MSc Finance & Economics

Programme structure

The MSc Finance & Economics course combines core and optional modules across the three terms of your one-year course.

Our modules

Eight core modules cover key material in finance, economics and econometrics while optional modules allow you to focus on your preferences. Every year we offer optional modules, available through various study routes, delivered here at WBS. Please note that availability and delivery modes may vary. 

 

Modules are taught by staff from both WBS and the Department of Economics at Warwick through a combination of lectures, classes and computer lab sessions. 

 

How you'll be assessed

Assessment is a mix of exams and coursework with your dissertation bringing all your learning together at the end. 

Asset Pricing

Explore the fundamental relationships between investors’ decision-making in the presence of uncertainty (“risk”) and the cross-sectional and inter-temporal properties of prices and returns of financial assets

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Corporate Financial Management

Gain an MSc-level knowledge of concepts and issues in Corporate Financial Management that enables you to solve general problems in the field.

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Econometrics

Gain thorough training in econometrics with an emphasis on empirical modelling of economic and financial data.

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Empirical Finance

Gain an understanding of the theory and practice of financial econometrics and the tools for the empirical analysis of financial time series and their application.

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Macroeconomics

By the end of this module you will be familiar with and will have a strong grasp of contemporary macroeconomic theory and policy.

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Microeconomics

Gain a graduate-level review of some aspects of microeconomics.

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Ethics, Financial Regulation & Corporate Governance

This module has been designed to give you a deep and comprehensive understanding of ethics in everyday life, in business life, and in the working life of a financial professional.  

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Dissertation

A 6,000 word dissertation gives you the opportunity to test and apply techniques and theories you have been learning and to complete an original piece of research.

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Research Methodology

The module aims to equip you with cutting-edge research methods alongside other programming skills and access to relevant data sources. You will be provided with training in programming and data handling from the very beginning of the course, to ensure that you have the required skills when needed for workshops and assignments in the core modules.

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These are indicative optional modules which may vary year-on-year.
Alternative Investments

Gain the insights needed to make well-informed decisions with regard to today’s complex investment management environment.

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Behavioural Finance

Study financial markets using models that are less narrow than those based on von Neumann-Morgenstern expected utility theory and arbitrage assumptions.

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Big Data Analytics

This module will cover a wide range of cutting edge research in Big Data Analytics, with a particular focus on the extensive value of data from the Internet, much of which is freely available if you have the skills to mine it.

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Derivative Securities

Develop an in-depth understanding of the characteristics of different classes of derivative securities.

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Financial Reporting & Financial Statement Analysis

Learn how to interpret financial statements in context and apply appropriate models and techniques for company valuation and related business issues.

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Financial Risk Management

Gain an understanding of the need for financial risk management, the techniques to measure financial risks according to the regulatory framework, and tools for the management of risk exposure.

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Fixed Income & Credit Risk

Get to grips with the tools for the assessment and management of fixed income and credit risk. 

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International Financial Management

Extend your knowledge and understanding of the fundamental concepts of international finance, with an emphasis on the operation of the spot and forward foreign exchange markets.

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Judgement & Decision Making

Gain an introduction to the psychology of human judgement and decision making.

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Mergers & Acquisitions and Corporate Control

This module will introduce you to the basic issues in mergers and acquisitions from corporate finance point of view.

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Practice of Investment Management

Gain a realistic experience of the responsibilities involved in managing money for clients.

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Behavioural Economics

Learn about the main theoretical and empirical debates and concepts in Behavioural Economics.

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Labour Economics

During this module you will develop skills in combining theoretical models and empirical results to address policy issues related to employment, unemployment and wages

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Topics in Public Finance

he purpose of the module is to understand the role of the government through expenditure and taxation, as well as develop an idea on topics such as externalities and the political economy.

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Development Economics

Gain the analytical tools and the knowledge to study and understand aspects of economic development in developing countries.

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Topics in Applied Macroeconomics

Gain the ability to discuss, critically evaluate and recommend policy options in various areas of macroeconomics.

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Topics in Applied Microeconomics

Gain the ability to understand, discuss, and critically evaluate microeconomic policies.

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Topics in Global Finance

This module is a challenging technical course. It covers advanced topics in global finance and aims to equip you with a variety of theoretical and econometric tools to understand current events in the global economy and to analyse policy responses.

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Our online platform

Our unique online learning platform my.wbs will act as the hub for your learning experience, hosting all of your teaching materials, key information from your CareersPlus and Programme Teams, and our online classroom: wbsLive.  

Your learning experience

Teaching and assessment will vary to fit the subject being studied. Our faculty have designed your learning experience to fit the subject being studied, with a variety of teaching and assessment styles. Modules are taught by both WBS and the Department of Economics.

Your teaching will take the form of lectures, webinars, and lab work, supported, where relevant, by guest speakers from industry to balance theory and practice. Lectures introduce key theories, concepts, and economic models. In classes you will solve financial problems and numerical exercises, analyse case studies, and make presentations of research published in academic journals.

Your learning will be assessed by a mix of exams, group work, project work, and tests. Group and project work will enable you to collaborate and gain new perspectives from your international cohort, preparing you for working in teams within a global work environment. 

Lab work will give you hands-on experience of using software to perform finance-related calculations and conduct realistic simulations. Econometric methods are also taught in the lab, so you will learn to apply econometric software to empirical research and financial market estimations. 

Global experience

As part of a review of the MSc Finance & Economics, WBS has launched an exciting core module on Ethics, Financial Regulation and Corporate Governance. This module will be run in conjunction with at least one of WBS’ key European business school partners, and as such will offer the opportunity to study overseas, providing you with access to contextualised content and a global voice on the concepts of ethics and financial market regulation.

Learning facilities

You will have access to our outstanding learning facilities, including a Postgraduate-only Learning Space and IT suite, as well as all other University facilities. Studying on a Finance-based MSc also means that you gain access to our Bloomberg terminals, Eikon terminals, and financial data via the Wharton Research Data Services.  

CFA Affiliated University

We have been awarded CFA Affiliated University status by CFA Institute, certifying that we have embedded a significant portion of the CFA Program Candidate Body of Knowledge® (CBOK®) into our course content.

An Affiliated University signals to their students and to employers that their curriculum is closely tied to the practice of investment management and is helpful to students preparing for the CFA® Program exams. Study with us and you will explore the concepts and principles that practitioners around the world have deemed integral to global practice. You will leave us with the knowledge, skills and abilities that practitioners indicate are needed to do their jobs well.

CFA Institute provides five scholarships per year for graduates from our MSc Finance & Economics and our MSc Finance who wish to become accredited after finishing their studies at WBS.

Foreign Language Study

One of the great benefits of this course is that it offers optional free foreign language study in the evenings across all three terms. This is an opportunity to develop the basics of a new language. There is a choice of six different languages, all at beginner-level (please note we are not able to offer classes at intermediate/advanced level).