| Program start date | Application deadline |
| 2023-09-01 | - |
Program Overview
This course has recently been updated. Please download the course specification for the up to date information.
This course aims to provide you with a comprehensive program of study of international finance, providing you with the knowledge and professional skills including digital skills to develop a career in banking or another financial institution dealing with international operations
.
You will develop a broad vision and understanding of the changing role and nature of finance within the context of a global marketplace. You will become competent in dealing with international investment and financing transactions, international payments and exchange rates. In addition to traditional areas of international finance, the course will provide skills in areas including responses to international financial crises and cryptocurrencies.
This course is offered for local as well as international students.
Birmingham City University is a modern practically-oriented and students-oriented university. You will be taught by highly-qualified academics with industrial and professional experience and actively involved in research.
Professional Placement option
For our MSc International Finance degree, you will have the opportunity to take the Professional Placement version of the course, which is offered as an alternative to the standard version of the course.
This will allow you to complete a credit bearing, 20 week Professional Placement as an integral part of your Master’s Degree. The purpose of the Professional Placement is to improve your employability and transferable skills. The placement experience will allow you to evidence your professional skills, attitudes and behaviours at the point of entry to the postgraduate job market.
You will be responsible for finding and securing your own placement. The University, however, will draw on its extensive network of local, regional and national employers to support you in finding a suitable placement to complement your chosen area of study, with support from our Careers+ team as well as advice and guidance from your School.
Please note that placements will only be confirmed following a competitive, employer-led selection process, therefore the University will not be able to guarantee placements for students who have registered for the ‘with Professional Placement’ course.
For full details,
please click here.
This course is
open
toInternational
students.What's covered in this course?
In Semester 1 (Certificate stage) you will take Financial Institutions and Regulation, Advanced Corporate Finance and Strategic Risk Management. In these modules, you will receive an overview of financial institutions, financial markets and their regulation and develop your skills in financial analysis related to different types of business decisions and operations.
In Semester 2 (Diploma stage) you will take Global Finance and International Payments, Digital Banking and Cryptocurrencies. These modules will provide you with in-depth knowledge of international financial markets and operations, exchange rates determination and international payments as well as develop your skills in digital banking and cryptocurrencies. You will also select among optional modules available based on your interest. The rationale for optional modules is based on our vision on supporting students be successful in an international finance career.
In Semester 3 (Masters stage) you will develop advanced research skills and work on your dissertation, which will involve an in-depth exploration of both the theory and practice of international finance using primary research.
The international focus of the course is derived through a variety of means including the student body, the teaching team and the use of international teaching materials. Moreover, the course also enables you to be confident in the application of industry-specific skills, for example, with the use of platforms such as DataStream, and with problem-solving approaches having been exposed to real-life scenarios through industry guest-speaker workshops.
To help you develop the skills that leading employers ask for, and let you see how traders/ forex traders work, we can access Thomson Reuters Eikon in our iCITY Trading room.
Moreover, you’ll also have the opportunity to gain industry experience by going on a professional placement. Whatever route you choose, the knowledge attained from the course will help you to seek a variety of employment in the sector nationally and internationally.
Why Choose Us?
Studying with us during the Covid-19 pandemic
The University has put in place
measures in response to Covid-19
to allow us to safely deliver our courses. Should the impact of the pandemic continue in future years, any additional or alternative arrangements put in place by the University will be in accordance with the latest government public health advice, health and safety legislation, and the terms and conditions of thestudent contract
.Program Outline
Modules
Professional Placement Year
Modules
In order to complete this course a student must successfully complete all the following core modules (totalling 160 credits):
Strategic Risk Management 20 credits
The module assumes that students have the basic knowledge of risk management concepts. It is designed to review the risk management process and risk governance in organisations. It will provide the skills to identify and evaluate company’s or portfolio’s exposures to financial and non-financial risk factors in the business environment. It will also provide an opportunity for students to demonstrate a deep understanding and critical awareness of the risk factors around international business environment. Numerical skills in the calculation and evaluation of value-at-risk (VaR) and other credit risks of investment positions or financial derivatives such as forward contracts, swaps and options. The module will also provide the opportunity to acquire the knowledge and skills of risk budgeting, the use of risk-adjusted return on capital, the use of credit derivatives in managing credit risk, Sharpe ratio and other methods of managing market risk.
