Finance

If you are seeking to move into a career in finance, our MSc in Finance will give you the practical and academically-rigorous grounding you need. Covering everything from financial market frameworks and concepts, through to strategic decision making and risk management, you will gain a realistic insight into current practice in the finance and investment world, and be expertly equipped with a toolbox of financial techniques you can apply in your work from day one.

The course is open to anyone with an interest in finance, but doesn't require you to have studied the subject at undergraduate level.

As part of Bristol Business School, you will get to hear from inspiring speakers from the financial world, and have access to our state-of-the-art trading room, built around the Bloomberg Professional system, the main financial data platform used in many investment firms and banks.

The course involves 12-15 hours of teaching a week, with independent study required outside of that. We recommend students spend approximately five to six days a week on their studies to gain maximum benefit from the course.

The Postgraduate Certificate is made up of three or four of the seven compulsory modules detailed below.

Compulsory modules:

• Fundamentals of Financial Management equips you with the principal functions of financial management and develops knowledge and skills required by finance managers in relation to financing, investment and controlling decisions.
• Financial Instruments provides you with an overview of the valuation of competing financial instruments and an introduction to how they might be combined in portfolios.
• Financial Statement Analysis provides you with the tools for analysing individual companies from a financial viewpoint, within the context of their industry and the wider macroeconomic environment.
• Fund Management equips you with the necessary tools and fundamental techniques in modern finance theory and their application to fund management.
• Risk Management provides you with the knowledge, understanding and critical awareness of recent techniques and issues in risk management.
• Corporate Financial Strategy provides you with a range of strategic tools and approaches to problems and opportunities in the real-world corporate finance arena.
• Quantitative Research Methods provides you with the research training sufficient to produce a quality quantitative finance dissertation.

The Postgraduate Diploma is made up of the remaining compulsory modules and one additional optional module, allowing you to specialise in areas relevant to your chosen career path.

Optional modules:*

• Corporate Financial Reporting
• Financial Engineering
• Principles of Financial Intermediation
• Financial Investments in Practice

* The availability of optional modules is subject to demand.

Masters

Dissertation

In addition to these modules, your dissertation gives you the chance to research an area of finance of particular interest to you and of relevance to your career or company. Previous dissertation topics include:

• An Empirical Analysis of the Determinants of US Equity Returns
• Company Analysis and Valuation
• The Determinants of Operational Risk: An Empirical Investigation of UK Financial Institutions.

You will need either:

• You'll need an honours degree (minimum 2:2) in a business, business-related or quantitative discipline from a recognised Higher Education institution or equivalent from a recognised overseas institution.

Or if do not hold a first degree:

• To have completed parts 1 and 2 of the ACCA syllabus, or the SII diploma, plus two years relevant work experience, or
• A minimum of two years relevant work experience and to take a written test before being accepted.