Explore theoretical and applied finance
Year of entry: 2025 (September)
1 year full-time
Department of Economics and Related Studies, Department of Mathematics, School for Business and Society
September 2025 (semester dates)
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This course will give you a thorough grounding in theoretical and applied finance. You don't need a background in economics to study Finance (MSc).
Our suite of finance Masters programmes is uniquely multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary. They bring together expertise from the School for Business and Society, the Department of Mathematics, and the Department of Economics and Related Studies.
Discover our focused syllabus introducing contemporary tools, methods and approaches to tackle current real world challenges in areas of finance including corporate finance and traditional and new financial markets.
By combining approaches from business, mathematics and economics, you'll gain a deeper understanding of finance. Our commitment to delivering public good will help you to put your new skills to work delivering meaningful change.
At the University of York we offer a number of different courses as part of our finance suite, including general, focused and specialised programmes. Learn more about our range of finance Masters offered at York.
Our MSc Finance course provides the solid foundations required for building a future career in finance. Our future-orientated syllabus provides essential skills, tools and knowledge to equip you for a career now and beyond. You'll learn critical problem-solving through our unique interdisciplinary approach. We will encourage you to both question traditional concepts and techniques and adopt an analytical and robust approach to decision-making.
We develop a general theoretical consideration of finance, financial institutions, markets and instruments in the first semester. In the second semester, you'll develop applied and focused assessments of investment management and corporate finance. You have options to develop further analytical skills or future development FinTech and investment management.
In your final semester, you will work on an independent research project, where you will be supported by an academic supervisor to work on an original research topic.
You will also study one option module. Examples may include:
Our modules may change to reflect the latest academic thinking and expertise of our staff, and in line with Department/School academic planning.
You'll complete a piece of independent research of up to 8,000 words, carried out over three months of the summer. It will offer you the chance to examine a topic in depth and to develop your academic research skills.
Every course at York is built on a distinctive set of learning outcomes. These will give you a clear understanding of what you will be able to accomplish at the end of the course and help you explain what you can offer employers. Our academics identify the knowledge, skills, and experiences you'll need upon graduation and then design the course to get you there.
Display a systematic and critical understanding of the behaviour and operations of both financial institutions and the finance function within large organisations, the environments in which they operate, and the role of the financial sector in the wider economic system
Display a systematic understanding of a wide range of financial instruments (including: equities; fixed-income products; derivative securities; currencies), the properties of the markets on which they trade, and the purposes for which they are used in practice by investment managers and non-financial organisations
Derive major theorems across a wide range of finance subdisciplines (including: asset pricing; investment management; financial risk management; corporate finance; and international financial decisions), be able to describe the assumptions and mathematics methods behind the proofs of these theorems, and communicate clearly to academic and managerial audiences the advantages and limitations of applying these theorems in specific practical contexts, also bringing behavioural finance insights into account
Solve complex financial analytical problems by locating, downloading and cleaning the most appropriate financial and related data, and applying the most relevant statistical and computational techniques to these data to address the problem at hand
Exercise judgement when balancing the fiduciary duty of decision makers to maximise financial value against the ethical and sustainability goals of a wide range of organisational stakeholders
Produce well-reasoned written and oral communications based on analytical reasoning and supported, where necessary, by data-based evidence, and display other personal transferable skills including: the ability to work positively within a group; act inclusively within a diverse academic community; reflect on personal strengths and weaknesses; identify areas for growth in their own knowledge and practice by engaging in continuing professional development
Formulate a financial project proposal; identify the relevant academic and practitioner literature that best inform the project; identify and obtain the most appropriate data and methodologies for undertaking the project; independently carry out the project efficiently and to deadline; and effectively communicate results in a way that will persuade both expert and non-expert audiences.
| Study mode | UK (home) | International and EU |
|---|---|---|
| Full-time (1 year) | £16,810 | £33,700 |
Students on a Student Visa are not currently permitted to study part-time at York.
