Overview
The Brunel Banking and Finance MSc is designed to give graduates the knowledge and advanced skills needed for careers in the complex and rapidly changing banking and financial services industry.
Your studies will cover key subjects including financial economics, the economics of banking, international financial markets and quantitative methodology, as well as financial regulation at national and international levels and matters arising in private banking.
Crucially, you’ll develop your problem-solving skills and ability to critically evaluate and deliver midterm and long-term strategic solutions.
Throughout the course you’ll have access to a variety of professional databases used in business and finance including Datastream, Bloomberg, Fitch, Osiris, Reuters 3000 Xtra and Thomson One Banker.
You can choose to study one year full-time, two years full-time with a year's work placement or 16 months full-time with a 6-12 week work placement.
While you study for your Banking and Finance MSc you can take advantage of the opportunity to follow the CFA Program (Chartered Financial Analyst) specialist pathway and gain the skills required to complete the Level I CFA Program exam. The CFA Program has become the most respected and recognised professional qualification in finance in the world. Find out more on our Level I CFA® Program Pathway page.
This programme is also accredited by CIMA offering exemptions to some of their professional papers depending on your module choices.
As the worldwide financial services industry grows, so does the demand for professionals with specialist skills and competencies in banking and finance. Your Brunel Master's will give you that and make you a preferred job candidate to employers across the sector.
You can explore our campus and facilities for yourself by taking our virtual tour.
Course content
Coursework for your banking and finance postgraduate degree consists of compulsory and optional modules, and a dissertation on a relevant topic of your choice.
Full-time students should complete four modules per term, excluding the dissertation.
Compulsory
- Banking
The course aims to explore the nature of banking as well as links between financial intermediaries, risks and the broader economy. The course seeks to conceptualise the economic function of banks and also show how banks are subject to important risks, which necessitate both a complex system of regulation and sophisticated risk management by the bank itself.
- Bank Regulation and Macro Prudential Policy
This module aims to develop a sound understanding of the nature of the market failures in banking that that require regulatory responses, and the potential problems with regulation, to develop sound knowledge of the role of bank regulation in ensuring financial stability in the international economy, especially in periods of crisis, and to develop a framework for understanding the nature and use of the wide range of other tools used in macro-prudential regulation.
- Global Financial Markets
The aim of this module is to provide an advanced theory of financial markets and banking with global and regulatory aspects. This module covers financial markets (e.g., bond markets, stock markets, derivative markets, foreign exchange markets) in more depth and relates with international financial system, regulation (e.g., Basel I, II, III, regulatory capital, economic capital), financial crisis, and banking (e.g., central banks, commercial banks, investment banks).
- Macro and Financial Econometrics
The aim is to help students use statistical methods to estimate the parameters of economic models, and test economic hypotheses. This module provides a firm foundation in the theory and practice of econometric modelling of financial markets including a number of empirical examples and applications.
- Banking and Finance Workshop
This module will provide the opportunity for students to demonstrate a sound knowledge of the operation of financial institutions and their regulators and the theory underpinning macro prudential policy. It will also identify how theory and applications are linked in practice and be able to relate this to the techniques used to model financial institutions and their regulators decisions.
- Dissertation
The objective of the dissertation is to bring to bear the techniques and perspectives covered in the taught part of the course upon a specific issue of interest. The dissertation should provide an independent and critical appraisal of an issue, normally (although not always) involving an empirical analysis of the topic being investigated.
- Placement
Optional
- Foundations of Finance
This module provides an understanding of various financial instruments, markets and concepts which are necessary when conducting the corporate investment decision. In particular the course looks at bond and equity markets and instruments, decision rules relating to the capital budgeting techniques, and their application, and the incorporation of risk/uncertainty into an investment decision (including portfolio theory and the Capital Asset Pricing Model).
- Security Analysis and Funds Management
This module aims to provide an overview of securities traded in fixed income, stock and derivative markets and their characteristics along with the stylised facts of financial markets, and to introduce classical models used for portfolio selection and risk management.
- International Finance
While a large part of Economics and Finance, in theory and practice, can be treated as a mainly domestic exercise, there exists an increasing number of areas that apply to a multi-country setting. This module aims to equip students with knowledge necessary to work in an international, multi-currency professional environment, and to provide students with knowledge on whose basis future academic research and doctoral studies in the area of international finance can be pursued.
