MSc in Shipping, Trade and Finance

Over the past 12 months, our MSc Shipping, Trade & Finance students have had the opportunity to attend sessions such as industry overviews by a leading finance training provider and an annual alumni panel, offering insights into the diverse career paths available.

Supported by both the Careers Department and The Costas Grammenos Centre for Shipping, Trade & Finance, students benefit from access to a wide range of guest speakers, many of whom are alumni.

They also have opportunities to engage with industry professionals through the annual careers fair and corporate events, including workshops, business simulations, company presentations, and industry talks. Employers involved over the past year include Clarksons, Trafigura, Braemar, and ExxonMobil.

Recent graduates have secured positions such as:

• Handymax/Supramax Broker
• Sale and Purchase Broker
• Junior Tanker Broker
• Chartering Operator
• Bunker Operator
• LNG Trading, Commercial Operations and Shipping
• Credit Analyst
• Trading Analyst
• Shipping Research Analyst

(Data provided from the September 2023 exit survey conducted by The Costas Grammenos Centre for Shipping, Trade and Finance).

Dedicated to your success

From the moment you accept your offer, you'll have access to our dedicated Postgraduate Careers Service, tailored to support your career journey.

Our Career Accelerator module, launched over the summer, provides early access to valuable resources, employer insights, and career planning tools to prepare you for the job market.

Our expert Postgraduate Careers Team, made up of experienced recruiters and career coaches offers personalised one-to-one guidance, covering everything from networking and CV building to job offer management and mock interviews.

Whether you’re pursuing a new career path, seeking an entry-level role, or launching your own business, you'll receive support to develop the skills and knowledge needed to succeed.

You'll also benefit from exclusive events such as Careers Fairs, panel discussions, and networking opportunities with industry professionals and alumni, helping you explore career options and make valuable connections.

Workshops led by our Careers Team and industry experts cover essential professional skills, including presentation techniques, personal branding, and assessment centre success, ensuring you stand out in the job market.

Additionally, Bayes Careers Online (BCO) offers career planning tools, guidance leaflets, access to job postings directly from employers and key career events, helping you stay on track with your career goals.

You’ll be supported on your way by our careers team and benefit from the connections we offer with business and industry.

Learn through a unique multidisciplinary approach that provides you with the skills and knowledge employers demand.

Benefit from the knowledge, practical expertise, and insights of internationally recognised academic staff and from practitioners (mostly graduates of our MSc Programme) who hold leading roles in their areas of expertise.

Study on a course that was pioneering at launch and remains unique and relevant in the current economic and financial environment, and the shipping industry.

Validated by the Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers (ICS) which offers 3 exemptions from examinations upon successful completion of specific modules.

Course objectives

On your master’s in Shipping, Trade and Finance you will build skills and knowledge to help you stand out in the competitive shipping industry and complementary areas of commodity trade, ship finance, banking and investment.

Your flexible course allows you to tailor your studies to your ambitions, including research projects and a wide choice of electives, covering subjects from big data in shipping and fintech to project finance and Python, with the chance to study in Greece or Madrid.

The MSc is offered through the globally respected Costas Grammenos Centre for Shipping, Trade and Finance whose aims are to offer high-quality teaching, produce high-quality research and support international dialogue between academia, industry and government.

You will learn in highly interactive lectures from academic staff with many years of experience who are active researchers, and from practitioners who are leaders in the industries relevant to the degree.

Programme content is subject to change. We regularly review our module offering and amend to keep up-to-date and relevant.

Induction weeks

All of our MSc courses start with two compulsory induction weeks which include relevant refresher courses on economics and mathematics, an introduction to the careers services and the annual careers fair. Pre-study material (notes and videos) on mathematics and statistics are also provided to our students during the summer period to refresh their knowledge on the specific topics.

Term 1

• Accounting and Finance
• Data Analytics for Energy, Shipping, Trade and Finance
• Shipping Economics
• International Commodity Trade

Term 2

• Corporate Finance
• Shipping Investment and Finance
• Financial Modelling and Business Analytics
• Chartering Freight Trading and Sale & Purchase

Term 3

• Option 1: elective study only by taking SMM198 Research Methods and Professional Skills* and five electives, 5 x 18 hours specialist electives of 10 credits each.
• Option 2: study through a combination of a taught course and a general research project:
  
• SMM198 Research Methods and Professional Skills* plus 2 x 18 hours specialist electives of 10 credits; and
• One General Research Project of 30 credits and a maximum of 5,000 words.
• Research Methods and Professional Skills
• General Research Project
  • SMM198 Research Methods and Professional Skills* plus 2 x 18 hours specialist electives of 10 credits; and
  • One General Research Project of 30 credits and a maximum of 5,000 words.
  • Research Methods and Professional Skills
  • General Research Project

Some of our students are given the opportunity to conduct their general research projects in association with the Maritime Directorate of the UK Department for Transport (DFT) and the UK Department for Energy Security & Net Zero (DESNZ), or as part of the Maritime Masters Programme of Maritime UK and the Research Support Programme of the Bank of England and S&P Global. Upon completion, their findings are presented to senior policymakers and businessmen.

Indicative elective modules

• Fintech: Technologies and Disruptions**
• Big Data in Commercial Shipping and Trading
• Shipping Company Management
• Project Finance and Infrastructure Investment
• Introduction to Python
• Hedge Funds
• Mergers & Acquisitions
• Innovation in Shipping
• Commodity Derivatives and Trading
• Shipping Risk Management
• Trade Finance
• Green Finance, Carbon Trading and Shipping Decarbonisation.

International electives

• Project Finance and Infrastructure Investment (taught in Madrid, Spain)
• Shipping Company Management (taught in Athens Greece).

Please note that electives are subject to change and availability also depends on the student's participation.

The Michael Baker Prize*

Every year, since 2018, the Best Research Methods and Professional Skills Business Plan is awarded the Michael Baker Prize, which comes with a £4,000 cash award to the winning group and £1,000 to the runners up group.

The Captain Tasos Politis Prize**

Every year, since 2021, the Best Fintech Innovation project is awarded the Captain Tasos Politis Prize, which comes with a £1,000 cash award to the winning group of the Fintech: Technologies and Disruptions elective. A shipowner, innovator, serial entrepreneur and Piraeus patriarch, Captain Tasos Politis was a close friend to Bayes Business School, mentor and sponsor to a number of ambitious students in the UK, Europe and Greece.