Program Overview

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Introduction to the Finance BSc (Hons) Program

The Finance BSc (Hons) program at Birkbeck is designed to provide students with a core set of technically demanding, yet applications-oriented, skills in finance. This program equips students with essential skills and knowledge to enable them to compete successfully in a competitive jobs market.

Course Overview

Our BSc Finance is ideal for anyone whose ambition is to work in investment banks and other financial institutions, financial regulators, or economic consultancies, as well as those hoping to continue to graduate studies in finance. The program brings together research and teaching across economics and finance, mathematics, and statistics, creating significant interdisciplinary synergies.

Why Choose This Course?

• We have an excellent reputation for the quality of our teaching. Our academics are professional practitioners in the world of economics and finance who provide specialist advice and in-house training for government departments and City firms and banks, including the Treasury and Bank of England.
• Your tutors are actively working to extend the boundaries of knowledge. Many of our academics are recognized as world-class experts in their fields, and their research feeds directly into our teaching programs.

What You Will Learn

You will begin by attaining the IT, professional, and quantitative skills you need to be successful in this degree. You will gain knowledge of how financial institutions and markets work in the UK, alongside introductory accounting and economics. This will equip you with the skills required to read and understand financial journals or simple balance sheets. You will also have the opportunity to follow your career interests by taking modules from a range of options, such as portfolio management and behavioral economics and finance.

How You Will Learn

This BSc Finance is available for full- or part-time study and is taught through a combination of lectures, which provide you with foundational knowledge, and small-group tutorials, which offer you hands-on learning. The program has an evening timetable with classes taking place in the evening, so you can balance studies with work or other commitments.

Foundation Year

If you opt for the Foundation Year route, this will fully prepare you for undergraduate study. It is ideal if you are returning to study after a gap, or if you have not previously studied the relevant subjects, or if you didn't achieve the grades you need for a place on your chosen undergraduate degree.

Key Information and Modules

Finance BSc (Hons): 3 years full-time, on campus, starting October 2026

• Year of entry: October 2026
• Duration: Three years
• Full-time or part-time: Full-time
• Style of study: On campus
• UCAS code: N3N6
• Status: Fully Approved
• Awarding body: University of London
• Attendance: Two evenings a week, October to July

Finance BSc (Hons): 4 years part-time, on campus, starting October 2026

• Year of entry: October 2026
• Duration: Four years
• Full-time or part-time: Part-time
• Style of study: On campus
• Status: Fully Approved
• Awarding body: University of London
• Attendance: One to two evenings a week, October to July

Finance with Foundation year BSc (Hons): 4 years full-time, on campus, starting October 2026

• Year of entry: October 2026
• Duration: Four years
• Full-time or part-time: Full-time
• Style of study: On campus
• UCAS code: N3N7
• Status: Fully Approved
• Awarding body: University of London
• Attendance: Two evenings a week, October to July

Finance with Foundation year BSc (Hons): 6 years part-time, on campus, starting October 2026

• Year of entry: October 2026
• Duration: Six years
• Full-time or part-time: Part-time
• Style of study: On campus
• Status: Fully Approved
• Awarding body: University of London
• Attendance: One to two evenings a week, October to July

Highlights

• Our BSc Finance is ideal for anyone whose ambition is to work in investment banks and other financial institutions, financial regulators, or economic consultancies, as well as those hoping to continue to graduate studies in finance.
• Goldman Sachs and Birkbeck Diversity Scholarships are available for this course for students from Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic (BAME) backgrounds.
• We bring together research and teaching across economics and finance, mathematics, and statistics, which creates significant interdisciplinary synergies.
• Birkbeck was ranked in the top 25 universities in the UK for its Economics and Econometrics research in the 2021 Research Excellence Framework.

Entry Requirements

We welcome applicants without traditional entry qualifications as we base decisions on our own assessment of qualifications, knowledge, and previous work experience. We may waive formal entry requirements based on judgment of academic potential.

UCAS Tariff Points

• 3 years full-time: 120 points (A-levels BBB - A-level mathematics preferred)
• 4 years full-time with Foundation Year: 48 points

GCSEs

Applicants to the Foundation Year routes should have GCSE grade C or 4, or equivalent, in English and mathematics.

Foundation Year Degrees

Our 'with Foundation Year' route is designed to give you extra support as it provides you with an additional year (full-time) or two years (part-time) of supported study. This is an ideal route if you are returning to study after a gap, or if you have not previously studied this subject, or if you did not achieve the grades you need for a place on this degree.

Alternative Entry Routes

Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma: DDM

English Language Requirements

If English is not your first language or you have not previously studied in English, our usual requirement is the equivalent of an International English Language Testing System (IELTS Academic Test) score of 6.5, with not less than 6.0 in each of the sub-tests. We also accept other English language tests.

