Course Structure

Course Content	Six modules are taken in each of Years 1, 2 and 4. In Year 3, students undertake a salaried placement in a financial environment for a minimum of nine months.
Year 1	Financial Reporting and Analysis Instruments, Markets and Institutions Mathematics for Finance Economy, Society and Public Policy 1 Economy, Society and Public Policy 2 Statistical Methods
Year 2	Behavioural Finance Introduction to Financial Econometrics Investment Analysis Futures and Options Monetary Theory Excel and VBA
Year 3	Placement (internship with a financial organisation)
Year 4	Students will be able to choose six modules from the following options: Financial Engineering Financial Econometrics and Data Science International Finance Python for Finance Sustainable Finance Corporate Finance Equity Research Bubbles and Crises Fixed Income FinTech

Contact Teaching Times

Large Group Teaching	9 (hours maximum) 6-9 hours of lectures
Medium Group Teaching	3 (hours maximum) 1-3 hours of practical classes, workshops or seminars each week
Personal Study	24 (hours maximum) 22–24 hours studying and revising in your own time each week, including some guided study using handouts, online activities, etc.
Small Group Teaching/Personal Tutorial	3 (hours maximum) 1-3 hours of tutorials

• Adviser of Studies
  To assist with the choice of modules at the beginning of each academic year
• E-Learning technologies
  Information associated with lectures and assignments is often communicated via a Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) calledCanvas. A range of e-learning experiences are also embedded in the degree programme through the use of, for example, interactive support materials, podcasts and web-based learning activities. There are also opportunities to develop technical skills in the use of industry software.
• Induction
  Formalised induction for all undergraduate students. For Stage 1 students, this includes several half-day sessions the week before the programme begins to allow students to familiarise themselves with the campus and the degree programme. During Stage 1 there are a number of follow-up sessions throughout the year. Topics such as academic writing, referencing, plagiarism, communication skills, examination preparation and managing time effectively are all covered in these practical sessions.
• Lectures
  These introduce foundation information about new topics as a starting point for further self-directed private study/reading. As the module progresses this information becomes more complex. Lectures, which are normally delivered in large groups to all year-group peers, also provide opportunities to ask questions and seek clarification on key issues as well as gain feedback and advice on assessments. Additional lectures are also delivered by employer representatives. In addition to the academic content of the lectures and workshops, this enables employers to impart their valuable experience to QMS Finance students, introduces important local employers to our students and allows our students to meet and engage with potential future employers.
• Masterclasses
  Throughout the degree students are offered exposure to financial experts from the London financial markets who share their industry knowledge and offer advice on what it takes to succeed in the world of finance.
• Peer Mentoring Scheme
  Whereby students in second and third year of their degree programme volunteer to mentor Stage 1 students. Developing the programme themselves, with support from academic staff in QMS, the mentors organise informal meetings, regular contact and a series of events ranging from ice-breaker type events to employer-led sessions with the Stage 1 students.
• Personal Development Planning
  To encourage students to engage in independent learning.
• Practicals
  Finance is a very theoretical yet vocational subject and as such we facilitate opportunities for students to engage in the application of theory. Students will have opportunities to develop technical skills and apply theoretical principles to real-life or practical contexts through the modules you study and through industry presentations and workshops that we host.
• Self-directed study
  This is an essential part of life as a Queen’s student when important private reading, engagement with e-learning resources, reflection on feedback to date and assignment research and preparation work is carried out.
• Seminars/tutorials
  A significant amount of teaching is carried out in small groups (typically 15-20 students). These sessions are designed to explore, in more depth, the information that has been presented in the lectures. This provides students with the opportunity to engage closely with academic staff who have specialist knowledge of the topic, to ask questions of them and to assess their own progress and understanding with the support of their peers. During these classes, students will be expected to present their work to academic staff and their peers.
• Student Support Systems
  QMS has an active and co-ordinated student support system to assist students in making the transition from school to university.
• Supervised projects
  As part of the continual assessment on a range of modules, students will be expected to carry out projects. They will receive support from the module coordinators who will guide them in terms of how to carry out projects and who will provide feedback during the write up stage.
• Trading Room
  Several classes on the degree programme are taught in the dedicated financial trading room which recreates the excitement of an investment bank trading floor, and provides students with hands-on experience in a dynamic environment. Real-time data feeds from major exchanges are displayed on terminals and wall screens, and industry-standard software packages are used to provide the best possible introduction to investment banking IT.
• Work placements
  The BSc Finance programme has a compulsory placement year. This begins after all Stage 2 courses have been successfully completed. The dedicated Placement Office within the School facilitates students in sourcing and securing appropriate placements and provides appropriate support whilst the student is with the host organisation. This is a significant learning and employability enhancement opportunity and will ensure that the theory being understood in the lecture theatre is complemented by the development of practical, transferrable skills.

