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MSc Finance

Explore theoretical and applied finance

Year of entry: 2024 (September)

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This course will give you a thorough grounding in theoretical and applied finance. You don't need a background in economics to study Finance (MSc).

Our suite of finance Masters programmes is uniquely multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary. They bring together expertise from the School for Business and Society, the Department of Mathematics, and the Department of Economics and Related Studies.

Discover our refocused syllabus introducing contemporary tools, methods and approaches to tackle applied, professional and academic challenges in accounting and finance.

By combining approaches from business, mathematics and economics, you'll gain a deeper understanding of finance. Our commitment to delivering public good will help you to put your new skills to work delivering meaningful change.

Learn more about the study of finance at York.

Course content

Our MSc Finance course provides the solid foundations required for building a future career in finance. Our future-orientated syllabus provides essential skills, tools and knowledge to equip you for a career now and beyond. You'll learn critical problem-solving through our unique interdisciplinary approach. We will encourage you to both question traditional concepts and techniques and adopt an analytical and robust approach to decision-making.

We develop a general theoretical consideration of finance, financial institutions, markets and instruments in the first semester. In the second semester, you'll develop applied and focused assessments of investment management and corporate finance. You have options to develop further analytical skills or future development FinTech and investment management.

In your final semester, you will work on an independent research project, where you will be supported by an academic supervisor to work on an original research topic.

Research project

You'll complete a piece of independent research of up to 8,000 words, carried out over three months of the summer. It will offer you the chance to examine a topic in depth and to develop your academic research skills.

The York approach

Every course at York is built on a distinctive set of learning outcomes. These will give you a clear understanding of what you will be able to accomplish at the end of the course and help you explain what you can offer employers. Our academics identify the knowledge, skills, and experiences you'll need upon graduation and then design the course to get you there.

Students who complete this course will be able to:

  • Display a systematic and critical understanding of the behaviour and operations of both financial institutions and the finance function within large organisations, the environments in which they operate, and the role of the financial sector in the wider economic system

  • Display a systematic understanding of a wide range of financial instruments (including: equities; fixed-income products; derivative securities; currencies), the properties of the markets on which they trade, and the purposes for which they are used in practice by investment managers and non-financial organisations

  • Derive major theorems across a wide range of finance subdisciplines (including: asset pricing; investment management; financial risk management; corporate finance; and international financial decisions), be able to describe the assumptions and mathematics methods behind the proofs of these theorems, and communicate clearly to academic and managerial audiences the advantages and limitations of applying these theorems in specific practical contexts, also bringing behavioural finance insights into account

  • Solve complex financial analytical problems by locating, downloading and cleaning the most appropriate financial and related data, and applying the most relevant statistical and computational techniques to these data to address the problem at hand

  • Exercise judgement when balancing the fiduciary duty of decision makers to maximise financial value against the ethical and sustainability goals of a wide range of organisational stakeholders

  • Produce well-reasoned written and oral communications based on analytical reasoning and supported, where necessary, by data-based evidence, and display other personal transferable skills including: the ability to work positively within a group; act inclusively within a diverse academic community; reflect on personal strengths and weaknesses; identify areas for growth in their own knowledge and practice by engaging in continuing professional development

  • Formulate a financial project proposal; identify the relevant academic and practitioner literature that best inform the project; identify and obtain the most appropriate data and methodologies for undertaking the project; independently carry out the project efficiently and to deadline; and effectively communicate results in a way that will persuade both expert and non-expert audiences.

Fees and funding

Annual tuition fees for 2024/25

Study modeUK (home)International and EU
Full-time (1 year) £15,890£32,260

Students on a Student Visa are not currently permitted to study part-time at York.

Fees information

UK (home) or international fees? The level of fee that you will be asked to pay depends on whether you're classed as a UK (home) or international student. Check your fee status.

Find out more information about tuition fees and how to pay them.

Funding information

Discover your funding options to help with tuition fees and living costs.

We'll confirm more funding opportunities for students joining us in 2024/25 throughout the year.

If you've successfully completed an undergraduate degree at York you could be eligible for a 10% Masters fee discount.

Funding opportunities

Living costs

You can use our living costs guide to help plan your budget. It covers additional costs that are not included in your tuition fee such as expenses for accommodation and study materials.

