MSc Finance

Explore theoretical and applied finance

Year of entry: 2025 (September)

Start date

September 2025
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Length

1 year full-time

School/department

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

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Gain access to exceptional teaching and facilities.

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 focused syllabus introducing contemporary tools, methods and approaches to tackle current real world challenges in areas of finance including corporate finance and traditional and new financial markets.

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.

At the University of York we offer a number of different courses as part of our finance suite, including general, focused and specialised programmes. Learn more about our range of finance Masters offered at York.

Pioneering academics

making groundbreaking contributions in areas including economic theory, econometrics, finance and macroeconomics.

14th in the UK

for research in Economics (the Times Higher Education's REF results, 2021).

Dedicated Facilities

You'll benefit from the University's new Trading Room to get to grips with financial markets.

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.

Modules
Research project

Modules

Core modules

Option modules

You will also study one option module. Examples may include:

Our modules may change to reflect the latest academic thinking and expertise of our staff, and in line with Department/School academic planning.

Learning outcomes

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.

Learning outcomes for this course

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 2025/26

Study mode	UK (home)	International and EU
Full-time (1 year)	£16,810	£33,700

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.

Postgraduate taught fees and expenses

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 2025/26 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

Chevening Scholarships

We are pleased to work with Chevening Scholars to offer funding for our Masters programmes. Chevening Scholarships provide one year of fully-funded postgraduate study in the UK for international (including EU) students. The scholarships are open to early and mid-career professionals who have the potential to become future leaders.

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.

The Chartered Financial Analyst Program

Turbo charge your career with the gold standard in finance credentials. Eligible students can undertake Level I of the CFA program in collaboration with Fitch Learning.

CQF Institute Membership

The CQF Institute is the fastest-growing quant finance membership organisation. Students studying on our finance suite of Masters degrees will now gain complimentary membership to the Institute.

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 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:

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

Qualification	Typical offer
Undergraduate degree	2:2 or equivalent 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:

Qualification	Minimum requirement
IELTS (Academic and Indicator)	6.5, minimum 6.0 in each component
Cambridge CEFR	B2 First: 176, with 169 in each component
Oxford ELLT	7, minimum of 6 in each component
Oxford Test of English Advanced	136, minimum 126 in each component
Duolingo	120, minimum 105 in all other components
LanguageCert SELT	B2 with 33/50 in each component
LanguageCert Academic	70 with a minimum of 65 in each component
Kaplan Test of English Language	478-509, with 444-477 in all other components
Skills for English	B2: Merit overall, with Pass with Merit in each component
PTE Academic	61, minimum 55 in each component
TOEFL	87, minimum of 21 in each component
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.

How to apply

Apply for this course

Next steps

Contact us

Get in touch if you have any questions