BSc Geography and Economics (Regional Science) with Professional Experience

Title:

Introductory Microeconomics

Code:

EC113

Convenor:

DR Carolyn Molesworth-St Aubyn

Summary:

To introduce students to the basic principles of microeconomics.

Assessment Method:

Exam 60%, Class test 40%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Introductory Macroeconomics

Code:

EC114

Convenor:

DR Mark Guzman

Summary:

Introductory Macroeconomics is a first course in understanding what economists consider to be a nation’s economy.  It is designed to provide you with a general introduction to the basic concepts and models used by economists to comprehend the actual world in which you live and the general discussions found in the media and in political discourse.  

Assessment Method:

Exam 50%, Set exercise 20%, Class test 30%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Introductory Quantitative Methods in Economics and Business 1

Code:

EC115

Convenor:

DR Anwesha Mukherjee

Summary:

This module provides an introduction to quantitative techniques useful in economics.

Assessment Method:

Exam 50%, Assignment 50%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Introductory Mathematics for Economics 1

Code:

EC116

Convenor:

DR Andy Chung

Summary:

This module introduces the mathematical concepts which are of key importance in economics and to which reference is made in compulsory taught modules for single and joint degree programmes in the Department of Economics.

Assessment Method:

Exam 70%, Class test 30%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Contemporary Issues in Human Geography

Code:

GV1CIG

Convenor:

DR Anna Jackman

Summary:

This module provides students with an appreciation of the geographical dimensions of contemporary global issues and events that are shaping the world around us. This appreciation works in two ways, by encouraging students to operationalise geographical concepts to better understand these issues, and by reflecting back on the nature of geographical research in the light of contemporary events. The module is taught by a team of active researchers in human geography, each of whom will use illustrations from their own work as the basis for the module.

Assessment Method:

Set exercise 50%, Report 50%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Introducing Human Geography

Code:

GV1HGI

Convenor:

PROF Steve Musson

Summary:

This module aims to increase your understanding of what it is to do geography, think geographically and be a geographer. Starting from first principles, it explores the basic concepts that mark out human geography as a distinctive discipline and traces how geographers have come to define themselves. It asks why geography’s history is essential to understanding how we, as geographers, investigate and ask questions of the world. This module supports the more specific subject modules found in the first, second and third year of the degree programme by providing geographical context.

Assessment Method:

Assignment 50%, Report 50%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Introduction to Economic Institutions and Policy

Code:

EC107

Convenor:

DR Neha Hui

Summary:

The module provides a historical perspective of Economics as a discipline. It also analyses some contemporary economic problems and the different policies undertaken by governments to help address them. Finally, the module covers the work of the main international institutions such as the IMF and World Bank and their role in alleviating world poverty.

Assessment Method:

Exam 60%, Set exercise 40%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

The Economics of Climate Change

Code:

EC110

Convenor:

DR Stefania Lovo

Summary:

The module will offer an economic perspective on the causes and consequences of climate change. It will provide an introduction to key theoretical concepts, such as externalities and public goods, and to the policy tools available to devise adequate responses to climate change, such as command and control measures, taxation and subsidies. The module will also introduce national and international policy approaches in dealing with climate change and provide an overview of their implications for economic development.

Assessment Method:

Assignment 60%, Class test 40%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Introductory Quantitative Methods in Economics and Business 2 and Study Skills

Code:

EC120

Convenor:

PROF Simonetta Longhi

Summary:

This module extends the use of standard statistical techniques acquired in ‘Introductory Quantitative Methods 1’ and develops basic study and employability skills.

Assessment Method:

Exam 100%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Globalisation and the History of Western Capitalism

Code:

EC123

Convenor:

PROF Mark Casson

Summary:

Globalisation has been a major influence on the economic growth of the Western World (Europe and North America)., It encourages international trade and investment and creates mass markets; it also stimulates economic migration, foreign investment and technological innovation. But the world has been globalised before – in the Age of High Imperialism, 1870-1914. Antecedents of globalisation can even be detected in the Age of Discovery, c.1450-1600.

This course examines how the world economy ‘got to where it is today’ by charting the evolution of international economic activity from 1200 to the present. It begins with the development of the great port cities and concludes with a description of the modern ‘networked global village’.

