Finance (with placement year)

If you are looking to get a head start on a career in finance, join us on our CFA affiliated BSc Finance degree. The course includes a placement opportunity, so you can apply what you have learned in class to the real world and gain valuable work experience that will supercharge your career.

Today’s fast-evolving finance sector requires professionals to be well equipped to deal with complex problems facing organisations and society. As a student on our BSc Finance degree, you will become confident at tackling the finance and investment-related challenges most relevant to organisations today, while also building the technical skills that will get you noticed by employers.

Choices and flexibility
The course combines rigorous finance theory with practical real-world application, to give you a strong grounding in both. There are a variety of options built into the course so you can shape the degree in line with the topics that you are most interested in – with several finance modules on offer often only seen at master’s level.

Explore topics like behavioural science or financial trading. Delve into topical issues like finance ethics or corporate governance. Or choose more general management modules like marketing or information systems.

It is a chance to investigate the aspects of finance that excite you most, and it will put you in a good position to compete in a competitive jobs market with students who have studied specialised master’s programmes.

Stand out with CFA affiliation
Our Finance BSc is one of a small number of degrees in the UK to have CFA affiliated status. This means the content you are studying has had the CFA stamp of approval and will give you an extra head start if you want to get a job in securities, investment banking or fund management.

Enhanced employability through a third year placement
Most importantly, you will not only be learning the theory – you will also have the opportunity to put it into practice. We offer several placement pathways, including a year-long or half-year work-based placement, building on your skills and getting valuable experience in industry. There are also options to study abroad. Many students find the experience vital in helping them secure good positions following graduation and increasing their confidence when they start their first job after graduating.

A strong foundation for your career
This course is an excellent stepping stone into a career in finance. You will be a strong candidate for those coveted front office positions with investment banks, general finance and risk management roles, and analyst positions with asset management firms. You could also take your skills into accounting or a more management-focused job.

The degree shares the same first year modules as our Accounting and Finance degree. So if you get to the end of year one and prefer the accounting route, it is easy to switch.