MA (Hons) Business and Finance

Course content

Year 1

Semester 1

• Introduction to Accounting
• Management in a Global Context
• Introductory Economics
• Elective (Year 1)

Semester 2

• Introduction to Finance
• Enterprise and its Business Environment
• The Economy
• Elective (Year 1)

Year 2

Semester 1

• Financial Markets Theory
• Quantitative Methods
• Elective (Year 2)
• Elective (Year 1 or 2)

Semester 2

• Corporate Financial Theory
• Organisational Behaviour
• Statistical Techniques
• Elective (Year 1 or 2)

Year 3

Semester 1

• International Bond & Currency Markets
• Mergers & Acquisitions
• Option (Year 3)
• Option (Year 3)

Semester 2

• Financial Derivatives
• Managing Corporate Value
• Strategic Management
• Option (Year 3)

Year 4

Semester 1

Choose at least one from each, and three in total from:

• Approved Year 4 Business Management options
• Approved Year 4 Finance options

Semester 2

Choose three from:

• Approved Year 4 Business Management options
• Approved Year 4 Finance options

Across both semesters

• Dissertation

Employability

Work and study

This is what our MA (Hons) Business and Finance students are doing six months after graduating:

• 77% are working
• 8% are studying
• 3% are working and studying.

Managerial/professional position

• 76% of those working are in a professional/managerial position six months after graduating.

Salary

• The average salary of students six months after graduating: £24000
• The average UK salary of students six months after graduating from a similar course: £21000

Jobs

These are the most common jobs students go into six months after graduating:

• Business and public service associate professionals
• Business, research and administrative professionals
• Managers, directors and senior officials

Entry requirements

Year 1

• Highers AAAB (over two sittings)
• A-Levels BBB
• Int. Baccalaureate 29 points
• BTEC DDM (Business/Accountancy/Finance preferred)
• HNC B in graded unit

Minimum entry requirements*

• Highers BBBC
• A-Levels BCC

* Minimum: under our Fair Access Policy, we will relax our standard entry requirements for some Scottish students depending on their circumstances. Our minimum requirements will apply if you:

• live in an area within the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation lowest 20% (SIMD20), or
• are care experienced.

We can also make exceptions for some Scottish students with grades above minimum but below standard. Read more about our Minimum and standard entry requirements

Year 2

Year 3

• HND AA in graded units (Accounting)

Additional information

• You must enter in year 1 to gain maximum exemptions from accountancy bodies such as ACCA and ICAS.
• If you do not see your qualifications here please contact us at studywithus@hw.ac.uk
• Please check that you meet our University-wide National 5/GCSE (or equivalent) English and Maths requirements.
• For all years, applications are welcomed from holders of non-school qualifications,  mature candidates and overseas students.

English language requirements

If English is not your first language, you will have to show us that your English is good enough to succeed on your course. Please refer to our English language requirements.

Fees

* 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. Find out more about tuition fees.

** European Union countries (not including England, Northern Ireland or Wales).

*** 'Rest of the UK' (RUK) students entering at Level 1 receive a fee waiver of one year's tuition fee. Normally this will be the final year, or a year during which students study abroad (either at a partnership institution, or at one of Heriot-Watt's overseas campuses).

Additional costs

You may incur additional costs in the course of your studies at Heriot-Watt over and above tuition fees in an academic year. Depending on your programme of study, these may include: protective equipment, field trips, professional memberships, studio fees, required course texts or other study resources.

Scholarships and bursaries

View our full range of undergraduate scholarships.