BESS Thread

For Senior Soph:

Economic Theory
Economics of Securities Markets
Corporate Finance
Dissertation
International Economics

Should I get my 2:1 and the dissertation prove doable, I will be dropping International.

Black_Couch

Bartronilic wrote:

I've narrowed my choices down and now deciding which to pick out of App finance or Inv analysis. Which is better? Doing acc, ops man, IT, Org theory and morkeshing.

I want to do Transport economics in 4th year (meaning i'd have to switch to BA), i wish i did economy environment and space this year so i dont want to make a wrong choice again.

For the rest of my life I want to be self employed opening my own shop/s or whatever because 9-5 is soul sucking.

Oh the point of this post is App finance or Inv analysis!? And am i doomed to communter traffic, water coolers and dealing with mary from accounts for the rest of my life!?

What are u like? You're only 'doomed' for a career in AIB if u go down that route.

I picked investment analysis. Applied finance sounds good but I'd say its hard enough. You've two weeks to change your mind in third year anyway which is fairly handy. They've offered company law in fourth year, which I'd prefer in third year.

I heard Pat McCabe's second year course is more management orientated which I'd prefer than the second year course. Might switch to that instead of HR, I didn't know HR was that bad. I know the IT course is brutal but its compulsory for a BBS.

Anybody know what the operations theory and management course is like?

shay_562

Went with the less exciting finance courses in the end. Less buzzwords and a better-looking transcript at the end, so really, it made the most sense. So next year I can look forward to Management Accounting, Applied Finance, Organisational Theory and Change on top of Economic Analysis, Mathematical Economics and Econometrics. Thrilling!

Time Magazine

Holy sausages Batman, this thread has been dormant for months!

I come bearing much news of the Economics Department. Stalking is such a fantastic activity. The Department has hired three new employees, all of whom are permanent staff at the Lecturer scale.

First up is Dr. Dudley Cooke (download the CV here). We have confirmation that this handsome Englishman will be taking the second module of Economics of Securities Markets. Interesting to note that one Philip Lane examined his doctoral dissertation. Also he has studied extensively in Warwick and may perhaps be known to one Dr. Yuji Tamura.

Next up is Dr. Gaia Narciso, a young idealogue from Italy who rivals our beloved Dr. Newman in the prettiness stakes. Also, alas!, it is said that Dr. Newman has wed. The game is up, lads. Although she hails from the same land as Dr. Mariuzzo (*spits*), she seems to be cuddlier. She has produced some work for the World Bank so is another addition in our developmental friends, with Prof. Drudy, Prof. Honohan (who has just been appointed to the College Investment Committee in replace of the Senior Lecturer), Dr. Sutherland and Dr. Collins.

Finally, and most importantly, allow for the introduction of a young graduate of the University of Dublin. Perhaps best noted for his publication in the Student Economic Review (1999), Dr. Paul Scanlon has achieved some modest things since then. These may include a Masters' from Yale a Doctorate from Berkeley under some guy called David Romer who apparently wrote some book that EC4010 Economic Theory uses and is occasionally referenced by some people whose blogs I read and is apparently published in some journals like the "American Economic Review" and the "Quarterly Journal of Economics". Pfft, gimme the SER anyday. Anyway this Scanlon guy's CV is available here.

Hitchhiker's Guide to...

Ibid wrote:

Next up is Dr. Gaia Narciso,

from the article (second paragraph): "Gaia Narciso, 30 years, graduated in Mouthfuls"

wtf?

europerson

Ibid wrote:

Dr. Dudley Cooke

this handsome Englishman

He has the rugged look going on, all right.

Anyway this Scanlon guy

He would appear to be excellent on paper.

Well done on all the new information!

Bryano

How's it going everyone,

I'm just about to start SF BESS and was wondering if anyone shed some light on a couple of questions I have.
Having not really enjoyed them, I was looking forward to dropping both maths and economics come SF, however I had to choose them as I eventually want to end up with a Single Honours Business Degree and not a joint one. I got my results recently and I only barely scraped through both if them so the thoughts of doing them again in second year is a bit depressing!

I'm aware I can change my options in the first 2 weeks or so and was wondering does anyone know if you definitely have to do maths and economics in SF in order to gain a Single Honours business degree or is there any other way of doing so?

I eventually want to end up with a career in business in one sector or another and was wondering if a Single Honours business degree is even that much more beneficial than a joint one in say business and sociology?

I'm a bit confused so any help would be much appreciated!

defiantshrimp

You have to do BU2510 (Marketing & OB) , BU2520 (Accounting), EC2010 (Intermediate Economics) and EC2040 (Maths & Stats) along with two other subjects of your choice in SF to get the BBS. There is no way to get around it. Do some consistent work throughout the year and use your tutors well and you will have no trouble passing the economics and maths courses. They are not at a particularily high level and the lecturers are not trying to give you a hard time. IMO I'd say the BBS is better to get into business, particularily if you focus on the accounting and finance courses.

