Finance and Investment BSc(Hons)

Why choose this course?

• Professional accreditation from the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) 
• Real-time trading room, supervised by experienced traders
• Option to take a paid placement year

Our Finance and Investment BSc(Hons) is ideal for learning the skills required within the financial sector. It will help you decide which area of finance interests you the most, and As you progress, the flexibility of this course allows you to tailor your learning to your interests through optional modules.

Learning is delivered through a stimulating mix of seminars, academic and industry lectures and workshops. You will mainly be assessed through group work, presentations, exams and essays.

During your third year, you can take a year’s salaried placement in industry, giving you the change to apply your learning, gain valuable experience and make professional contacts for your future career.

Making sure that what you learn with us is relevant, up to date and what employers are looking for is our priority, so courses are reviewed and enhanced on an ongoing basis. If you apply to us, you’ll be told about any new developments through our applicant portal.

Year 1

In your first year you will be introduced to the core disciplines of economics, finance and accounting.

Modules

• Introduction to Economics Part I

  Introduction to Economics Parts I and II together provide a modern introduction to the subject of economics and a foundation for further study in economics and related disciplines.

  We closely follow the CORE economics curriculum which emphasises real-world issues, empirical evidence, and recent developments in economics. It highlights the importance of institutional, historical, political, and environmental contexts in economic analysis. Part I covers the first half of the CORE curriculum.

• Introduction to Economics Part II

  Introduction to Economics Parts I and II together provide a modern introduction to the subject of economics and a foundation for further study in economics and related disciplines.

  We closely follow the CORE economics curriculum which emphasises real-world issues, empirical evidence, and recent developments in economics. It highlights the importance of institutional, historical, political, and environmental contexts in economic analysis. Part II covers the second half of the CORE curriculum.

• Quantitative Methods for Economics and Finance

  This module will provide you with a basic, but essential, introduction to statistical and mathematical methods and concepts that will equip you with the skills and knowledge to understand the economic/financial theory presented in the first and subsequent years of study.

  By the end of the module you'll be able to effectively undertake and present empirical research/investigations and demonstrate an ability critically evaluate your own work and the work of others on statistical and mathematical grounds.

• Introduction to Financial Markets

  This module introduces you to the interactions between the elements that make up financial markets and the institutions that operate and oversee financial markets at both a national and international context. It will also examine the rapid innovation that takes place in both financial instruments and markets.

• Financial Accounting

  This module will introduce you to the concepts, principles and techniques of financial accounting, that are essential to the world of business and finance. With this introduction you will have an adequate foundation to enable you to develop a further understanding of financial reports and their interpretation.

• Academic and Professional Skills

  This module will provide you with the underpinning skills and strategies required to study successfully at undergraduate level as well as developing attributes that contribute to employability. You will also develop skills to prepare you for the employability (and work placement) process.

Year 2

In your second year you will begin to specialise in your studies, developing your financial modelling and trading skills, as well as practical skills such as research techniques.

Modules

• Investment Case Study
• Money, Exchange Rates and Trade
• Financial Modelling and Dealing
• Financial Management
• Business Ethics and Corporate Governance

Options*

• Intermediate Microeconomics
• Personal Financial Planning
• Corporate and Business Law

*Option modules are indicative and may change, depending on timetabling and staff availability.

Placement year

The paid work placement year is a vital part of the course. It gives you the chance to apply your learning to real-life situations and challenges, to meet and network with potential employers, and have opportunities to get real work experience before you graduate – something that employers value highly.

On your placement, you will complete a business project. This project contributes to your degree and, depending on the topic you choose, could provide valuable insight for your placement employer.

Our students have completed placements at American Express, Bank of America, Barclays, Merrill Lynch, IBM, Credit Suisse, Dow Jones, Goldman Sachs, FTSE Group, KPMG, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and OSTC. It is also possible to undertake a placement year abroad.

Our dedicated Placements and Employability team will support you throughout, helping you to get a placement and during your placement. Read more about our placements.

Final year

During your final year you will study advanced core modules in financial management and choose option modules to tailor your course to your interests and ambitions. Depending on your module choices, this may give you exemptions from the examinations of the accrediting bodies.

Modules 

• Investment Management
• Finance and Risk Management
• Applied Financial Techniques

Options*

• Placement project (for students who undertake the placement year)
• Labour Economics
• Financial Econometrics
• Behavioural Economics
• International Finance
• Game Theory in Economics, Finance and Business
• Taxation
• Dissertation

*Option modules are indicative and may change, depending on timetabling and staff availability.

OSTC sponsored real-time trading room

As part of your course you will have access to modern computing facilities and specialist computing packages, including our OSTC sponsored real-time trading room, fed by up-to-the-minute data from Thomson-Reuters.

One of a handful of such facilities across the UK, our trading room sessions are supervised by guest traders and provide you with the opportunity to apply your skills to real markets and real data, and make use of simulation software to recreate the pressure of a trading floor. 

Student society

The Investment and Trading Society gives students the opportunity to take part in real-time trading competitions against other universities, guest talks and field trips.

You can also receive advice about applying for jobs, internships and postgraduate posts that can help you towards a higher grade and improve your prospects once you leave university.

Staff profile 

Ray Bachan, Course Leader 

Ray joined the University of Brighton in 2000. He previously taught economics at the Southampton institute and the University of Sussex from where he received his PhD. He is course leader for the Finance and Investment BSc and currently teaches international and development economics, quantitative methods and econometrics. 

Ray is a labour economist with specific interest in education economics and pay determination. He has published widely in internationally recognised economics and education journals.

His recent research has focused on the pay determination process in UK higher education and grade inflation in UK higher education. Both papers received national coverage in the Observer.

Ray’s other recent research interest include issues surrounding student debt, international migration, and race and competitive balance in European football.

Read more about Ray.

Course fees

If you choose to take the professional placement (sandwich) year offered on this course you will pay a reduced fee during this year. Our fee for the professional placement year is £1,230 for home students and £2,060 for international students. This fee may be subject to small increases, in line with inflation.

Info

The fees listed here are for full-time courses beginning in the academic year 2019–20.

Further tuition fees are payable for each subsequent year of study and are subject to an annual increase of no more than 5% or RPI (whichever is the greater). The annual increase for UK/EU students, who are subject to regulated fees, will increase no more than the statutory maximum fee.

You can find out more about our fees in the university's student contract and tuition fee policy (pdf).

The tuition fee you have to pay depends on a number of factors including the kind of course you take, and whether you study full-time or part-time. If you are studying part-time you will normally be charged on a pro rata basis depending on the number of modules you take.

What's included in the fee?

When costs such as health or DBS checks, or use of specialist materials are incurred as a mandatory requirement of the course they are included in your tuition fee.

You may incur additional costs depending on the optional modules or activities you choose. The cost of optional activities is not included in your tuition fee and you will need to meet this cost in addition to your fees. Before you apply check with the school that provides your course using the contact details in the Find out more tab (at the end of this page) for advice about what is included and what optional costs you could face so you can budget accordingly.

See our finance pages for advice about funding and scholarships as well as further information about fees and advice on international and island fee-paying status.

Local area

Campus where this course is taught

Accommodation

Maps

Accommodation

University building

Moulsecoomb campus map