Global Finance 20 credits
Global finance is a constantly evolving subject that deals very much with real world issues such as the causes of exchange rate movements, the challenges for international organizations and the implications macroeconomic linkage between economies. This module focuses on finance decision making in an international context and is designed to ensure that you are able to evaluate issues and problems in the area of global finance to a high academic level. It includes the foreign exchange rate behaviour, managing exchange rate risks and foreign investment issues faced by of modern companies. A wealth of examples and cases are provided to enable you to see the implications of the subject to business, mostly from a multinational corporation’s perspective. You will be encouraged and supported to undertake case studies and investigate contemporary issues relating to global finance.
Advanced Corporate Finance 20 credits
This module is designed to help you to critically analyse the key theories, concepts and principles of corporate finance grounded in the academic literature and pertinent for the practitioner. In particular, this module provides a thorough treatment of the key aspects in the financial decision making process in a corporation, including project appraisal under uncertainty, cost of capital, source of finance, capital structure, dividend policy, corporate governance and working capital management.
Financial Institutions and Regulation 20 credits
This module provides an overview of the nature and activities of the main groups of financial institutions within the UK. It aims to offer insight into bank regulation within which financial institutions operate, especially those emanating from financial crisis. This module focuses on students developing and having a good grasp of recent and ongoing events within financial institutions and its regulation, with the aim of appraising and developing potential changes in the landscape.
International Payments, Digital Banking and Cryptocurrencies 20 credits
International Payments, Digital Banking, and Cryptocurrency module is highly practical and tailored for individuals who want to understand the role of international payments in the global banking market and allow participants to understand the digital banking environment along with key strategies, business models, and approaches to learn how to manage the investment in cryptocurrencies.
Business and Management Research Project 60 credits
The purpose of the Research Project module is to provide a framework for you to undertake a substantial piece of disciplinary-relevant research. It is founded upon Birmingham City Business School’s teaching and learning philosophy which integrates theory and practice.
In order to complete this course a student must successfully complete at least 20 credits from the following indicative list of OPTIONAL modules:
Security Analysis and Management 20 credits
Investigating Finance Practice 20 credits
This module allows you to apply the critical analysis and thinking skills that you acquired in the Analytical Skills module in a problem based learning approach to investigating a specific area of your finance studies and/or finance practice in which you have a particular interest. The critical analysis and critical thinking skills required in the module characterise a master’s level (level 7) piece of work. These are also highly relevant employability skills allowing you to demonstrate to potential employers that you are able to research a topic and then synthesise and analyse the results of that research in order to draw reasoned conclusions and make relevant recommendations. The ability to integrate theoretical knowledge with practical application is something that supports your development of professional and employability skills. The teaching, learning and assessment strategy to deliver this at Masters level develop an independent and self-directed learning culture and a challenging learning experience.
Islamic Social Finance 20 credits
This module aims to develop an understating Islamic Social Finance. This module is critical in establishing the overall parameters of Islamic Social finance. It seeks to provide a high level overview of the philosophy/ontology underpinning Islamic economics & finance and the key constituent elements such as legal principles, institutions and products. The module is a practical approach to the workings of the present Islamic financial & social practices in the banking industry and faith based organizations. This module encourage you to understand the connection between the theory of Islamic finance and the real world applications of the Islamic banking and faith based organization practices.
All core modules are guaranteed to run. Optional modules will vary from year to year and the published list is indicative only.
Professional Placement Year
In order to qualify for the award of MSc International Finance with Professional Placement, a student must successfully complete 180 credits of the Level 7 modules listed above as well as the following Level 6 module:
Professional Placement 60 credits
This module is designed to provide you with the opportunity to undertake a credit bearing, 20-week Professional Placement as an integral part of your Master’s Degree. The purpose of the Professional Placement is to improve your employability skills which will, through the placement experience, allow you to evidence your professional skills, attitudes and behaviours at the point of entry to the postgraduate job market. Furthermore, by completing the Professional Placement, you will be able to develop and enhance your understanding of the professional work environment, relevant to your chosen field of study, and reflect critically on your own professional skills development within the workplace.
Download course specification
Download now
