How to Apply to Economics at Aston University: Five Four-Year BSc Degrees With an Integrated Placement Year (Economics, Economics and Finance, Business Economics, Economics and Politics, International Business and Economics), Typical Offer BBB, and Entry Requirements for UK, International (Including Chinese) and Transfer Applicants

Aston University is in central Birmingham. Its Business subject page lists five economics degrees: Economics, Economics and Finance, Business Economics, Economics and Politics and International Business and Economics; Mathematics with Economics sits under Engineering and Physical Sciences. The Economics and Finance and International Business and Economics pages say they are delivered by Aston Business School; the other pages do not name a school. This guide sets out September 2027 entry for UK applicants, international applicants (including those from China) and transfer applicants.

1. The degrees and how admission works

• All five course pages say: full time, 4 years with an integrated placement year, starting September 2027. UCAS codes and typical offers: Economics L100 (BBB; contextual BBC); Economics and Finance LN13 (BBB; BBC); Business Economics LN10 (BBB; BBC); International Business and Economics LNC1 (BBB; BBC); Economics and Politics LL12 (BBC; contextual BCC).
• Economics: the page describes microeconomics, macroeconomics, mathematics and statistics, games and economic behaviour, with data analysis in Excel and R, taught by a team that includes national teaching award winners. Economics and Finance adds finance, accounting, corporate finance, econometrics and financial economics, with a focus on real estate. Business Economics shares the first year with Economics and adds a business simulation. Economics and Politics covers political topics beyond the UK and Europe, including Africa, Asia and North America. International Business and Economics takes an international view of business and economics.
• You apply directly to the named degree; the course pages do not give conditions for changing course after entry, so check with the admissions team.
• Placement year: the pages say it is compulsory for all home students; international (the page says International/EU) students can request permission to opt out, but Aston strongly recommends completing it, and the page names a period of overseas study as an alternative to a work placement. International placement-year tuition is shown in the fees section.
• Aston also lists one-year foundation programmes (for example Economics Foundation, UCAS L10F, typical offer CCC) leading to the degree; the page says they are for UK students only, and international students are directed to OnCampus Aston.
• The economics pages do not mention an interview or admissions test; Aston’s application guide says some courses require an interview and that this is shown on the course page.
• Mathematics with Economics (G1L1, 4 years, typical ABB, A-level Maths at A) is delivered jointly with the School of Engineering and Innovation and Aston Business School; see its course page. Business and computing have their own course pages.

2. Entry requirements (per the course pages)

• A-level: BBB for Economics, Economics and Finance, Business Economics and International Business and Economics (BBC with an EPQ at B, and BBC as the contextual offer); BBC for Economics and Politics (BCC contextual). The course pages name no required A-level subject (neither Economics nor Maths); they give grades only.
• IB: 31 points with 5,5,5 at Higher Level for Economics, Economics and Finance, Business Economics and International Business and Economics; 29 points with 5,5,4 for Economics and Politics. Each also requires Standard Level 5 in Mathematics and in English.
• BTEC: Extended Diploma DDD (contextual DDM); the Economics and Politics page shows “BTEC Extended Diploma – DDM (standard offer)”. National Certificates and Diplomas are accepted only combined with other qualifications equivalent to three full A2 Levels.
• Access to HE: QAA-recognised Access Diploma with 45 Level 3 credits; the Economics page asks for at least 21 credits at Distinction with the rest Merit or Distinction, while the Economics and Politics page asks for at least 15 at Distinction. The English and Maths components do not count.
• T Levels: the Economics page lists accepted T Levels (for example Accounting, Finance, Management and Administration, Digital Business Services, Science, Health), each at grade D.
• GCSE: Mathematics at B/5 and English Language or Literature at C/4.
• Scottish Highers and Northern Irish qualifications are not listed separately in the content used for this guide; check with the admissions team.

