Financial and Investment Analysis MSc

Course Content

• Course Details

  MSc Financial and Investment Analysis provides in-depth theoretical and practical skills for specialist roles in the finance and investment industry. You will develop analytical and critical skills which enables you to tackle simulated real-life problems and challenges in the finance industry. Grounded in ethical and responsible approaches, this programme is aligned to investment and risk management professional bodies and responds to the demands and challenges of the dynamic financial services industry.

  Exemptions are available from main professional bodies – Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) and Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA).

  Industry Placement

  The financial industry placement enables you to develop your skills and knowledge in a real-world work environment, whilst completing an applied research project. This will give you an advantage over the competition for jobs and scholarships after you graduate and could be a good starting point for setting up your own consultancy business.

  Your placement will need to be appropriate to your level of study and you should also be paid for this work. We will support you in finding and securing a suitable placement opportunity, however it must be noted that placements are highly competitive and there is no guarantee of a placement offer being made by an employer.

  If you are unable or unwilling to progress with an industry placement, for whatever reason, you will have the option to transfer onto our Dissertation and Research Methods module in order to gain the required credits to complete your programme of study.

  Modules

  Module information for the Placement route and Non-Placement route for MSc Financial and Investment Analysis can be found on the award maps:

  MSc Financial and Investment Analysis (Placement Route) Award Map

  MSc Financial and Investment Analysis (Non-Placement Route) Award Map

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• Entry Requirements

  If you hold a recognised first or second class honours degree from a UK university or international equivalent in finance, banking, accounting or a related discipline then you will be eligible to apply for this course. If you hold professional qualifications you will also be considered for entry onto this course.

  English Language Requirements

  All International and EU students applying for a course with with the University of Northampton must meet the following minimum English language requirements:

  • Minimum standard – IELTS 6.5 (or equivalent) for study at postgraduate level.

  For information regarding English language requirements at the University, please see our IELTS page.

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• Fees and Funding

  2024/25 Tuition Fees
  

  Fees quoted relate to study in the Academic Year 24/25 only and may be subject to inflationary increases in future years.

  • UK Full Time: £8,250
  • International Full Time: £16,995
  • Year 2 Placement Fee: £1,100 * (for placements starting in September 2025 or January 2026)

  *The placement fee amount will only be charged to you after you secure a placement and are enrolled on the work based project in year 2 of your course. You will not be charged this fee if you do not secure a work placement.

  For information on the scholarships available to you, please see our scholarships page.

  For more information about possible funding options, please visit our Fees and Funding pages.

  Additional costs

  There are no additional costs for the Financial and Investment Analysis MSc course for students beginning their studies in September 2024. Should this change, applicants and students will be contacted by the university with details of the costs.

  2023/24 Tuition Fees
  

  Fees quoted relate to study in the Academic Year 23/24 only and may be subject to inflationary increases in future years.

  • UK Full Time: £8,010
  • International Full Time: £16,500
  • Year 2 Placement Fee: £1,100 * (for placements starting in September 2024 or January 2025)

  *The placement fee amount will only be charged to you after you secure a placement and are enrolled on the work based project in year 2 of your course. You will not be charged this fee if you do not secure a work placement.

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• FAQs

  How will I learn on the Financial and Investment Analysis MSc?

  Typically you will have 10 hours (approx) of contact time with your tutors in the first semester and 12 hours (approx) in the second semester. Overall you will spend 108 hours per module in self-directed study (reading and research).

  How will I be assessed?

  The financial investment analysis course uses a combination of assessment methods including reports, case studies, time constrained tests and examinations, plus your dissertation.

  Semester One
  You will be introduced to some of the main themes in financial and Investments, this is in the context of utilising investment analysis and risk management.  Modules in semester one will highlight the principles of investment analysis and ethics & professional standards.

  Semester Two
  You will examine how investment decisions can be applied  in the wider social context. You will also study the way in ethics and professional standards apply to investment decision making.

  Semester Three
  The research proposal produced in Semester two will guide the development of a clearly defined and evidenced study proposal, a critical review of relevant literature, and a robust methodology. Data is then collected, analysed, interpreted and applied to the study proposal and a 15,000 word research report (dissertation) is produced, with the support of a dissertation supervisor.

  Are there are any special features on this Financial and Investment Analysis course?

  You will have access to several resources and databases such as;

  • Bloomberg
  • Datastream
  • ABI Global
  • Business Source Premier
  • Emerald
  • MarketLine Advantage
  • Orbis
  • ScienceDirect
  • Sage Video (Business & Management Collection)
  • Taylor & Francis

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