Finance and Investment BSc (Hons)

Course overview

Being a good finance specialist requires intellectual rigour and commercial acumen. Our course helps you develop the specialist knowledge and skills needed for a successful career in investment banking, asset/portfolio management, corporate finance and other sectors of financial services.

The January start for this course is condensed in Year 1. Please see the ‘How you’ll learn’ section below for more details.

Why you should study this course

By studying this course, you will have the opportunity to:

• develop practical skills in our Trading Floor
  Develop your skills in our Trading Floor⁴, which is currently one of the largest academic trading floors in Europe, featuring contemporary dual-screen Bloomberg terminals. You will also have opportunities to gain hands-on experience using a range of economics and business software packages, and the chance to gain the Bloomberg Market Concepts Certificate, on successful completion of a short course (subject to availability).
• benefit from industry insight
  Teaching benefits from research and insight from corporate collaborators, including the regulatory bodies and leading consultancies such as Bloomberg and Fitch Connect.
• gain real-world exposure
  Prepare for a future career in finance with a work placement².
• access our sigma maths and stats support centre
  Access maths and statistics support⁴ through drop-in sessions with experienced tutors.

If you choose to start this course in January you will study exactly the same course but over a slightly shorter timescale in Year 1. This is ideal if you missed the September start, want to transfer from a different university or course or just need a bit more time to prepare for life at university.

Careers and opportunities

Upon successful completion of the course, you will be able to:

• use a range of transferable skills such as writing clear and concise reports based on evidence and logic, making effective use of information technology, confident delivery of presentations, creative problem solving, financial skills and self-motivation.
• communicate technical business and financial concepts in a clear manner to a range of relevant stakeholders.
• apply financial theories and empirical methods to real-world scenarios by making appropriate use of data, abstraction, and logical reasoning to analyse corporate and international financial events and issues.
• carry out an independent piece of research on a finance topic using appropriate theories and analytical tools.
• understand the importance and relevance of personal finance and financial services to individuals and corporations.
• apply appropriate mathematical and quantitative techniques to solve business and financial problems.
• evaluate and critique a wide range of financial securities and be able to utilise these products to achieve appropriate investment and risk management goals.
• identify, evaluate and interpret complex financial problems, employing suitable methodologies to ascertain and select appropriate innovative solutions.

Upon successful completion of the course, you should be well placed to pursue a wide variety of potential future careers options in areas such as:

• Finance advice and management
• Equity trading
• Investment banking
• Personal and corporate finance
• Investment and portfolio management
• Other sectors of financial services
• Management
• Research and finance analyst
• Education in private, public and third sector organisations.

The Talent Team will also support you with workshops and guidance on the various aspects of the employment process such as preparing your CV, interview practice and mock assessment centres, as well as occasional employer events, which should allow you to network with potential future employers offering graduate roles, internships and placements².