Finance (Financial Technology and Banking)

Entry requirements

The Masters in Finance is designed for new or recent graduates. Certain programmes will be of interest if you are already a practitioner in the financial field.

A requirement for admission is the equivalent of a UK first or upper second class honours degree with evidence on your degree transcript of a good grade in a minimum of one mathematical/statistics module at a level equivalent to a second year British Honours Degree standard. Where the only evidence of mathematical/statistics modules is at a level equivalent to a first year British Honours Degree standard, or your mathematical/statistical module grades do not quite meet requirements, we may require that applicants undertake our admissions mathematics test. This will be determined by the Postgraduate Admissions Team upon considering each application.

For applicants whose first language is not English: a minimum score of 6.5 in IELTS, with no element below 6.0; or a minimum score of 92 in TOEFL, with no element below 23; or an equivalent qualification.

Months of entry

September

Course content

The MSc in Finance (Financial Technology and Banking) focuses on a highly specialised sector of finance that is involved every day in the lives of people and in the decisions and directions taken by businesses and organisations across the globe. It will equip you with the skills and knowledge to work successfully in this vitally important area of finance.

You will learn how to apply state-of-the art analytical skills, technical skills, and research techniques to financial scenarios in a teaching environment that is challenging and rewarding. Learning is designed to reflect our core values of fairness in how we experience the financial world and equality of access to financial services. Leading global financial institutions and businesses and prestigious PhD research programmes all look for such knowledge and experience.

The 12-month full-time course comprises a combination of core and optional modules, culminating in a practice-based business project or a research-based dissertation depending on the learning direction you choose.

Through a blend of lectures, seminars, and practical work, you will study an up-to-date range of modules including financial technologies, bank management, specialist finance software, banking and financial intermediation and econometric methods.

The course has partnership status with the Chartered Financial Analyst Institute (CFA), the leading global association for investment professionals and the accepted benchmark around the world for technical excellence in financial markets.

The School has made a significant investment in database resources, giving you access to live and historical data from providers including Bloomberg, Capital IQ, Thomson Reuters, DataStream and Orbis. These state-of-the-art databases give you the opportunity to interrogate the financial records of millions of companies worldwide and add valuable insight to your research.

By joining us, you will experience teaching by passionate and dedicated academics who are committed to the study of finance and how it interacts with the everyday lives of individuals and its role within global institutions. Having completed the course, you will be equipped to enjoy a successful career working or researching in finance, banking, or a related discipline.

Course structure

Core modules:

Financial Technologies I features the software, hardware, and innovative algorithmic technologies typically employed by and in financial innovation and is a platform for you to develop further skills in this area.  The module provides a comprehensive introduction to FinTech, it is created for management and deployment roles rather than software developers or engineers and you will complete it having gained technical, social and economic understandings of financial technologies with a comprehensive knowledge of key concepts and innovations.

Financial Technologies II uses examples and case studies based on real financial innovation scenarios and is focused on how financial technologies are built and implemented in practice. This is a practical module that teaches skills related to financial technologies and infrastructures. You will develop a technical and practical understanding of financial technologies and will be able to analyse data from and implement simple designs of financial market infrastructure using programming languages such as Python or Solidity.

Bank Management develops your knowledge of key concepts and issues in banking related to the management of lending processes, bank funding structure, liquidity and risk management, and performance measurement. You will also develop a critical understanding and appreciation of current theoretical and empirical research in banking and its applications to professional practice in financial services.

Python for Finance explores general principles and specific techniques of programming in the Python software and its applications in finance, including portfolio management, algorithmic trading, risk management and asset pricing. You will learn to use Python packages for financial data analysis and solving problems in the above-mentioned fields in finance.

Banking and Financial Intermediation teaches the key concepts and issues in financial intermediation related to the specificities of banking firms, financial stability and regulation. By the end of the module you will have developed an understanding of current theoretical and empirical research in financial intermediation and banking and its relevance to contemporary banking issues.

Econometric Methods develops the econometric skills necessary for empirical research in economics and/or finance as well as the ability to understand more advanced econometric techniques that will be taught in the second term of the MSc.

The Dissertation, on a finance topic of your choice, develops your ability to plan and manage your own learning. It provides an opportunity to conduct an in-depth investigation at an advanced level and present your findings and conclusions. To add a further international dimension to the course you can apply for the international route where you undertake research abroad at a partner university. There is also the option to develop a more applied business project in conjunction with an appropriate organisation.

Examples of optional modules:

• Advanced Financial Theory
• Behavioural and Neurofinance
• Climate Finance
• Corporate Finance
• Derivative Markets
• Financial Modelling and Business Forecasting
• Financial Risk Management
• Fintech Regulations
• International Financial Economics
• International Study Tour
• Islamic Banking and Finance
• Islamic Capital Markets
• Islamic Law and Financial Transactions
• Market Microstructure
• Mergers and Acquisitions and Corporate Restructuring
• Portfolio Management
• Security Analysis
• A language module

Information for international students

If you are an international student who does not meet the requirements for direct entry to this degree, you may be eligible to take a pre-Masters pathway programme at the Durham University International Study Centre.

Fees and funding

For further information see the course listing.