University College London

This course provides students with a thorough understanding of core concepts and methods of macroeconomics, as a foundation for subsequent study of macroeconomic topics within the degree program, and as one of the key elements in the professional training of an economist.

This course introduces the basic principles underlying modern human genetics research through a combination of lectures presenting theoretical principles, practical exercises allowing students to apply these principles, and more research-focused lectures providing illustrative case-studies. Students are introduced to the approaches currently used to identify genetic factors in health and disease. They become familiar with concepts and methods such as complex traits, population studies, Genome-Wide Association Studies (GWAS) and high through-put genome analysis. Case studies include the genetic basis of cancer, selected cardiovascular and psychiatric disorders, as well as genetic predisposition/resistance to infectious diseases.

This course provides an introduction to the political, economic, social, and cultural history of Britain between 1850 and 1997.

This course is a challenging introductory course and is specifically for non-History of Art students. It examines early modern European art from the 13th to the 16th century, focusing on objects in London's galleries and museums and taught predominantly in front of works in these collections. The specific content of this course changes each year but the aim is to introduce students to key issues in Italian Renaissance and northern European art, focusing on paintings, sculpture, and the decorative arts in London institutions such as the National Gallery and the Victoria & Albert Museum.

This course deals with the empirical reality, theory, and current governance problems of development, poverty, and inequality. Specifically, throughout the course students investigate the influence of colonialism, state capacity, regime type, war and conflict, accountability, social structures, and corruption on development. This course engages with both economic theory regarding development and political science research that highlights the challenges to implementing the policies that would lead to economic development. Students take these theories and use to them to then think about and develop research-informed policies that promote development.

This course explores the role of money and banking in normal and crisis times as well as the most recent developments in the financial industry, namely cryptocurrencies and blockchain technologies. In particular, students investigate the role of credit for economic growth, why do banks exist and how they do compete. Students then research how banks possibly triggered the Great Financial Crisis (2007-08) as well as governments’ policies in response. Finally, the course devotes its attention to the most recent development in the money and credit markets, such as blockchain technologies and cryptocurrencies, with specific emphasis on bitcoins. The course is articulated around standard theoretical models, empirical evidence, policy developments, and case studies. With the latter respect, students take advantage of the international dimension of the UCL Summer School and draw from the experiences of different countries in the world