Business, Economics and Social Studies

What is Business, Economic and Social Studies (B.E.S.S.)?

B.E.S.S. is a uniquely flexible degree programme offering you 10 different degree options across the disciplines of Business, Economics, Political Science and Sociology. It provides students with a broad education, and you will have the option to graduate with a Single Honours or Joint Honours degree with another subject or a Major with a Minor. It also offers a high level of flexibility in two very important ways: from the second year onwards students are allowed to (a) choose the specific degree they wish to take and, (b) choose individual modules within their chosen degree path. Students, therefore, have an opportunity to adjust their study programmes in accordance with their academic results, interests, aptitudes and emerging career aspirations.

B.E.S.S.: The course for you?

The disciplines of Business, Economics, Political Science and Sociology all look at the world around us, analysing how it works and how to achieve certain ends. Where they differ is in the things they look at and the way they examine them. In your first year as a B.E.S.S. student, you will be introduced to the way that each discipline approaches the complex world that we live in. From the second year onwards, the flexible programme structure allows you to choose the disciplines that appeal to you, along with the specific topics that interest you, through a wide range of modules within each discipline. Graduates invariably tell us that it is this broad, flexible approach that allowed them to build the knowledge and insights that they rely on progressively as they advance to more senior positions in their careers.

B.E.S.S. @ Trinity

BUSINESS

Top international professors and leading business people engage with the students, challenge them and guide them into top roles within the business world. Past students are now leaders in the world of business, government, entertainment, technology, innovation and non-profit businesses.

ECONOMICS

Many of the economic problems which dominate the headlines are engaged within this discipline. Economics blends together theory, data and statistical techniques to help understand economic problems and to make policy recommendations.

Trinity is ranked 1st in Ireland and 104th in the world. The Economics Department is ranked joint first In Ireland, in the top 40 In Europe and in the top 150 in the world for Economics and Econometrics (QS World University Rankings, 2018).

POLITICAL SCIENCE

Politics affects us all in our daily lives. Should government tax the rich for greater equality? Should the amount of money the EU spends on agriculture be cut? Questions such as these, along with analysis of political systems and how democracy works, are at the heart of the study of politics.

Trinity is ranked 1st in Ireland and104th in the world. The Political Science Department is ranked 15th in Europe and 43rd in the world for Politics and International Studies (QS World University Rankings, 2018).

SOCIOLOGY

Sociology is the study of social change and the consequences of human behaviour. When you study Sociology you will get the opportunity to analyse people and societies, exploring areas as diverse as migration, race and gender, conflict studies, digitalisation, identities and employment studies.

Trinity is ranked 1st in Ireland and the Sociology Department is ranked 1st in Ireland and in the top 40 in Europe and in the top 100 in the world (QS World University Rankings, 2018).

Graduate skills and career opportunities

From a career perspective B.E.S.S. is an extremely flexible and practical degree programme. Graduates are also highly sought after by employers in a range of fields, such as in finance and banking, politics, research, management consulting, teaching, public service, journalism, within both national and international organisations within the profit, not for profit and public sector. Graduates have gone on to successful and rewarding careers in varied roles around the globe. The following are just a few examples of the organisations that have recruited B.E.S.S. graduates: Accenture, Alcatel, Cisco, Barclay’s Bank, Commission for Energy Regulation, Enterprise Ireland, Google, KPMG, Microsoft, Morgan Stanley, Tesco, Topshop, Channel 4 and Atlantic Philanthropies.

In addition, many B.E.S.S. graduates have gone on to postgraduate study at leading universities around the world such as the London School of Economics, the University of Cambridge, the University of Edinburgh and the University of Warwick.

Your degree and what you’ll study

Year 1

Explore your options

A common first year introduces students to a wide range of options. You will study the following 4 disciplines:

• Business
• Economics
• Political Science
• Sociology

Also choose one complementary module from Law, Social Policy, Language (French, German, Spanish, Polish, Russian)

Access to all 10 degree options is completely open at the end of the first year.

Year 2

Choose your pathway

Learn the core skills in up to three* of the following disciplines: Business, Economics, Political Science, and Sociology.

While you will mainly focus on your chosen Single Honours or Joint Honours discipline(s), you may select some modules from other disciplines.

Single Honours

Choose 1 of:

• Business
• Economics
• Political Science
• Sociology

Joint Honours

Choose 1 of the following 6 combinations:

• Business and Economics
• Business and Political Science
• Sociology and Business
• Economics and Political Science
• Economics and Sociology
• Political Science and Sociology

Complementary modules available in Law, Social Policy, Languages, Philosophy, Trinity Electives here determine which disciplines you can pursue in subsequent years.

Year 3

Focus on your chosen Single Honours or Joint Honours disciplines

Business, Economics, Political Science, Sociology

Option to study abroad – France, Germany, Spain, Turkey, Sweden, Netherlands, USA, Canada, Australia, Japan, Hong Kong.

Year 4

Research based development of core area(s)

Business, Economics, Political Science, Sociology

Dissertation/case study preparation.

BESS at a glance

Year 1 (60 credits)

Business*

• Fundamentals of Management and Organisation

*Modules are subject to change.

• Introduction to Economics
• Mathematics and Statistics

• Introduction to Political Science

• Introduction to Sociology

Complementary modules

Choose one subject from:

• Law
• Social Policy
• Intro to Central, East European and Russian Area Studies
• Language (French, German, Spanish, Russian or Polish)

Year 2 (60 credits)

Choose 1 or 2 B.E.S.S. disciplines

• Organisational Behaviour
• Principles of Marking
• Introduction to Accounting
• Introduction to Finance
• Introduction to Operations Management
• Creative Thinking, Innovation and Entrepreneurial Action

*Modules are subject to change.

• Intermediate Economics
• Economy of Ireland
• Mathematics and Statistics

• History of Political Thought
• International Relations
• Comparative Politics

• Gender, Work and Family
• Social Theory
• Introduction to Social Research
• Power, State and Social Movements

Year 3 (60 credits)

Specialise in depth in 1 or 2 BESS disciplines

• Life Courses and Evolving Welfare States   
• Company Law
• Commercial Law
• International Law

Year 4 (60 credits)

Specialise in depth in 1 or 2 BESS disciplines