Fees

Finance BSc (Hons): 4 years part-time, on campus, starting in academic year 202627

• Part-time home students: Ł7,335 per year
• Part-time international students: Ł13,875 per year

Finance BSc (Hons): 3 years full-time, on campus, starting in academic year 202627

• Full-time home students: Ł9,790 per year
• Full-time international students: Ł18,500 per year

Finance with Foundation year BSc (Hons): 4 years full-time, on campus, starting in academic year 202627

• Full-time home students, Year 1: Ł5,760 per year
• Full-time international students, Year 1: Ł18,500 per year
• Full-time home students, Year 2+: Ł9,790 per year
• Full-time international students, Year 2+: Ł18,500 per year

Finance with Foundation year BSc (Hons): 6 years part-time, on campus, starting in academic year 202627

• Part-time home students, Year 1&2: Ł2,880 per year
• Part-time international students, Year 1&2: Ł9,250 per year
• Part-time home students, Year 3+: Ł7,335 per year
• Part-time international students, Year 3+: Ł13,875 per year

Teaching

At Birkbeck, most of our courses are taught in the evening, and all of our teaching is designed to support students who are juggling evening study with work and other commitments. We actively encourage innovative and engaging ways of teaching, to ensure our students have the best learning experience.

Methods of Teaching on This Course

Lectures and problem-solving classes.

Teaching Hours

Our evening hours are normally between 6 pm and 9 pm (6-7.30 pm and 7.30-9 pm). Some programs also offer teaching during the day, and this will be clearly signposted to you where it is available.

Assessment

Assessment is an integral part of your university studies and usually consists of a combination of coursework and examinations, although this will vary from course to course - on some of our courses, assessment is entirely by coursework.

Methods of Assessment on This Course

Depending on the module: tests, assignments, project work, presentations, and usually examinations.

Careers and Employability

On graduating, you will have gained an array of important transferable skills, including:

• The ability to analyze data and evaluate trends
• The capacity to assess information critically and solve problems
• Effective communication of ideas, findings, and recommendations to diverse audiences

Our finance students go on to build successful careers with a variety of employers in a range of sectors, including:

• Government departments
• The Bank of England
• UK regulatory bodies
• Commercial banks
• Teaching

Some also progress their studies further at master's level.

Course Structure

Course Structure Listing

Course Structure and Modules for Finance BSc (Hons): 4 years part-time, on campus, starting October 2026

You must complete modules worth a total of 360 credits.

• Year 1: four compulsory modules
• Years 2 and 3: three compulsory modules in each year
• Year 4: two compulsory modules and one option module

Year 1 Compulsory Modules

• Introduction to Accounting
• Introduction to Economics
• Quantitative Techniques for Economics and Finance I
• Study Techniques

Year 2 Compulsory Modules

• Financial Institutions and Markets
• Microeconomic Theory and Policy
• Quantitative Techniques for Economics and Finance II

Year 3 Compulsory Modules

• Applied Statistics and Econometrics
• Financial Reporting
• Principles of Finance

Year 4 Compulsory Modules

• Corporate Finance
• Financial Markets

Indicative Option Modules

• Applied Statistics and Econometrics
• Behavioural Economics and Finance
• BSc Project
• Data Science for Economics and Finance
• Economics of Public Policy
• Issues in Development Economics
• Macroeconomics
• Microeconomics
• Political Economy
• Portfolio Management

Course Structure and Modules for Finance BSc (Hons): 3 years full-time, on campus, starting October 2026

You must complete modules worth a total of 360 credits.

• Year 1: five compulsory modules
• Year 2: four compulsory modules
• Year 3: three compulsory modules and one option module

Year 1 Compulsory Modules

• Financial Institutions and Markets
• Introduction to Accounting
• Introduction to Economics
• Quantitative Techniques for Economics and Finance I
• Study Techniques

Year 2 Compulsory Modules

• Financial Reporting
• Microeconomic Theory and Policy
• Principles of Finance
• Quantitative Techniques for Economics and Finance II

Year 3 Compulsory Modules

• Applied Statistics and Econometrics
• Corporate Finance
• Financial Markets

Indicative Option Modules

• Applied Statistics and Econometrics
• Behavioural Economics and Finance
• BSc Project
• Data Science for Economics and Finance
• Economics of Public Policy
• Issues in Development Economics
• Macroeconomics
• Microeconomics
• Political Economy
• Portfolio Management

Course Structure and Modules for Finance with Foundation year BSc (Hons): 4 years full-time, on campus, starting October 2026

For the Foundation Year, you undertake four compulsory modules to a total of 120 credits. If you successfully complete the year, you will automatically advance on to the three-year, full-time, evening study BSc Finance.

Foundation Year Core Modules

• Economic Principles (Foundation Year)
• Essential Maths and Data Analysis
• Fundamentals of Study
• Introduction to Management

Course Structure and Modules for Finance with Foundation year BSc (Hons): 6 years part-time, on campus, starting October 2026

Our part-time Foundation Year degrees allow you to spread out your Foundation Year studies over two years. As the 'Foundation Year' is made up of 120 credits, as a part-time student, you can take 60 credits in each of your first and second years before starting the main four-year BSc Finance. This means that you can take six years to complete the part-time degree with Foundation Year.

You take two core modules in each of Foundation Years 1 and 2. If you successfully complete these modules, you will automatically advance on to our four-year, part-time, evening study BSc Finance.

Foundation Year 1 Core Modules

• Fundamentals of Study
• Introduction to Management

Foundation Year 2 Core Modules

• Economic Principles (Foundation Year)
• Essential Maths and Data Analysis