MSc in Finance
Queen's University Belfast - Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences
Key Information
Campus location
Belfast, United Kingdom
Languages
English
Study format
On-Campus
Duration
1 year
Pace
Full time
Tuition fees
GBP 23,100 / per year *
Application deadline
Request info
Earliest start date
Sep 2024
* Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland, England, Scotland or Wales: £8,360 | EU Other and International: £21,500
Introduction
This course is for you if you have an interest in financial markets, institutions and financial decision-making. You want a career in the financial services sector or in academia. You want to be taught and supervised by leading academics.
You will explore how company managers and investors make financial decisions, how they manage their risk and how financial markets function. Your background may not necessarily be in finance, so this is a great opportunity to gain in-depth knowledge and a practical understanding of financial markets and financial decision-making.
Finance Highlights
MSc Finance at Queen's Management School is CFA affiliated.
Professional Accreditations
The programme has been accepted into the CFA Institute University Recognition Program showing that the programme aligns with the Candidate Body of Knowledge (CBOK) - the core knowledge, skills, and abilities that are generally accepted and applied by investment professionals throughout the world.
Career Development
Students may wish to join the Student Managed Fund, which seeks to achieve positive returns through superior stock selection using quantitative and qualitative fundamental analysis. This is a real money student-managed investment fund. The goal is to achieve consistent long-term positive returns by optimally managing downside risk. The Fund seeks to mitigate risk through sufficient diversification and through a series of strict rules and procedures.
Internationally Renowned Experts
Students have the opportunity to hear from industry professionals who regularly deliver guest lectures. Students have the opportunity to network afterwards.
Student Experience
Students will use and have access to software such as Stata, Excel, Matlab, RStudio, Oxyor and databases such as Thomson One Banker, DataStream, S&P Global Market Intelligence and Bloomberg.
Gallery
Admissions
Curriculum
The MSc Finance is a full-time postgraduate programme aimed primarily at students with undergraduate degrees from the disciplines of finance, maths, statistics, or any other programme with a high quantitative content.
This programme offers a wide range of in-depth modules that provide students with core knowledge of financial markets, financial instruments, and financial decision making both from an institutional as well as corporate perspective. Eight taught modules aim to equip students with the necessary skillset to foster responsible decision making and to promote sustainable economic growth. These modules align with the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals and map directly to a selection of these goals.
Semester 1
Asset Pricing - FIN7026
This module offers an introduction to the field of financial economics and provides an understanding of the development of advanced pricing theory. The module starts by examining rational investor behaviour; how investors allocate resources both in certain and uncertain environments, building towards an understanding of how prices are rationally determined in asset markets. Apparent violations of rational behaviour and pricing are then examined to understand better how traders and markets function. Students will also explore portfolio allocation and examine a range of anomalies, including the equity premium puzzle. The course concludes with an examination of the efficient market hypothesis, and throughout, we shall critique key financial models and economic theory.
Corporate Finance - FIN9005
The purpose of this course is to analyse how corporations make major financial decisions. The theory of corporate behaviour is discussed and the relevance of each theoretical model is examined by an empirical analysis of actual corporate decision-making. The aims of this module are to familiarise students with the issues of confronting corporations when making investments and financing decisions and to develop the ability of students to obtain corporate information from the Bloomberg database.
Market Microstructure - FIN7027
The first part of this module provides a detailed analysis of the contemporary structure of global finance, including key market participants and markets, focusing on a fixed income and foreign exchange markets. We will then explore the economic issues and structures underlying trading on these markets. The aim of this module is to ensure that students understand the structure, dynamics and trading mechanisms of global financial markets, as well as appreciate the role of key institutions involved in these markets.
Research Methods in Finance - FIN9008
The purpose of this course is to provide a comprehensive introduction to econometric techniques used in finance. It contains a treatment of classical regression and an introduction to time series techniques. There will be an emphasis on applied work using econometric packages. The course is designed to give students both theoretical and practical experience in statistical and econometric techniques. A wide range of topics is typically covered, including the basic regression model, which includes a discussion of the classical violations of this model and methods for their correction. Students will learn a computer statistical software package (R).
Semester 2
Derivatives - FIN9007
The aim of this course is to develop in students a theoretical and practical knowledge of derivative instruments. The learning outcomes include understanding the mechanisms of futures and forward markets, pricing futures and forward instruments, constructing hedges using futures, and understanding the mechanisms of options markets. Additionally, the concepts of stochastic processes and their applications in financial modelling are addressed.
International Finance - FIN9004
The main goal of this course is to understand the complexities involved in conducting finance across more than one country. It aims to provide students with both practical skills for working in this area and a broader understanding of the role of finance within the international economy. The majority of the course will involve the description of key analytical concepts and theories involved in international finance. These theories are then used to help understand the international elements of important economic and financial phenomena.
Time Series Financial Econometrics - FIN7028
Statistics is the science of uncertainty and variation. Econometrics is the application of statistics to economic and financial problems. The aim of this course is to teach students to apply time series financial econometrics techniques sensibly in the context of real-world empirical problems. Using R statistical programming software and RStudio, students will be taught statistical techniques which underpin quantitative investigation in finance.
Money and Banking - FIN9003
This module examines the theory of money and banking. The course considers the main banking and monetary institutions and monetary policy. The overall aim is to provide students with an understanding of monetary and banking institutions and promote a good appreciation of the economic functions and workings of financial institutions.
Semester 3
Dissertation
The aim of the dissertation is to provide students with the skills needed for conducting theoretical and/or empirical research in finance.
Or
Applied Research Project
Program Tuition Fee
Career Opportunities
Successful students will have the necessary skills to have career opportunities in finance, including investment banking, commercial banking, investment management, or other financial intermediaries.
Degree plus award for extra-curricular skills
In addition to your degree programme, at Queen's, you can have the opportunity to gain wider life, academic and employability skills. For example, placements, voluntary work, clubs, societies, sports and lots more. So not only do you graduate with a degree recognised from a world-leading university, you'll have practical national and international experience plus a wider exposure to life overall. We call this Degree Plus. It's what makes studying at Queen's University Belfast special.