Application deadline

Thursday 8 August 2024

Applicants should apply as early as possible to be eligible for certain scholarships and for international visa purposes.

“The best part of the programme is the combination it offers between teaching us useful technical financial skills and encouraging us to continuously challenge our views on current economic debates. The Masters Extra (MX) programme invites a number of executives, entrepreneurs and other employees from different business fields worldwide to talk to Masters students in Management about our careers. It definitely widened my horizon to the abundance of different career paths and firms that are out there.”

Anna-Lena
- Ravensburg, Germany

Entry requirements

A good 2.1 undergraduate Honours degree in business, economics, finance or a related subject from the UK or the equivalent international qualification. The University also considers applicants who have majored in another subject but have a business or finance minor. Applicants with business experience are welcome, and work experience may be taken into account in the evaluation of applications.
If you studied your first degree outside the UK, see the international entry requirements.
English language proficiency. See English language tests and qualifications.

The qualifications listed are indicative minimum requirements for entry. Some academic Schools will ask applicants to achieve significantly higher marks than the minimum. Obtaining the listed entry requirements will not guarantee you a place, as the University considers all aspects of every application including, where applicable, the writing sample, personal statement, and supporting documents.

Application requirements

CV
personal statement explaining why you have chosen the programme, why this subject is important to you and why you have applied to study at the University of St Andrews in particular (500 words)
one original signed academic reference
academic transcripts and degree certificates.

For more guidance, see supporting documents and references for postgraduate taught programmes.

English language proficiency

If English is not your first language, you may need to provide an English language test score to evidence your English language ability. See approved English language tests and scores for this course.

Course details

The Masters in Finance and Management is a one-year taught course run by the Business School.

Highlights

The course provides a strong foundation in the principles and practice of finance within organisations.
Students will explore the complexities of international corporations, financial markets and investment management.
This programme is currently accredited by the Chartered Banker Institute. Successful completion of this programme provides an accelerated pathway to Chartered Banker Status. (Students wishing to attain the accelerated pathway to Chartered Banker Status are required to choose MN5604 'Financial Systems' as their optional module.)

Modules

The modules published below are examples of what has been taught in previous academic years and may be subject to change before you start your programme. For more details of each module, including weekly contact hours, teaching methods and assessment, please see the module catalogue.

Typically, each module consists of three to five contact hours per week including lectures, seminars and tutorials. Assessment is either entirely by coursework or through a combination of class tests, coursework and an end-of-semester examination.

Corporate Financial Management: provides an introduction to modern theories of financial management and shows how to apply the theory to realistic financial decision problems.
Applied Financial Econometrics: develops students' ability to undertake quantitative research by equipping them with econometric tools and techniques to analyse and interpret financial data. 
Advanced Corporate Finance: focuses on empirical and theoretical issues that arise in modern corporate finance.
Investments and Portfolio Management: covers concepts such as valuation, efficient diversification and predictability of asset returns. The module contains a balance between theoretical models and their practical applications.

Exciting new developments to this programme are under consideration. This page will be updated as soon as the approvals are in place.

Students choose two optional modules, taking one in each semester.

Here is a sample of optional modules that may be offered.

Behavioural Finance
Entrepreneurship and Business Development
Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Creativity
International Financial Management
International Marketing
Leadership in Organisations
Managing People in Global Markets
Marketing and Society
Managing Non-governmental Organisations
Risk Management
Scenario Thinking and Strategy
Financial Systems (required for the accelerated route to Chartered Banker Status).

Optional modules are subject to change each year and require a minimum number of participants to be offered; some may only allow limited numbers of students (see the University's position on curriculum development).

Students attend lectures throughout Semesters 1 and 2 to prepare them for conducting the research portion of the dissertation. The dissertation is normally on a specific area of finance and management; however you will have the freedom to develop a topic of your own, which is of interest to you and will contribute towards career development or further study goals.

Students are assigned a supervisor based on a research proposal submitted in the second semester. They will then research and write a 15,000-word dissertation over the summer to be submitted on a date specified in August.

If students choose not to complete the dissertation requirement for their Masters degree (MSc), there are exit awards available that allow suitably qualified candidates to receive a Postgraduate Diploma. By choosing an exit award, you will finish your degree at the end of the second semester of study and receive a PGDip instead of a MSc.

The taught elements of the programme are delivered using a range of methods including lectures, small group tutorials, workshops and seminars.

The average lecture size is 50 students; however, in some cases, there will be seminars of 15 to 18 students or larger lectures with up to 100 students, which would normally be augmented by small-group tutorials.

From June to August, students undertake a research project culminating in a written dissertation of 15,000 words.

You will attend a weekly series of lectures and workshops focusing on research methods and other topics to provide support and help prepare you for the dissertation.

Assessment comprises a combination of coursework and examinations.

Events

Events and guest lectures begin in Orientation Week and run throughout the year, providing students and staff with opportunities to socialise, and to engage with visiting scholars, professionals and practitioners.

The Management Society, a student-led organisation, hosts a broad range of activities, both subject-related and social. The University also has a number of other student societies relating to the management discipline.

Masters Extra (MX) Programme

The Masters Extra (MX) Programme of events focuses on careers and personal and professional development and is designed specifically for taught masters students in the School of Management. The series of talks, workshops, networking opportunities and activities includes guest lectures from entrepreneurs, experienced managers and leading researchers.

Fees

Home
£14,140

Overseas
£29,950

More information on tuition fees can be found on the postgraduate fees and funding page.

Funding and scholarships

The University of St Andrews is committed to attracting the very best students, regardless of financial circumstances.

Jane M Klausman Women in Business Scholarship

For women pursuing a business or business-related degree.

Taught postgraduate scholarships Postgraduate loans

After your degree

Careers

Alumni from the Finance and Management programme, and more generally from other Masters programmes in the School of Management, have secured employment in the fields of management consultancy, accountancy, investment analysis, investment banking, commercial banking, fund administration and other aspects of the financial services industry.

Graduates from the Masters in Finance and Management have taken up roles in a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sector including:

Bain and Company
Barclay's Capital
Blackrock Global Investment Management
Bloomberg
Credit Suisse Group
HSBC
IBM
Morgan Stanley
Nomura Bank
Procter and Gamble.

The Careers Centre offers one-to-one advice to all students as well as a programme of events to assist students in building their employability skills.

Further study

Many Management graduates continue their education by enrolling in PhD programmes at St Andrews or elsewhere.

ESRC Scottish Graduate School of Social Science

Fully funded awards for PhD students in the School of Management.

Management PhD studentships

The School of Management often offers PhD studentships comprising a stipend at RCUK level and a fee waiver at home and EU level.

Postgraduate research

What to do next

Online information events

Join us for one of our information events where you can find out about different levels of study and specific courses we run. There are also sessions available for parents and college counsellors.

Postgraduate online visiting days

We encourage all students who are thinking of applying to the University to attend one of our online visiting days.

Contact us

Phone: +44 (0)1334 46 2200
Email: pgmgmt@st-andrews.ac.uk
Address: Department of Management (Business School)
The Gateway
North Haugh
St Andrews
KY16 9RJ

Department of Management (Business School) website

Finance and Management (MSc) 2024 entry