Banking and Finance MSc (PG)

Birmingham City University

In this course you will learn how to analyse risk and make credit decisions, how to deal with small and large business firms, and how to manage bank treasury operations.

In addition to traditional banking skills, the course will provide skills in areas, which have become very popular in recent years, such as digital banking, cryptocurrencies, and initial coin offerings. Our modules and assessments will be based on real-life case studies and exercises, and staff involved in designing this course have significant practical experience of working in these areas.

The proposed content of the course will be related to those offered by Chartered Banker Institute (CBI), helping students to gain an Advanced Diploma in Banking and Leadership in Digital Age or Professional Banker Certificate. This course prepares you for such positions as credit and loan officer, financial advisor, risk manager, treasury specialist, and underwriter.

You will be taught by highly-qualified academics with industrial and professional experience and actively involved in research. The banking sector is one of the most successful and stable sectors in the UK. The banking sector has also been strongly growing in Birmingham in recent years with some banks moving their headquarters from London including HSBC.

What's Covered in the Course?

In Semester 1 (Certificate stage) you will take Financial Institutions and Regulation, Advanced Corporate Finance and Strategic Risk Management. In these modules you will receive an overview of financial institutions, financial markets and their regulations, whilst developing your skills in financial analysis related to different types of business decisions and operations.

In Semester 2 (Diploma stage) you will take Commercial and Investment Banking and Credit Risk and Lending Strategy. These modules will provide you with in-depth knowledge of asset-liability management of financial companies, banking business and operations, as well as develop your skills in financial risk management including credit risk, liquidity risk and interest rate risk. You will also select among optional modules available based on your interest. The rationale for optional modules is based on our vision on supporting students be successful in a finance or banking career.

In Semester 3 (Masters stage) you will develop advanced research skills and work on your dissertation, which will involve an in-depth exploration of both the theory and practice of international finance using primary research.

The international focus of the course is derived through a variety of means including the student body, the teaching team and the use of international teaching materials. Moreover, the course also enables you to be confident in the application of industry-specific skills, for example, with the use of platforms such as DataStream, and with problem-solving approaches having been exposed to real-life scenarios through industry guest-speaker workshops.

Moreover, you’ll also have the opportunity to gain industry experience by going on a professional placement. Whatever route you choose, the knowledge attained from the course will help you to seek a variety of employment in the sector nationally and internationally.