The Department of Economics takes cognisance of a changing world and resultant demands and expectations on and of graduates in the workplace and, hence, offers a strong academic foundation in Economics through our BCom programme, which includes two distinct streams designed to cater to diverse interests and career aspirations. Our curriculum is thoughtfully designed to balance theoretical knowledge with real-world application, preparing our graduates to contribute meaningfully to both the public and private sectors.
Our master's and PhD programmes provides the opportunity to join an active community of researchers who specialise in various fields and have undertaken prominent research projects. The department is committed to academic excellence, inclusive learning, innovative research and engaged scholarship within the field of economics.
What makes us unique
Unisa's Department of Economics is the largest Economics Department in South Africa, with approximately 30,000 students enrolled per semester, taught by more than 40 members of staff who are experts in distance education, some with over 30 years of teaching experience. In addition to its tuition excellence, the department also is home to four NRF-rated researchers and houses the Macroeconomic Policy Analysis (MPA) Programme which was established in 2011 to conduct cutting-edge macro-economic policy research necessary to provide timely scientific policy advice to African countries, in general, and to sub-Saharan African countries, in particular. This speaks to the department’s level of research excellence with the aim to contribute to policy relevance in African countries and other developing countries.
Our Economics curriculum provides students with a strong foundation in the first and second years of the degree, and prepares them well for the study of specialised fields in the third year and postgraduate degrees. Our curriculum design considers the current changes in the socio-political landscape, such as the fourth industrial revolution fundamental changes in the leading global economies, African economies and South African economy.
Our programmes
The department of Economics offers a wide variety of programmes at undergraduate, honours, master's and doctoral levels.
- The Bachelor of Commerce in Economics (BCom, Economics): This is a three-year degree that offers students an introduction to various economics sub-disciplines. In the first year of the programme, students are provided grounding and basic understanding of theories and concepts in Micro- and Macroeconomics. The second year of the programme provides an intermediate focus on economic theory. In the third year of the programme, students receive advanced understanding of economic policy-making and analysis, where students apply the knowledge from the first year to practical economic scenarios. At third-year level, students narrow their focus to the electives, namely Public Economics, International Trade, Development Economics, International Finance, Monetary Economics and the History of Economic Thought. Econometrics is compulsory for third-year BCom (Economics) students.
- The Bachelor of Commerce in Economics (BCom, Quantitative Economics): The department also offers a more applied BCom (Quantitative Economics) specialisation as well as a BCom (Business Informatics) degree. Virtually all other undergraduate programmes in the College of Economic and Management Sciences, as well as some programmes from other colleges, include a range of Economics modules as part of their curricula.
- Bachelor of Commerce Honours (Hons BCom): The programme provides students with the opportunity to understand how theories learned in the core economics modules are linked to economics in practice. The programme is a two-year programme only. Students who are registered for this degree are expected to complete the compulsory modules and choose two of the four elective modules. All students must complete the advanced Microeconomics, advanced Macroeconomics and advanced Econometrics modules. In addition to the core honours modules, students are required to complete the research report module. Students then have a choice of any two from advanced International Economics, advanced Public Economics, advanced Development Economics, and advanced Monetary Economics.
- Masters (MCom) and PhD in Economics: The Department of Economics engages in a wide range of research activities that reflect both national priorities and global developments. Our core research focus areas include Development Economics, International Economics, Monetary & Financial Economics, and Public Economics. These areas provide the intellectual foundation for postgraduate supervision and scholarly inquiry, enabling students to contribute meaningfully to contemporary economic debates and policy formulation.
- Masters (MCom) and PhD in Economics: The purpose of the Master's in Economics qualification is to provide postgraduate Economics students with specialised skills (critical, technical and research analytics skills) and deepen their economics knowledge, which, in turn, will enable them to pursue their careers in economics and related fields, and to be able to contribute and be productive in their work environments, be it in the private or public sector. Graduates with a Master's degree in Economics will be able to participate in the labour market in a number of career fields and work environments, including finance, government, academia, business and consulting. Job titles and career paths include risk analysts, financial analysts, investment analysts, portfolio administrator; researcher; economist; research analyst; policy analyst, business analyst, stockbroker; banker, business consultant, financial consultant, actuary, academic and data analyst. A Master’s degree in Economics not only allows graduates to have a choice of careers, but opens doors for career advancements for those already employed. The qualification enables the student to produce a master’s research dissertation which meets international standards of scholarly and professional writing under supervision in the discipline of Economics. The qualification positions the graduates to be able to contribute their skills in solving the socio-economic challenges faced by South Africa, Africa and the globe.
