Applying for an accounting and finance master’s: Q&A with programme director

Our students have studied a variety of subjects at the undergraduate level which allows us to accommodate different abilities, skills and learning rates, but several of our courses are quantitative and so it’s beneficial for students to have some numerical or quantitative skills before starting with us. Although most of our programmes require no prior knowledge of finance. 

We also have links to a number of professional bodies to ensure that our courses are related to and informed by real world experience. We have accreditation agreements with the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA), CFA Institute and the Global Association of Risk Professionals (GARP). 

We continuously adapt our courses to reflect changes the field and in wider society. There is growing expertise in the department for banking, FinTech and sustainability, and this is reflected in the courses we offer including increased focus on FinTech innovations, sustainable finance, green bonds, climate change and finance. 

We now support the Women in Banking and Finance Society to help to promote and encourage career development for women in the field. The society was formed to create awareness of, and to address, the lack of diversity and gender inequality within the financial services industry. It aims to provide members with guidance and support to maximise potential. We run a series of events for students in conjunction with the society.  

We also became an academic partner with GARP in 2021, which will allow us to nominate six students from our MSc Finance programmes to receive a scholarship for the Financial Risk Manager (FRM) part one exam. Recognised in every major market, the FRM is the leading certification for risk managers and is only awarded to those who demonstrate the knowledge and ability to anticipate, respond and adapt to critical risk issues. It’s consistently in demand by nearly every major bank and firm in the world.  

To ensure personal and academic skills development on our postgraduate courses, we have introduced Amplify, an online virtual training simulation for different financial applications. Amplify allows us to provide a week-long bootcamp experience for students, and links in with our university’s careers service to increase the employability of our cohort.  

The department has strong links with several employers in the accounting and finance industry and we use these links to bring further opportunities to students at all levels. This includes employer participation in workshops and tutorials, guest speakers and case studies for students. In order to ensure a breadth of opportunities, we link with a diverse range of employers for guest talks, including Johnston Carmichael, EY, and Morgan Stanley. 

We also offer a number of scholarships with professional and business organisations including DataLab scholarships for MSc Financial Technology students and CFA scholarships for MSc Finance and MSc Finance and Investment students.