Assessment Method:

Assignment 100%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Intermediate Mathematics for Economics

Code:

EC128

Convenor:

DR Fangya Xu

Summary:

This module builds on the introduction of mathematical techniques covered either in the Autumn term or before students began their economics programme.  It will present a further range of methods and their economic applications. Other modules in various economics programmes will make use of this material and provide further applications in their own context.

Assessment Method:

Exam 60%, Oral 40%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Theories and Debates in Human Geography

Code:

GV1HGT

Convenor:

PROF Hilary Geoghegan

Summary:

This module provides students with an introduction to core academic debates and theories in contemporary human geography. It introduces students to key sub-disciplines within human geography including economic, social, environmental and political geography. The module also establishes foundation knowledge for students wishing to take more advanced human geography modules in Parts 2 and 3. The module is taught by a team of human geographers, each giving an introduction to their area of particular expertise. In this way, the module also serves as an introduction to the research interests of staff in the Department. Teaching is mainly delivered through a series of lectures and student-led learning is encouraged through carefully selected further reading.

Assessment Method:

Exam 75%, Class test 25%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Techniques in Geography and Environmental Science

Code:

GV1TGE

Convenor:

DR Rob Fry

Summary:

This module provides all students in Geography & Environmental Science with an introduction to methodology and techniques across the discipline. The module will ensure that all students have the required skills for the analysis and interpretation of geographical and environmental data based on a series of lectures, laboratory and computer-based practicals and a compulsory fieldclass (-3 days) to Somerset.

Assessment Method:

Set exercise 10%, Project 30%, Report 50%, Class test 10%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Intermediate Microeconomics

Code:

EC201

Convenor:

DR Minyan Zhu

Summary:

This module builds on material covered in introductory microeconomic courses and introduces students to some of the more advanced topics in microeconomic theory, including intertemporal choice, decision-making under risk, game theory, and general equilibrium theory.

Assessment Method:

Exam 60%, Set exercise 40%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Intermediate Macroeconomics

Code:

EC202

Convenor:

DR Carl Singleton

Summary:

Intermediate Macroeconomics builds on concepts introduced in Principles of Macroeconomics.  It is designed to provide a more in-depth understanding of the fundamental principles and analytic concepts related to economic growth, inflation, unemployment and interest rates.  

Assessment Method:

Exam 50%, Set exercise 20%, Class test 30%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Geography & Environmental Science Field Class 4

Code:

GV2FCB

Convenor:

DR Alison Macleod

Summary:

Fieldwork is a fundamental component of Human Geography degrees. This module is designed to introduce you to key concepts in Human Geography that allow you to undertake field research in a real-world setting through experiential learning and using a range of contemporary field techniques. Participants make a contribution towards the financial cost of the trip. The highest standards of conduct and professionalism are expected from all participants.

Assessment Method:

Project 20%, Report 80%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Research Training for Geography and Environmental Science

Code:

GV2RTS

Convenor:

DR Jonathan Dale

Summary:

This module enables the development of a wide range of professional skills, including research training, project management, career awareness and employability. The main focus during the first part of the module is a team based research project, in which students work closely with an academic mentor to carry out a piece of carefully planned and highly professional research. Students will act as consultants, designing, executing and reporting on a research project that meets the original project brief. They will also gain experience of the University of Reading Research Ethics and Health and Safety processes as they prepare for their project. In the second part of the module, students will encounter more advanced-level research skills training which they will be required to reflect on as they start to prepare for their dissertations. Students will also receive guidance on CV writing and produce a supporting covering letter, and will be required reflect on the employability skills they have developed. This element will be supported by the Careers Service.

Assessment Method:

Oral 30%, Report 50%, Class test 20%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Introductory Econometrics

Code:

EC204

Convenor:

DR Hussein Hassan

Summary:

This module is primarily designed to give students a general understanding of basic econometrics with an emphasis on the interpretation of basic linear regression results and their relevance in economic analysis. It is linked closely to EC205, which is a natural follow-on.

The module will also help students understand key elements involved in career development and help access relevant work experience and internships while at university.

