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MSc Accounting and Management

Work with leading academics to develop your financial skills and kick-start your career

Year of entry: 2024 (September)

Length

1 year full-time

Start date

September 2024 (semester dates)

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Through the MSc Accounting and Management, you will learn how to make effective contributions to ensure that the strategic and financial objectives of organisations operating in the international business environment are achieved.

You will critically analyse complex local and global business scenarios by applying contemporary accounting and management theories, whilst taking into account ethical and sustainable managerial practices.

You will expand your knowledge in accounting and management, develop key critical skills to inform business strategies and decision-making in a dynamic and evolving global context. As a consequence, by the end of this programme, you will be well prepared for a range of leadership positions in accounting and management, whilst maintaining ethical values and professional acumen.

Accreditation

This course is accredited by the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants.

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Masterclasses

Alongside your formal classes, we arrange an extensive programme of guest speakers. Visitors from large multinational companies, small businesses and public sector organisations lead discussions on issues linked to their own businesses or past experiences.

Dedicated facilities

The Church Lane Building features modern teaching rooms, a café, and spaces for group work and socialising.

Committed to equality

The School for Business and Society has received an Athena SWAN Bronze Award, recognising our continued commitment to gender equality.

Course content

You'll study a range of core modules, consolidating your existing knowledge and introducing you to new concepts and techniques. You'll focus on the role of accounting and finance in organisational management and gain a thorough grounding in accounting, finance, financial management, financial reporting, financial markets, investment and risk.

Modules

Core modules

Option modules

You will also study three option modules. Examples include:

Our modules may change to reflect the latest academic thinking and expertise of our staff.

Dissertation

You will choose to complete either:

The dissertation requires you to initiate, design, and implement a substantial research project. You'll have three to four months to complete a 8,000-word (Applied) or 10,000-word (Academic) dissertation based on your original research. 

You can choose to focus your research on a topic that interests you. It could be a chance to explore a previous topic in greater depth, or investigate an organisational challenge in an industry close to your heart. Recent titles include:

  • Exploring Corporate Social Responsibility Reporting in the Nordic Furniture Industry through Content Analysis
  • Exploratory analysis of effects of bank regulations on bank risk and return during and after the financial crisis
  • Study of risk reporting in UK top five food and drug retail companies with content analysis
  • Why Chinese Students Study Accounting in UK and US Universities and the Relevance of Degree to Profession

You'll work under the guidance of a personal supervisor with expertise in the subject you're studying. They'll help you develop your research project, including identifying theories and methods to investigate and analyse your topic.

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:

  • Apply key accounting theories and concepts to prepare financial statements within current regulatory frameworks
  • Interpret financial information to support strategic decision-making taking into account relevant ethical, societal and sustainability considerations
  • Identify, devise, and critically appraise, alternative approaches to accounting and management problems based on systematic analysis of complex business scenarios, while taking into account ethical and sustainable practices
  • Inform robust business decision-making by communicating, orally or in written form, complex financial and non-financial information in a clear and accessible manner to professional audiences
  • Critically analyse and respond to the complexity of ethical, sustainability and legal issues in accounting, management, governance and the international business environment by devising and applying appropriate investigative methods from a range of research paradigms
  • Independently produce focused research into significant accounting and management issues by deploying research tools, analysing the resulting data and synthesising the results into a detailed critical analysis
  • Critically reflect on their learning process, personal strengths and weaknesses, in order to identify areas for personal and professional development to work more effectively in a diverse and international business environment.

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

We offer a number of subject-specific funding opportunities for home and overseas students.

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

We use a wide range of teaching methods to suit different learning styles, including:

  • Lectures
  • Seminars
  • Practical workshops

We'll help you develop skills of research and investigation to support your independent learning.

Teaching location

You will be based in the School of Business & Society on Campus West. Most of your teaching will take place in the Church Lane Building, with additional contact hours elsewhere on Campus East and Campus West.

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

Your modules are assessed with a mixture of exams, essays and presentations. You'll also complete formative assignments including presentations and literature reviews. You'll receive feedback on all the work you submit, helping you to understand your strengths and identify areas for improvement.

Your final assessment is a 12,000-word dissertation or an 8,000-word project, which makes up a third of your overall grade.

Careers and skills

This course will help build your qualifications for a career in financial management or accountancy. Our graduates are developing careers in management roles worldwide. Many go on to work for one of the 'big four': Deloitte, Ernst & Young, PwC, and KPMG.

The skills that you will develop are in demand far beyond the financial services industry. Our alumni can be found in diverse small and medium enterprises and in public sector roles in local government, education, policing and health.

Each year, some of our students choose to continue their studies, joining the School of Business & Society doctoral programme.

Career opportunities

  • Accountant
  • Banker
  • Tax advisor
  • Audit associate
  • Investment consultant
  • Financial analyst

Transferable skills

  • Experience of software commonly used in the business environment
  • Presentation skills
  • Project management
  • Time management
  • Problem-solving
  • Decision-making
  • Using evidence, argument and analysis

Entry requirements

Typical offer
Undergraduate degree 2:1 or equivalent qualification in Accounting, or a degree with a significant proportion of Accounting elements.
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 and 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, minimum 120 in production and 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: Pass with Merit overall, with Pass with Merit in writing and Pass in all other components
PTE Academic 61, minimum 61 in Writing and 55 in all other components
TOEFL 87, minimum 23 in Writing and 21 in all other components
Trinity ISE III Merit in all components

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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