Degree Information:

The M.Sc. in Finance is a one-year Masters programme designed specifically for students who have just completed their undergraduate studies and who want to complete a full-time taught postgraduate programme in Finance.

The programme has two streams, namely

• Finance & Capital Markets
• Risk Management & Financial Engineering

Through these two streams and the choice of electives, it allows students to specialize in a manner that reflects their interests and career aspirations. It takes over from the highly regarded MSc in Finance and Capital Markets, with its eight year long impressive track record in forming highly equipped and successful graduates, and builds on it by adding the Risk Management and Financial Engineering Stream.

It is the ideal path for graduates of business and economics degrees who wish to undertake a career in Finance by obtaining a leading postgraduate qualification in Ireland. Through the appropriate choice of electives, it also caters for the learning needs of students who wish to explore the more quantitative aspects of finance, which receive special attention in the Risk Management & Financial Engineering stream, and therefore it also admits graduates holding degrees in disciplines such as engineering, physics and mathematics.

The M.Sc. in Finance is recognized by the Global Association of Risk Professionals (GARP) as an Academic Partner program, in acknowledgment of the high standard achieved in finance and risk education. The partnership recognizes the quality of alumni of the programme and their career progression, the market positioning of the programme nationally and internationally, the curriculum content and delivery system, including the availability of a specialized stream devoted to risk modeling and management, its balance between academic and professional dimensions, and the competence of the faculty who deliver the programme.

Aims and Objectives:

This one-year Masters programme is designed to produce the kind of professionals in greatest demand in the financial industry. It does so by fostering analytical and decision making skills and helping students build a set of rigorous competences in financial subjects. Our students will be exposed to first-class specialist education in financial subjects, develop their quantitative skills, and have the opportunity to learn the latest econometrics and data analysis techniques, which are becoming extremely important for a successful career in the financial industry.

More specifically:

• The Finance & Capital Markets stream is designed to equip graduates for challenging but rewarding careers at the forefront of the financial industry, especially in investment banking, asset management and corporate treasury management. It does so by fostering analytical and decision making skills and helping students build a set of rigorous competences in financial subjects. Students opting for this stream of the programme will be exposed to first-class specialist education in investment analysis and treasury and investment management;

• The newly introduced Risk Management & Financial Engineering stream is designed to produce graduates able to take on the demanding role of risk managers and to generate value for their firms by promoting and practicing a culture of risk-awareness and efficient risk-taking. This is a type of professional in great and fast growing demand in the financial industry. Students opting for this stream of the programme will be exposed to first-class specialist education in risk modelling and capital management, and to the latest thinking in enterprise-wide risk management. The structure and course content of this stream is designed to prepare graduates for the FRM (Financial Risk Manager) GARP examination.

Key aims of the overall programme are to:

• Help our students understand the functioning of capital markets and financial choices made by firms by exploring the latest thinking in financial economics, with special emphasis on portfolio theory, asset pricing, corporate finance;

• Develop our students' mastery of techniques and methods of analysis useful to solve financial problems, with special emphasis on the challenges faced in investment analysis and treasury and investment management (in the Finance & Capital Markets stream) and in the modelling and managing of risk (in the Risk Management & Financial Engineering stream).

Ultimately, the objective is to prepare graduates to become effective decision makers in the financial industry, equipping them for careers in financial markets and institutions and in the treasury function of corporations, as well as in regulatory bodies.

 

Programme Structure:

The M.Sc. in Finance is delivered on a one-year, full-time basis over two semesters and a summer term. Group and individual research projects will be undertaken as part of the year-long Research Methodology module and especially during the summer term.

The first semester is in common across the two streams. At the end of the first semester, with the help and advice of faculty, each student will decide whether to take the Finance & Capital Markets or the Risk Management & Financial Engineering stream.

The programme commences on Tuesday 18th September 2012.