• The way in which students are assessed will vary according to the learning objectives of each module. Details of how each module is assessed are shown in the Student Handbook which is provided to all students during their first year induction. Finance modules are typically assessed by a combination of continuous assessment and a final written unseen examination. Continuous assessment consists of tutorial submissions, short class tests, individual project work, small group projects and presentations – this involves three/four students per group working on a specific task, for example, a solution to a particular finance problem.

• Feedback provided via formal written comments and marks relating to work that students, as individuals or as part of a group, have submitted.
• Face to face comment. This may include occasions when students make use of the lecturers’ advertised “office hours” to help address a specific query.
• Placement employer comments or references.
• Online or emailed comment
• General comments or question and answer opportunities at the end of a lecture, seminar or tutorial.
• Pre-submission advice regarding the standards students should aim for and common pitfalls to avoid. In some instances, this may be provided in the form of model answers or exemplars which students can review in their own time.
• Feedback and outcomes from practical classes.
• Comment and guidance provided by staff from specialist support services such as, Careers, Employability and Skills or the Learning Development Service.
• Once students have reviewed your feedback, they will be encouraged to identify and implement further improvements to the quality of their work.

Facilities

Students have access to Bloomberg software, a market leader in financial news, data and analytics, which is used by many financial institutions. The Trading Room allows for an interactive and exciting learning environment which brings textbook theory to life.
http://www.qub.ac.uk/schools/QueensManagementSchool/Discover/TradingRoom

Entrance requirements

A level requirements ABB including Mathematics

Irish leaving certificate requirements H3H3H3H3H3H3/H2H3H3H3H3 including Mathematics

Access Course Successful completion of Access Course with an average of 75% including an average of 70% in Mathematics modules. Must be relevant Access Course (eg: Mathematics and Computing).

International Baccalaureate Diploma 33 points overall, including 6,5,5 at Higher Level including Mathematics If not offered at Higher Level/GCSE then Standard Level grade 4 in English would be accepted.

BTEC Level 3 Extended/National Extended Diploma QCF BTEC Extended Diploma (180 credits at Level 3), with overall grades D*DD. RQF BTEC National Extended Diploma (1080 Guided Learning Hours (GLH) at Level 3), with overall grades D*DD. Applicants must additionally have achieved A-Level Mathematics grade B.

Graduate A minimum of a 2:1 Honours Degree

Career Prospects

Introduction
Our graduates find employment in investment banks, corporate banks, building societies, insurance houses,
stockbrokers, investment banks, accountancy and actuarial firms, specialist financial and private equity companies as well as in the finance functions of more general companies.

Employment after the Course
Typical career destinations of graduates include:
Financial Analysts (in bonds, equities and derivative products)
Fund Managers
Treasurers
Financial planners
Wealth managers
Accountants
Financial Economists
Forecasters
Corporate lenders

Employment Links
Recent graduate employers have included: Allstate; Bank of Ireland; Citi Group; Delta Index; Energia; Ernst & Young; FinTRU; First Derivatives; Goldman Sachs; HSBC; Kerr Henderson; KPMG; Mercer Plc; Morgan Stanley; Nationwide Building Society; Nomura Bank; Oxford Economics; PIMCO; PWC; Setanta Asset Management.

Alumni Success
“I began my career with Deutsche Bank, before moving to Lehman Brothers in 2003, where I ran Client Service and Transition, and then Nomura International. My team are responsible for clients on J.P. Morgan’s Custody and Fund Services platform, which looks after assets of nearly $20 trillion.”
Declan Breslin, BSc Finance
Global Head of Client Service and Solutions, Custody and Fund Services – J.P. Morgan, New York

Professional Opportunities
This programme closely reflects the real-world finance and investment environment and focuses on the applied skills that employers look for.

We regularly consult and develop links with a large number of employers including all the major finance employers in Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland and Britain. We host annual employer liaison meetings for the course as well as annual finance careers fairs at which students can engage with a range of employers on a one-to-one basis. Students are also offered exposure to experts from the London financial markets, who share their industry knowledge and advice.