Assessment Method:

Exam 60%, Project 40%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Empirical Methods for Economics and Social Sciences

Code:

EC207

Convenor:

MR Adesola Olumayowa Sunmoni

Summary:

This module introduces the study and practice of data analysis for economics and the wider social sciences.  The module also develops skills in handling data using statistical software, enabling students to generate results from examples of actual real-world datasets that also address relevant economic and social policy problems.

Assessment Method:

Practical 25%, Project 50%, Class test 25%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Business Economics

Code:

EC208

Convenor:

DR Nigel Wadeson

Summary:

This module introduces a number of areas of business economics not covered in the industrial organisation module, with a concentration on theory. It requires reading from a variety of sources and so is suitable for students particularly interested in business economics.

Assessment Method:

Exam 80%, Assignment 20%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Games and Economic Behaviour

Code:

EC224

Convenor:

DR Steven Bosworth

Summary:

This module uses an online platform to cover a range of topics in the economic curriculum interactively. Each week students will be active participants in one or more models of an economic phenomenon. These will be implemented as online games. By participating in the game-based versions of each model students will gain greater insight into the assumptions and mechanisms underlying models of economic behaviour. Lectures will also use the opportunity to highlight precisely where these models might break down. 

Assessment Method:

Report 50%, Class test 50%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Economics of Social Policy

Code:

EC238

Convenor:

DR Samantha Benvinda Rawlings

Summary:

The module concentrates on how economic analysis can be applied to the real-world problems faced by policy makers. Economic analysis is employed in a wide range of social policies, whether in Government, the third sector but also in private sector organisations. This module concentrates on social economic problems and the role of Government policy. Analysis requires techniques taken from both micro and macroeconomics. Social economics covers a wide range of issues and the topics chosen will vary from year to year, depending on the current focus of policy interest. But, in general, the module could cover poverty and inequality, housing, crime, health, education, labour markets and urban economics for example. Not all these topics will be covered each year.

Assessment Method:

Assignment 60%, Report 40%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Economic History

Code:

EC243

Convenor:

DR Andrew Primmer

Summary:

This module explains how the world economy got to be where it is today, focusing on significant periods of economic change from the commercial revolution of the medieval period through to the modern digital revolution.

Assessment Method:

Exam 70%, Assignment 30%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Analysing Social Data: Techniques and Applications

Code:

GV2ATA

Convenor:

PROF Steve Musson

Summary:

This module will explore the analysis of social data, using quantitative and qualitative. We will use social data to persuade, argue and illustrate our understanding. During the module, you will become a better informed, more confident and critical user of social data.  

The first section of the module deals with quantitative (i.e. numerical) approaches. We will develop technical analysis skills using Excel and put these into practice with a large dataset such as the UK Census. The emphasis will be on applying simple analytical techniques to secondary data sources and no great level of mathematical ability is assumed. 

The second section of the module deals with qualitative approaches. We will develop a different set of analytical techniques and better understand how we can interpret textual documents. The emphasis will again be on using secondary data and we will put these techniques into practice using a large dataset such as the Mass Observation Archive. If possible, we will visit a public record archive to better understand these data sources. 

Students have often found these techniques useful in dissertations, other research projects, and in future employment. As such, this module can be the gateway for further research and professional development. 

Assessment Method:

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Corporate Social Responsibility Consultancy

Code:

GV2CSR

Convenor:

MR Jim Ormond

Summary:

This module introduces students to critical analyses of corporate social responsibility and environmental governance. The module encourages students to play the role of sustainability consultants, drawing on the module convenor’s extensive experience in this area. As such, students will gain employability and professional development skills alongside the more intellectual content of the module.

Assessment Method:

Assignment 100%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Geographies of Development, Identity and Place

Code:

GV2DIP

Convenor:

PROF Mike Goodman

Summary:

This module takes a global development approach to exploring the interplay between globalisation, socio-economic and cultural transformations across the Majority and Minority worlds. The module discusses key concepts and approaches to the study of culture, identity and place and relates these to global processes of socio-economic change and geographies of global development. It explores how people in different places and contexts are impacted by globalisation and social-cultural change and how they may contest and resist dominant representations. 

Assessment Method:

Exam 50%, Assignment 50%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Energy Resources

Code:

GV2ER

Convenor:

PROF Alan Howard

Summary:

The module explores key social, environmental and political issues affecting energy resource provision. The module covers key events dating back to the 1940s although the focus is on the current energy context in the UK and its future prospects.

