Program Overview

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If you want to explore how big data streams influence financial and statistical modelling on a daily basis and gain an understanding on how data from social networks and search engine analytics can change how an investment matures, MSc Finance and Data Analytics is for you. The finance and investments sector needs practitioners who have a fundamental understanding of financial markets who can also apply statistical modelling in the context of the growing, and increasingly complex, data available to financial firms. This course is perfect for those with an interest in big data and data analysis who want to work in specialist roles within the finance and investments sector. MSc Finance and Data Analytics prepares you for the financial services industry by equipping you with the quantitative, statistical and technical skills needed in a world powered by big data. You master areas including:

• big data
• portfolio analysis
• financial modelling
• data analytics
• trading global markets

The University of Essex is uniquely placed to offer a Masters in Finance and Data Analytics. The University is home to the ESRC Business and Local Government Data Research Centre , which helps local authorities and businesses across the UK to leverage data more effectively, as well as the UK Data Service who provide access to quality economic and social data to organisations across the UK. Studying MSc Finance and Data Analytics at Essex Business School , where this course is taught, means that you have access to some of the most unique financial research in the UK, supported by these two large big data centres of excellence. Our virtual trading floor ensures you gain practical experience of using industry-standard terminals and real-world business information. Discover our trading floor: Why we're great.

• Our Financial Market Labs give you access to market-leading Bloomberg business data so you can test your financial models.
• The perfect course if you have an interest in big data and data analysis and want to work in specialist roles within the finance and investment sector.
• Hear from guest speakers from industry to advance your professional knowledge.

Our expert staff

Finance research at Essex Business School is world-leading in a number of areas, including:

• banking
• corporate finance
• behavioural finance
• financial econometrics
• forecasting
• commodities markets

Our expert finance researchers work alongside the financial industry, regulators and policy-makers both in the UK (for example at the Royal Bank of Scotland and the Bank of England) and internationally (such as the European Central Bank, the Federal Reserve and the Bank for International Settlements). This ensures their research is having a genuine impact on people’s everyday lives. You’ll be taught by this team of experts, including Dr Thanos Verousis . Thanos is a Reader in Finance at Essex Business School and specialises in the study of financial markets and market microstructure with a particular focus on understanding investor behaviour in the context of exchange market structures. His work has appeared in journals such as the Journal of Banking and Finance, the Journal of Futures Markets and the Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money. He has received funding from a large UK bank and the ESRC and has acted as an expert witness in a legal case on financial regulation. Thanos makes extensive use of his industry connections to invite a range of guest speakers into his modules; he recently published two blog posts outlining why this is such a beneficial approach for his students:

• Bringing industry experts into the online classroom .
• Why guest speakers make a positive contribution to student motivation and employability .

All our finance researchers are members of the Essex Finance Centre (EFiC) , our research centre that promotes internationally renowned, high-quality academic research in areas such as asset pricing, banking, behavioural finance and financial modelling. Finance academics are also members of the Essex Centre for Macro and Financial Econometrics , our interdisciplinary research centre established in partnership with the world-class Economics Department at Essex. The Centre aims to conduct and publish world-leading research in macro and financial econometrics. The Centres run regular seminars that are open to all postgraduate students and which offer an opportunity for you to hear the very latest research and developments in the finance sector.

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Specialist facilities

MSc Finance and Data Analytics is based at our Colchester Campus . You’ll be studying at Essex Business School , home to the first zero carbon business school in the UK – demonstrating our sustainable approach to business first-hand. Set around a lush winter garden, with shared spaces to encourage collaborative working, you’ll find a wealth of inspiring teaching and study zones:

• a virtual trading floor with Bloomberg Financial Market Labs, where you’ll gain hands-on experience and learn how to model financial data in a practical setting
• learn in modern lecture theatres with ‘listen again’ recording to aid your study
• dynamic blended learning provision for uninterrupted study and engaging online lectures with virtual guest speakers
• utilise study booths in our winter garden and versatile break out areas for group working throughout the building
• study skills support provided by the Essex Business School Learning Team
• networking opportunities with visiting businesses and careers events
• Bonds café and adjacent foyer to enjoy on-site fresh food and drink

You'll also benefit from fantastic University facilities located close by, including our state-of-the-art Silberrad Student Centre, complete with an open-access 24-hour Learning Hub and a cutting-edge media centre. You benefit from access to a wide range of specialised banking and finance databases, textbooks and e-books and can book appointments with our subject librarian. Essex Business School students also have access to quantitative analysis software, such as MatLab, Stata and Eviews which can be accessed remotely and from all university computer labs. Our building is located on the Knowledge Gateway , home to some of the region’s most exciting enterprises in the science, technology and creative sectors. The Knowledge Gateway provides potential networking and career opportunities for students directly on campus.

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Your future

MSc Finance and Data Analytics provides you with the foundations for a rewarding career in finance and business analytics, equipping you with the skills to lead at a global level. Our graduates can analyse complex data and use this to make effective business decisions. Many work for global employers and dynamic SMEs in financial analysis, management, public administration and accountancy, such as:

• KPMG
• Grant Thornton LLP
• Inter-American Development Bank
• European Central Bank
• HP, hardware company
• Groupon, a global e-commerce marketplace
• Capital Markets Intelligence, a financial publisher
• Credit Data Research, a business funder

Our Student Support team work closely with the University’s Employability and Careers service to help you with careers information and advice and CV support. They will help you find work experience, internships, placements and voluntary opportunities and provide access to employer talks on campus. We also work closely with the Essex Startups team to support our budding entrepreneurs get their business ideas off the ground. “I decided to study at Essex Business School because of the data analytics part of the course. I wanted to learn how to invest and the best way to price assets, but I also wanted to learn ways of harnessing modern big data in finance and using it to make it work for me. Big data is the new kid on the block and MSc Finance and Data Analytics taught me ways of befriending and handling this kid. Not only did we learn theory, but we also got the chance to get into a lab and learn everything first-hand. The Bloomberg suite located in the business school gave me first-hand experience of how trading in the real world looks and we also learnt different programming languages that taught us how to handle finance data and get information out of it. I still make use of everything I learnt whilst at Essex even today.” Laone Maphane, MSc Finance and Data Analytics (2020)