Gain a comprehensive framework of knowledge, insight and vision regarding the key issues in finance, and the financial function of organisations and operations. The MSc in Finance (Financial Markets) pathway develops your cognitive, critical, intellectual and research skills, plus relevant personal and interpersonal skills to interact in the real world of business and organisations.
In today’s competitive global environment, employers are increasingly selective in their search for competent business and finance professionals. Our Master’s in Finance programmes equip you with a solid background in financial principles and practices and help to cultivate your practical finance skills and real-world business knowledge.
The Financial Markets pathway gives you the benefit of studying quantitative and non-quantitative modules that are relevant to core areas of industry including Investments, Risk Management, Derivatives and Hedge-Funds. You will be introduced to the latest academic techniques that can identify profitable opportunities in competitive financial markets.
The programme is accredited by GARP (Global Association of Risk Professionals), which represents the best in financial education around the world. Kent Business School works closely with GARP to ensure that our risk management course offering meets the latest global industry needs.
MSc Financial Markets is affiliated with the CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst) Institute, recognising that the programme meets the highest professional standards and covers a substantial part of the CFA curriculum. As a result of this affiliation, a number of scholarships are available for students in the programme who are interested in taking the CFA exams.
MSc Finance (Financial Markets) is also accredited by the Professional Risk Managers' International Association (PRMIA), the leading professional body in the risk management profession. As a result of this accreditation, graduates of the programme are eligible for a number of exemptions for the Professional Risk Manager Designation (PRM) exams.
In the 2015 Postgraduate Taught Experience Survey (PTES) the MSc in Finance Suite achieved a 97% student satisfaction rate, placing us in the top quarter of the UK Higher Education sector. PTES is a Higher Education Academy initiative and is carried out among 99 institutions. This result, coupled with our strong performance in the national league tables, underlines the strength of Finance programmes at Kent Business School and quality of our postgraduate teaching.
Kent Business School offers an optional 1½-week refresher workshop in Mathematics, Statistics and Excel, prior to the start of this programme. See Study Support for full details.
The Business School has a wide range of funding opportunities for postgraduate students, which includes Scholarships, Bursaries, the Double Loyalty Scheme for University of Kent undergraduates and the KBS Early Bird Scheme. The Early Bird equates to a 10% discount on tuition fees.
For more information on funding available from the University of Kent, please visit the Student Funding page.
Kent Business School has excellent links with business schools globally, including in China, USA, Hong Kong, France, Germany, Spain, Sweden and Italy. Our wide array of exchange partners give you the opportunity to gain international experience. Our partners are committed to enhancing their international outlook while providing excellent teaching. You will gain invaluable work experience, develop your understanding of a new culture and improve your language skills.
Our exchange partners include these top ranked institutions amongst others:
With over 25 years’ experience delivering business education, KBS is a leading UK business school, both for the standard of our teaching and student satisfaction. Our portfolio of postgraduate programmes demonstrates the breadth and depth of our expertise. Academic research and links with global business inform our teaching, ensuring a curriculum that is relevant and current. We also hold a number of accreditations by professional bodies.
Studying at Kent Business School gives you the opportunity to increase your employability with real-life case studies, a student council and a business society. We have strong links to local and national organisations providing opportunities for projects, internships and graduate placements. The School attracts many high-profile speakers from industry and last year included visits and lectures from staff of the Bank of England, BAE Systems, Barclays, Lloyds Insurance, Cummins, Delphi and Kent County Council.
The School currently has 45 PhD students, who form a dynamic and close-knit research community.
A good honours degree (minimum 2:2) from the UK or an equivalent internationally recognised qualification in a finance, accounting, economics, business, mathematics or engineering related discipline.
All applicants are considered on an individual basis and additional qualifications, professional qualifications and relevant experience may also be taken into account when considering applications.
Please see our International website for entry requirements by country and other relevant information. Due to visa restrictions, international fee-paying students cannot study part-time unless undertaking a distance or blended-learning programme with no on-campus provision.
The University requires all non-native speakers of English to reach a minimum standard of proficiency in written and spoken English before beginning a postgraduate degree.
For detailed information see our English language requirements web pages.
Applicants who are required to meet an English language condition may be able to study a pre-sessional course in English for Academic Purposes through Kent International Pathways.
The course structure below provides a sample of the modules available for this programme. Most programmes require you to study a combination of compulsory and optional modules. You may also have the option to take ‘wild’ modules from other programmes offered by the University in order that you may explore other subject areas of interest to you or that may further enhance your employability.
The following modules are offered to our current students. This listing is based on the current curriculum and may change year to year in response to new curriculum developments and innovation:
Duration: 1 year full-time
This programme provides the training required for the Bloomberg Certificate. You will have opportunities for practical work to be carried out in the Business School’s dedicated Bloomberg Lab. The virtual trading platform allows you to access and engage with market data through practical case studies and the use of online databases.
In addition, you will be invited to take part in a programme-wide case competition, which will comprise a company analysis and will be judged by experts from the industry.
The programme involves a taught and a project component. The taught programme is assessed by a mixture of coursework assignments throughout the year, and by examinations in May and June. Once these are completed, you work full time on the Business Report in Finance.
The programme aims to:
You gain the following knowledge and understanding:
You gain the following intellectual skills:
You gain the following subject-specific skills:
You gain the following transferable skills:
Kent Business School (KBS) offers an optional 1½-week refresher quantitative skills workshop in Mathematics, Statistics and Excel, prior to the start of your main MSc programme. The workshop is offered at no extra tuition cost; however, students will need to make their own accommodation arrangements and register to attend via the online booking form.
