2019-20-Business-Management-and-Finance

Finance and Investment BSc (Hons)

Finance and Investment prepares students to excel in a career within the broad financial sector, including financial management, investment banking and equity trading. The programme is designed with special focus on practical perspective and employability orientation.

Overview

The Finance and Investment BSc course at DMU provides a rigorous academic approach to finance with a focus on practical skills and employability. Students will be equipped with the advanced technical skillset, knowledge, and professional attitude necessary to excel in a career in the financial sector. The course is a member of the Chartered Financial Analysts (CFA) Affiliation Program and our curriculum prepares students well to sit the CFA examinations to obtain one of the most reputable professional qualifications in the finance and investment industry.

On this course, a comprehensive understanding of finance is developed through exploration of the connected disciplines of accounting and economics. This programme is ideal for those interested in a mathematical approach, where strong emphasis is placed on quantitative data. The use of important industry-standard commercial databases and software, such as Bloomberg, Thomson Reuters Eikon, Matlab, and Python, are integrated into the teaching methods to bridge the theoretical and practical aspects of finance. 

Innovative modules will introduce you to new methodologies – such as Artificial Intelligence and Financial Applications, where you will gain hands-on experience of using, evaluating, and even developing your own AI applications, to solve real-life problems. 

Our Trading Room – one of the largest in a UK university – will give you a simulated experience on industry-standard software that is used by decision-makers in practice. The programme is also structured to address many of the competence requirements of professional finance bodies

Key features

  • Be equipped with an advanced technical skillset and professional attitudes to develop your career in finance and investment.
  • Benefit from broad module content covering topics in finance, accounting, and economics.
  • Experience a ‘state-of-the-art’ module Artificial Intelligence and Financial Applications, which will introduce you to the new methodology revolution. You will have hand-on experience of using and evaluating AI applications, as well as developing your own applications to solve real-life problems.
  • Study a programme which is structured to address many of the competency requirements of professional Finance bodies. We are proud to be a member of the CFA Affiliation Program. This course is also accredited by the world’s largest professional body of management accountants, CIMA (Chartered Institute of Management Accountants).

  • As a member of the CFA Affiliation Program, we can award the CFA Program Awareness Scholarships to a number of our top-performing students every year.
  • Gain real-world international experiences to build on your studies with DMU Global, previous students have visited sites such as Wall Street in New York where they learned about the financial institutions there and gained an understanding of how the most recent financial crisis unfolded.

Scholarships

DMU offers a range of undergraduate and postgraduate scholarships and bursaries to help you realise your academic ambitions.

International student scholarships

Find out about available international scholarships or visit our fees and funding page for more information.


  • UK
  • EU/International

Institution code: D26

UCAS course code: N301

Start date: September 2021

Duration: Three years full-time, four years with a placement.

Fees and funding: 

2024/25 tuition fees for UK students: £9,250

Find out more about additional costs and optional extras associated with this course.

 

Institution code: D26

UCAS course code: N301

Start date: September 2021

Duration: Three years full-time, four years with a placement.

Fees and funding:

2024/25 tuition fees for international students: £15,750.

Find out more about available funding for international students.

Find out more about additional costs and optional extras associated with this course.

Entry criteria

Entry criteria

  • Normally 112 UCAS points from at least two A levels or equivalent, including one A or AS Level of the following subjects: Mathematics, Physics or Statistics
  • Normally BTEC Extended Diploma at DMM in Mathematics, Physics or Statistics
  • Five GCSEs at grades 4 or above, including English Language plus Mathematics or equivalent at a minimum of grade 5
  • International Baccalaureate: 26+ points including a quantitative subject at SL or HL level
  • QAA Access to Higher Education course not normally accepted as applicants will need to have studied a quantitative subject at A or AS Level equivalent in Maths, Physics or Statistics

 

Mature students

We welcome applications from mature students with non-standard qualifications and recognise all other equivalent and international qualifications.

English language

If English is not your first language then an IELTS score of 6.0 overall with a minimum of 5.5 in each component (or equivalent) is essential.

English Language tuition, delivered by our British Council accredited Centre for English Language Learning, is available both before and throughout the course if you need it.

 

UCAS tariff information

Students applying for courses starting in September will be made offers based on the latest UCAS Tariff.

Contextual offer 

To make sure you get fair and equal access to higher education, when looking at your application, we consider more than just your grades. So if you are eligible, you may receive a contextual offer. Find our more about contextual offers.

