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MSc

Finance and Investment

Prepare for a successful career in a growing financial sector that requires skilled graduates.

How to apply Book an Open Evening Chat to Us

Key Course Details

  • Start Date

    February

  • Location

    Pontypridd

  • Campus Code

    A

Fees

  • Start Date

    September

  • Location

    Pontypridd

  • Campus Code

    A

Fees

  • Home students

    £10,800*

  • International students

    £16,900*

  • Full-time fees are per year. Part-time fees are per 20 credits.

  • Start Date

    September

  • Location

    Pontypridd

  • Campus Code

    A

Fees

  • Home students

    £1,200*

  • Full-time fees are per year. Part-time fees are per 20 credits.

Our MSc Finance and Investment will develop the knowledge and skills needed for an understanding of the theories, techniques and regulatory environment of financial market investment. You will study a range of finance and investment modules and use powerful simulation software and financial databases.

DESIGNED FOR

Students that progressing from undergraduate degrees in related areas such as finance or business & management, or individuals who are looking for change of career after working for several years.

Career Paths

  • Risk management
  • Financial product management
  • Financial trading
  • Business analyst
  • Investment

Skills taught

  • Critical thinking
  • Researching
  • Analytical skills
  • Risk management
  • Report writing

Course Highlights

Practical and Contemporary Content

Our course features a range of content from traditional finance theory and investment to ethics and financial market issues.

Experiential Learning

Experience the fast-paced world of financial trading and investment within our Financial Trading Room which offers realistic simulation via industry-standard software.

Taught By Industry Experts

Our lecturers have years of experience in areas such as cryptocurrency, banking regulation, behavioural finance, and sustainability accounting. 

Module Overview

Our Finance and Investment masters establishes a firm foundation in the theory and practice of financial decision making. You will gain an understanding of behavioural, regulatory, and ethical issues as well as the management and analytical skills needed to take you to the forefront of the financial world.

Contemporary Issues in Finance 
critically investigate specific contemporary issues in finance, led by researchers in the field and subject specialists.

Investment and Portfolio Analysis 
Develop the critical knowledge and skills needed to be able to invest successfully in products traded on financial markets.

Research Methods in Accounting & Finance 
Learn about method and methodology issues relating to academic research in the disciplines of finance and accounting before completing a dissertation.

Corporate Finance 
Understand the strategic issues of finance in a business setting from investment appraisal methods to capital investment and short-term asset management.

Quantitative Methods for Finance and Risk Management 
Gain key knowledge and develop skills in mathematics, statistics, and data analysis in finance.

Global Financial Services Regulation and Compliance 
Understand the legal, regulatory, and ethical frameworks applicable to financial services on a global basis and evaluate regulatory frameworks in different countries.

Dissertation – Accounting & Finance
Conduct a rigorous, in-depth piece of research on a topic area of your choice

Course Highlights

How you’ll learn

A hands-on, student led approach encompassing problem-based, active, and collaborative learning is employed, where students are exposed to real-world situations and given the skills and opportunities to find practical solutions. Further, our teaching is rooted in the contemporary research and practical industry experiences of the teaching team. 

Teaching staff

You will be taught by specialists with many years’ experiences in the finance and financial services industries and researchers operating at the contemporary cutting edge of their fields. Our lecturers also have significant experience of providing pastoral care and guidance to postgraduate students.  

Placements

Students are given the chance volunteer for project and consultancy work with our Business School Clinic. 

Facilities

Our Financial Trading Room provides a realistic simulation of a professional trading room. It will provide you with insight into both the skills and the psychology of financial trading while helping you to build your confidence. You will learn to analyse data, place orders, make predictions, and to analyse the news before reacting appropriately.  

Careers and Employability

Possible career paths

All kinds of financial careers will be available to our Finance & Investment graduates, in all kinds of organisations. Our recent graduates have progressed to undertake roles in underwriting, paraplanning, financial product management, risk management, foreign exchange, business analysis, treasury/growth/investment and pricing, working for large banks, insurance companies and professional services firms amongst others.  

Careers support

The University’s Career Services offers a range of advice and guidance to students, and references to the services available to all listed at southwales.ac.uk/careers will be added to the course website by default. However, if there are other important course or subject specific initiatives run at local a level, there is an opportunity to add further details here. Whether this includes connecting with professionals, industry experts or mentors, or strategies to enhance their competitiveness and aspirations in the job market, further details will provide prospects with the confidence, encouragement, and motivation to commit to applying. 

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS

A minimum 2:2 Honours degree or an equivalent international qualification may also be acceptable.

