UDBANKFN - BSc Banking and Finance

The BA Banking and Finance programme aims to foster life-long learning among students and to provide a springboard into employment in the graduate labour market. The course is designed specifically to prepare students for a career in the financial services industry in London, Europe or further afield.

The course provides students with the broad range of skills they need to secure and retain employment in the highly competitive labour market. The academic depth and breadth of this undergraduate programme provide highly relevant subject specific knowledge and transferable skills. Students also develop their cognitive skills, problem solving, quantitative and IT competence, and effective oral and written communication skills.

The learning, teaching and assessment strategy is geared towards the achievement of the learning outcomes. Optional modules such as the short placement, IT, personal finance, marketing and corporate social responsibility modules provide orientation towards practical experience, enhancing graduate employability.

Students may transfer between the BA Banking and Finance and its two sister courses, BA Banking and Finance (with Integrated Professional Training) and BSc Finance at the end of Level 4 without loss of time.

The four principal aims of the BA Banking and Finance are to:

1. Provide a knowledge and understanding of methods, theory and application in Banking and Finance;
2. Provide a range of cognitive and transferable skills which promote employability and/or further study;
3. Develop students’ abilities to use and evaluate forms of analysis in a variety of contexts relevant to the financial services industry;
4. Engage students in a rich and challenging course which promotes personal and academic development and life-long learning.

Knowledge and understanding:
By the end of the course students will be able to:
1. Describe and analyse the operation of banking and other financial service industries within their institutional framework, identifying key roles and influences in the sector;
2. Evaluate key theories and concepts and apply them to issues and problems in banking and finance;
3. Analyse the integration of different sectors in the financial services industry and explore the impact of globalisation on the industry;
4. Explain social, political and ethical dimensions of recent developments in financial services.

Cognitive intellectual skills:
By the end of the course students will be able to:
1. Apply intellectual skills and critical faculties with particular emphasis on the development of the higher order skills of analysis, synthesis and evaluation of concepts, ideas and theories in banking and finance;
2. Marshal evidence and assimilate, structure and analyse financial data, applying relevant numerical, statistical and IT-based methods;
3. Explain verbal, graphical and mathematical representations of financial models, including the relationship between them;
4. Carry out independent scholarly research and use knowledge to provide analysis and evaluation of specific problems in banking and finance.

Transferable skills including those of employability and professional practice:
By the end of the course, students will be able to:
1. Work effectively both independently and in a team;
2. Communicate with clarity and confidence in essays, reports and oral presentations;
3. Develop self-awareness and general study skills, including problem-solving, decision-making and inter-personal skills;
4. Apply academic concepts and theories to real-world challenges.

Subject-specific practical skills:
By the end of the course, students will be able to:
1. Analyse the factors influencing corporate and individual investment behaviour;
2. Use IT to access and manipulate information and to analyse and present financial and non-financial data;
3. Communicate complex ideas and analysis from banking and finance through written and oral expositions;
4. Design, plan, organise and deliver an individual research project reflecting professional standards.

The BA Banking and Finance degree programme conforms to the general Business and Management and the Finance subject benchmark statements of the QAA. Since the Banking and Finance is a specialist programme concentrating specifically on the financial services sector, these Benchmark statements provide useful general guidelines but do not fit the financial services industry exactly.

A range of assessment methods are used across each level of the course, reflecting the range of learning outcomes at each level and the diversity of learning styles amongst students. In each module the assessments methods chosen are those best-suited to measuring the achievement of that particular module’s learning outcomes.

For instance essays are used in modules where learning outcomes include the development of writing skills, referencing, synthesis and critical evaluation. Group work is used in modules where co-operative skills are being developed. Case studies are employed where students are learning how to apply financial or legal analysis to particular scenarios or organisations. Other methods or assessment include: individual presentations, coursework problem sets and mini-projects, group reports, in-class tests, seen and unseen exams.

Priority is given to methods of assessment consistent with timely formative feedback, either in the development stage of the work or as soon as possible after the assessment has been completed.
Presentations and in-class tests are examples of assessment methods where feedback can be given quickly after completion of the assessment task. Unseen examinations are seen as an important tool for assessing the achievement of learning outcomes.

Most of the formative assessment methods encourage students to reflect on their skills and personal development. For instance the core level 4 module Introduction to Financial Markets and Law requires student to adopt a reflective approach to their learning, which is supported a reflective essay submitted early in the module (week 8) and a group presentation later in the year. The level 5 module Corporate Finance and Investment requires students to undertake problem-solving exercises throughout the module and to reflect on the skills needed to carry out such tasks successfully. The first assessment on this module is also a reflective essay. The level 6 final year project Empirical Research in Global Banking and Finance requires students to review the skills and knowledge acquired at levels 4 and 5 and to develop their research skills so that they can produce an independent research report. This research work has an overall assessment weight in the module of 70% (for the proposal and final report combined).

As part of our Undergraduate Student Promise, every student will undertake accredited work-related learning (in either the form of a work placement or ‘live’ project with a partner organisation or planning to set up small business) as a core, compulsory element within their course programme.

The course has an optional sandwich year which involves a work placement. This work placement is undertaken for a year between the end of level 5 and the beginning of level 6. It is assessed at level 6 and counts for 30 credits. In addition students will have the option of taking the “Learning Through Work” or “Create a Winning Business” 15 credit module in the second or third year of the course programme.

Learners may be able to utilise their existing part-time / vacation employment (whether or not this relates to their subject area), providing they can demonstrate that it is personally developmental and involves responsibility (decided upon submission of the role details by the Module Leader).

Students are provided with appropriate guidance and support before, during and after their placements. In some of the preparatory sessions employers, the careers service and students with experience of placement present their experiences and advice. Pre-placement classes also give students ways of assessing their strengths and weaknesses and help them produce strong job applications.

Students are allocated a work placement tutor for the placement itself. The tutor provides support, monitors the student’s progress and assesses the student’s performance. The student keeps of record of his/her experiences during the placement and completes a placement report at the end of the placement.

Once the work placement is over, students return to the university and participate in a re-orientation session. Here they reflect on the placement and share their experiences. The session helps students focus on the implications of their work placement for their forthcoming project work and further study.

Modules are required to be taken as indicated in the the course structure. The completion of Level 4 will entitle the award of CERT HE; the completion of Level 5 will entitle the award of DIP HE; the completion of Level 6 without the ‘Empirical Research in Banking and Finance’ project module will entitle the award of a degree without honours; the completion of Level 6 will entitle the award of an honours degree.

On graduating, you’ll be equipped to pursue a career in a number of sectors related to banking and investment, such as financial regulation, insurance or accounting. This course is also excellent preparation for postgraduate study.

Our previous graduates have gone into finance roles at companies such as City Credit Capital, Honda Finance and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).

In addition to the University's standard entry requirements, you should have:

• a minimum of grades CCC in three A levels in academic or business subjects (or a minimum of 96 UCAS points from an equivalent Level 3 qualification, eg BTEC National, OCR Diploma or Advanced Diploma)
• English Language and Mathematics GCSE at grade C (grade 4 from 2017) or above (or equivalent)

All applicants must be able to demonstrate proficiency in the English language. Applicants who require a Tier 4 student visa may need to provide a Secure English Language Test (SELT) such as Academic IELTS. For more information about English qualifications please see our English language requirements.