Assessment Method:

Portfolio 100%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Geographical Information Systems

Code:

GV2GIS

Convenor:

DR Rob Fry

Summary:

The module introduces students to the principles, techniques and applications of Geographic Information Systems (GIS). Following an online introductory lecture the focus is 'hands-on', based on a series of practical sessions to introduce students to basic tasks including: working with different types of spatial data and their storage and management; setting coordinate systems and projections; geoprocessing, creating and editing data, spatial analysis, symbology, labelling and map design.

Assessment Method:

Practical 20%, Report 60%, Class test 20%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Summer Micro-Placement

Code:

GV2MPL

Convenor:

PROF Nicholas Branch

Summary:

This module gives students an opportunity to undertake a research or professional placement broadly related to the general area of their degree programme, during the summer vacation preceding Part 2 or 3 study. Research placements will provide the opportunity of working with a member of staff on a current project based in the UK or internationally. Professional placements would allow students to work with a professional organisation, consultancy or government organisation to gain experience of the professional sector.

Assessment Method:

Practical 50%, Oral 50%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Nature, Society and Imaginaries of Degrowth

Code:

GV2NS

Convenor:

PROF Hilary Geoghegan

Summary:

This module will introduce the students to a variety of geographical approaches to understanding nature-society relations. It will consider key concepts, theoretical frameworks and practices relevant to the politics of nature and economic growth to critically evaluated interrelationships between socio-economic systems, environmental values and sustainable development, with a specific focus on the climate and biodiversity crisis.

Assessment Method:

Exam 70%, Oral 15%, Report 15%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Summer Placement

Code:

GV2PLA

Convenor:

PROF Nicholas Branch

Summary:

This module gives students an opportunity to undertake a research or professional placement broadly related to the general area of their degree programme, during the summer vacation preceding Part 2 or Part 3 study. Research placements will provide the opportunity of working with a member of staff on a current project based in the UK or internationally. Professional placements would allow students to work with a professional organisation, consultancy or government organisation to gain experience of the professional sector.

Assessment Method:

Assignment 40%, Practical 30%, Oral 30%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Professional Placement Year

Code:

GV2PPY

Convenor:

PROF Nicholas Branch

Summary:

This module aims to provide students with the opportunity to explore a placement year within a professional environment of their choice.  The placement year will give students the opportunity to build on and develop their transferable skills and personal and professional portfolio which is essential to securing graduate employment. Students enrolled on the professional placement year will be provided with specialist training and dedicated support to assist them in securing their own placement through a competitive process

Assessment Method:

Oral 10%, Report 90%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Geography & Environmental Science Dissertation

Code:

GV3GED

Convenor:

PROF Avril Maddrell

Summary:

All students taking Geography and Environmental Science as their main degree subject are required to produce a dissertation as part of their degree. The dissertation is an original piece of research carried out by the students independently, with the support of an allocated staff adviser known as a ‘Supervisor’, and contributing to knowledge in a particular field of study. Students have a choice of dissertation topic within the range of expertise available in the Department of Geography and Environmental Science.

Assessment Method:

Dissertation 100%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Advanced Microeconomics

Code:

EC301

Convenor:

DR Steven Bosworth

Summary:

This module introduces decision and game theory and some of their economic applications.

Assessment Method:

Exam 60%, Assignment 40%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Advanced Macroeconomics

Code:

EC302

Convenor:

DR Alexander Mihailov

Summary:

This module covers major theories of long-run economic growth and short-run economic fluctuations. It looks at issues such as what causes economies to grow, why some countries are richer than others, and what poorer nations can do to catch up. It then looks at alternative explanations for what causes economies to fluctuate in the short run and what role the government can, or should play, in smoothing out fluctuations.

Assessment Method:

Exam 60%, Set exercise 20%, Project 20%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

International Economics

Code:

EC311

Convenor:

DR Hussein Hassan

Summary:

International economics is concerned with economic interactions among sovereign nations, in terms of trade in goods and services as well as investment in financial and real assets. It tries to answer questions such as: why do nations trade; what are the gains from trade; are such benefits fairly allocated across various social groups; should trade be free or protected; how much should trade and financial relations among nations be regulated, integrated, coordinated; why do monetary regimes and exchange rates matter; why do some nations tend to accumulate current account deficits and foreign debt whereas other are in surplus and are net lenders. Part of the module will apply the introduced theoretical concepts and models to the policy context of Brexit and EU integration.