The workshop will refresh your knowledge of the quantitative concepts and techniques needed for your Master's studies. It is organised as a series of short lectures and practical workshops, and you will have the opportunity to go through a series of theoretical and practical exercises with staff from the School. There will be no assessment at the end of the course.
If you have accepted a formal offer for this programme and you would like to attend the workshop, please register to secure your place.
Full details and how to register.
Kent Business School occupies a purpose-designed building consisting of executive learning facilities with wireless provision throughout. Each postgraduate student is assigned a specific member of academic staff who acts as your first point of contact throughout your studies. There is a lively postgraduate community at the School, with plenty of space to relax and interact with your fellow students and our academic staff.
On the Canterbury Campus, Kent Business School recently moved into a new academic building, known as The Sibson Building, a vibrant new campus destination. This state-of-the-art building includes lecture theatres, seminar rooms, dedicated MBA, PhD and IT suites. These new learning and teaching spaces, as well as modern social and breakout areas, encapsulate Kent Business School’s academic values and identity.
The Sail and Colour Loft features six seminar rooms, a group learning room, a computer suite, quiet study areas, student social spaces and a special reference collection of core text books. Kent’s libraries offer over a million books, periodicals and journals, and we have subject-specific librarians to help you secure access to the information you need.
We also offer excellent teaching facilities with tailor-made specialist resources. Postgraduate students can access a range of specialist software packages used in quantitative analysis and in finance. Most academic schools have specific study areas for postgraduates and there is also a general postgraduate common room with work area.
Kent Business School has more than 40 internationally recognised academics from 23 different countries. Most of our teaching faculty are involved with researching the latest issues in business and management, working with organisations to provide new insight for business leaders and policymakers. Their knowledge and findings feed into the programmes to ensure they are both cutting-edge and globally relevant.
Kent Business School has close links with a number of European institutions including Neoma Business School, Jean Moulin University Lyon III and Rennes School of Business in France; EBS University of Business and Law, Germany; IE University, Madrid and LIUC Università Carlo Cattaneo in Italy. Our international partners include Hong Kong Baptist University where we offer dual Masters programmes in both Finance and Business Analytics; City University of Hong Kong; Renmin University of China and Universiti Teknologi, Malaysia.
Staff publish regularly and widely in journals, conference proceedings and books. Among others, they have recently contributed to: Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money; International Journal of Finance & Economics; Journal of Banking and Finance; European Journal of Operational Research; Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting; Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control; European Journal of Finance; Journal of Asset Management; International Review of Financial Analysis.
All students registered for a taught Master's programme are eligible to apply for a place on our Global Skills Award Programme. The programme is designed to broaden your understanding of global issues and current affairs as well as to develop personal skills which will enhance your employability.
Research activities at Kent Business School are broadly organised into six areas;
The Finance group addresses academically interesting and practical contemporary issues in finance and banking. Staff pursue research in several areas, including: derivatives pricing and risk management; financial econometrics; international banking; financial regulation; corporate finance; asset pricing and real-estate modelling.
For more information, see our Applied Research Centre:
Full details of staff research interests can be found on the School's website.
You gain much more than an academic qualification when you graduate from Kent Business School – we enhance your student experience and accelerate your career prospects. Our finance programmes equip you with an impressive set of skills and specialist knowledge. In addition, inbuilt practical experience will help you succeed in a competitive job market.
This pathway is ideal preparation for a career with investment and commercial banks, insurance companies, specialised financial institutions, trading companies and financial management roles in other industries.
Careers in finance continue to provide exceptional earning potential in the UK and globally; the very highest-paying job specialisms in the finance sector include structurer, trader, M&A and fund management (13 May 2016, City A.M.).
Our students have an excellent record for employment. Recent graduates are now working in top global companies including AXA, BNP Paribas, FactSet, HSBC, PwC, Santander, Thomson Reuters, USB Investment Bank and Zurich Financial Services.
The programme is accredited by GARP (Global Association of Risk Professionals), which represents the best in financial education around the world. Kent Business School works closely with GARP to ensure that our risk management course offering meets the latest global industry needs.
The MSc Finance (Financial Markets) programme (formerly known as MSc Financial Markets) is recognised by the Professional Risk Managers’ International Association (PRMIA) as PRMIA academic partner at programme level.
Kent Business School is a member of the European Foundation for Management Development (EFMD) and the Chartered Association of Business Schools (CABS); and the Kent MBA is an Association of MBAs (AMBA) accredited programme.
In addition, KBS has accredited programmes with the following professional bodies:
KBS is a signatory of the United Nation's Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME), which provides a global network for academic institutions to advance corporate sustainability and social responsibility.
The 2020/21 annual tuition fees for this programme are:
For details of when and how to pay fees and charges, please see our Student Finance Guide.
For students continuing on this programme fees will increase year on year by no more than RPI + 3% in each academic year of study except where regulated.* If you are uncertain about your fee status please contact information@kent.ac.uk
For details of when and how to pay fees and charges, please see our Student Finance Guide.
Full-time tuition fees for Home and EU undergraduates are £9,250.
For students continuing on this programme, fees will increase year on year by no more than RPI + 3% in each academic year of study except where regulated.*
The University will assess your fee status as part of the application process. If you are uncertain about your fee status you may wish to seek advice from UKCISA before applying.
Find out more about general additional costs that you may pay when studying at Kent.
Search our scholarships finder for possible funding opportunities. You may find it helpful to look at both:
Next steps
This course page is for the 2020/21 academic year. Please visit the current online prospectus for a list of postgraduate courses we offer.
Supporting your success
Kent ranked top 50 in The Complete University Guide 2024.
Fees and funding
Kent has risen 11 places in THE’s REF 2021 ranking, confirming us as a leading research university.
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