MSc Accounting and Finance
Belfast, United Kingdom
DURATION
1 Years
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
30 Jun 2025
EARLIEST START DATE
Sep 2025
TUITION FEES
GBP 25,800 *
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
* international fee
Introduction
Do you want to be able to speak “the language of business” and understand financial decision making and financial institutions? Do you want to be taught and supervised by leading academics whilst gaining exemptions from the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) and the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) professional examinations?
Accounting is the process of summarizing, analysing and reporting financial transactions to permit informed judgements and decisions by users of the information.
Finance looks at how company managers and investors make financial decisions, how they manage their risk and how financial markets function.
The MSc in Accounting and Finance provides students with an understanding of both the theoretical framework and practical skills necessary to work in the global financial environment.
Accounting and Finance Highlights
Accounting and Finance at Queen's is consistently ranked among the top 10 Universities in the UK in the Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide.
Professional Accreditations
- The programme is accredited by ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants), the global body for professional accountants. The programme is also part of the CIMA accelerated route, which will allow students to enter via the CIMA master’s gateway route.
- Students have the opportunity to hear from industry professionals and academics who regularly deliver guest lectures/talks in the Management School.
Professional Exemptions
- The programme is accredited by ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants), the global body for professional accountants. The following exemptions are available to graduates from 01/01/2021 to 31/12/2025 - Business and Technology (BT), Management Accounting (MA), Financial Accounting (FA), Corporate and Business Law (LW), Audit and Assurance (AA), Financial Management (FM), Financial Reporting (FR) and Performance Management (PM). Note that AA is only exempted if module ACC7007 is completed. For further information consult the ACCA exemptions calculator.
- Students may also avail of exemptions from the CIMA, entering at the Management Level Case Study entry point. Thus, students are exempted from all elements of the Certificate and Operational levels, plus E2 Managing Performance, P2 Advanced Management Accounting and F2 Advanced Financial Reporting.
World-Class Facilities
- The Corporate Finance module is taught in the FinTrU Trading Room. Students have access to Bloomberg software, a market leader in financial news, data and analytics, which is used by many financial institutions.
- Students may wish to join the Trading and Investment Club, a student-run organisation that aims to educate its members on trading and investing through guest speakers, competitions and educational seminars. The Student Managed Fund, which uses real money, gives students the opportunity to be part of an investment management process.
Student Experience
- Students will use and have access to software such as Stata, Excel, Matlab, and databases such as Thomson One Banker, DataStream and Bloomberg.
Career Opportunities
This Master's programme provides the basis for both profession- and research-orientated careers, as well as skills and knowledge required to progress into management careers in accounting and financial services. It opens a wide range of career opportunities in banking, accounting and auditing, government, corporate finance, investment analysis and academia.
Queen's postgraduates reap exceptional benefits. Unique initiatives, such as Degree Plus and Researcher Plus bolster our commitment to employability, while innovative leadership and executive programmes alongside sterling integration with business experts help our students gain key leadership positions both nationally and internationally.
Graduate Plus/Future Ready 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 by a world-leading university, you'll have practical national and international experience plus a wider exposure to life overall. We call this Graduate Plus/Future Ready Award. It's what makes studying at Queen's University Belfast special.
Gallery
Curriculum
Course Structure
The program offers the opportunity to pursue appropriately advanced studies in both accounting and finance, equipping the students for careers in financial institutions, management consulting, and industry or government bodies.
The modules included in the program aim to develop capacities of critical assessment of literature and methods, and the ability to communicate, orally and in writing, on topics in accounting and finance.
They provide a stimulating suite of learning activities that introduce students to contemporary theories and practices.
The contents provided during the program will also be useful to those who wish to pursue Ph.D. studies in accounting and finance.
Semester 1
- Financial Management
- Corporate Finance
- International Financial Accounting and Reporting
- Case Studies in Accounting and Financial Management
Semester 2
- Accounting and Performance Management in Public-Sector and Not-For-Profit Organisations
- Management Accounting and Control
- Research Methods and Techniques
- Plus choose one from:
- Derivatives
- International Finance
- Money and Banking
Semester 3
Route 1 – Dissertation
- Traditional Dissertation (100%)
Route 2 – Academic Research Project
- Auditing and Accountability (25%)
- Ethics and Governance (25%)
- Critical Literature Review (50%)
Learning and Teaching
Learning opportunities associated with this course are outlined below:
The development of transferable skills will shape the teaching and learning of the program. The successful completion of coursework, for instance, will require students to gather information from a range of sources, as well as select and assimilate the relevant knowledge, and complete tasks within deadlines.
You will also acquire the ability to write projects and an MSc dissertation, which aims at developing the skills of reading and summarising academic articles. The students will be able to analyze financial statements, apply investment strategies, and understand the role of accounting in both profit and not-for-profit organizations.
Assessment
Assessments associated with the course are outlined below:
A variety of methods, including individual and group work, presentations, case studies, class tests, and dissertations will be used. Both summative and formative assessment methods are adopted throughout all modules, which span from practical computer-based work to class tests, group and individual presentations, and academic essays.
Admissions
Program Tuition Fee
Scholarships and Funding
How do I fund my study?
The Department for the Economy will provide a tuition fee loan of up to £6,500 per NI / EU student for postgraduate study.
A postgraduate loans system in the UK offers government-backed student loans of up to £11,836 for taught and research Master's courses in all subject areas. Criteria, eligibility, repayment, and application information are available on the UK government website.
International Scholarships
Facilities
Program Admission Requirements
Show your commitment and readiness for Grad school by taking the GRE - the most broadly accepted exam for graduate programs internationally.