The program structure is as follows:

Year-long
Quantitative Methods for Finance
Research Methodology & Project

Semester I
Econometrics
Financial Statement Analysis
Financial Economics
Portfolio Theory & Fund Management
Corporate Finance & Valuation
Securities & Investments

Semester II

View the subjects currently taught on this course (2012 - 2013)

• Restricted class size to ensure participation and teamwork.
• Excellent facilities, including a dedicated lecture room with a Bloomberg terminal, and access to Datastream and a wide range of cutting-edge "industry-grade" statistical and financial software.
• A wide choice of electives, ranging from modules with a substantial computing element (in R and Visual Basic) to those devoted to the latest developments in the world of finance for the green economy, such as carbon trading and whether derivatives.
• The competence of lecturers teaching on the programme, all highly research-active and with a substantial track record of International publications and/or industry experience.
• Close ties with the financial profession to ensure programme relevancy, e.g. the "Lessons from the Financial Trenches" series featuring guest-lectures delivered by senior finance professionals as well as Alumni who have distinguished themselves in the industry and academia
• Partnership with GARP (Global Association of Risk Professionals) and a specialism with a close alignment to the syllabus of their highly regarded Financial Risk Manager (FRM) examination.
• The GARP Chapter being established on Campus with its activities and resources for life-long learning for risk professionals and for the promotion of a culture of value-creation through effective risk management.
• A year-long Research Methodology module which will develop your research skills and project management and equip you to work in high-end consultancy, asset management and investment banking and/or pursue a Ph.D. in Finance.
• A year-long Quantitative Methods for Finance module that builds up your maths and computing skills and helps you succeed in the increasingly quantitative world of finance.

Career Prospects:

Career Prospects
This programme is designed to prepare ambitious students for the challenges and rewarding career opportunities in the financial services industry. It also provides the necessary tools for academic research at the subject's frontier. You will be equipped for a career in financial markets and institutions, especially in investment banking and asset management, or in treasury functions of corporations, as well as regulatory bodies and government offices dealing with the financial industry.

Recent graduates are employed by major financial institutions including UBS, Standard & Poor's, Royal Bank of Scotland, KPMG, PwC, Boston Scientific, Commerzbank, AIB, Bank of Ireland, Goodbody Stockbrokers, Bloxham Stockbrokers, Davy, Geneva Trading, Mercer, Nestlé, Citco Fund Services, Standard Life, BNY Mellon

Entry Requirements:

Candidates apply for admission to the M.Sc. in Finance (Common Entry) which provides a common pathway into two specialized streams. The two streams are Finance & Capital Markets and Risk Management & Financial Engineering and have the first semester in common. At the end of the first semester, with the help and advice of faculty, each student will choose which stream to take.

The minimum entry requirements for the programme are:

• A second class honours degree (or international equivalent) in a Business-releated discipline including Economics: OR
• An honours degree (or international equivalent) in a discipline, other than Business, which has a high analytical and quantitative content, such as Mathematics, Statistics, Computing or Engineering: OR
• An honours degree (or international equivalent) in any discipline *and* suitable evidence of high analytical and quantitative reasoning skills, as demonstrated by, for example, a GMAT, GRE score in the top 20% range or a high grade in leaving certificate maths

Special consideration will be given to applicants having obtained high grades in core Finance and Quantitative Methods modules in your programme.

If, as is normally the case, demand from qualified applicants exceeds available places, applicants will be ranked for admission purposes on the basis of prior academic performance. Candidates who have not received their degree results by the application closing date may receive conditional offers.

International Applications
International candidates are expected to have educational qualifications of a standard equivalent to those outlined above. In addition, where such candidates are non-native speakers of the English language they must satisfy the university of their competency in the English language. For further information on international applications click here.

Dates for Submission of Applications 2013

EU Applicants
Apply online through the Postgraduate Applications Centre (http://www.pac.ie/dcu) by 23rd August 2013.

Non-EU Applicants

Apply online through the Postgraduate Applications Centre (http://www.pac.ie/dcu) by 12th July 2013. Applicants who require a study visa for the purposes of gaining entry into Ireland are advised to apply as early as possible.

Applying through the Postgraduate Applications Centre (http://www.pac.ie/dcu)
When applying for this programme use the PAC code DC511.

Commencement of Programme

September 2013

Queries on completed applications to be emailed to registry.pac@dcu.ie

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Fee information

Indicative Timetable
(Weeks 20-31)