3. What you study (Economics as the example)

• Economics Year 1 core: Principles of Microeconomics, Mathematics for Economics, Games and Economic Behaviour, Introduction to the Business Environment, Principles of Macroeconomics, Statistics for Economics, Applied Topics in Economics, Political Economy. Year 2: Measuring the Economy, Intermediate Microeconomics, Industrial Organisation, plus options such as International Business and Emerging Market Economies, Applied Business Economics and Sports Economics and Finance. Year 3 is the placement. Final year: Further Topics in Microeconomics and in Macroeconomics, The Consulting Challenge, Public Economics, plus options such as Economics of Entrepreneurship, Financial Derivatives, International Trade, Regional and Urban Economics and Behavioural Economics. Optional modules depend on staffing and numbers.
• Assessment includes consultancy reports, group projects, statistical reports and briefing notes, per the course page. The other degrees are described on their own pages.

4. Timeline and process

• How to apply: undergraduate applications go through UCAS; Aston’s institution code is A80. The step-by-step guide says you can apply for up to five courses (no ranking needed), fill in education history, work experience and a personal statement, have a teacher, adviser or professional who knows your academic ability write a reference, and pay the UCAS fee on submission. The UCAS fee and exact formats are not given on Aston’s page; check the UCAS website. This is Aston’s step-by-step page; the transfer notes on course pages add that Aston does not accept direct applications and requires a UCAS application.
• Deadline: the page says applications for September 2027 entry must reach UCAS by 13 January 2027 (15 October 2026 for Medicine). Check the date on UCAS as well.
• Offers and interviews: Aston describes unconditional, conditional and alternative offers. Some courses require an interview (on campus or on Microsoft Teams); whether one is needed is shown on each course page, and an invited applicant must attend. Exam results such as A-levels are published in August and visible in your UCAS Hub.

5. By type of applicant

• UK applicants and contextual offers:

• UK applicants: course pages list requirements by qualification (A-level, BTEC, IB, Access to HE, T Levels, etc.; see each subject below). Scottish Highers and Northern Irish qualifications are not listed separately on the pages used here, apart from Advanced Highers on the Medicine page; check with the admissions team. For England-domiciled students Aston says the 2027/28 fee is expected to be £10,050, subject to parliamentary approval, with annual inflation-linked increases afterwards; the course pages give £1,250 for a placement year. Home applicants pay a deposit to secure a place (UK undergraduates with a student loan do not), deducted from first-year tuition.
• Contextual offers (Aston Ready): Aston says you must have attended a state school and be assessed as a Home fee student, and meet one of these: free school meals eligibility in the last six years, a low-participation neighbourhood (POLAR4 quintile 1 or 2), a declared disability, completion of an Aston Pathways programme, attendance at a school in Aston’s STEM Education Academy Trust, local authority care experience, or refugee status. Offers are usually one or two grades lower than standard (for example ABB becomes BBB). International applicants with Overseas fee status, including applicants from China, are not covered.

• International applicants:

• English language: Aston’s English language requirements page lists accepted tests: IELTS Academic (including Academic Online), TOEFL iBT (the Home edition is not accepted), Oxford ELLT, Pearson PTE Academic, Password (taken at NCUK centres only), Kaplan KTE, Cambridge CAE and CPE, and Duolingo. Online versions of other tests are not accepted unless stated; tests with several components must be taken in one sitting; results must be within two years of the course start date. Required scores depend on school and programme; IELTS scores are given for each subject below, and the page holds the tables for other tests.
• Pathways: OnCampus Aston, Aston’s International Pathway Centre run with Cambridge Education Group, offers an Undergraduate Foundation Programme, International Year One and a Pre-Master’s Programme; its page says successful students who meet the academic criteria are guaranteed progression to their chosen degree. The mathematics and economics course pages add that international students can enter Year 2 after completing an undergraduate year one with approved partners ONCAMPUS Aston or NCUK. Aston’s own Foundation Programmes are for UK students only; international students are directed to OnCampus Aston.
• If you are still studying: applicants currently on a post-16 qualification or foundation programme must submit a complete UCAS application with the full qualification name, list of units, predicted grades for English, subject units and the overall result, and a supportive reference; applications without verified predicted grades may not be progressed. International applicants who joined a foundation programme in January are subject to the January UCAS equal consideration date.
• Visa, proof of funds, credential evaluation: the international students page links to visa information and a CAS explainer video (see the International Student Support page). The amount of funds to show and credential evaluation are not given on the pages used for this guide; check that page and the UK government Student visa pages.
• IELTS for economics: Aston’s IELTS table is by school: Aston Business School undergraduates need 6.5 overall with two bands at 5.5 and the others 6.0 or above; School of Law and Social Sciences undergraduates need 6.0 overall with 5.5 in each component. The Economics and Politics page does not name its school, so which level applies is not stated; ask the admissions team. Score tables for other tests are on the English language requirements page.

