The win
The University of Greenwich offers since 2023 a course in Economics of Social Change: a 15 credits elective course in the Public Policy undergrad pathway, taught by former Rethinker Ben Tippet (once a Rethinker, always a Rethinker!).
This course is just what RE envisions for economics: deeply connected to the real world experiences of the students. It is designed to help them understand and unravel the economic stakes of current societal issues such as housing, environmental or health systems in the UK – notably all in crisis.
Overall, the Economics offer at the University of Greenwich reflects many of the positive economics education that Rethinking Economics is advocating for.
It’s an absolute delight to teach! Teaching Monday morning at 9, I feel excited to teach at that time, which isn’t always the case to some extent… Students have something to say from their lived experience, and you bring the benefits of economics which is different theoretical perspectives to tackle these questions.
Benjamin Tippet
The way there
In a university valued for its social mobility, economics was lagging behind in terms of attracting women and people of colour.
Committed to a democratic ideal of university, Jeff Powell, in charge of the Bachelors program of Economics and member of Reteaching Economics (the academic sister of the student network Rethinking Economics), initiated this new course. The aim to diversify the student cohort was the cause for a diversification of the ideas taught in the econ classroom. Indeed, diverse identities and the different perspectives they bring combine well with the rejection of monism (only one school of thought). The strategy was successful: less than two years since the beginning of the course, the Economics of Social Change course attracts more women students than any other in the Economics department!
Targeted hiring was done for this new broad course outline, therefore bringing course lecturer Ben Tippet into the Greenwich economics department. Hiring heterodox professors is one of the best way to ensure the longevity of change in curriculum reform!
Factors of success
- Collaboration between students and professors
- Developed network of Rethinking Economics alumni
- Framing around the lack of diversity in economics
Learnings
- Only so much is possible within the realm of the marketised university! Despite all the good will of the academic staff and coordinators, pressure to perform in student numbers and in NSS surveys is very high. The University of Greenwhich, traditionally known for enabling social mobility, is fighting for a critically engaged vision of economics – yet it still exists within the UK context of rapidly rising tuition fees making education harder and harder to access.
We have a masters degree and PhD program that is also pluralist. If people are interested in pluralist research and teaching, check out the masters and PhD option! If you want to do the PhD and there’s not an option, just send us an email. We’re very very passionate about bringing on people who are similarly aligned with our interests. There’s a vibrant research community and a lot of support in the department for that kind of stuff!
Benjamin Tippet
Check out Jeff Powell talking about the programme on the Economics, BSc Hons page of the University of Greenwhich: https://www.gre.ac.uk/undergraduate-courses/business-school/economics-bsc-hons
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Wednesday 17 December 2025
Curriculum Health Check update: University of Leeds
University of Leeds is an undergraduate course that Rethinking Economics UK argues fits many of the principles that we want to see from an economics education.
Tuesday 4 November 2025
Is Economics Education Fit for the 21st Century?
We, the Post-Crash Economics society have just released our new report, the most comprehensive study of economics education at the University of Manchester, since the release of our previous report, Economics, Education and Unlearning, in 2014. We have worked with Rethinking Economics England and Wales to analyse our education in the context of some of the biggest socio-economic challenges we face today; asking is our education fit to train economists of the 21st Century?
Wednesday 1 May 2024