How to Apply to Economics at Brunel University of London: Economics BSc and the Combined Degrees With Business Finance, Accounting and Management, a Common First Year and Optional Placement Year, and Entry Requirements for Home, International (Including Chinese) and Transfer Applicants

Brunel University of London teaches economics from its single campus in west London, in the Economics, Finance and Accounting subject area of Brunel Business School; the subject pages also mention a Department of Economics and Finance. This guide sets out what you need to know for September 2027 entry, based on Brunel’s official pages, for UK applicants, international applicants (including students at high schools in China) and students who want to transfer into Year 2. Business and accounting degrees are mentioned only in passing.

1. The economics degrees and how to apply

You apply to a named course (UCAS course codes below), starting in September; each is 3 years full-time, or 4 years with a one-year professional placement between Years 2 and 3:

• Economics BSc (Hons): L101; with placement L106.
• Economics and Business Finance BSc (Hons): LND3; with placement LNC3.
• Economics and Accounting BSc (Hons): LN14; with placement NL41.
• Economics and Management BSc (Hons): LNC2; with placement LND2.
• Economics and Mathematics with an Integrated Foundation Year: L102 (4 years); with placement L103 (5 years).
• The subject page also lists Banking and Finance, Finance and Accounting, Accountancy and Accounting and Business Management undergraduate degrees; they are not covered here.

• Choosing a degree: the subject page says the first-year modules are similar across the economics, finance and accounting degrees and you do not have to confirm your final degree choice until the end of the first year. Ask admissions about the conditions for switching.
• Content of the Economics BSc: economic theory, statistics, econometrics and finance, with data analysis in packages such as R and Python; the subject page also mentions a Financial Services Suite with live Bloomberg screens and training in EViews and Reuters. On the dissertation, the course page says two things: the course content section calls the final-year dissertation optional (you may take additional modules instead), while the assessment section says you are required to write a dissertation in the final year. Both statements are on the site; check with the department.
• Accreditation: the course page says the Economics BSc is accredited by ACCA and CIMA, with exemptions from professional papers; the subject page says all its degrees carry accreditation by professional accounting bodies such as ACCA, CIMA or ICAEW. Check each course page for the exact body.
• Admissions tests and interviews: the economics course pages do not mention an entrance test or interview; ask admissions if you need to be sure.

2. Entry requirements (course pages, labelled 2026/7 entry)

• GCSE: at least five GCSEs at grade C/4 or above including GCSE Mathematics at grade B/5, and either GCSE English Language (C/4) or English Literature (B/5).
• A-level: the standard offer is ABB; the summary on the course page says “ABB - BBB”, BBB being the contextual level. The course page does not name any required A-level subject (it does not require Maths or Economics) and does not say whether Further Maths is treated differently; ask admissions. Contextual offers apply to UK undergraduate applicants who meet Brunel’s contextual markers, listed on its contextual admissions page (not among the pages used here).
• BTEC: National Extended Diploma DDM in a related subject (Applied Science, Business, Computing, Engineering, Enterprise and Entrepreneurship, Environmental Sustainability, Information Technology, Marketing, Travel and Tourism); the contextual offer is DMM, and an Extended Certificate with A-levels BB also has a contextual offer.
• IB: the standard offer is 31 points and the contextual offer is 30, with GCSE English equivalent SL 5 or HL 4 and Mathematics SL 2 or HL 2.
• T levels: Merit overall in a related subject.
• Integrated Foundation Year course (Economics and Mathematics): A-level CCD (contextual CDD), BTEC MMM, IB 26 points (contextual 25), T levels Pass; five GCSEs including Maths and English Language.
• Scottish Highers and Advanced Highers are not listed item by item in the course page text. The page says to contact admissions (admissions@brunel.ac.uk or +44 (0)1895 265265) if your qualification is not listed.

