Bachelor of Arts (Honours) - Economics and History (Advanced Entry)

Any society has to address the problem of how and what to produce for its material survival, and how the goods and services that are produced should be distributed among its population. Economists explore how people and institutions behave and function when producing, exchanging and using goods and services. Economists’ main motivation is to find mechanisms that encourage efficiency in the production and use of material goods and resources, while at the same time producing a pattern of income distribution that society finds acceptable. Economics will appeal to students with a wide range of interests. If students are interested in current economic affairs or in understanding how public policies could lower unemployment or assist the developing world, then they will find studying economics both stimulating and rewarding. Economics is also a strong platform for careers in business and finance. Students who enjoy abstract thinking, and are evaluating courses such as engineering or physics, should also consider economics as a degree option. History is about people. Studying History means studying lives, events and ideas in times and places often very different from this time. History embraces everything from the rise and fall of empires, or the birth of new ideologies, to the contrasting everyday lives of people in a whole range of settings, across time and across the globe. Studying History means developing critical skills, learning to express ideas and arguments clearly, and becoming self-directed in studies. History is a subject for the intellectually curious. It offers an enormous diversity of subjects to explore, questions to ponder and problems to resolve. The History modules at Trinity College Dublin allow students to study a remarkable range of types of history – whether cultural or political history, military or social history, environmental history or the history of ideas – from the early Middle Ages to the very recent past. This program offer survey modules allowing them to grasp the broad patterns in history, specialist modules where they can study topics of particular interest to them in small classes, and opportunities for them to pursue their independent research.