BSc (Hons) Finance & Investment with Foundation Year

We are committed to your development as a skilled and inquiring student, ethically engaged with the world and its future, and aim to use a variety of methods and approaches tailored to your individual needs in order to achieve this. The modules in the first semester employ a mix of lectures, tutorials, and online material provided via our virtual learning environment (VLE), as well as student-centred workshops and learning exercises. This provides you with a wide range of differentiated activities, and plenty of regular 1:1 feedback and support throughout the first Semester. Building on this, teaching in the second semester uses also includes individual supervision specifically to support your ‘Individual Project’. Study on all these modules is supported by the Communication and Academic Skills for HE module. In this way, basic skills learned and developed in semester 1 are integrated and further developed in semester 2, with appropriate individualised support and scaffolding provided throughout. At the end of this process, you should be a more independent, self-confident learner ready to embark on degree level study at Level 4.

Our teaching team will share with you their expert knowledge, experience and research insights during stimulating lectures, seminars and practical workshops.

Teaching is structured to allow for flexibility, and blended learning is widely used to support both teaching, learning and student support. Your actual contact hours will depend on the optional modules you select. However, typically you will have around 12 hours of structured contact time per week. This may be in lectures, where the module leader delivers key material to you in a large group or seminars where you'll discuss and develop, in smaller groups, your understanding of topics covered in lectures. You may also experience workshops, which combine lectures and seminars when the class size is smaller. You'll also be supported by your personal academic tutor.

Between Years 2 and 3 you'll have the opportunity to gain work experience on a year-long placement with an external organisation. You’ll also have the opportunity to apply to study for a year in one of our partner institutions in North America as part of your degree.

You can opt to undertake a final year project that will be based on a live brief from a relevant industry.

When not attending lectures, seminars, workshops or other timetabled sessions, you'll continue learning through self-study. Typically, this involves reading journal articles and books, undertaking research in the library, working on projects, and preparing for coursework assignments/examinations, workshops and seminars.

Your lecturers will indicate specific readings and/or activities to complete before class. We will also provide reading lists for further study. Seminars are enriched when students have completed their independent reading, allowing everyone to interact with this learning and benefiting the whole group.

The Individual Study or Dissertation in your final year is a significant piece of independent research, where you may select a topic of special interest. You will be guided by a supervisor, but the main direction of the work will be decided by you.

Teaching is structured to allow for flexibility. Your actual contact hours will depend on the optional modules you select. However, typically you will have about 12 hours of structured contact time per week. For every hour of contact, you'll be expected to complete three hours of independent study.

You will be taught by academics at all stages of their careers, from postdoctoral researchers to professors, including others with extensive industry experience.

Every member of our teaching team is committed to innovative and engaging approaches to teaching, and members hold excellent teaching qualifications (Higher Education Academy accredited) and academic qualifications (PhDs in Finance, Economics or other related disciplines).

We are also research active, publishing our research in academic journals and books, engaging in work with academic and professional bodies.