Durham University

BSc in Finance with Study Abroad

Our specialist BSc Finance degree places considerable emphasis on the key quantitative and analytical skills needed to pursue a career in finance and financial markets. The degree prepares you for a career in the financial environment by providing a technical curriculum to strengthen the link between academia and practice. BSc Finance enables you to acquire a critical understanding of theories, empirical evidence, and practical application whilst maintaining a rigorous academic underpinning. In particular, you will learn about corporate finance, investments, financial institutions and the vast array of sophisticated financial products traded in today’s global financial markets. Furthermore, you will develop the quantitative techniques needed to analyze, in-depth, financial data and financial securities.

Flexibility – subject to optional module choice and successful completion of your first year – it may be possible to change your degree path to either Accounting and Finance or Accounting and Management. (Students who require a Tier 4 visa will need to check this in advance with the Tier 4 regulations which are in place at the time).

Year 1

In the first year, compulsory modules will provide you with the key fundamentals to examine and evaluate modern financial markets. These include:

• Introduction to Financial Accounting
• Introduction to Management Accounting
• Foundations of Finance
• Introduction to Economics
• Quantitative Methods

Further optional modules will be chosen from a range which has in the past include:

• Business Environment and Functions
• The Global Economy
• A foreign language

Year 2

In the second year, you will study three compulsory modules, including:

• Corporate Finance
• Financial Markets and Institutions
• Introduction to Financial Econometrics

By studying these modules you will be able to examine financial issues and the institutions, markets, and securities that facilitate the vast array of financial transactions that occur continuously across global markets. Furthermore, you will acquire numerous quantitative tools that enable you to interpret financial data and price financial securities.

The finance modules are complemented by two compulsory economics modules, including

• Microeconomics for Finance
• Macroeconomics and International Finance

You will also choose one further module from a selection which has previously included:

• Corporate Financial Reporting
• Auditing and Assurance
• Principles of Business Law
• Introduction to Taxation
• A foreign language

Year 3

In an increasingly globalized world, a period of international study is a major benefit and can help you to stand out in a crowded job market. All of our business degrees offer you the option of spending your third year studying abroad at one of our international partner universities. This is an opportunity to develop foreign language skills, experience another country and learn about its culture as well as adding an international dimension to your overall employability.

You may decide to study at one of our exchange universities for a full-year study placement period in your third year of study and this then becomes the third year of a four year degree.

Opportunities for study abroad have in the past included  Australia, Canada, Chile, China/Hong Kong, Columbia, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Singapore, Spain, South Korea, Funding may be available through scholarships offered by the host institution, the British Council and/or other funding bodies. For up-to-date information on locations and funding,

The Study Abroad year fees are set annually by the University. For the definitive amount of the Study Abroad year fees payable please contact our Study Abroad Team.

The offer of a place on a ‘study abroad’ degree does not imply that Durham University Business School guarantees to place the student with one of its partner institutions, nor a partner of the student’s choice. All study abroad programs are subject to approval by the Business School. Some partner relationships have restricted access and so are not available to all students. The Business School, in association with the University, will assist students in applying for a study abroad place, but it is the responsibility of the student to apply for such a place and the right of the Business School/University to allocate students to available places as it deems best. In the event that a student is unable to obtain a study abroad place, transfer to the equivalent ‘non-study abroad’ program is guaranteed provided the student is eligible to transfer on academic grounds. In line with Home Office rules, students from outside the EU will transfer onto the ‘with study abroad’ program only once they have successfully secured a placement (normally at the end of their second year of study). Therefore due to visa requirements, we recommend that international students interested in the study abroad year as part of their degree apply for this program when making their application to us via UCAS.

Year 4

In the fourth year you will study one compulsory module:

• Security Investment Analysis

You will also complete a Dissertation which will allow you to analyze, in great depth, your choice of research question in finance. These modules facilitate the development of your theoretical and empirical knowledge of core and topical issues in finance.

You will also choose three modules from a selection which in the past has included:

• Financial Econometrics
• Financial Engineering
• International and Multinational Finance
• Behavioural Finance
• Islamic Economics and Finance
• A foreign language

The course is founded in the disciplines of Finance and Economics and has significant application to practice whilst maintaining a rigorous academic underpinning.