3. What the course looks like

• Taking the Economics BSc: Year 1 compulsory modules are Mathematics for Economics and Finance (described as providing students of all academic backgrounds with the mathematical foundations needed, covering basic algebra and differential calculus), Financial Markets, Statistics and Data Analysis, Microeconomic Principles and Macroeconomic Principles.
• Year 2 compulsory modules include Intermediate Microeconomics, Intermediate Macroeconomics, Mathematical Economics, Money and Banking, Quantitative Methods and Introduction to Econometrics; Year 3 includes modules such as Managerial and Industrial Economics, Behavioural Economics and Development Economics.
• The course page says assessment is by coursework and examinations in roughly an 80% to 20% proportion; Year 1 does not count towards your final mark, Year 2 is worth a third and Year 3 the rest. Lectures are delivered on campus and recorded.

How to apply, timeline and institution code

• All full-time undergraduate applications go through UCAS. Brunel University of London’s institution code is B84, and the course code is on each course page; you can choose up to 5 courses. Part-time degrees are applied for directly on Brunel’s website instead. Check UCAS’s own site for its rules and deadlines.
• International applicants using one of Brunel’s registered agents may apply through the university’s online agent facility, but Brunel says this is only possible if you have not applied through UCAS and will not do so for that year of entry.
• Brunel’s “key dates” page shows the 2026 entry cycle: 14 January 2026 for the initial on-time deadline, 30 June 2026 for closing of the UCAS main system, and 15 October 2025 for Medicine, Dentistry and Veterinary Sciences. It does not show 2027 entry dates, so check UCAS and Brunel’s latest announcements. The page adds that many courses stay open for late applications after January.
• Note that most course pages label their entry requirements “2026/27 entry” (Medicine says 2027/8) while fees are labelled 2027/28; ask admissions whether requirements change for 2027 entry.

International applicants

• Qualifications: Brunel says each course page has a drop-down menu to find the entry criteria for most international qualifications. You must provide your full official transcript and certificate before you can register (and before a CAS is issued if you need a visa); if you are still studying, upload an interim transcript with your application.
• English: every applicant must show English language ability; the exact scores are on the course page. The economics course pages list IELTS 6.5 (no band below 5.5), Pearson 59 (59 in each part) and BrunELT 6.5 (no band below 5.5); the TOEFL line on those pages is printed as 4.5 (minimum 4), which does not match the TOEFL 77–98 range on Brunel’s English language page, so confirm with admissions. The Integrated Foundation Year course page lists IELTS 6.0 (no band below 5.5). Brunel also has its own BrunELT test and pre-sessional English courses at its Language Centre. If you need a visa you must provide a UKVI-approved SELT result (for example IELTS for UKVI) taken within two years of the CAS. Brunel’s English language page says that in general courses ask for between IELTS 6.0 (TOEFL 77) and IELTS 7.0 (TOEFL 98), with some higher.
• Documents: a copy of the photo page of your passport (and any previous UK visas).
• Deposit: international students pay a £5,000 deposit towards tuition fees before a CAS is issued; details come in the offer email.
• Visa funds: Brunel’s international fees page says a Student visa application must show living costs of £1,334 per month for up to nine months (£12,006) plus first-year tuition; the Pathway College fees page says that for applications submitted on or after 30 November 2026 the London figure is £14,130 for nine months (£1,570 per month). The two pages differ, so check the current UK government and Brunel requirements.

