Ask an expert in accounting, finance, banking and investment

Stirling Management School’s Masters degrees equip students with the skills for a variety of careers in the financial sector. Many of these are professionally accredited.

Professor David McMillan delves a little deeper into the benefits of studying at Stirling and answers some of your top questions.

David Mcmillan

Professor David McMillan

David McMillan joined the University as a  professor of Finance in 2011 and is Head of the Accounting and Finance Division at Stirling Management School. David’s research focuses on modelling asset returns and linkages between asset prices and the wider economy, with relevance to macroeconomic policy. He’s also a Senior and Associate Editor for several internationally respected journals, including Cogent Economics and Finance and the European Journal of Finance.

What is the Amplify Trading Boot Camp?

"This is an award-winning initiative that is an integral part of all of our finance-related degrees. It enables students to trade in a simulated environment across a range of futures contracts quoted on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME). It is delivered over one week by Amplify Trading, a London-based proprietary trading firm.

The Amplify Trading Boot Camp benefits our students by enabling them to experience real-time financial market trading using virtual money, which bridges the gap between academic understanding and real-world behaviour. Students experience the exhilaration of making money, and the pain of losing it, without actually putting any money at risk. They also take away a Certificate of Participation, which can be used to demonstrate their experience to employers."

What is the CFA Institute Research Challenge?

“The Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Institute Research Challenge is considered to be the ‘investment Olympics’ for students and requires participants to assume the role of an Investment Analyst to produce a detailed equity research report on a publicly traded company, with a buy, hold or sell recommendation. These reports are then graded by professional investment analysts, with the best teams invited to the local final where they give a presentation and answer questions on their findings in front of a panel of industry experts.

The record of MSc Investment Analysis students in reaching the UK Final in 10 out of 12 years is unrivalled among UK Affiliation Partner universities."

Several courses within the Stirling Management School are ‘accredited’. What does this mean?

“Accreditation with a professional body signals to employers the relevance of course content for the world of work. Our Program Partner status with the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Institute means that we are required to cover at least 70 percent of the CFA curriculum on the MSc Investment Analysis. Students are given a solid platform to go on and become CFA Charter holders, the ‘gold standard’ qualification in the industry.

Our accreditation from the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) gives graduates of the MSc International Accounting and Finance automatic exemption from four ACCA papers, and exemptions from two further papers if particular spring semester options are studied.

Courses accredited by the Chartered Banker Institute offer graduates of the MSc Digital Banking and Finance credit against the Chartered Banker qualification and the opportunity to apply for Associate membership of the Institute.”

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Postgraduate admissions

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