Applicants from China

• Aston has a China page. For undergraduate entry it says applicants with a complete A-level profile with grades between BCC and BBB, or equivalent IB Diploma results (31 points with 5,5,5 at Higher Level; 29 with 5,5,4; 28 with 5,4,4) or NCUK (BBB, BBC, BCC), may be considered; applicants with an average of 60 per cent in the Senior High School Leaving Certificate may be considered for ONCAMPUS Aston to progress to undergraduate study.
• Whether the gaokao is used directly for undergraduate admission, how huikao materials and transcripts are verified, is not stated on that page or on the course pages used here; ask the admissions team. The page gives chinaoffice@aston.ac.uk and WeChat (Aston_University) as contacts, and Aston says it works with education advisers and representatives in a number of countries.
• Note that BCC–BBB on the China page is a general range; each course page has its own grade requirement (below). Treat the course page as the one that applies and confirm with the admissions team how Chinese qualifications are matched.

6. Fees and scholarships

• International fee (2027/28): £23,500 for the first year of Economics, Economics and Finance, Business Economics and International Business and Economics; £22,575 for Economics and Politics. Placement year £2,500 (the page notes this is the September 2026 placement fee and that the 2027 figure would be updated by 31 July 2026, so check). Aston says total tuition will not rise by more than 6% year on year.
• UK fee (2027/28): expected £10,050 for the first year, subject to parliamentary approval; £1,250 for a placement year.
• International undergraduate scholarships (September 2027 entry): Aston’s scholarships page lists two. (1) The International Community Scholarship (Undergraduate) is competitive and application-based: £9,000 off tuition in total, £3,000 in each of Years 1, 2 and 3 (Years 2 and 3 awarded automatically on progression), for taught years only (placement and repeated years are excluded); students entering a final-year top-up receive only the Year 1 £3,000. (2) The Sir Adrian Cadbury Chancellor’s Scholarship is a £10,000 tuition reduction; you submit a form and a 500-word statement (statements of 550 or more, or 450 or fewer, are not assessed). Both are open to self-funded international undergraduate offer-holders only, with the application link emailed after you hold an offer rather than published; application, outcome and deposit dates are all shown as “TBC”. Nursing, MBChB Medicine, Optometry, MPharm Pharmacy and Healthcare Science (Audiology) are excluded.
• The China page says scholarships cannot be combined and students receive the highest-value one available. Aston also lists NCUK and OnCampus Aston scholarships, but the amounts shown are for September 2026 entry; check the site for 2027. For scholarship questions the page gives hello@aston.ac.uk.

7. Transfers

• Year 1 entry: students in the first year of a degree elsewhere may be considered; they must meet the GCSE and A-level (or equivalent) requirements, apply through UCAS and include an academic reference.
• Year 2 entry: not part of the standard process and at the discretion of the admissions team and tutor, only if there is space. Typically you meet the GCSE and A-level requirements and have passed (or are expected to pass) a first year of 120 credits on an equivalent programme at another recognised university with very similar module content; the tutor reviews the programme specification.
• Year 3 onwards: Aston will not consider applications.
• International students can also enter Year 2 after an undergraduate year one with ONCAMPUS Aston or NCUK (per the Economics page).

8. Not given on the pages used

• Admissions tests and interviews, conditions for changing course, how the gaokao is used, equivalents for Scottish and Northern Irish qualifications, the amount of funds to show for a visa, and the IELTS level for Economics and Politics are not given on the pages used for this guide; check with the admissions team and the official sites.

All of this comes from Aston University’s website. Figures and dates can change, so check the official site and UCAS before applying.