Economics - Exeter or Southampton

Exeter BA, Southampton BSc

Which is the better course?, has the better graduate prospects?

League tables are giving varied results so I'm unsure.. is the fact that ones a BA and ones a BSc an important factor?

Reply 1

achard

Southampton has the better economics course. Exeter is severely overrated (by itself, funnily enough).

Reply 2

yoyo462001

Exeter's Economics courses are BA due to tradition it is as mathematical (and much more) than other Bsc courses, however the Southampton BSc is more mathematical, this I have seen from comparing syllabus's, however that will depend on the module choices you make, so the BA/BSc issue is quite irrelevant.

In terms of graduate prospects the difference is negligible, why? Because other factors are far more important. A 2:1 from one will always be better than a 2:2 from the other where other factors like extra curricular are similar. Basically it shouldn't be down to job prospects, it should be based on other factors that differ greatly such as city life.

I wouldn't say one course is 'better' because it will certain depend on what you looking for. I know the Southampton course has more scope for additional maths content compared to the Exeter and the fact they require Maths A level means they can go into further detail.

Reply 3

yoyo462001

achard

Southampton has the better economics course. Exeter is severely overrated (by itself, funnily enough).

Based on what?

Reply 4

the greatest

its hard to comment on which is better, in terms of jobs as yoyo has mentioned there are other main factors such as cv and grades. Its hard to distinguish the difference in the level of economics at both unis

wherever you go, i can assure you youll be satisifed

good luck with your choice!

Reply 5

KimKallstrom

Whichever you choose, you can't lose. It'll be down to looking closely at the course content of each and seeing which will appeal more.

Personally, with this the case IMO, it'll come down to the uni itself in general. You'll have to live there for 3 years. In which case Exeter all the way for me. Southampton is a dump as a city and full of knobs from what I've been told a million times.

Reply 6

.ACS.

I've been meaning to comment on this for quite some time, but alas ten hour days leave me quite tired! (It's my internship, not the University, don't worry! :p:

)

I think what yoyo has said is pretty much spot on. In terms of course content, Southampton has the scope to be much more mathematical (or at least go much more in depth with regard to statistical theory and econometrics; the actual maths content of the micro/macro modules is pretty much identical), but on the other hand Exeter does offer more choice in regard to modules overall, with some very interesting ones available in political economy, and they have a lot more modules to choose from. (In the second year, we have two options to choose from a list of three, and in the third year we have six options to choose from a list of eight; sure we can choose modules outside the Economics Division, as I've done [I've chosen from the Maths School], but if you want to solely study Economics modules, you don't have much choice.)

Also, as has already been mentioned, in regard to graduate prospects, they're pretty much the same. There are far more important things such as your degree classification and also your work experience. (Everyone on TSR seems to list ECs but every prospective employer I've spoken with has said they're worthless in comparison to relevant work experience.)

Visit both, see which you prefer, and go from there.

(All I'll say extra is that if you're hugely interested in econometrics, then Southampton is the better bet, whereas if you're not, Exeter may be worth a better look seeing as they have much more choice available in regard to specialist applied economics options.)