Best A-Level combinations for economics: Your UCAS-ready guide

If you're picking A-Levels with an Economics degree in mind, the honest answer is that there's no single magic combination. What you can rely on is this: Maths is the subject every top UK Economics course actually asks for, and Economics A-Level itself isn't required anywhere we looked.

That second bit catches most people off guard. At LSE, one of the most competitive Economics departments in the world, the BSc Economics page lists Maths as required and Further Maths as desirable, and doesn't mention Economics A-Level at all. If you've been assuming you have to take Economics A-Level to study Economics at university, that assumption probably came from a careers teacher or an older sibling rather than any admissions page.

This guide walks through what Cambridge, Oxford, LSE, UCL and Warwick actually look for, which combinations keep every top course open, and which combinations quietly rule out LSE or Cambridge before you've even applied. Grades and subject requirements change year to year, so always cross-check the university's current course page before you commit.

The hierarchy here is simpler than you'd expect. A-Level Maths is required at every top course we checked. Further Maths is rated highly as a third subject at the sharp end. Economics A-Level is useful but not required anywhere. Business Studies, especially combined with Economics, tends to be read as a weaker signal.

At Cambridge Economics, Maths is required, and six colleges (Christ's, Churchill, Corpus Christi, Magdalene, St John's and Sidney Sussex) also require Further Maths. Around 93% of recent entrants had taken it, and candidates sit the TMUA (Test of Mathematics for University Admission) at application. LSE BSc Economics requires A-Level Maths and lists Further Maths as desirable. Oxford Economics and Management requires Maths, and so does Warwick Economics. Grade offers and admissions-test requirements vary year to year, so look up each one on the course page before anchoring on a specific number.

At the mid-tier Russell Group end, offers tend to be lower, but Maths is still the subject that consistently appears as required. UCAS course search links straight to each course's live entry requirements.

The lore was that there used to be a Russell Group list of "facilitating subjects" you could just follow. That list got retired in 2019 and replaced with the Informed Choices website, which only gives general guidance. So there's no central rulebook any more; the university's own course page is the thing you need to read.

The combinations below run from "keeps every top Economics course we checked open, including Cambridge, LSE and Oxford PPE" down to combinations that keep most doors open but narrow the top end. One thing worth knowing: Oxford PPE has historically had no required subjects, so an essay subject as your third option is sensible if PPE is on your list.

Combinations admissions tutors at top universities tend to read less generously for Economics: three sciences without Maths at the forefront (not a disaster, but less typical, and your Maths side needs to be excellent to compensate), Business Studies as the quantitative subject (Russell Group readers tend to prefer Economics or Statistics there), and dropping Maths at AS to focus on Economics (which ends the application at every top-20 Economics course). Dropping Maths is the most common mistake, and it tends to happen when a student picked Economics A-Level first and then found Maths harder than they'd expected.

Economics has fewer admissions tests than STEM subjects, but there are still a few to track. Cambridge Economics uses the TMUA (Test of Mathematics for University Admission) at application. Oxford Economics and Management has had an admissions-test requirement that's been shifting over recent cycles, so check the current test on the course page. The TMUA is also used by a wider group of Economics departments, so look at the TMUA participating universities list for the current year.

Admissions tests across top universities have been in flux since 2023. The ECAA, which Cambridge Economics used to require, was retired, and other tests have been reshuffled. Check the current test requirement on each university's course page and the admissions testing service page before you plan your prep. The test your sixth form told you about may not actually still be in use.

If you're applying to a course that uses the TMUA, start preparing in Year 12 at the latest. Build up to full-paper practice before the autumn sitting in Year 13.

Once you've got a combination in mind, the best thing to do is to check the current course page for every university on your list. LSE, Cambridge, Oxford, UCL and Warwick all publish their current typical offers and admissions tests openly. The wording changes each year, especially around whether STEP, TSA or alternative tests are in use.

If you're considering PPE at Oxford or HSPS at Cambridge as an alternative route into Economics, read those course pages too. The subject expectations differ enough that picking a combination for "Economics" without looking at PPE's requirements has cost students the application in past cycles.

Book an open day at two or three target universities during Year 12 if you can. Admissions talks almost always include subject guidance from the actual tutors, which is a much better signal than any guide you can read online (this one included).

And if you're serious about the mathematical core of Economics, start building that muscle early. Our guide to A-Level Maths vs Further Maths explains why Further Maths is such a strong signal for competitive STEM-adjacent applications, and our complete guide to AQA A-Level Economics covers what Economics A-Level actually looks like if you're thinking of it as your third subject.