MSc Banking and Financial Services

About the programme

This programme offers training in the key areas of banking and financial services. It provides candidates with a comprehensive understanding of the economic, financial and legal environment in which providers of financial services operate.

Students will acquire a sound understanding of management and regulation of financial markets, of the principles of corporate finance, of various models of pricing financial assets such as stocks, bonds and options contracts and the underlying assumptions of such models. They will learn how risk averse agents can hedge risk, about the interaction between domestic and foreign interest rates, how they can benefit from the predictive properties of forward exchange rates, from bond financing; they will learn about the determination of interest rates in bond markets, about risk management, bank regulation and the preventative role of financial regulation.

We expect graduates to find employment in financial institutions (including banks, investment banks and asset management firms); governmental bodies involved in financial decision-making; organisations such as the International Monetary Fund and World Bank; and other firms working in the area of financial transactions and provision of finance.

Eligibility for admission

Applicants will be expected to have at least an upper second class honours degree, or an equivalent non-UK degree. Normally, this should be a degree in economics or finance or a joint degree containing a significant amount of economics or of finance (normally, at least four credit-bearing courses in economics and/or finance). The International Office publishes country-specific information on the equivalence of grades. Less well-qualified candidates may be admitted to the Diploma with the prospect of continuing to MSc if they reach the required standard.  In all cases, a full application is required to determine the suitability of the programme.

Programme structure

Students take four compulsory courses and two elective courses. MSc candidates also produce a research dissertation in an approved related area. Students are required to attend the course Research Methods and Dissertation Training in preparation for writing the dissertation. Course outlines can be found on the Course index page.

Compulsory courses

• Economics of Finance
• Financial Services
• International Corporate Finance (Department of Accounting and Finance)
• International Finance and Money

Semester 1

Research Methods and Dissertation Training (compulsory)

Compulsory courses

• Financial Services
• International Corporate Finance (Department of Accounting and Finance)

Elective courses

• Financial Institutions and Markets in Developing Countries
• Financial Markets, Securities and Derivatives
• International Capital Markets (Department of Accounting and Finance)
• International Financial Accounting for MNCs (Department of Accounting and Finance)
• Portfolio Analysis and Investment

Semester 2

Research Methods and Dissertation Training continues (compulsory)

Compulsory courses

• Economics of Finance
• International Finance and Money

Elective courses

• Financial Sector Stability and Growth
• International Banking and Financial Markets (Department of Accounting and Finance)
• International Capital Market Regulation (School of Law)
• International Financial Analysis (Department of Accounting and Finance)
• International Financial Management (Department of Accounting and Finance)
• International Trade

Other elective courses offered by the Department of Economics may be available, subject to the approval of the Programme Director.

April - September

• Examinations
• Dissertation

Pre-sessional training: Quantitative Methods for Finance

Students are strongly encouraged to attend a short, pre-sessional course that reviews basic calculus, linear algebra, probability and statistics, all of which will be used in the MSc programme.

Additional training

Students will receive specialised training using the Bloomberg Trading Platform, based in our new and dedicated Bloomberg Trading Room, and MATLAB, a powerful, technical software programme used widely on trading floors and by researchers in the fields of Economics and Finance. The immediate aim of this training is to provide you with further tools to assist with your coursework and MSc dissertation.  However, it will also increase your employability because graduate recruiters attach significant value to expertise in using these tools.  The training component of your programme is not assessed and is offered on a first come, first served basis.