This master’s course aims to provide you with a comprehensive programme of global finance, providing you with the knowledge and professional skills to develop a career in investment banking, portfolio management, corporate finance or risk management. You will also have the opportunity to gain practical career-ready skills from using our Bloomberg Trading Floor, and S&P Capital IQ computer lab. This master's course is endorsed by both the CFA Institute and GARP, offering excellent preparation for an international career in finance, banking or risk management.

This course integrates both the CFA and FRM exam curricula into a single master’s programme, specialising in traditional financial analysis, portfolio management, alternative investment and financial risk-management. This programme is highly professionally relevant, producing well-equipped, career-ready graduates.

Studying full or part-time, you’ll cover the majority of the curriculum required to pass the rigorous professional finance exams which are most in demand from global financial institutions – namely certification with the CFA Institute or the Global Association of Risk Professionals Financial Risk Manager (FRM). If you wish to sit for these qualifications on graduation, you will need to register and complete the final exams with the relevant professional bodies.

Your career options will largely depend on the pathway you select on this programme:

• CFA offers a broad-based curriculum, opening up a wide range of career opportunities in financial analysis and investment. It will prepare you for a career in investment banking, where you might manage IPOs and mergers & acquisitions, or you might work in portfolio management (asset management, mutual funds or financial planning). Alternatively, you might go into equity research, or work as a financial analyst or strategist.
• FRM is a very much more specialist programme in financial risk assessment, suited for those who want to make a career with banks, insurance companies or rating agencies, for example. You might work as a risk manager, a credit risk analyst, a chief risk officer, or an asset liability manager.