Postgraduate Taught

Welcome to our MSc in Finance at Keele Management School.

The MSc in Finance enables students to systematically develop their understanding of the key principles in finance alongside practical skills in financial management.  The programme is designed for students interested in a wide-range of future careers in finance, including analytical and financial management roles in financial institutions, firms and public organisations, and also lays the foundations for an academic career in finance when followed by a PhD.

The specialist MSc in Finance programme delivers a comprehensive and rigorous treatment of core modern financial theory and quantitative analysis to enable a systematic understanding of a wide-range of modern real world financial applications.  Across the programme, students learn to work confidently with both numerical and qualitative economic and financial business data from industry-standard sources such as the Bloomberg Professional Services Platform and Datastream.

Please use this page to find out about our course, teaching methods and application procedure, and if you have further questions feel free to come back to us and ask.

At its core the MSc in Finance is designed to develop the analytical and technical skills associated with financial asset pricing and hedging, portfolio management and corporate finance. The flexible programme structure enables students to focus on particular areas of interest while building upon a rigorous treatment of modern financial theory and quantitative analysis.  Together this will enable an understanding of relevant real world financial problems and their efficient solutions.

Successful students will gain:

• A systematic understanding of knowledge in finance.
• A command of analytical techniques, computing and statistical software in the relevant areas of finance.
• Advanced practical skills in using Bloomberg Professional Services Platform and Datastream for the market data extraction and analysis using industry-standard tools
• Increased confidence in the analysis, synthesis and evaluation of financial decision-making problems and their solutions.
• Improved employability through enhanced professional and practical skills.

Career Destination Information

The course provides students with career related skills and expertise including experience with professional data platforms such as Bloomberg and Datastream. Typical career destinations may include employment in the investment management industry, as a financial officer within a commercial or public organisation, or as a researcher in the area of finance.

All applicants must hold at least a good Second-Class Honours degree (2.1 or 2.2) or overseas equivalent in in finance, economics or other business-related subject area demonstrating quantitative content, or in an alternative quantitative subject. Students who have appropriate professional qualifications or relevant work experience may also be considered. Outstanding students (2.1 and above or overseas equivalent) with backgrounds outside of these areas may also be considered and are encouraged to contact the course director.

The University uses a range of relevant selection criteria including academic qualifications, professional experience, evidence of likely commitment to academic study, and an estimate of a candidate’s future potential.

Students applying with a 2.1 and higher degree or overseas equivalent will be automatically considered for a scholarship of £1,500, subject to continual good performance throughout the year.

Anyone applying from a country where English is not the first language is required to take one of the internationally recognised English language tests such as Academic IELTS or equivalent English language qualification. The minimum entry level is IELTS 6.5 with a minimum of 6.0 in each subtest or equivalent English language test scores.

For overseas students who do not meet all direct entry requirements, the opportunity to take an intensive pre-MSc programme leading to MSc entry may be offered.

The MSc programme starts in September and lasts 12 months. During the first semester (September to January) students take the following four core modules:

In the second semester (January to May) students take the following modules 

Students take a total of eight taught modules.  Each taught module is worth 15-credits with the total credits accumulated from the taught modules equal to 120-credits.

From May to September, students undertake a dissertation in finance, which is worth 60 credits.

Students gaining 120 credits from taught modules and successfully completing the dissertation will be awarded the MSc. Students gaining 120 credits but not proceeding to the dissertation will be awarded a Postgraduate Diploma.  Students who do not gain 120 credits but pass modules worth 60 credits will be awarded a Postgraduate Certificate, provided they have successfully completed specialist modules from the designated list worth at least 30 credits.  Students who do not gain 120 credits but pass modules worth 30 credits will be awarded a Postgraduate Award.

The Course Director who is responsible for running the programme is the main source of support for students. Modules are taught in lectures, tutorials and computer laboratory classes. Practical use is made of standard software and data sources, alongside the Bloomberg Professional Services Platform. 

Taught modules are usually assessed by a combination of unseen examination and coursework which may include essays, mini projects and tests. Guidance is provided on the choice of dissertation topics and each student will be assigned a supervisor who will guide the student through to completion.