- Financial Analysis
This module aims to understand the importance of book values and earnings in deriving the intrinsic value of a firm and to analyse empirically their informative role over explaining future cash flows, earnings and returns, and to provide an overview of the relation between accounting-based equity models, excess volatility and efficiency in securities markets.
- Risk Management
The module aims to equip students with comprehensive multifaceted knowledge of risk management and hand-on skills for industry-oriented risk management. In particular, the module will help them to understand the concepts of volatility and value-at-risk, liquidity and deleveraging, credit and counterparty risks in a real-life context.
- Finance and Big Data Analytics
This course is designed to provide students with fundamental knowledge and skills of how to handle and analyse big data with a focus on financial applications. Students will also gain knowledge on designing and applying machine learning predictive models in finance.
- FinTech and Digital Banking
This course is designed to provide the student with a thorough knowledge of key technological trends in financial markets and how these have transformed financial services such as payments, lending and trading. This involves artificial intelligence and machine learning, open APIs and marketing channels and blockchain and cryptocurrency. The students will consider cases studies of fintech innovation and start-ups which will help them understand how traditional banking and financial services are challenged.
This course can be studied undefined undefined, starting in undefined.
This course has a placement option. Find out more about work placements available.
Please note that all modules are subject to change.
Read more about the structure of postgraduate degrees at Brunel
Careers and your future
Our aim is to teach you ‘employable knowledge’, which can be applied to real-world situations giving you the skills you need to find the right role after you graduate. Therefore, you’ll be well prepared for work, especially if you undertake a work placement. Securing economics and finance degree jobs is highly competitive so we’ll support you to gain a strong foundation in the skills employers are looking for. We offer opportunities within the Department of Economics and Finance as well as through the University’s Professional Development Centre (PDC) to help you build skills and experience.
With the knowledge and expertise you'll gain on the course, you'll be well equipped to progress into academic careers and many of our graduates now hold teaching positions in institutions like the Australian Business School, EDHEC Business School in Nice, Glasgow University and Oslo Business School.
Others have used the skills and experiences gained to pursue a career within financial institutions and now hold senior positions in prestigious organisations like Standard Life in the UK, Bank of Cyprus, HBSC Istanbul and TD Bank Financial Group in Canada.
UK entry requirements
2:2 (or above) UK Honours degree (or equivalent internationally recognised qualification) in Economics & Finance, Banking, Finance & Accounting, Mathematical or Scientific subject areas, with evidence of some study of Corporate Finance and Economics.
Applicants with 2:2 degrees not in the specified subject area will be considered on an individual basis by the Admissions Tutor provided they demonstrate a reasonable exposure to Corporate Finance/Financial Engineering/Securities Analysis and Mathematics/Statistics.
EU and International entry requirements
If you require a Tier 4 visa to study in the UK, you must prove knowledge of the English language so that we can issue you a Certificate of Acceptance for Study (CAS). To do this, you will need an IELTS for UKVI or Trinity SELT test pass gained from a test centre approved by UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) and on the Secure English Language Testing (SELT) list. This must have been taken and passed within two years from the date the CAS is made.
English language requirements
- IELTS: 6.5 (min 6 in all areas)
- Pearson: 59 (59 in all subscores)
- BrunELT: 63% (min 58% in all areas)
- TOEFL: 90 (min 20 in all)
You can find out more about the qualifications we accept on our English Language Requirements page.
Should you wish to take a pre-sessional English course to improve your English prior to starting your degree course, you must sit the test at an approved SELT provider for the same reason. We offer our own BrunELT English test and have pre-sessional English language courses for students who do not meet requirements or who wish to improve their English. You can find out more information on English courses and test options through our Brunel Language Centre.
Please check our Admissions pages for more information on other factors we use to assess applicants. This information is for guidance only and each application is assessed on a case-by-case basis. Entry requirements are subject to review, and may change.
Fees and funding
2025/26 entry
UK
£14,435 full-time
£1,385 placement year
International
£26,400 full-time
£1,385 placement year
More information on any additional course-related costs.
Fees quoted are per year and are subject to an annual increase.
See our fees and funding page for full details of postgraduate scholarships available to Brunel applicants.