Learning that goes beyond the classroom
Research opportunities
Collaborations between colleagues in South Africa and around the world are encouraged by the department's strong research environment. To achieve this, the department offers various fellowships, such as postdoctoral research fellowships and research fellowships, to conduct advanced research that uses policy-driven recommendations to solve problems faced by African nations.
Engaged scholarship
The Department of Economics' engaged scholarship initiatives are designed to extend the impact of academic knowledge beyond the university, fostering meaningful connections between economic education and society. Each project aims to bridge gaps in access, understanding and opportunity by promoting inclusive learning, technological empowerment and informed career choices. Through these initiatives, the department seeks to cultivate a more economically literate, skilled and opportunity-aware generation of South Africans, ensuring that education serves as a powerful tool for social and economic transformation.
- Promoting Economic Literacy in South African languages: This engaged scholarship project is dedicated to advancing economic literacy across South Africa's diverse communities. Its primary aim is to bridge critical knowledge gaps by translating foundational economics concepts into various South African languages. By ensuring economic knowledge is accessible and linguistically appropriate, the project empowers individuals from all language backgrounds. To achieve this, the initiative will develop a comprehensive glossary of economic terms in local languages, creating educational content that resonates deeply with students. Furthermore, it seeks to enhance the comprehension of complex ideas by teaching them in a familiar linguistic context, thereby reducing cognitive load and improving information retention. Ultimately, the project champions the integral role of multilingualism in education, affirming that the use of local languages is vital for both cognitive development and a more inclusive, robust understanding of economics.
- Tools for Future Economists: The goal of the project is to equip students and the broader community with fundamental technological skills applicable to the field of economics. This includes utilising software and tools commonly used in the profession. The project also aims to provide opportunities to enhance practical communication skills specific to the field of economics. This includes written and oral communication, as well as presentation skills. Furthermore, the project will benefit those interested in the field of economics by enhancing their ability to source, analyse and interpret economic data from publicly available sources, such as Statistics SA, the South African Reserve Bank and the World Bank. This includes visualising and effectively communicating economic data.
- Lesedi la Tsela: The Lesedi la Tsela project provides learners nationwide with comprehensive information on academic and career options, bursaries, and the required Admission Points Score (APS) for various degrees.
Impact and relevance
Flagship project
The Macroeconomic Policy Analysis (MPA) Programme
The programme was developed by Prof Nicholas M Odhiambo in 2011 and later established in 2012/2013 as one of the Unisa research chairs. The programme is an offshoot of one of the College of Economic and Management Sciences (CEMS) flagship programmes, entitled “Growth, Poverty and Macroeconomic Policy Analysis”, which was also developed by Prof NM Odhiambo in 2009/2010. The establishment of the MPA research programme was motivated by the lack of adequate empirical research on African countries that could inform policymakers on the desirability and the viability of their macroeconomic policies, on a regular basis.
The MPA research programme aims to conduct cutting-edge macro-economic policy research necessary to provide timely scientific policy advice to African countries, in general, and to sub-Saharan African countries, in particular. The programme aims to achieve this broad objective by, inter alia, empirically examining the efficacy of the various macro-economic policies that African countries have implemented over the years. These include, but are not limited to, policies on economic growth, unemployment and poverty, which are currently the main challenges facing many African countries. The programme uses novel applied econometric models and techniques as its primary tools of analysis. The programme’s research has a strong bias towards sub-Saharan Africa, which is not only the poorest region in the world, but also the only region in the world where the overall number of impoverished people is increasing rather than decreasing.
Unisa Economic Working Paper Series
The programme also has its signature working paper series entitled "UNISA Economic Research Working Paper Series", which is currently used to disseminate some of its research findings to the international community. This working paper series (which was established in 2015) is currently indexed by RePEc/IDEAS (hosted by the Research Division of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, USA), and it is also available on Google Scholar.
Who we work with / collaboration & networks
Our long-standing partners include Van Schaik Publishers, EcoMod Network, UNU-WIDER/SA-TIED, and eThekwini Municipality. Partnership with our stakeholders is based on a mutually supportive objective to develop cultural, scholarly and scientific ties, to encourage collaboration, and to advance education and capacity building.
The Department is committed to academic excellence, inclusive learning and innovative research. The department welcomes collaborative research opportunities in all spheres in the form of opportunities for community engagements, joint hosting of conferences, memorandums of understandings with the public and private sectors.