Assessment Method:

Exam 60%, Assignment 40%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Public Economics

Code:

EC314

Convenor:

DR Jade Siu

Summary:

This module provides students with the opportunity to explore the rationale for government intervention in the economy, to assess what the role of the government should be, and to analyse a wide range of policy issues.

Assessment Method:

Assignment 50%, Set exercise 50%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Development Economics

Code:

EC319

Convenor:

DR Samantha Benvinda Rawlings

Summary:

Development economics concerns the application of economic tools to the study of issues that are of particular importance to low-income countries. This module primarily focuses on the application of microeconomic theory to understanding causes and consequences of underdevelopment and it studies the behaviour of individuals, including their choices and constraints when markets are missing or incomplete. The module aims to equip students with an understanding of relevant economic theory, evidence, and implications for policy. Development economics is a broad field, so that the module will necessarily focus only on a selection of topics relevant for development. 

Assessment Method:

Exam 60%, Assignment 40%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Money and Banking

Code:

EC320

Convenor:

DR Christos Mavrodimitrakis

Summary:

 This module builds on Intermediate Macroeconomics to study the economics of money, banking, and financial markets. The module consists of two basic parts: Financial Markets and Institutions; and Central Banking and Monetary Policy; while the role of money is at the centre of the analysis. Both the Great Recession and the Covid-19 pandemic highlight the volatility of financial markets and demonstrate the importance of central banks to the health of the financial system and the economy. This volatility can hit financial consumers directly, leading to difficulty in getting loans, falling home values, declining retirement account values and jeopardising jobs. We discuss interest rates, their relation to bond prices and returns, and their determination. We extend the analysis of the bond market to explain changes in credit spreads and the term structure. We also look at the role of expectations in the stock market and explore what drives stock prices. Financial institutions are central in the workings of the economy. We will look at financial structure and at the business and process of banking. On central banking, we explore what central banks are trying to achieve; what motivates them; how the money supply is determined; what are the policy tools central banks have in their disposal; how monetary policy is being conducted. We further discuss how the quantity theory of money explains inflation in the long run and how theories of the demand for money have evolved; the role of expectations in monetary policy; and the transmission mechanisms through which monetary policy affects the aggregate economy.

Assessment Method:

Exam 60%, Class test 40%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

The Economics of Sports and Games

Code:

EC325

Convenor:

PROF James Reade

Summary:

“Ask not what economics can do for sports - ask what sports can do for economics”.*

Sports can offer rare moments of clarity to social scientists within an otherwise complex real world.  The competitive environments within sport provide laboratories to study human behaviour, to test theories, and to observe the effects of policy.  For example, professional sports offer a rare glimpse of game theory in action, in a strictly controlled environment outside of the laboratory, and with participants who ought to be truly expert in strategic behaviour (e.g., penalty kicks in football, the serve in tennis, and picking a googly or slower ball in cricket).

This module also introduces students to the “Peculiar Economics of Professional Sports”** itself. We consider various sports and games from an economic perspective, as well as other markets related to sports, addressing questions such as:

Is the uncertainty of outcome hypothesis still relevant, or do we instead prefer to watch sports for thei surprise and suspence?

Are betting markets efficient or are there systematic biases that bettors could potentially profit from?

Is a major tournament, such as the Football World Cup or Olympic Games, ever economically beneficial to the host city and country? Or is hosting instead just a gift to the world (or a political gesture)?

*Quotation from Bar-Eli, Krumer and Morgulev in the Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics, December 2020.

**The title of a seminal article by Walter Neale in The Quarterly Journal of Economics, February 1964.

Assessment Method:

Exam 70%, Project 30%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Economics of Banking

Code:

EC327

Convenor:

MS Diya Abraham

Summary:

This module provides students with a guide to the economic theory of banking covering an introduction to the recent developments in academic research with a focus on the microeconomics of banking. The module will address important issues including the economic theory of bank financial intermediation pointing out the weaknesses in the banking sector, bank risks and strategies adopted by banks to address risks, economic assessment of the link between market structure, competition and stability in banking, the rationale for government intervention, and banking regulation. 