What employers say

“The Placement Office has consistently been proactive in engaging with our organisation, working closely with us to create a successful pipeline which benefits both their impending graduates and Morgan Stanley.”
David Tkalcic (Executive Director, Morgan Stanley)

Degree plus award for extra-curricular skills

In addition to your degree programme, at Queen's you can have the opportunity to gain wider life, academic and employability skills. For example, placements, voluntary work, clubs, societies, sports and lots more. So not only do you graduate with a degree recognised from a world leading university, you'll have practical national and international experience plus a wider exposure to life overall. We call this Degree Plus. It's what makes studying at Queen's University Belfast special.

Tuition Fees

Northern Ireland (NI) 1	£4,630
Republic of Ireland (ROI) 2	£4,630
England, Scotland or Wales (GB) 1	£9,250
EU Other 3	£17,900
International	£17,900

¹ EU citizens in the EU Settlement Scheme, with settled status, will be charged the NI or GB tuition fee based on where they are ordinarily resident. Students who are ROI nationals resident in GB will be charged the GB fee.

² EU students who are ROI nationals resident in ROI are eligible for NI tuition fees.

³ EU Other students (excludes Republic of Ireland nationals living in GB, NI or ROI) are charged tuition fees in line with international fees.

All tuition fees quoted are for the academic year 2022-23, and relate to a single year of study unless stated otherwise. Tuition fees will be subject to an annual inflationary increase, unless explicitly stated otherwise.

Tuition fee rates are calculated based on a student’s tuition fee status and generally increase annually by inflation. How tuition fees are determined is set out in the Student Finance Framework.

Additional course costs

Finance with a Year in Industry costs

Students undertake a placement in year 3 and are responsible for funding travel, accommodation and subsistence costs. These costs vary depending on the location and duration of the placement.

Students should be aware that placement and internship modules do not normally involve payment or financial support from either Queen’s or the placement/internship provider.

A limited amount of funding may be available to contribute towards these additional costs, if the placement takes place through a government student mobility scheme.
 
Students who undertake optional study tours are expected to make a contribution, of approximately £150.

How do I fund my study?

There are different tuition fee and student financial support arrangements for students from Northern Ireland, those from England, Scotland and Wales (Great Britain), and those from the rest of the European Union.

Information on funding options and financial assistance for undergraduate students is available at www.qub.ac.uk/Study/Undergraduate/Fees-and-scholarships/.

Scholarships

Each year, we offer a range of scholarships and prizes for new students. Information on scholarships available.

International Scholarships

Information on scholarships for international students, is available at www.qub.ac.uk/International/International-students/International-scholarships/.

How and when to Apply

How to Apply
Application for admission to full-time undergraduate and sandwich courses at the University should normally be made through the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS). Full information can be obtained from the UCAS website at: www.ucas.com/students.

When to Apply
UCAS will start processing applications for entry in autumn 2022 from 1 September 2021.

Advisory closing date: 26 January 2022 (18:00). This is the 'equal consideration' deadline for this course.

Applications from UK and EU (Republic of Ireland) students after this date are, in practice, considered by Queen’s for entry to this course throughout the remainder of the application cycle (30 June 2022) subject to the availability of places.

Applications from International and EU (Other) students are normally considered by Queen’s for entry to this course until 30 June 2022. If you apply for 2022 entry after this deadline, you will automatically be entered into Clearing.

Applicants are encouraged to apply as early as is consistent with having made a careful and considered choice of institutions and courses.

The Institution code name for Queen's is QBELF and the institution code is Q75.

Further information on applying to study at Queen's is available at: www.qub.ac.uk/Study/Undergraduate/How-to-apply/

Apply via UCAS

Terms and Conditions

The terms and conditions that apply when you accept an offer of a place at the University on a taught programme of study. Queen's University Belfast Terms and Conditions.

Additional Information for International (non-EU) Students

1. Applying through UCAS
   Most students make their applications through UCAS (Universities and Colleges Admissions Service) for full-time undergraduate degree programmes at Queen's. The UCAS application deadline for international students is 30 June 2022.
2. Applying direct
   The Direct Entry Application form is to be used by international applicants who wish to apply directly, and only, to Queen's or who have been asked to provide information in advance of submitting a formal UCAS application. Find out more.
3. Applying through agents and partners
   The University’s in-country representatives can assist you to submit a UCAS application or a direct application. Please consult the Agent List to find an agent in your country who will help you with your application to Queen’s University.

Download a prospectus