Moorsy

I think it depends on two things:

1) Did you go to lectures and study for maths and do bad

or

2) Maths just ain't your thing?

I was in the same position as you last year. I wanted to do either single economics or pol/econ joint but the maths put me off. For a couple of reasons, firstly, my crapness at maths was the biggest one and it would have consumed about 80% of my study time so it wasn't worth having a terrible year for the cause of one subject.

If your ok at math and can study and pass ok do it. If you don't have a knack or the time to study don't.

Bryano

Cheers for the info lads, I'm ok at maths but not the best (Did OL for Leaving...) - got 51% overall for the year but I heard next year is much harder according to people I've spoken to. Economics is similar only got 40% (blessed!) in that so that could be dodgy next year too. That's what I was thinking Moorsy - I don't want to spend the year studying my arse off all year desperately trying to scrape a pass and then failing! It's a tricky one cos but I reckon you're right Defiantshrimp I'll probably do both, work hard at them and hopefully make it to 3rd year!

Are either of yous doing a Broad Curriculum in anything? Also do you have to do maths and economics in 3rd year too then so?

Moorsy

I’m not totally sure about 3rd year now the course has changed a bit. you should really look at the course book and look ahead at the next two years to see what you might want to do in the long run and see if there's any prerequisites for those subjects/areas.

I know think you can drop maths in 3rd year of course econ still has a bit but no full scale econometrics if you don't want it!

defiantshrimp

Bryano wrote:

I don't want to spend the year studying my arse off all year desperately trying to scrape a pass and then failing! It's a tricky one cos but I reckon you're right Defiantshrimp I'll probably do both, work hard at them and hopefully make it to 3rd year!

I don't know of anyone who studied their arse off all year in BESS maths and economics and ended up failing. Trust me, the material is very doable in both subjects. Just use your tutors wisely, get help off your mates if you need it and keep up to date with the work and lectures. And if you are really bad I suggest you cover some really basic maths (like beginners algerbra, fractions, etc..) in something like Mathematics for Economics and Business by Jacques over the summer if you get the time.

If you freak out and say that you just can't do maths/economics that will very likely become true. The people I witnessed doing bad in my class tended to have some issues with something (mainly our lecturer) that in turn led them to stop attending lectures and doing work, followed by a pre-exam freakout. If you have trouble with some aspect of the course, seek help! Don't just give up. Having done the maths and economics course will stand to you. There are some of the more "solid" or "hard" courses in BESS and are respected as such.

I should also say that you won't have to do maths or economics in the later years of the BBS to my knowledge.

Bryano

Right having weighed it up in my head I reckon I'm gonna get the head down and work hard throughout the year and hopefully pass the both of them. Thanks again for the info Moorsy and Defiantshrimp - much appreciated! Best of luck with the year ahead yourselves!

Crania

I have a few questions about BESS. I glanced quickly through this thread, so my apologies if the questions have already been answered.

Firstly, I'm not that good at Maths, like I'm average enough at it. I do Ordinary Level Maths for the LC and probably would be capable of a good B in it. I'm just wondering would this be enough for the Mathematics and Statistics course that all 1st years have to do, i.e is the Maths in this course of a Higher LC standard or what?

I'm also wondering, after 2nd Year when you pick your single or joint honours, I'm just wondering could anyone actually explain to me what Contemporary European Integration is, i.e some kind of lesson plan for what you will study over the two years in it. Is it basically an International Relations type course on a European scale? Do languages(French/German perhaps) have to be studied?

I'm also wondering about majoring in Sociology. Would this enable one to go onto a Post Grad in an area like Counselling or Clinical Pyschology?

Sorry, I know I asked a lot of questions, but help would be appreciated.

Time Magazine

CoolCiaran wrote: »

I have a few questions about BESS. I glanced quickly through this thread, so my apologies if the questions have already been answered.

No problem, welcome. I am doing BESS. I'm in my final year and am doing single-honour Economics.

Firstly, I'm not that good at Maths, like I'm average enough at it. I do Ordinary Level Maths for the LC and probably would be capable of a good B in it. I'm just wondering would this be enough for the Mathematics and Statistics course that all 1st years have to do, i.e is the Maths in this course of a Higher LC standard or what?

The Junior Freshman (1st year) maths course is approximately LC Higher Level standard. If you work at it, you should be fine. There are two distinct parts: maths and stats. In maths you will deal with things like linear algebra (basic matrices) and optimization (differential calculus). Statistics is about analyzing the probability of something happening given the average and standard deviation. A simple example question would be "25 people were surveyed and it was found their average wage is €20,000 with a standard deviation of €1,000. Can you be 95% sure the average wage for the country is less than €23,000?" The field of statistics studies things like that and you learn the tools to answer questions like that. There are two mid-terms at Christmas and Easter that give you a good guide of what's coming up in the end-of-year exam. Anyone who fails it really didn't put the effort in during the year.