Assessment Method:

Exam 60%, Assignment 40%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Environmental Economics

Code:

EC334

Convenor:

DR Stefania Lovo

Summary:

The main focus of this course is on externalities resulting from human activity. These include among others climate change, pollution, natural resource depletion, and biodiversity loss. Topics will be shaped around two core areas: 

• Measuring externalities and their effects on human welfare.
• Designing and evaluating policy instruments to tackle negative externalities.

Assessment Method:

Assignment 50%, Class test 50%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Behavioural Economics

Code:

EC343

Convenor:

DR Joo Young Jeon

Summary:

This module offers students the opportunity to extend their understanding of how a broad range of economic decisions are made. Neoclassical economics is underpinned by numerous assumptions about how agents make decisions. Many decisions routinely observed are indeed at odds with classical economic theory. This module builds descriptively accurate models of decision making based on actually observed behaviour and aimed at including psychological intuitions about the drivers of such behaviour. While being descriptively more accurate, the models aspire at the same formal and mathematical rigour of classical models, thus constituting generalisations of the former. 

Assessment Method:

Assignment 50%, Class test 50%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Industrial Organisation

Code:

EC347

Convenor:

DR Joo Young Jeon

Summary:

This module presents a number of lessons from theoretical industrial economics for our understanding of corporate decision-making - such as price-setting, output-setting, investment in productive capacity, advertising, product differentiation, vertical integration and collusive behaviour. In this context, the role of industrial competition is emphasised and both the determinants of market structure and the imperatives for competition policy intervention are discussed.

Assessment Method:

Exam 60%, Assignment 40%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Financial Economics

Code:

EC349

Convenor:

DR Mark Guzman

Summary:

This module has two parts. The first part covers financial decision making in an idealised world with certainty and in a more complex world with uncertainty and market imperfections. The second part covers recent developments in financial markets and securities.

Assessment Method:

Exam 50%, Set exercise 25%, Class test 25%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Macroeconometrics

Code:

EC350

Convenor:

DR Shixuan Wang

Summary:

This module is one of two applied econometric modules which provide further development of econometric methods introduced in Parts 1 and 2.  EC350 focuses on techniques in the time series econometrics. This module is intended to teach students macroeconometrics, which focuses time series econometrics with applications on macroeconomic datasets. In addition students will develop their econometric software skills in R.

Assessment Method:

Exam 60%, Project 40%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Summer Placement

Code:

GV2PLA

Convenor:

PROF Nicholas Branch

Summary:

This module gives students an opportunity to undertake a research or professional placement broadly related to the general area of their degree programme, during the summer vacation preceding Part 2 or Part 3 study. Research placements will provide the opportunity of working with a member of staff on a current project based in the UK or internationally. Professional placements would allow students to work with a professional organisation, consultancy or government organisation to gain experience of the professional sector.

Assessment Method:

Assignment 40%, Practical 30%, Oral 30%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Culture and Development in Africa

Code:

GV344

Convenor:

DR Yaw Adjei-Amoako

Summary:

This module explores the relationship between culture and development in the context of Sub- Saharan Africa from theoretical and policy perspectives. Students analyse key social, cultural and development processes and contemporary issues affecting Africa at a range of geographical scales.

Assessment Method:

Exam 50%, Assignment 50%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Water Resources

Code:

GV362

Convenor:

PROF Alan Howard

Summary:

This module is delivered at the University of Reading and focusses on water quality, public health and associated water resource management... A range of historical, current and emerging water quality problems will be considered relating to drinking water and water-bodies used for bathing and recreation. The role of the WHO, EU and national governments in water resource management will be considered. Delivery is through a traditional lecture-format with weekly interactive micro-learning tasks to enhance learning, Assessment consists of an exam and coursework assignment.   

