Key information
One of the UK's most established Investment Management MSc programmes, this CFA-accredited degree provides access to the expertise of leading finance academics and senior investment professionals, and hands-on experience with Bloomberg Trading Terminals.
- Level
- Postgraduate Taught
- Delivery type
- Full Time, Part Time
- Degree qualification
- MSc
- Mode of delivery
- On-Campus
- Duration
- 1 year
- Location
- Edinburgh
- Start date
- September
Our MSc Investment Management programme allows you to develop specialist expertise to help you transition into professional and managerial careers in investment analysis and management, in the public and private sectors. The programme has been developed to cover many aspects of the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Institute examination syllabus, positioning you well to obtain the Chartered Financial Analyst designation. This will make you highly sought after upon graduation, giving you access to opportunities in employment, further education, and research.
During the master’s programme, you’ll develop a systematic understanding and knowledge of investment management and gain a critical awareness of current issues within the academic discipline and professional practice. You’ll understand and evaluate a comprehensive range of research techniques used in investment management and how these are put into practice, to create and interpret knowledge. You’ll cover the core theories and concepts in finance and investment, including different approaches adopted in the formulation of finance and investment theory, specialised theories and models such as CAPM, APT and ARCH used in the analysis of financial markets, contemporary issues in investment management, and how institutional investors operate. You’ll learn how to follow complex lines of reasoning, expressed both verbally and algebraically, assess empirical and qualitative evidence, and assess alternative theories, explanations or points of view regarding a given investment question. Throughout the programme, you’ll develop critical thinking and analyses, as you evaluate investment management academic research, professional research and pronouncements and financial and business media articles.
Your learning will equip you with highly employable expertise across crucial areas of investment management. You’ll have the opportunity to choose four optional courses – from corporate finance, corporate governance and sustainability, financial analysis, international accounting standards, emerging financial markets, comparative financial reporting, derivatives, empirical financial modelling, and advanced valuation of financial markets – to customise your learning and develop your investment management interests. Your dissertation will allow you to build upon your expertise, by carrying out an original research project at the forefront of knowledge.
You’ll learn from staff at the forefront of research and practice in finance and investment management, with most members of the Centre for Finance & Investment (CFI) which unites Heriot-Watt’s finance and investment staff with senior practitioners from the local financial community. You’ll benefit from their industry knowledge and expertise and can discuss academic theories, and their limitations, and conduct practical applications. The Current Topics in Investment Management course allows you to hear from senior investment practitioners in their weekly guest lecturers, to gain insight and real-life perspectives into the investment industry.
Beyond investment management knowledge and skills, you’ll develop key transferable skills, including teamwork, communication, organisational and presentation skills to prepare you for lifelong learning and personal development.
As Edinburgh Business School at Heriot-Watt University is situated on the edge of Edinburgh, you’ll have excellent links to the financial sector of Scotland’s capital city, and the UK’s second-biggest financial and economic hub. Edinburgh is a major centre for fund management and is home to two of the world’s largest banks. You’ll also benefit from our close ties to the London Stock Exchange and Bloomberg, which can provide you with excellent industry-focused learning opportunities.
Your student experience
Your learning will be informed by the expertise of our research-active academics whose work covers four key areas:
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Employment, Work and the Professions
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Logistics and Sustainability
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Networks and Enterprise Excellence
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Social and Economic Data Analysis
Go Global
With Go Global, Heriot-Watt's global student programme, you can carry your studies to new places and experience new cultures, expanding your horizons on the way. You'll discover what it means to be a true global citizen and emerge prepared for wherever your career journey will take you.
Inter-Campus Transfer
Course content
September Intake - Edinburgh
Mandatory September
- Capital Markets
- Portfolio Management
Optional September
- Corporate Finance
- Corporate Governance and Sustainability
- Financial Analysis
- International Accounting Standards
Mandatory January
- Research Philosophy and Practice
- Current Topics in Investment Management
Optional January
- Emerging Financial Markets
- Comparative Financial Reporting
- Derivatives
- Empirical Financial Modelling
- Advanced Valuation of Financial Markets
Mandatory May
- Accounting, Banking or Finance Dissertation
Programme Video
MSc Investment Management
Fees and funding
Status | Full Time | Part Time |
---|---|---|
UK | £10,528 | £5,264 |
International | £21,192 | £10,596 |
- Status: Your residency status is usually defined as the country where you have been ordinarily resident for the three years before the start of your course.
- International: 'International' includes applicants from European Union countries who do not hold Pre-Settled or Settled status in UK. (This does not include students from the Republic of Ireland - see above).
Scholarships and bursaries
Postgraduate scholarships and bursaries
We aim to encourage well-qualified, ambitious students to study with us and we offer a wide variety of scholarships and bursaries to achieve this. Over £6 million worth of opportunities are available in fee and stipend scholarships, and more than 400 students benefit from this support.
Entry requirements
We have standard entry requirements for all of our courses that you will have to meet.
A minimum of honours degree at 2:2 or non-UK equivalent in a relevant subject such as Economics, Accountancy, Finance, Business Management, or an unrelated degree demonstrating numerical ability.
Why Heriot-Watt
We're the top university in Scotland for graduate outcomes which means that more of our graduates are employed or in postgraduate education than any other institution in the country and we ranked 5th in the UK.
We're also rated number one in the UK for CEO or MD roles, meaning more of our graduates go on to become CEOs or MDs than any other university in the whole of the UK. On top of that, we have beautiful campuses, across the globe, so you'll get a truly international education. Our Edinburgh Campus is home to Oriam, Scotland's National Sports Performance Centre combined with plenty of wellbeing resources, prioritising fitness and mental health for all students. Our Global Research Institutes look at solving real world issues such as climate change and saving our oceans as well as working on the next medical technological breakthrough and the future of AI and robots.
Student life
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