MSc Banking and Finance
This accredited Masters course gives you the knowledge and analytical skills you’ll need for a successful career in banking and finance.
Key facts
- Award Masters / MSc, Postgraduate Diploma, Postgraduate Certificate
- Start date September 2021, January 2022
- Duration MSc full-time: 12 months
- Mode of study Full-time, Campus based
Changes at Stirling
Find out about important changes including how you'll be taught, start dates and how we're making campus safer.
Overview
Our MSc Banking and Finance course is suitable for everyone, whether you already have related qualifications or experience, or want to change the direction of your career. The course helps you progress towards recognised professional qualifications that are accredited by the Chartered Banker Institute, making our course one of the few UK programmes to offer this level of recognition.
You will acquire the analytical skills and the critical knowledge and thinking required to begin or enhance your career in the banking and financial sector worldwide. You will develop an understanding of the concepts and methodologies of banking practice, an appreciation of the value and limitations of research, and a critical awareness of the current and potential problems facing the industry. You will also improve your ability to understand and compile economic reports, company accounts and financial forecasts.
We encourage students to reflect on the benefits of a more ethical approach to banking and finance. We ensure you’re aware of the importance of sustainability in financial decision making, and in particular how social and environmental risk factors affect financial performance.
Student Managed Investment Fund
Our students have established a Student Managed Investment Fund (SMIF), with support of our academics within the Accounting and Finance Division. The SMIF allows you to gain practical
Amplify Trading Boot Camp
The course also includes an innovative week-long global financial trading and training boot camp run by our partner Amplify. The Amplify Trading Boot Camp won the CFA Institute Innovative Delivery of Education (IDEA) global award; it gives you the chance to trade futures contracts on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. By letting you trade in real time, but with virtual money, the boot camp bridges the gap between an academic understanding of financial markets and how they function in practice.
Find out more about the Amplify Trading Boot Camp.
The University of Stirling Management School
At the University of Stirling Management School, the principle of responsible business, policy and practice is central to everything we do. This vision helps us to equip our students effectively with the skills to act as global citizens, capable of addressing the needs of society.
As a member of the Chartered Association for Business Schools, we have strong links with industry and were recently awarded the Small Business Charter for engagement with local and regional enterprise.
Course objectives
The overall objective of this course is to help you develop the knowledge and skills needed for a successful career in banking and finance, or a related field. A particular strength of our course is the focus on the practical application of key banking and finance concepts, financial reporting, risk management tools, and professional ethics in the banking industry.
You’ll develop a sound understanding of the different types of banking and financial systems that exist globally, including those in emerging countries and countries in transition. The course also covers theory, methodology and research techniques within the dissertation module.
Throughout this Masters course you’ll develop:
- A systematic understanding of key concepts and methods in banking and finance, such as operations and strategy, risk management tools and the regulatory framework for risk management, financial reporting and data analysis.
- Critical awareness of current problems and new insights in banking and finance.
- Practical understanding of the techniques of enquiry and research used in banking and finance, and how they are used to create and interpret knowledge.
- Conceptual understanding for evaluating current research and scholarship in banking and finance.
Preparing business leaders of the future
Postgraduate education at the University of Stirling Management School goes beyond text books and lecture rooms, we also focus on your personal and professional development.
Our unique Flying Start Leadership programme equips you with the awareness, knowledge and techniques essential for building a successful career. These range from practical skills, like effective public speaking, to developing ways to work under pressure in difficult situations such as conflict management.
Developing Real-World Experience
As part of our focus on enhancing your employability we offer an intensive trading Boot Camp. Delivered on campus in conjunction with industry training specialist Amplify, the course helps you to bridge the gap between academic theories of financial markets and the real world.
Professional accreditation
The Chartered Banker Institute recognises the relevance of the course and offers our graduates credit against its professional qualifications. Once you graduate, and as long as you pass our three CBI-accredited modules on your first attempt, you will be entitled to become an associate member of the Institute. If you decide then to work towards Chartered status you can follow an accelerated route. This fast-track means you only have to study two further modules (instead of the usual four) to attain the Chartered Banker status, a globally recognised, professional qualification.
Research overview
The University of Stirling Management School is rated among the top 25 in the UK for research impact, according to REF 2014. In Scotland, the School was ranked in the top five.
64% of our research outputs were classified as world-leading and internationally excellent in terms of their originality, significance and rigour. We were ranked 14th in the UK in terms of research impact with over 60% of our research impact judged to have outstanding reach and wide-ranging impact on the policies of public, private and governmental organisations.
The Economics Division at Stirling Management School is committed to the pursuit of excellence in both research and teaching. The Division is ranked in the top 10% of institutions in the UK and Europe by RePEc (Research Papers in Economics).
We have several prominent staff members within the School, including David Bell, Professor of Economics, and a renowned economics expert. He has recently been awarded a CBE in the New Year's Honours list for his services to economics and public policy.
Entry requirements
Course details
Fees and funding
After you graduate
What our students said

China
Read Huifeng's storyThe courses involved a lot of practical experience which allowed me to build in the theory I learnt, for example, the Trading and Financial Market Analysis training week that we participated in.
China
MSc Banking and Finance
Read Shengwei's storyDuring my studies here I have improved my academic knowledge, my English language skills and made new friends.
Vietnam
MSc Banking and Finance
Read Le's storyI think the University of Stirling Management School is a great place to study Banking and Finance.