From derivatives and investments to mergers and acquisitions and global markets, this course covers the essential information you need to pursue a range of exciting finance careers at an international level.

Investing in our MSc Finance can be the start of a great career and you gain valuable quantitative skills that are in high demand by employers.

A dissertation, focusing on empirical research, allows you to explore a research area of interest in detail, supported throughout by our high-calibre staff.

Recent graduates have accepted positions in the City, with the ‘Big 4’ global financial services firms, major world banks and financial institutions.

Course recognition

The course meets ESRC guidelines for Masters degrees and has ESRC recognition as a postgraduate training year in preparation for a PhD.

It also holds the award of partnership status from the CFA Institute, the global association for investment professionals.

Recent recruiters include:

Apple Inc, Bangkok Bank plc, Bloomberg, Central Bank of Chile, Cisco Systems, Deloitte, Ernst & Young, KPMG, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Statoil ASA

Course structure

(all taught course units are 15 credits)

Semester 1

• Derivative Securities
• Essentials of Finance
• Introduction to Quantitative Methods

One course unit from:

• Foundations of Finance Theory
• International Macroeconomics and Global Capital Markets
• Portfolio Investment

Semester 2

• Advanced Empirical Finance
• Corporate Finance
• Financial Econometrics

One course unit from:

• Financial Statement Analysis
• International Finance
• Mergers and Acquisitions: Economic and Financial Aspects
• Real Options in Corporate Finance
• The Analysis of Business Structures

Summer research period

Research dissertation (60 credits)

The dissertation is an integral part of the course.

It gives you the opportunity to apply what you have learned in the taught part of the course.

It normally consists of a piece of empirical work, involving qualitative research methods or traditional statistical methods.

Examples of recent dissertation project

topics include:

• The investment value of analyst forecasts
• Stabilisation of initial public offerings (IPOs)
• Forecasting international real estate returns: portfolio choice applications
• An empirical analysis of corporate financing policies and corporate governance
• Managerial compensation and corporate governance
• Initial public offerings: debt IPOs, adviser switching, contracting, governance, performance and venture capital backing
• Sovereign wealth funds and global financial stability
• Stock markets and the macroeconomy

Home/EU £19,000
Overseas £22,000

Rolling admission - please apply as early as possible.

Entry requirements

Please note: there is a non-refundable application fee of £60.

First or upper second class honours (2:1) degree from a UK university or the overseas equivalent, in finance, economics or maths.

Application details

We’re delighted that you are considering applying for one of our postgraduate courses. Please view the most up-to-date admission information on the MBS website and follow the How to Apply guide to submit an online application. Our guide is designed to make the application process as straightforward as possible for you, and to ensure that your application is correct and submitted in plenty of time. All courses start on 21 September 2015.

English Language requirements

If English is not your first language, you are required to take an English language test to prove your level of proficiency.