Scholarships and bursaries
Teaching and learning
Teaching Delivery
We expect that all lectures sessions, except some of those delivered by special guests, for all modules will be delivered as live on campus sessions, with recording software used to make recordings available afterwards.
We expect that all seminars/workshops/labs will also be held on campus in person. We anticipate class sizes of around 40 students in these sessions.
Dissertation supervision will be offered on campus in person or online via video conferencing.
On those programmes that offer a Placement option, Placements are available either (i) for 3 months, starting in June, with the summer dissertation delayed until the autumn term, or (ii) for 12 months starting in September, after completing the summer dissertation.
We believe that students learn most successfully when they are active participants in their learning among a community of scholars, and our decision to return fully to campus is motivated by this. We expect students to return to campus and to actively engage with their learning programmes in real time. Course materials will be made available on our virtual learning platform ahead of teaching sessions so that students can prepare well prior to coming to class.
The timetable is being constructed to produce the most efficient allocation of time for students both when they are on campus, and when they are off campus.
Personal Tutoring
Your Personal Tutor, who will most likely be your academic Programme Leader, is responsible for monitoring and supporting your academic and personal development both in your transition to university and between years. It is someone you can discuss, in confidence, your academic progress with or any special requirements you may need.
We provide both - group tutoring sessions and (if you want), a one-to-one session. You can book this with your tutor at a time suitable for you. We provide online options for this too through some video conferencing platforms.
Assessment
It is expected that examination-style assessments, except for some computer-based tests, will be held on campus, and students will be expected to attend their examination sessions. Assessment formats will include a mix of formal examination, coursework (problems, exercises and essays), computer-based tests, presentations, reports, individual projects and group projects, designed to meet the varied learning outcomes and develop a range of transferable skills.
Assessments for modules that lead to exam accreditations for ACCA, ICAEW and CIMA will be guided by the requirements of those professional bodies.
Feedback and Consultation
We provide set times where you can talk to your lecturers and module leaders, either in person or via phone or video conference, to discuss academic matters relating to your course. You can also use these opportunities to obtain and discuss feedback on an assessment and exams. These hours can be found on the virtual learning platform and at the Taught Programmes Office.
Please email your lecturer or drop by their office to make your booking and we'll find a time convenient for the both of you.
Departmental Communication
You can keep up with subject and module updates through our virtual learning platform. We'll also send important updates to your student email account, so please keep an eye on those.
Co-curricula
We arrange and host many events designed to support your personal development and career path. We'll email you about these opportunities at the start of each term and send a reminder before the event. Some of these events will be on campus, some may involve trips off campus, and some will be live-streamed, according to the requirements of the topic, the location of the speaker and what has worked most successfully in the past.
For students on MSc Finance and Investment and MSc Banking and Finance (for 22/23 only), there may be some additional costs for those wishing to pursue the CFA training programme that we offer.
Access to a laptop or desktop PC is required for joining online activities, completing coursework and digital exams, and a minimum specification can be found here.
We have computers available across campus for your use and laptop loan schemes to support you through your studies. You can find out more here.
Our staff have national and international reputations for their research, publications and applied work. This means that your education will be innovative, and inspiring and cover the most up-to-date industry knowledge.
Your course will consist of lectures, seminars, directed independent study, workshops and oral presentations. You’ll also have access to industry-standard data and software programmes used in research methods.
While you study for your MSc in Business Finance you can take advantage of the opportunity to follow the CFA Program (Chartered Financial Analyst) specialist pathway and gain the skills required to complete the Level I CFA Program exam. The CFA Program has become the most respected and recognised professional qualification in finance in the world. Find out more on our Level I CFA® Program Pathway page.
Should you need any non-academic support during your time at Brunel, the Student Support and Welfare Team are here to help.
Assessment and feedback
Modules are assessed by combinations of coursework, contribution to seminars, oral presentations and examinations. Students who successfully complete the taught part of the course can proceed to the dissertation stage.
Students are expected to work on their dissertation in the summer and to submit the final draft in mid-September. Students who follow the Professional Practice pathway will complete their placement during the summer and work on their dissertation afterwards, submitting in January.
Students studying part time must submit their dissertation in the spring term of the third year.
Read our guide on how to avoid plagiarism in your assessments at Brunel.