The course welcomes international applicants and requires an English level of IELTS 6.0 with a minimum of 5.5 in each component or equivalent.

 

Additional requirements include:

Please note that whilst this course does not require a DBS Check for entry, some professions will not consider candidates who have certain types of criminal convictions.    Therefore, if you have a criminal conviction and you are considering a particular career path we would recommend that you check with the relevant professional body or refer to their recruitment policy to make sure that your conviction will not disadvantage you.

International applications welcomed:

We welcome international applications with equivalent qualifications of our entry requirements. For more details related to your country of residence, please view our dedicated country pages.

English language requirements

International applicants will need to have achieved an overall of IELTS 6.0 with a minimum of 5.5 in each component/TOEFL 72 overall and a minimum of 18 in reading, 17 in listening, 20 in speaking and 17 in writing or equivalent.

Equivalents can be located on our English Language pages.

If you have previously studied through the medium of English, IELTS might not be required, please visit our country specific page for further details. If your country is not featured, please contact us.

If you do not meet the English entry criteria, please visit our Pre-Sessional course pages.

Contextual offers

We may make you a lower offer based on a range of factors, including your background (where you live and the school or college that you attended, for example), your experiences and individual circumstances (as a care leaver, for example). This is referred to as a contextual offer, and we receive data from UCAS to support us in making these decisions.

USW prides itself on its student experience and we support our students to achieve their goals and become a successful graduate. This approach helps us to support students who have the potential to succeed and who may have faced barriers that make it more difficult to access university.

 

We're here to help

Whether you a have a question about your course, fees and funding, the application process or anything else, there are plenty of ways you can get in touch, and we'd love to talk to you. You can contact our friendly admissions team by phone, email or chat to us online.

 

Fees and Funding

UK Full-time Fee

£10,800

per year*
UK Full-time Fee

£10,800

per year*
International Full-time Fee

£16,900

per year*
International Full-time Fee

£16,900

per year*
UK Part-time Fee

£1,200

per 20 credits*

Further Information

Studying at university is one of the most significant investments you'll ever make. Whilst you’re studying, you’ll have two main financial obligations – tuition fees and living costs. There’s lots of financial help available from the University of South Wales and external funding sources, that may provide loans (which have to be paid back) and grants, scholarships and bursaries (that don't).

*Full-time fees are per year. Part-time fees are per 20 credits. Once enrolled, the fee is anticipated to remain at the same rate throughout the duration of your study on this course except as described below.

Please be aware that we may increase the maximum fee for home students on full-time undergraduate courses only where the Welsh Government increases the permitted level of inflation of fees. Fees for all students (including part-time, postgraduate and international students) may be amended in accordance with our applicable Fees and Debt Management Policy.  We will ensure that students are given clear, intelligible, unambiguous and timely information about our courses and costs in good time, ahead of the next academic year.

 

Fees and Funding Scholarships and Busaries Alumni Discount

Additional Costs

As a student of USW, you’ll have access to lots of free resources to support your study and learning, such as textbooks, publications, online journals, laptops, and plenty of remote-access resources. Whilst in most cases these resources are more than sufficient in supporting you with completing your course, additional costs, both obligatory and optional, may be required or requested for the likes of travel, memberships, experience days, stationery, printing, or equipment. 

*Obligatory

Text books are provided via the USW library but students may wish to purchase their own private copies. This cost is optional.

Cost: Up to £300

University Quality Assurance

At USW, we regularly review our courses in response to changing patterns of employment and skills demand to ensure we offer learning designed to reflect today’s student needs and tomorrow’s employer demands.

If during a review process course content is significantly changed, we’ll write to inform you and talk you through the changes for the coming year. But whatever the outcome, we aim to equip our students with the skillset and the mindset to succeed whatever tomorrow may bring. Your future, future-proofed.

Studying at USW

Our courses are designed with industry leaders and provide the practical skills and experiences industry demands. Our flexible courses reflect the need for life-long learning. If you value education in practice, not just in theory, then USW is for you.

Two people studying together at a table, surrounded by books and papers.
Postgraduate fees and funding
The University's Ty Crawshays building at Treforest, Pontypridd.
Pontypridd Campus, Treforest
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Postgraduate Open Events

How to apply

There is an online application process for this course. Please choose the application form for your preferred start date and mode of study (i.e. full-time or part-time).

International admissions

Please see our international admissions advice for further information about how to apply as a prospective international student.

Next Steps

How to Apply
Book an Open Evening
Chat to Us