• WBS partners with Bank of England for bold new online Masters
  • The flexible three-year course will mix research with industry practice
  • First cohort set to start the groundbreaking online programme 
  • Students will use online platform that delivers world's number one MBA

The first cohort on Warwick Business School and Bank of England’s ground-breaking new course are set to start the online programme.

With students from 21 countries taking part, the MSc Global Central Banking and Financial Regulation blends the latest thinking in research and practice, being co-designed and delivered by world-leading academics, central bankers and regulators.

The modular nature of the programme allows students to study an individual module for an Award, or complete the MSc over three years. This part-time course is flexible enough to fit around busy working lives across the globe and is designed for participants to apply what they have learned directly to their organisation.

There are students from central banks across the world, including Uruguay, Tunisia, South Africa, and the UK and European Central Bank, while other participants are from organisations in the finance industry, such as Deutsche Bank, Lloyds, KPMG, the Qatar Financial Centre Regulatory Authority and Credit Suisse. 

Mark Carney, Governor of the Bank of England, said: “Building on the success of our Central Banking Qualification we are excited to be partnering again with WBS on this new qualification.

"In a world with an increasingly interconnected global financial system, it is right that we invest in and train practitioners, regulators and central bankers of the future."

The first cohort will start with a module on Comparative Central Banking, followed by modules on the likes of Financial Regulation, Monetary Policy, Big Data, Behavioural Finance as well as Financial Conduct. The modules combine research and insights from academics at one of the world’s leading business schools alongside policymakers and regulators at the Bank of England.

By using the platform that has powered the Distance Learning MBA provided by Warwick Business School to number one in the world in the Financial Times’ latest ranking, participants will be able to use a virtual classroom to listen to lectures, take part in group work and seminars, and access rich interactive learning resources.

The MSc consists of six modules from a choice of seven, each taking 17 weeks to complete, plus a dissertation, but time-pushed participants can choose just one module and earn themselves a Postgraduate Award qualification.

Course director John Thanassoulis, Professor of Financial Economics and also a member of the Competition and Markets Authority panel, said: “The face of monetary policy and financial regulation has changed significantly since the global financial crisis of 2008 and is currently being disrupted again.

“The need to manage financial stability as well as inflation, the expectation that ethical standards in finance must improve, the advent of big data, and the need to conduct monetary policy close to the zero lower bound on interest rates are all changing the nature of central banking.

“It is in this climate that, in partnership with the Bank of England, we have developed the MSc Global Central Banking and Financial Regulation, which offers valuable knowledge and skills for banking professionals around the world.”

The first cohort start the course in October with the second module, which is open for anybody to do a Postgraduate Award that can also be built on for a full MSc, on Money, Banks and Marcoeconomics beginning in February.

Andy Lockett, Dean of Warwick Business School and Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship, added: “I am delighted that WBS is partnering with the Bank of England to develop and deliver this exciting new programme.

“A lot of work has gone into designing the MSc Global Central Banking and Financial Regulation and in using the latest digital technology to deliver it to homes and offices across the globe.

“This is a truly bold new step for finance education as we try to bring world-class research and insights from expert central bankers to students and professionals in all parts of the world.”

To find out more about the MSc Global Central Banking and Financial Regulation click here.