Explore our Business and Finance taught Master's degree.

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P-N1F5

MSc

1 year full-time

23 September 2024

Warwick Business School

University of Warwick

The industry-focused MSc Business and Finance is ideal for graduates with a financial background. Study at the internationally-renowned Warwick Business School and develop your management and advanced financial skills.

Our MSc has been designed as an industry-focused postgraduate course for graduates with good quantitative skills and some prior exposure to finance theory at undergraduate level.

The course will help you to develop both management skills and advanced financial skills, leading to financial management roles for organisations outside of the finance industry. There is a choice of Dissertation or Business in Practice route.

If you are considering further academic study (PhD) and you would like the opportunity to research a topic relating to business and finance, the dissertation enables you to test and apply the techniques and theories you have gained.

If you would like to develop further applied skills and specialist knowledge to suit your career aspirations, you can complete your studies with one additional elective module and our applied Business in Practice module.

Skills from this degree

• Discover the business and finance expertise needed to move into financial management roles
• Put your learnings into practice with the applied Business in Practice module
• Develop your industry acumen by accessing our CareersPlus service with specialist careers coaches
• Showcase your learnings in practice with the applied Business in Practice module.

The MSc Business and Finance course consists of eight core modules, which you will study across three terms. The core modules provide key management and business expertise, all designed to contribute to a career in business and finance.

The class size for this course is around 170 students.

Students on this MSc will typically receive between 27 and 30 contact hours per module.

Assessment is a mix of exams, project and group work, and tests. Your 6,000 word dissertation or Business in Practice module brings all your learning together. To complete your degree, you will have the option to choose between the Dissertation or Business in Practice route:

Dissertation route

If you would prefer to take a more traditional postgraduate route and wish to specialise in a Finance related research topic for your future career (either in industry or for further academic study), the 6,000 word dissertation will enable you to test and apply the techniques and theories you have gained. You will be supervised and supported throughout and will usually submit your dissertation in early September.

In total you will study eight compulsory modules and one optional module, and complete a dissertation and a Research Methodology module.

Business in Practice route

If you would like to develop further applied skills and specialist knowledge to suit your career aspirations, you can complete your studies with two additional optional modules and our applied Business in Practice module. You will develop deep functional and industry expertise with practical insights from our faculty and our CareersPlus and Corporate Relations team.

In total, you will study eight core modules, two optional modules and also complete the compulsory Business in Practice capstone module.

Your timetable

Your personalised timetable will be complete when you are registered for all modules, core and optional, and you have been allocated to your lectures, seminars and other small group classes. Your core modules will be registered for you and you will be able to choose your optional modules when you join us.

There may be events taking place in the evenings. Classes may run up to 7pm and other events, such as careers presentations may take place later or on weekends. Occasionally, classes and exams may be held on weekends. We will notify you in advance if this is the case.

This is a full-time course, so there are no holidays as such. However, the two weeks covering Christmas and New Year are guaranteed to be free from lectures. There may also be weeks free over the Easter period (check with your programme team). Resit exams may take place outside of standard teaching periods.

A 2:1 degree at Undergraduate level (or equivalent). You should possess good quantitative skills demonstrated in your undergraduate degree and have some prior exposure to finance theory at undergraduate level.

• Band B
• IELTS overall score of 7.0, minimum component scores of two at 6.0/6.5 and the rest at 7.0 or above.

We accept a range of language tests. Please refer to our website for more details.

There are no additional entry requirements for this course.

Analysis of Economic Behaviour
The module aims to provide in-depth coverage of fundamental behavioural economic concepts.

Strategy Analysis & Practice
Gain a foundation for and a critical assessment of theoretical and empirical approaches to strategy.

Quantitative Methods for Financial Management
Gain an introduction to advanced quantitative methods.

Financial Management
You will gain a comprehensive knowledge, understanding and skillset in trade-off management, expected return maximisation and risk minimisation, valuation of bonds and equities, and basic asset pricing models.

Financial Reporting & Statement Analysis
Learn to interpret financial statements in context and apply appropriate models and techniques for company valuations.

Financial Markets & Instruments
This module will encourage you to understand and analyse financial products, markets and organisations – and their regulations.

Corporate Finance
This module will equip you with a fundamental understanding of corporate finance, both in theory and in practice.

Strategic Management Accounting
Develop the technical skills and understanding of the behavioural consequences of management accounting process and strategic decision-making.

Global Challenges in Management & Sustainability*
This module will provide you with the theoretical foundations, appropriately supported by real-life examples, to help understand how global business works today.

Marketing through Social Media
This module develops an understanding of how brand managers can access and use social media channels as part of their marketing strategy in order to build brand presence and maintain relevance in the life of their customers.

Mergers & Acquisitions and Corporate Governance
Study the issues and questions that the financial community is concerned with around announcements of mergers and acquisitions.

Derivatives and Corporate Risk Management
Gain a systematic understanding of key risk factors that firms might face and how firms can reduce their risk.

Judgement & Decision Making
Gain an introduction to the psychology of human judgement and decision making.

International Business*
Build on your knowledge of the global economic and business environment and link this to strategies for managing in changing global contexts.

Project Management*

Look at project management methods in a modern context, spanning a range of sectors and applications.

Ethical Leadership

On this module you will focus on the social, environmental and ethical issues that affect the leadership and management of the for-profit, government and voluntary sectors.

Design in Business

Understand and appreciate the roles of design within a business context, and critically examine these processes.

Leading for Innovation*
This module aims to develop a greater understanding of how to foster an innovative work environment.

*Business in Practice only

Read the module descriptions for this course on the Warwick Business School website.