Banking and Finance

Entry requirements

• We usually require a lower second (2:2) undergraduate degree or equivalent in accounting, business economics, finance, or economics
• Students with an undergraduate degree with an applied quantitative element in the field of statistics, mathematics, engineering, physics, computing or science will also be considered.
• We accredit prior experiential learning and welcome mature applicants with suitable life skills and work experience.

Months of entry

September, October

Course content

The banking and finance industry has become a major end-user and even a major driver of technological innovation, such as machine learning, big data analysis and algorithm trading. This course uniquely combines theory and applications of finance, economics, quantitative methods, and big data analysis to allow you to increase your career opportunities in this fast paced field.

The MSc Banking and Finance is an academically solid programme that provides the foundations of a career in financial services, and in the banking industry. This course has an emphasis on relevant and prominent issues for the sector such as financial regulation, risk management, international systems, banking institutions and securities markets.

The programme covers all aspects of the industry from macroeconomic and corporate to regulatory, computational and quantitative. Advanced skills preparation in financial modelling, econometrics, and quantitative risk management will prepare you for the practical requirements of your profession. You can also choose what you study with optional modules covering accounting and corporate finance, big data analysis, and FinTech.

You'll be taught by academics who are currently involved in pioneering research in areas such as portfolio management, corporate finance and ethics in finance. Many have also been practitioners with organisations such as Standard & Poor's and The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. We value skills training as highly as we value theory, so you can also expect to learn the practical ways in which you can use this knowledge within your profession, including training in a range of financial software systems.

Course highlights:

• Benefit from unlimited access to the Financial Markets Lab, where you can set up or simulate your trades in FX, equity and derivatives markets
• There is a strong emphasis on practical application of theory to ensure you are ready for the working world
• Complete year-long modules to improve your learning and enhance assimilation of complex subjects in a rewarding and beneficial manner
• You'll use specialist industry standard databases such as Bloomberg and Datastream, as well as software packages including Stata
• Free online subscription to The Financial Times.

Fees and funding