I'm also wondering, after 2nd Year when you pick your single or joint honours, I'm just wondering could anyone actually explain to me what Contemporary European Integration is, i.e some kind of lesson plan for what you will study over the two years in it. Is it basically an International Relations type course on a European scale? Do languages(French/German perhaps) have to be studied?

I have never heard of anyone doing that degree from BESS. (Just to clarify, I'm well aware it exists, I've just literally never heard of anyone doing it!) At the moment I have a hangover so I'm a little too apathetic to answer this question. I'm sure my good friend europerson will come along and do so shortly, though.

I'm also wondering about majoring in Sociology. Would this enable one to go onto a Post Grad in an area like Counselling or Clinical Pyschology?

I'm not being rude but I don't think you quite know what sociology is. That's okay, I know I certainly didn't going into JF. This is true for just about any person I've ever met ever. My girlfriend's dad is a cop and, before she studied Sociology for a while she thought it would help him understand social problems more when dealing with the public. That's the general perception of sociology. She changed her mind when her sociology lecturer hypothesised that the primary reason for high birth rates in 19th century Ireland was the fact that potatoes were aphrodisiacs in their culture.

Sociology is about as relevant to counselling as economics is. In JF Sociology we studied things like the impact of "McDonalisation" on consumption patterns and ridiculous antiquated reports about why farmers married so old in 1950s Ireland. It's feck all to do with helping people etc.; it's not like social policy at all. Certainly there is some congruence between the two, but sociology is more like philosophy or economics than anything else.

As far as I know, to postgrad in any psychology field, you need a psychology undergrad.

Sorry, I know I asked a lot of questions, but help would be appreciated.

No problems. We were young once, too .

europerson

CoolCiaran wrote: »

I have a few questions about BESS. I glanced quickly through this thread, so my apologies if the questions have already been answered.

As Ibid said, no problem at all. I have the same credentials as Ibid (final-year pure economics).

Firstly, I'm not that good at Maths, like I'm average enough at it. I do Ordinary Level Maths for the LC and probably would be capable of a good B in it. I'm just wondering would this be enough for the Mathematics and Statistics course that all 1st years have to do, i.e is the Maths in this course of a Higher LC standard or what?

The first-year Maths and Statistics course is very focused and caters specifically for the kind of fairly basic maths and statistics you'll come across every day in the social sciences. The entry requirement for the course is a C3 in OL LC Maths, and, if you're prepared to work hard, you'll get on very well. In first year, the best thing to do is to attend the classes and do the homework: it's really essential for doing well in the exams. BESS has students from a number of backgrounds. Some British and Northern Irish people doing the course will only have taken Maths for their GCSEs or Standard Grade exams (they're roughly equivalent to our Junior Cert). If you're having difficulty, there's a service called the Maths Helproom, run by people in the School of Mathematics, and you can wander into that, if you need any help with anything. You'll also have a course tutor, with whom you'll have classes, and he or she will have regular office hours too, which you can attend for more help or if you have any queries. As Ibid's example shows you, the statistics you'll do in College is very different to what you think statistics is in school: that said, it's not too rigorous in first year. Again, just practise, practise, practise, and then practise some more, and you'll be fine.

I'm also wondering, after 2nd Year when you pick your single or joint honours, I'm just wondering could anyone actually explain to me what Contemporary European Integration is, i.e some kind of lesson plan for what you will study over the two years in it. Is it basically an International Relations type course on a European scale? Do languages(French/German perhaps) have to be studied?

As with Ibid, I've never heard of anyone taking Contemporary European Integration, but it need not concern you, because it's not available as a choice any more! They might be a bit technical for you, but here are the official regulations for BESS. They're on pages 4-9 of the PDF. The regulations for the BBS (that's if you decide to do Buisness on its own for third and fourth year) are on pp.12-15.

I'm also wondering about majoring in Sociology. Would this enable one to go onto a Post Grad in an area like Counselling or Clinical Pyschology?

In a word, no. Just wait and see what Sociology is in first year, and you'll understand why. There's a gorgeous user on these Boards called Stargal, and she might say a few words about Sociology. She's a graduate of the Sociology and Social Policy course. I'm not qualified to speak on the matter!

Sorry, I know I asked a lot of questions, but help would be appreciated.

Good luck with the Leaving!

For a quick guide to sociology:

Here is an essay that was written by a first year student for the Introduction to Sociology Course (Part two of the course - consumer sociology) and recieved a good grade.