UK (home) or international fees? The level of fee that you will be asked to pay depends on whether you're classed as a UK (home) or international student. Check your fee status.
Find out more information about tuition fees and how to pay them.
Discover your funding options to help with tuition fees and living costs.
We'll confirm more funding opportunities for students joining us in 2025/26 throughout the year.
If you've successfully completed an undergraduate degree at York you could be eligible for a 10% Masters fee discount.
We are pleased to work with Chevening Scholars to offer funding for our Masters programmes. Chevening Scholarships provide one year of fully-funded postgraduate study in the UK for international (including EU) students. The scholarships are open to early and mid-career professionals who have the potential to become future leaders.
You can use our living costs guide to help plan your budget. It covers additional costs that are not included in your tuition fee such as expenses for accommodation and study materials.
You’ll work with world‐leading academics who’ll challenge you to think independently and excel in all that you do. Our approach to teaching will provide you with the knowledge, opportunities, and support you need to grow and succeed in a global workplace.
This Masters combines a variety of different teaching methods, including:
A member of the teaching staff will act as your supervisor throughout the degree, to help guide your studies and monitor progress.
The department also has a vibrant research community. You’ll be able to attend seminars and research workshops in which staff and invited speakers discuss their research.
You'll be based in the Department of Economics and Related Studies on Campus West. Most of your teaching will take place in Alcuin College and elsewhere on Campus West.
You'll gain access to our schools' and departments' shared resources and financial databases, including:
Our beautiful green campus offers a student-friendly setting in which to live and study, within easy reach of the action in the city centre. It's easy to get around campus - everything is within walking or pedalling distance, or you can always use the fast and frequent bus service.
Formal types of assessment in this course include:
As you study modules you’ll take part in assessments that do not contribute to your final mark, instead giving useful feedback on your progress and understanding.
This course will provide you with the essential postgraduate skills you need to follow a career in financial services. It will act as a stepping stone to a financial position or a role in the financial services industry such as financial analysis, investment management or corporate finance. The Masters is also an ideal basis for progression to a PhD.
Many of our students have gone on to forge careers in academia or central banks. Others have followed careers as investment analysts, financial advisers, and consultants in commercial banks, stockbrokers and other financial institutions.
| Typical offer | |
|---|---|
| Undergraduate degree | 2:2 or equivalent in an undergraduate degree in any subject. We would expect applicants to have experience of one or more modules containing some statistics/maths/economics/finance/physics/engineering content. |
| Other qualifications and experience | If you do not meet our advertised entry requirements, we may consider your application if you have a minimum of three years of relevant senior managerial-level working experience or a relevant professional qualification such as the CFA Level 1 or the ACCA |
| Other international qualifications | Equivalent qualifications from your country |
If English isn't your first language you may need to provide evidence of your English language ability. We accept the following qualifications:
| Minimum requirement | |
|---|---|
| IELTS (Academic and Indicator) | 6.5, minimum 6.0 in each component |
| Cambridge CEFR | B2 First: 176, with 169 in each component |
| Oxford ELLT | 7, minimum of 6 in each component |
| Duolingo | 120, minimum 105 in all other components |
| LanguageCert SELT | B2 with 33/50 in each component |
| LanguageCert Academic | 70 with a minimum of 65 in each component |
| Kaplan Test of English Language | 459-494, with 426-458 in all other components |
| Skills for English | B2: Merit overall, with Pass with Merit in each component |
| PTE Academic | 61, minimum 55 in each component |
| TOEFL | 87, minimum of 21 in each component |
| Trinity ISE III | Merit in all requirements |
For more information see our postgraduate English language requirements.
You may be eligible for one of our pre-sessional English language courses. These courses will provide you with the level of English needed to meet the conditions of your offer.
The length of course you need to take depends on your current English language test scores and how much you need to improve to reach our English language requirements.
After you've accepted your offer to study at York, we'll confirm which pre-sessional course you should apply to via You@York.
Get in touch if you have any questions
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Department of Economics and Related Studies, Department of Mathematics, School for Business and Society
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