Applicants from China

• Brunel’s China country page states that “There are no Chinese academic equivalents accepted for Undergraduate Bachelor degrees.” It does not say how gaokao results are used, nor give conditions for entering Year 1 of an undergraduate degree directly from a Chinese high school certificate, so how the gaokao is used is not given on the pages used for this guide; ask admissions (admissions@brunel.ac.uk) and the China country manager. The page offers an online form to contact the China manager and lists Brunel’s registered representatives in China.
• A route often relevant for students from China is the on-campus partner college, the Brunel University of London Pathway College (pathway.brunel.ac.uk). Its academic requirements page says for China: Foundation, for Business, Computer Science, Economics and Finance, Education, Humanities, Law and Social Sciences, the Senior Secondary School Graduation Certificate (3 years) with an average of 60%, or successful completion of Senior Middle School 2 with at least 70%; for Engineering and Health and Life Sciences, an average of 70% (or at least 80% in Senior Middle School 2) including an average of 80% in Maths or Physics; First Year Studies, a graduation-certificate average of 75%. The page adds that some Economics and Finance first-year courses have additional Maths requirements and to email info@pathway.brunel.ac.uk. The college’s Economics and Finance area has a Foundation (September and May intakes) and a First Year (September intake), both on the Uxbridge campus over 2 semesters. Foundation modules include Economics, Management, Mathematics, Statistics, Principles of Accounting and ICT; First Year modules include Macroeconomic and Microeconomic Principles, Mathematics for Economics and Finance A and B, Statistics and Data Analysis A and B, Financial Markets and Introduction to Financial Accounting. After completing it you progress directly to Brunel’s Economics BSc, Economics and Business Finance BSc or Finance and Accounting BSc. Pathway tuition for 2026/27 for international students: Foundation in Economics and Finance £17,000, First Year in Economics and Finance £17,950; Foundation and First Year students pay a 50% tuition deposit.
• Pathway College English: Foundation standard pathway IELTS 5.5 (no band below 5.5), “higher level” pathways 6.0; First Year Studies IELTS 6.0 (no band below 5.5). Students who do not meet Brunel’s direct-entry English requirement get an English module in their timetable. Check the college’s English requirements page.
• Pathway College deadlines (September 2026 cycle): application 21 August 2026 for most applicants, acceptance and deposit 28 August 2026, CAS 4 September 2026; January 2027 cycle application deadline 22 December 2026. September 2027 dates are not published on that page; check the college’s site. Pathway tuition and deposit are on the college’s fees page and summarised under the subject sections of this guide.

Fees and scholarships

• Tuition fees for 2027/28, from the course pages: Economics BSc, Economics and Business Finance, Economics and Accounting and Economics and Management are £19,895 a year for international students and £10,050 for Home students; Economics and Mathematics with an Integrated Foundation Year is £17,920 for international students and £10,050 for Home students. Fees are per year and may rise; international fees may change by no more than 5% or RPI, whichever is greater. Fee status is Home or Overseas; ask admissions if unsure, as Brunel assesses fee status in detail only after an offer.
• Scholarships: Brunel’s international fees page says more than 100 scholarships are offered each year, worth up to £7,500 a year; the China country page says about 130 international scholarships each year, some up to £6,000 a year. The figures differ. Some awards need an application and others are considered automatically; if you qualify for several you receive the one with the highest value. The undergraduate fees page mentions a Vice Chancellor’s Undergraduate Excellence Award 2026/27, but its conditions page was not available among the pages used here; the Vice-Chancellor’s International Excellence Award is for postgraduate taught students. Use the filter tool on brunel.ac.uk/scholarships (level: undergraduate, location: international) and check the year of entry.
• Early payment discount: self-funded students who pay the full fee at or before registration may receive 2% off the net fee, with no application; it does not apply if a third party pays. There is also a family discount (10% off tuition for students whose family member is a current student, alumnus or staff member, for students starting in 2023/24 or later).

Transfer and Year 2 direct entry

• Brunel’s transfer page says most transfers are into Year 2, and Year 3 entry is also considered.
• Year 2: you are normally expected to meet the standard first-year entry criteria and to be completing, or to have completed, the first year of a similar degree. The admissions tutor reviews your first-year module specifications to check the content is similar to Brunel’s first year and that you have the background to join Year 2. You still apply through UCAS and choose Year 2 as the point of entry; you may email admissions (admissions@brunel.ac.uk) first with the course, your school and college grades, and your current course title and institution. A handful of courses may not take Year 2 entrants because of space or course structure.
• Year 3: you should have completed, or be completing, the first two years of a degree at an OfS-registered university (Brunel says it cannot currently accept HNDs or professional qualifications for transfer). The admissions tutor reviews your transcripts and module specifications; you apply through UCAS, and Brunel recommends emailing admissions first. A transfer policy PDF is linked on the page.
• Minimum transfer grades are not given on the pages used for this guide; ask admissions. Whether credit from a Chinese university would be recognised is not stated either; check with admissions.

What to check yourself

• UCAS deadlines for 2027 entry, and whether the entry requirements change for 2027;
• whether any A-level subject is preferred, the detailed contextual-offer conditions and item-by-item requirements for Scottish and international (including Chinese) qualifications;
• how the gaokao is used, and the conditions for entering Year 1 directly from China;
• the names, amounts and automatic or application-based status of undergraduate scholarships open to international students.