Teaching and assessment

You’ll work with world‐leading academics who’ll challenge you to think independently and excel in all that you do. Our approach to teaching will provide you with the knowledge, opportunities, and support you need to grow and succeed in a global workplace.

Teaching format

This Masters combines a variety of different teaching methods, including:

  • lectures
  • seminars
  • problem-solving classes
  • practical computer-based sessions.

A member of the teaching staff will act as your supervisor throughout the degree, to help guide your studies and monitor progress.

The department also has a vibrant research community. You’ll be able to attend seminars and research workshops in which staff and invited speakers discuss their research.

Teaching location

You'll be based in the Department of Economics and Related Studies on Campus West. Most of your teaching will take place in Alcuin College and elsewhere on Campus West.

You'll gain access to our schools' and departments' shared resources and financial databases, including:

  • Amplify Bootcamp
  • Reuters Refinitiv Workspace, including Datastream
  • Centre for Research in Security Prices (CRiSP)
  • Compustat (North America)
  • China Stock Market & Accounting Research Database (CSMAR)
  • 2iQ Global Insider Transaction Data
  • Bank Focus

About our campus

Our beautiful green campus offers a student-friendly setting in which to live and study, within easy reach of the action in the city centre. It's easy to get around campus - everything is within walking or pedalling distance, or you can always use the fast and frequent bus service.

Assessment and feedback

Formal types of assessment in this course include:

  • Exams
  • Group project
  • Seminar presentation
  • Essays

As you study modules you’ll take part in assessments that do not contribute to your final mark, instead giving useful feedback on your progress and understanding.

Careers and skills

This course will provide you with the essential postgraduate skills you need to follow a career in financial services. It will act as a stepping stone to a financial position or a role in the financial services industry such as financial analysis, investment management or corporate finance. The Masters is also an ideal basis for progression to a PhD.

Many of our students have gone on to forge careers in academia or central banks. Others have followed careers as investment analysts, financial advisers, and consultants in commercial banks, stockbrokers and other financial institutions.​​​

Career opportunities

  • Accountant
  • Auditor
  • Investment advisor
  • Investment analyst
  • Financial risk analyst
  • Insurance risk surveyor

Transferable skills

  • Independent working
  • Critical problem-solving
  • Time management and people skills
  • Communicating research
  • Performing statistical analysis
  • Analytical and technical research skills.

Entry requirements

Typical offer
Undergraduate degree The typical offer is for an applicant with a 2:1 in an undergraduate degree in any subject. We would expect applicants to have experience of one or more modules containing some statistics/maths/economics/finance/physics/engineering content.
Other qualifications and experience If you do not meet our advertised entry requirements, we may consider your application if you have a minimum of three years of relevant senior managerial-level working experience or a relevant professional qualification such as the CFA Level 1 or the ACCA
Other international qualifications Equivalent qualifications from your country

English language

If English isn't your first language you may need to provide evidence of your English language ability. We accept the following qualifications:

Minimum requirement
IELTS (Academic and Indicator) 6.5, minimum 6.5 in writing, 6.0 in all other components
Cambridge CEFR B2 First: 176, with a minimum of 176 in Writing and no less than 169 in all other components
Oxford ELLT 7, minimum of 7 in writing and no less than 6 in all other components
Duolingo 120, 120 minimum in production, 105 in all other components
LanguageCert SELT B2 with 33/50 in each component
LanguageCert Academic 70 with a minimum of 70 in Writing and no less than 65 in all other components
KITE 459-494, with 459-494 in writing and 426-458 in all other components
Skills for English B2: Merit overall, with Merit in writing and Pass with Merit in all other components
PTE Academic 61, minimum 61 in writing, 55 in all other components
TOEFL 87, minimum 23 in writing, minimum 21 in all other components
Trinity ISE III Merit in all requirements

For more information see our postgraduate English language requirements.

If you haven't met our English language requirements

You may be eligible for one of our pre-sessional English language courses. These courses will provide you with the level of English needed to meet the conditions of your offer.

The length of course you need to take depends on your current English language test scores and how much you need to improve to reach our English language requirements.

After you've accepted your offer to study at York, we'll confirm which pre-sessional course you should apply to via You@York.

Applying

You can apply and send all your documentation online. You don’t need to complete your application all at once: you can start it, save it and finish it later.

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Contact us

Get in touch if you have any questions

Professor Peter Smith

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Department of Economics and Related Studies, Department of Mathematics, School for Business and Society

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