University Website: http://www.econ.cam.ac.uk

Director of Studies: 

Dr Julia Shvets (Michaelmas Term 2012 and Easter Term 2013)
Dr William Peterson (Lent Term 2013)

The University of Cambridge offers both undergraduate and postgraduate programs in Economics. Undergraduate teaching at Cambridge takes two main forms: lectures and small-group meetings called 'supervisions'. The Faculty of Economics and Politics organizes lectures for all Cambridge Economics undergraduates. The supervisions are arranged by each College for its students.

Cambridge's undergraduate program in Economics (BA in Economics) is three years long. The curriculum consists of several compulsory courses – microeconomics, macroeconomics and mathematics/statistics/econometrics (application of statistical techniques to economic problems).  From the second year onwards, the students can also choose between a number of optional courses that allow them to study particular areas in greater depth.  Second year options include labour economics, development economics, sociology and mathematical methods.  The third year options make up a longer list, including, for example, industrial economics, public economics, money, banking and finance, and advanced econometrics (for more details, see the Faculty of Economics page).

In their final year, the students write a dissertation on the topic of their choice.  As part of their dissertations in recent years, Christ's students analyzed the link between firms' product characteristics and credit, investigated competitive structure of England's premier league football, and studied the role of the financial markets in Africa's development. To see an example, click here for the work of a Christ's alumnus Andreas Kalker (m. 2007), who won the Faculty of Economics Adam Smith prize for Best Dissertation in 2010.

The University also offers a number of postgraduate programs in Economics.  Prospective graduate students apply to the University in the first instance, naming up to two Colleges at which their application will be considered if they are offered a course place by the University.  More information on this is on the Faculty of Economics and Christ's graduate admission pages.

Christ's students

Every year, Christ's admits about six or seven undergraduate and one or two postgraduate students in Economics.  This creates a community of about 25 Economics students at Christ's. We are lucky to have students from all over the world: alongside British nationals, our current group of economists includes students from Austria, China, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Malaysia, New Zealand and Singapore. Over the years, our students' exam results have consistently put Christ's into the top quartile of all Cambridge colleges in economics (according to Baxter tables which rank colleges by subject). In 2009, Christ's was ranked number one.  Both in 2009 and 2010, the Faculty of Economics Adam Smith prize for the best final year dissertation went to a student from Christ's (shared with another student in 2010).  In 2012, two of our students came number one among all of the University's economics students in their respective years.

After completing their Economics degree Christ's undergraduates typically join financial institutions and consultancies (in recent years, these included Goldman Sachs, UBS, KPMG, and, yes, Lehman Brothers), work as research economists for the World Bank, government ministries and central banks, and pursue postgraduate degrees at various schools around the world (including, most recently, Cambridge, UCL, Yale, and Stanford).  There have been exceptions:  an opera singer and an orchestra conductor are also among Christ's economics alumni.

Christ's fellows

Historically, Christ's has served as an intellectual home to a number of economic scholars, including a Nobel Prize laureate James Meade (1907-1995).  Today the college has four fellows in economics.  They are:

Dr Julia Shvets, Director of Studies in Economics (applied microeconomics and public economics)

Dr William Peterson (applied econometrics and macroeconomic modelling)

Dr Jane Fruehwirth (social economics and the economics of education)

Professor Sanjeev Goyal (economic theory and networks)

The College also has several scholars in other disciplines who work on questions that are of close interest to economists.  A few examples include fellows working on mathematics of networks, statistical inference and data modelling, sociological analysis of economic history, and anthropology of post-colonial development in Asia.

How to Apply

In addition to nominating Cambridge as one of your selected universities on the UCAS application form, it is also desirable to choose a College of preference (the alternative is to submit an Open Application.) Many criteria can be used for choosing a College of preference, including such factors as the size of the student body, location, architecture and accommodation, and academic, musical or sporting reputation. If you are able to visit Cambridge (preferably on a College Open Day) you may get a better idea of the location, atmosphere and facilities of various Colleges.

Prerequisites

Economists have found that mathematical modelling provides a useful tool in analyzing trade-offs faced by individuals and societies.  It allows us to precise the assumptions we make about people's behaviour, and to test our hypotheses on data.  Hence, the central requirement for admission in to Cambridge's economics program is fluency in basic mathematical and statistical methods, at the level covered by an A-level course in Mathematics or equivalent (such as Higher level Mathematics in the International Baccalaureate).  In addition, we at Christ’s consider Further Mathematics as highly desirable background for applicants doing A-levels. Alongside A-level students, we welcome applications from students enrolled in other programs.  In recent years, we have admitted a number of people who graduated with an International Baccalaureate, German Abitur and other qualifications.  

Written work

Applicants to Christ's College will be asked to provide a sample of written work for further evaluation directly after the full UCAS application has been received. We ask the essay to be sent in English (preferably marked by your teacher) which has been written during the normal course of your studies. If you are not studying Economics or have not written any essays during your Economics course, you will be given a choice of questions and asked to write a short (1,000 word maximum) response in English. Applicants taking other arts subjects A levels (or equivalent) are asked to submit their most relevant marked essay (1,000 word maximum) written in English during the normal course of study. Those taking science A levels are asked to submit a written account in English of an experiment, or of a project which has been undertaken as part of the course.

Interviews

Applicants for Economics at Christ's are usually given two interviews, one of which is with the Director of Studies. The aim of the interviews is to try to determine applicants' potential to benefit from the Economics Tripos. The interviews have no fixed format but typically include working through some mathematics problems and a discussion of your essay previously submitted. Most interviews last between 15 and 30 minutes.

Conditional offers

Typically the College will make a conditional offer, in which case you would have a guaranteed place provided that you achieve your target; the precise target conditions are assessed individually. Entry requirements are likely to be minimum A*AA at A-level (including Mathematics), or comparable grades in other qualifications. Although there are exceptions, for students who take A-levels Christ’s typically asks for A* in Mathematics (though usually not in Further Mathematics)

Further Information

If you are able to come to a College Open Day, we will be glad to tell you more about the College and the course in person. If you are not able to come, we will be happy to answer any queries you may have that are not covered by the normal literature. Please address any such enquiries to the Admissions Tutor, Christ's College, Cambridge, CB2 3BU, or by e-mail to admissions@christs.cam.ac.uk.