Assessment Method:

Exam 50%, Assignment 50%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Climate, Environment and Ancient Civilisations of the Andes

Code:

GV3AND

Convenor:

PROF Nicholas Branch

Summary:

The module aims to unravel the long-term (multi-millennial scale) history of Andean vegetation history and human-environment interactions using a range of complimentary approaches.  This inter-disciplinary perspective integrates physical and human geography, ecology, and archaeology.  The module largely focuses on mountainous ecosystems in South America, in particular the Peruvian Andes, and focuses on several key questions: 1) What have been the interrelationships between climate change, human land use, and environmental change through the Holocene, i.e. the last 11,700 years?;  2) How were these mountainous ecosystems transformed into a domesticated landscapes?;  3) How did ancient human societies achieve long-term environmental and socio-economic sustainability, and why did they eventually collapse?;  4) What are the implications of this historical perspective for today’s global challenges of sustainable living and landscape conservation against the backdrop of global warming?

Assessment Method:

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Consumption, Politics and Space

Code:

GV3CPS

Convenor:

PROF Mike Goodman

Summary:

This module provides students with an appreciation of the theoretical and empirical links among consumption, globalisation and sustainability from the perspective of political ecology. It enables students to develop a critical awareness of the role of the middle-class and rich people in global patterns of consumption and enviro-social sustainability and facilitates an understanding of the moral economies of global consumption networks.

Assessment Method:

Assignment 60%, Oral 20%, Portfolio 20%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Deathscapes and Dark Tourism

Code:

GV3DDT

Convenor:

PROF Avril Maddrell

Summary:

This module explores the geographies of deathscapes and dark tourism, bringing together geographical perspectives on landscapes and other sites associated with death, disaster, remembrance and tourism. Topics range from cemeteries as sites social diversity and biodiversity; sites of genocide and disaster; everyday spaces of pet cemeteries and roadside memorials, as well and the emotional and therapeutic geographies of comfort and consolation. It links social issues to environmental issues through questions about grievability and ‘killability’ of animals, species extinction and climate change; and social and cultural issues through studying changing practices of remembrance in contemporary multicultural societies and related Planning issues. It includes spaces, practices and experiences associated with sites of ‘Dark Tourism’ and explores whether death is still a social taboo in the light of Day of the Dead festivals and Death Cafés. Examples are drawn from the UK and international contexts (e.g. USA, Europe, Senegal, Australia). The module builds on the topics of identity, social diversity, sustainability, pilgrimage and memorialisation addressed in core modules and departmental field trips, and typically includes one or two local field trips, as well as a Day of the Dead workshop.

Key topics

• Day of the Dead – is death taboo?
• Deathscapes – reading the landscape
• Burial or Cremation – which and why? Local, religious, cultural and environmental factors.
• Personal, community and place identity in cemeteries
• Future proofing cemeteries and crematoria - planning and managing cemeteries and crematoria for inclusive multicultural and sustainable societies
• International case studies of funerary practices
• Behind the scenes at the cemetery – fieldtrip/s
• The role of grief and hope in addressing extinction and environmental loss
• Mapping grief and consolation – for humans and animals
• Pilgrimage, war graves and sites of genocide and disaster as Dark Tourism sites.
• Evaluating the ethics and authenticity of varied international Dark Tourism sites.
• Management of Dark Tourism sites for local and visitor needs.

Assessment Method:

Assignment 50%, Project 50%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Dissertation (Year of Professional Expereince Students)

Code:

GV3DPE

Convenor:

PROF Avril Maddrell

Summary:

All students taking Geography and Environmental Science as their main degree subject are required to produce a dissertation as part of their degree. The dissertation is an original piece of research carried out by the students independently, but with the support of an allocated adviser, and contributing to knowledge in a particular field of study. Students have a choice of dissertation topic within the range of expertise available in the Department of Geography and Environmental Science.

Assessment Method:

Dissertation 100%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Dissertation (Study Abroad Students)

Code:

GV3DSA

Convenor:

PROF Avril Maddrell

Summary:

This module allows students to opt to spend one of their third year terms (Autumn or Spring) at one of our Erasmus partner institutions in Europe or through the University-wide links in North America and Australia. Currently, the Department has established links with: The Faculty of Spatial Sciences, University of Groningen (The Netherlands); The University Centre on Svalbard (UNIS) and The Department of Geography, University of Bergen (Norway). For those students studying abroad in Europe, funding is contributed by the ERASMUS+ Exchange Scheme. Each study abroad student takes modules equivalent to 40 credits, which are substituted for course credits in Reading.