Also, the Student Economic Review is a journal of student publications. There are often 3rd and 4th year Sociology and Economics articles published. There is a pure Sociology Review written by students but its not very good* and I don't think its online.

*I am biased though.

sully-gormo

Hey Im in SF BESS and Im doing WEP. Thing is the lecturer is ****e and some of the stuff is impenetrable and the readings are sooo hard to get hold of in the library. I was told WEP is better than REEP because it prepares you for some of the theoretical stuff in JS. Is this true? Im thinking of schol's; which one would be a better bet?

Time Magazine

Translation time.

WEP = Western European Politics
REEP = Russian and Eastern European Politics

europerson

sully-gormo wrote: »

Hey Im in SF BESS and Im doing WEP. Thing is the lecturer is ****e and some of the stuff is impenetrable and the readings are sooo hard to get hold of in the library. I was told WEP is better than REEP because it prepares you for some of the theoretical stuff in JS. Is this true? Im thinking of schol's; which one would be a better bet?

I took Politics (WEP and HPT [History of Political Thought]) in SF. Your point about WEP being better for preparing you for JS is correct, but REEP is (apparently) an easier Schols exam. It's your trade-off. I've just had a look at your reading list too: it's fairly straight-forward, in my opinion. I can't find anything too obscure on it that the library wouldn't have. I remember reading most of them there.

sully-gormo

europerson wrote: »

I took Politics (WEP and HPT [History of Political Thought]) in SF. Your point about WEP being better for preparing you for JS is correct, but REEP is (apparently) an easier Schols exam. It's your trade-off. I've just had a look at your reading list too: it's fairly straight-forward, in my opinion. I can't find anything too obscure on it that the library wouldn't have. I remember reading most of them there.

No its just that there are 4 or 5 copies and 60 people+ in the class and so they tend to disapper quite quickly. Everytime I look for a book theres always a little gap in the shelf where it was

europerson

sully-gormo wrote: »

No its just that there are 4 or 5 copies and 60 people+ in the class and so they tend to disapper quite quickly. Everytime I look for a book theres always a little gap in the shelf where it was

Actually, the politics section of the library has a reputation for that, all right.

sully-gormo

So how does one get around that???

europerson

Simple: leave lectures five minutes early, and beat the mature students.

sully-gormo

Anything from the next two weeks is gone. Its doing my head in cos the course would be grand otherwise

europerson

Don't forget that, if all the books are out, you can reserve a copy using the library catalogue.

If there are not enough books contact your subject librarian (or Bartley if you don't want to e-mail them) to request more. Far more productive. If there are back-ups in stacks, they might move them up to LEN.

Terrificly helpful are those subject librarians.

Tricity Bendix

I agree.

Randomness

yo everyone, fellow bessheads i have a question.....
what's the story with the going to france thing in 3rd year.
this is a quote from the course stuff...


"In addition, there are a limited number of places available on two degree programmes involving an extended period of study at either the École Européenne des Affaires de Paris (EAP) or the École des Hautes Etudes Commerciales (HEC). These lead to the double award of the degree of B.A. (Moderatorship) with honors or the Bachelor of Business Studies from the University of Dublin and a postgraduate qualification from the partner institutions"

does anyone know a) how do you get in, b) is it hard to get in, c) anyone who has done it etc n wat d general story is?

when do ya start applyin/goin for stuff like this or is it jus kinda when it comes up?

im in jf now so i know it's not for a while but im jus wonderin wat the story is now?

thanks in advance!

Running Bing

Randomness wrote: »

yo everyone, fellow bessheads i have a question.....
what's the story with the going to france thing in 3rd year.
this is a quote from the course stuff...


"In addition, there are a limited number of places available on two degree programmes involving an extended period of study at either the École Européenne des Affaires de Paris (EAP) or the École des Hautes Etudes Commerciales (HEC). These lead to the double award of the degree of B.A. (Moderatorship) with honors or the Bachelor of Business Studies from the University of Dublin and a postgraduate qualification from the partner institutions"

does anyone know a) how do you get in, b) is it hard to get in, c) anyone who has done it etc n wat d general story is?

when do ya start applyin/goin for stuff like this or is it jus kinda when it comes up?

im in jf now so i know it's not for a while but im jus wonderin wat the story is now?

thanks in advance!

Dont mind the limited place malarky. As long as you dont take the piss in 1st and 2nd year i.e. fail things you should have no problem.

I dont know if anyone has ever actually been told they cant do it.

Anyway they have loads of places you can go like France/Spain(if you are doing one of those language courses) or places like Belgium, Holland, Japan and the US...and I think Australia.

Anyway dont worry about it now. You will be given plenty of notice in second year (there are loads of talks and events and stuff like that). Its not something that will just pass you by without you knowing;)