based on a progression from 1st to 3rd year courses in both sides of the programme. In economic history, this progression is defined in terms of the sophistication of the treatment of concepts, theories, evidence, topics and questions. This is primarily a learning-by-doing progression which engages the student in developing understanding and skills through taking courses covering different times, places and themes. In economics, students first gain core competences in economic principles and technical skills, and then apply these to increasingly difficult questions and to applied problems. These progression differences are reflected in the teaching and assessment arrangements. The economic history teaching, learning and assessment progression is laid out here. [For further information on the economics side of the degree, please see the BSc Economics programme specification.]
The economic history teaching programme is based on a progression from 1st to 3rd year courses as outlined above. This progression is reflected in the teaching, learning and assessment arrangements. All courses consist of 20-24 weeks of formal teaching, 2 hours per week per course. In the economic history department, first and second year courses are delivered by means of a combination of lectures and classes (maximum 15 students in a class); third year teaching is predominantly conducted by 2-hour seminars. In the economics department, courses are taught by lectures and classes throughout.
Students first learn how to apply economic thinking to historical problems in our first year compulsory course. Lectures are used to deliver knowledge of the substantive topic alongside the methods of approach. In complementary accompanying classes, students learn from discussing the professional journal and book literature in answering specific questions designed to help them understand the difficulties and possibilities of applying a social science to historical problems. Concurrently, students are studying economics and quantitative methods.
In their second year, students take one compulsory economic history course (EH237) which examines theories and concepts used in economic history and provides an introduction to the methods used by economic historians. On the economics side, students learn the intermediate principles of either microeconomics or macroeconomics and econometrics. Again, students learn from a combination of lectures and classes with the specialist “in depth” course providing the opportunity for students to meet with primary source evidence. In their third year, students take the alternative economics principles option left from year 2, a selected specialist 3rd year economics option, or an outside option, and equivalent level economic history option. In the economic history course, students primarily learn through seminars in which they work on somewhat open-ended, but still pre-assigned, course questions. All class and seminar teaching is based on the active participation by students, and so this is where learning-by-doing takes place. Progression through the years requires an increasing level of student self-motivation and self-direction as well as more difficult and conceptually advanced materials and questions. All courses in economic history are supported by Moodle, which is the virtual learning environment system (VLE) used by LSE.
A very important component of students’ learning is that they undertake an independent research project on an economic history topic of their own choosing in their 3rd year. It is
usually expected that student utilise their formal economics and/or quantitative skills in this project. This is done following general guidelines and according to a structured timetable. During this process, students discuss their topics and research questions together and with faculty members, providing several feedback opportunities. In addition, each student is allowed two formal supervisors, their tutor and another relevant faculty members. The general and individual supervision sessions are designed to help them to develop their work according to the requirements for the thesis, namely independent research work with primary source materials. Each student may have a draft of their thesis read once before submission and has the opportunity to revise it following feedback from the faculty member.
All lectures are taught by LSE faculty or visiting teachers and post-doctoral researchers and all 3rd year economic history seminars are led by such faculty. In economic history, first and second year classes are taught by part-time teachers, mainly the department’s current or completed PhD students. Such teachers are supported by the course lecturer and by the department’s Mentor for Graduate Teaching Assistants (as well as the School’s support and training systems for such teachers). In the economics department, lecturers are faculty members and classes are provided by part-time teachers, mainly research students. All students are allocated to a member of the teaching faculty in the economic history department for individual supervision and dissertation supervision. Visitors and research faculty are also available to provide further expertise for dissertation research. The Undergraduate Tutor provides support to all students in respect of course choice, and any other programme issues.
Assessment strategies
All courses have written work requirements appropriate to their levels and all students are given feedback on written work during each course. All economic history courses, with the exception of EH237, (and all economics and maths papers) are formally assessed by 3 hour written examination. EH237 is examined by a 3,000 word project as well as a 3 hour written examination. 3rd year students produce a 10,000 word research dissertation according to criteria related to the programme aims and outcomes (above).
13. Programme structures and requirements, levels, modules and awards
See further information on the BSc Economics and Economic History

Additional information

14. Criteria for admission to the programme
Course requirement: GCSE pass at grade B or better in Mathematics is expected.
Usual standard offer: GCE A level: grades A A B (including A at A-level Mathematics).
International Baccalaureate: Diploma with 37 points including 6 6 6 at Higher level one of which must be Mathematics.
Other qualifications are considered.
15. Indicators of quality
Consistent positive External Examiners’ reports on the degree programme and performance of students.
Members of the department serve on the council and executive committee of the Economic History Society and many editorial boards in the field; we currently have editors of two such journals in the department.
We have a strong record of “cliometric” research work (the combination of economics and quantitative economic history) within the department and several faculty have economics degrees, and began, or have spent part of, their careers, in economics departments.
Demand for places (2012): applications . Expected intake .
The LSE Careers Centre website provides data on career destinations of LSE graduates.
16. Methods for evaluating and improving the quality and standard of teaching and learning
The programme is subject to the School’s overall mechanisms for quality evaluation and improvement. Students in this degree are supervised in the economic history department. Our departmental mechanisms for reviewing quality and improvement are as follows:
We use four mechanisms to review quality and initiate improvement.
a) Review by thedepartmental Teaching Committee, which includes the Head of Department and Departmental Tutor;
b) Review by Department Meeting;
c) Review with Economics Department equivalent office holders; and
d) Review by course proprietors;
e) student review through Staff-Student Liaison Committees and other formal and informal mechanisms.
The first two mechanisms (a) and (b) are used to evaluate and improve the quality of teaching; programme offerings; programme design; and assessment. Minor changes are initiated by advice from officer holders to the department; major changes are decided by the department as a whole (often following a Teaching Committee review). This sometimes involves the third mechanism (c), when issues relevant to the programme design or course requirements are involved which relate to the way the parts of the degree fit together. (d) is used by individual teachers to improve course quality and design of courses taught within the department.
Our mechanisms make use of information and advice given by External Examiners reports, TQARO student opinion surveys, teaching assessment and training office, our staff-student committee meetings, individual student feedback, and our own course level reviews.
School mechanisms (*operate at departmental level):

regular staff appraisal*;
induction and mentoring* system;

improvements in teaching technique are effected by the Teaching and Learning Centre (TLC) through observations, advice and further training;
Staff/student liaison committee;
centrally administered student satisfaction questionnaires by the Teaching Quality

Assurance and Review Office;

an improved system for ensuring that External Examiner’s

comments/recommendations are fed through to Departments and acted upon;

the School’s Teaching, Learning and Assessment Committee (TLAC) which regulates all aspects of teaching quality;
annual monitoring of courses and periodic reviews every 3-5 years. The outcomes of the annual reviews are presented to TLAC;
the School’s Undergraduate Studies Sub Committee and Graduate Studies Sub Committee which oversee all taught programmes and ensure that significant changes to programmes and courses pass through a sequence of formal stages to ensure that curricular changes are appropriate and compatible with other developments.

[Further information about the additional Economics department mechanisms can be gained by consulting the programme specifications for the BSc Economics degree.]