Assessment Method:

Dissertation 100%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

ERASMUS Exchange Programme

Code:

GV3ER1

Convenor:

DR Aleks Pluskowski

Summary:

This module allows students to opt to spend one of their third year terms (Autumn or Spring) at one of our Erasmus partner institutions in Europe or through the University-wide links in North America and Australia. Currently, the Department has established links with: The Faculty of Spatial Sciences, University of Groningen (The Netherlands); The University Centre on Svalbard (UNIS) and The Department of Geography, University of Bergen (Norway). For those students studying abroad in Europe, funding is contributed by the ERASMUS+ Exchange Scheme. Each study abroad student takes modules equivalent to 40 credits, which are substituted for course credits in Reading.

Assessment Method:

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

ERASMUS Exchange Programme

Code:

GV3ER3

Convenor:

DR Aleks Pluskowski

Summary:

This module allows students to opt to spend one of their third year terms (Autumn or Spring) at one of our Erasmus partner institutions in Europe or through the University-wide links in North America and Australia. Currently, the Department has established links with: The Faculty of Spatial Sciences, University of Groningen (The Netherlands); The University Centre on Svalbard (UNIS) and The Department of Geography, University of Bergen (Norway). For those students studying abroad in Europe, funding is contributed by the ERASMUS+ Exchange Scheme. Each study abroad student takes modules equivalent to 40 credits, which are substituted for course credits in Reading.

Assessment Method:

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Geography and Environmental Science Field Class

Code:

GV3FC

Convenor:

PROF Nicholas Branch

Summary:

This is a non-residential, field-based module to enhance training and experience of undertaking in situ problem-based research, involving data collection, analysis and interpretation. The main theme is ‘society and the environment’, and the aim is to develop a fully integrated understanding of human and physical processes with a strong emphasis on authentic, ‘real world’ issues, drawing upon methods used in human and physical geography, and environmental science.

Assessment Method:

Oral 20%, Report 80%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

The Anthropology of Heritage and Cultural Property

Code:

GV3HCP

Convenor:

DR Alanna Cant

Summary:

This module focuses on the concepts, institutions, politics, and legal claims of heritage and cultural property in the contemporary world. You will learn about the historical development of these concepts and the national and global institutions, such as English Heritage and UNESCO, through which they are promoted. You will develop a critical understanding of the political, economic, social and environmental effects of these processes. You will also develop your understanding of how heritage has become an important global industry premised on economies of tourism and heritage site conservation. By looking at different cases of heritage and cultural property, you will investigate such questions as: What is the relationship between heritage, identity and the nation-state? What happens when culture becomes a resource? Can the concept of cultural property afford the protections that indigenous and minority groups seek? What are the consequences of natural and human made threats to heritage sites? Course materials will primarily be academic texts and documentary films about specific cases from all over the world. The module will be delivered through a series of lectures, seminar sessions (small groups and general discussions), and documentary films.  It will also include presentations by guest speakers who work in the heritage industries.

Assessment Method:

Assignment 100%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Human Geography Field Class

Code:

GV3HGF

Convenor:

PROF Mike Goodman

Summary:

Fieldwork is a fundamental component of Human Geography degrees. This module is designed to cement and allow you to put into practice key concepts in Human Geography through field research in a real-world setting through experiential learning and using a range of contemporary field techniques. Participants make a contribution towards the financial cost of the trip. The highest standards of conduct and professionalism are expected from all participants.

Assessment Method:

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Spaces of Care and Wellbeing

Code:

GV3SCW

Convenor:

PROF Ruth Evans

Summary:

This module aims to develop students’ knowledge and understanding about key theoretical approaches to geographies of care and wellbeing and how these may be applied through the use of participatory methods to diverse spaces in the local community and globally. Through the Participation Lab’s work with local charities and service providers, opportunities will be provided for students to engage with practitioners working with refugees, people experiencing loneliness and other marginalised groups in Reading.  It aims to develop participatory research and employability skills through:

• participant observation in community settings, consulting with an external client (practitioners in local support organisations) and writing a consultancy report
• a mini-project to design and facilitate a participatory research session on youth wellbeing and care with fellow students, analyse the data gathered, synthesise the findings and reflect on participatory praxis.

Assessment Method:

Practical 20%, Project 50%, Report 30%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.