 

Structure and assessment

 

Course modules

Teaching and assessment

Accreditation

 

Year 1

  • Financial Accounting
  • Mathematics for Finance
  • Statistics and Probability for Finance
  • Introduction to Macroeconomics
  • Introduction to Microeconomics

Year 2

  • International Financial Markets and Institutions
  • Econometrics
  • Corporate Finance
  • Equity and Fixed Income Valuation
  • Financial Reporting
  • Ethics for Professionals

Plus two optional modules from the following list:

  • Working Capital Management*
  • Risk Management
  • Business Taxation
  • Business Intelligence using Excel

 

Year 3

  • Investments and Portfolio Management
  • International Financial Derivatives*
  • International Financial Management
  • Artificial Intelligence and Financial Applications
  • Governance and Sustainability

Plus one optional module from the following list:

  • Financial Econometrics
  • Advanced Corporate Finance
  • Advanced Business Intelligence*

Teaching and assessment

  • You will receive formal lectures and tutorials that have an emphasis on giving you increasing responsibility for your own learning.
  • Assessment will be made by a mixture of coursework of both a formative and a summative nature and a number of traditional exams will be set. Some multiple-choice tests may be used to review progress of students, but traditional exams will predominate in part as a preparation for a future professional career.
  • Case work, real-life examples and/or data will be a feature of the course to allow students to adapt technical knowledge to specific scenarios and provide tailored finance advice.
  • Problem solving will also underpin assessment activities in line with the interprofessional nature of finance.
  • Group work will be encouraged throughout the course.
  • A sustainable and ethical context will operate throughout the majority of modules.
  • A significant tutorial programme will be developed to ensure that students have sufficient knowledge of the rigours of the UKHE environment and skills required for success.

Finance and Investment BSc (Hons) at DMU is a member of the Chartered Financial Analysts (CFA) Affiliation Program. Our curriculum prepares students to sit the CFA examinations and obtain one of the most reputable professional qualifications in the finance and investment industry.

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Facilities and features

Hugh Aston Building

You will be taught in our purpose-built Hugh Aston Building equipped with lecture theatres and classrooms, break-out spaces for group work, quiet study zones for individual work, and high-spec IT labs installed with professional software.

You’ll also have access to the building’s new £5.5 million extension called The Yard, which provides more than 22,000 square metres of extra space. This is designed to facilitate your learning experience with large and airy breakout spaces, a new Student Advice Centre, and a balcony on the top floor. The Yard also features more comfortable classrooms and self-study spaces, allowing you to carry out independent study as well as group work.

Students benefit from The Trading Floor, which can provide simulation of what it is like to work in the financial industry in roles such as trading, portfolio management, investment banking, corporate finance and financial or economic analysis.

Library and learning zones

On campus, the main Kimberlin Library offers a space where you can work, study and access a vast range of print materials, with computer stations, laptops, plasma screens and assistive technology also available. 

As well as providing a physical space in which to work, we offer online tools to support your studies, and our extensive online collection of resources accessible from our Library website, e-books, specialised databases and electronic journals and films which can be remotely accessed from anywhere you choose. 

We will support you to confidently use a huge range of learning technologies, including the Virtual Learning Environment, Collaborate Ultra, DMU Replay, MS Teams, Turnitin and more. Alongside this, you can access LinkedIn Learning and learn how to use Microsoft 365, and study support software such as mind mapping and note-taking through our new Digital Student Skills Hub. 

The library staff offer additional support to students, including help with academic writing, research strategies, literature searching, reference management and assistive technology. There is also a ‘Just Ask’ service for help and advice, live LibChat, online workshops, tutorials and drop-ins available from our Learning Services, and weekly library live chat sessions that give you the chance to ask the library teams for help.

More flexible ways to learn

We offer an equitable and inclusive approach to learning and teaching for all our students. Known as the Universal Design for Learning (UDL), our teaching approach has been recognised as sector leading. UDL means we offer a wide variety of support, facilities and technology to all students, including those with disabilities and specific learning differences.

Just one of the ways we do this is by using ‘DMU Replay’ – a technology providing all students with anytime access to audio and/or visual material of lectures. This means students can revise taught material in a way that suits them best, whether it's replaying a recording of a class or adapting written material shared in class using specialist software.

Opportunities and careers

Find the people who will open doors for you

DMU's award-winning careers service provides guaranteed work experience opportunities DMU Careers Team
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DMU Global

Our innovative international experience programme DMU Global aims to enrich your studies and expand your cultural horizons, helping you to become a global graduate, equipped to meet the needs of employers across the world. Through DMU Global, we offer a wide range of opportunities including on-campus and UK-based activities, overseas study, internships, faculty-led field trips and volunteering, as well as Erasmus+ and international exchanges. 

While overseas DMU Global opportunities are not currently possible, DMU will continue to review government advice and if travel is permitted, we hope to offer a small number of extra-curricular opportunities in the summer of 2021.

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Placements

During this course you will have the option to complete a paid placement year, an invaluable opportunity to put the skills developed during your degree into practice. This insight into the professional world will build on your knowledge in a real-world setting, preparing you to progress onto your chosen career. 

Our careers programme DMU Works can help to hone your professional skills with mock interviews and practice aptitude tests, and an assigned personal tutor will support you throughout your placement. 

Students have taken up placements in the private, public and not-for-profit sectors, including some international posts, with leading companies such as IBM, Lloyds Banking Group, EY, Volkswagen Financial Services and the NHS.

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Graduate careers

The Finance and Investment degree is ideal preparation for a career in a broad range of sectors including financial management, investment banking, and equity trading.

Take your next steps

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