Why hire a UCL Economics Placement student

At UCL’s Department of Economics, we offer the BSc Economics with Placement Year Degree, a structured and assessed programme with an opportunity for students to apply their acquired learning into the workplace. Students go out on Placement in the third year of their four-year degree, applying for opportunities in their second year.

Our highly motivated students, taught by experts in the field, are well prepared for their placement roles and can bring their knowledge and skills to positively impact on your team and organisation as a whole. The students learn the models, tools and concepts needed to have a deep and thorough understanding of economic theory and empirical analysis, relevant to a wide range of commercial and policy situations. They are prepared to research and solve problems independently or with a team, so you will benefit from a student who is curious and self-starter.

“Our UCL Economics placement student was enthusiastic and effective, directly applying the skills and knowledge from his degree to make an excellent contribution to our Covid analytical team. He was a pleasure to work with, always keen to take on new challenges and was well supported by the university throughout his year in the role."

Department of Culture, Media, and Sport

Benefits

We believe the experience of employing a UCL Economics student on a placement year is invaluable for employers and organisations. Benefits include:

The added value that a student can bring by offering new ideas and creativity to the team
The opportunity to assess the student over the placement period for future potential employment – an efficient and effective way to recruit
Additional learning opportunities for your team to develop managerial or mentoring skills

Learning outcomes

The BSc Economics with Placement Year has been designed to ensure that our students are developing the knowledge and skills which are essential for a new starter in the labour market, so they can:

demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the central ideas, concepts and methods of economics.
demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the principles and tools of model-building, analysing real data and problem-solving.
bring together information from different sources and present it in a coherent format using different media.
interpret and explain complex arguments.
bring together information from different sources and present it in a coherent format using different media.
analyse data using standard statistical techniques, implemented through widely used software.
structure and communicate ideas effectively both orally and in writing.
work independently, use initiative, manage time efficiently, and meet deadlines.

To support the development of these skills and knowledge in our students they will study modules such as:

Soft Skills

Students are also required to engage with our Skills Lab modules, that help them develop skills in written and oral communication, data analysis and modelling. We also ensure, through Placement workshops, that they understand work-related legislation relating to Equality and Health and Safety and more generally are prepared to engage in a professional way in a work environment. We support the students with the application and interview process, to help them and you identify if the match works.

You can find further information on the programme design and modules on UCL’s Prospectus page.

Who have we worked with in the past?

Our students have demonstrated great aptitude at taking their skills and knowledge from the degree and using them, and building on them, on placement at organisations including The Bank of England, HM Treasury, the Department of Work and Pensions, the Department of Culture, Media and Sport, FTI Consulting, the Competition and Markets Authority, AXA Insurance and Vendian Investment Management. All these employers have given us excellent feedback on the contribution our students made to their organisation’s work and culture.