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Business at UEA
Find out more about studying Business at UEA, and browse our other courses.
Find out moreMSc Banking and Finance with a Placement Year
Key details
- Attendance
- Full Time
- Award
- Degree of Master of Science
- Course Length
- 2 years
- Course Start Date
- January 2027
Course options
Other Start Dates
Gain a competitive edge with a placement year
This course is also available with an integrated placement year, giving you the opportunity to gain valuable UK industry experience alongside your master's degree
Other Start Dates
Top 20
UEA is ranked top 20 in the UK for Research Quality
UEA is ranked top 20 in the UK for Research QualityCourse Overview
Why MSc Banking and Finance with a Placement Year at UEA?
Build advanced analytical skills and professional insight for modern banking and global financial markets. Study in a research-active finance group while gaining hands-on experience with industry-standard financial tools.
Why Choose UEA
- Hands‑on analytics: Use platforms like Bloomberg and LSEG Workspace to develop essential skills
- Career‑focused: Gain real-world knowledge mapped to industry expectations and professional standards
- Flexible pathways: Shape your degree to your professional ambitions.
What is MSc Banking and Finance with a Placement Year?
Develop a strong understanding of banking, financial markets, and the tools that drive the global financial system. On this two-year course, you'll explore how financial institutions manage risk, allocate capital, and respond to changing economic conditions.
You'll gain practical experience analysing real market data using industry platforms such as Bloomberg and LSEG Workspace. You'll also deepen your understanding of corporate finance, investment analysis, and the regulatory frameworks shaping modern banking. During your second year, you'll complete a placement, developing your professional skills and expanding your industry network.
The course builds your ability to evaluate financial decisions, interpret market signals, and assess risk in commercial and investment contexts. You'll graduate with strong analytical skills and the professional awareness needed for roles across banking, financial services, and regulation.
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Placement Year
Boost your career prospects with an integrated placement year, where you'll gain valuable UK industry experience as part of your Master's degree.
In year one, you’ll complete your academic studies, including your dissertation, alongside an employability programme preparing you for UK work.
In year two, you’ll secure an industry placement or complete three employer-led industry projects with different UK organisations. This extra year lets you apply your learning professionally, strengthen your CV with UK experience, and boost your global career prospects.
You’ll lead the search for your placement, supported by employability workshops, coaching, and guidance from our specialist placement partner.
If a placement isn't available, you'll complete three employer-led industry projects with organisations across a range of UK sectors, gaining valuable professional experience.
Explore how a Postgraduate Placement Year(opens in a new window) can help you develop professional skills, gain industry experience and enhance your career prospects.
Accreditations
Our MSc Banking and Finance is designed to meet the highest professional standards and connects learning directly with banking and financial industry practice.
We’re proud to be an educational partner of the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment (CISI), the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII), and the CQF Institute – awarding body for the Certificate in Quantitative Finance (CQF).
Through these partnerships, you’ll gain access to specialist resources, professional insights, and pathways to globally recognised finance qualifications. This prepares you for success in banking, investment, and financial services worldwide.
Careers
Career Pathways
An MSc Banking and Finance can prepare you for a career as a:
- Commercial Banking Analyst: Support lending decisions, client relationships, and business banking services
- Investment Operations Associate: Help manage investment processes, transactions, and financial reporting
- Risk and Compliance Officer: Monitor risks and ensure organisations meet regulatory requirements
- Credit Analyst: Assess financial information to evaluate lending and investment decisions
- ESG and Sustainable Finance Analyst: Analyse environmental, social, and governance factors to support sustainable investment strategies
Career Support
You can apply each year for scholarships or discounted rates for CISI, CII, and CQF’s finance professional certifications. Through our FinTech Lab, you’ll also gain Bloomberg qualifications at no extra cost, including Bloomberg Market Concepts and ESG certificates. The course also provides ongoing career support through personal adviser sessions, Employability and Professional Skills Weeks, Career Central(opens in a new window) events, and networking opportunities. You'll have the chance to connect with industry professionals and organisations, including the Financial Industry Group and CISI, helping you build valuable contacts and career insight.
After the Course
You’ll graduate with the analytical, financial, and decision-making skills sought by employers across the financial services sector. Your understanding of ethical and responsible finance will help you stand out in a rapidly evolving industry. The course prepares you for careers in commercial and investment banking, financial consultancy, compliance, and risk management. With flexible study options, you can tailor your learning to your career goals and the changing demands of global financial institutions. You’ll also benefitfrom ongoing support from Career Central(opens in a new window) and have a strong foundation for further academic or professional study.
Study and Modules
Structure
You’ll develop a strong understanding of financial decision-making, exploring how financial institutions and businesses manage capital, respond to change and create sustainable strategies. You’ll examine the role of governance, innovation and sustainability in shaping financial practice, while developing analytical skills and a critical understanding of how organisations operate within wider economic and regulatory environments.
You’ll build expertise in banking operations and financial data analysis, working with real-world financial datasets to understand market trends and evaluate banking performance. You’ll develop practical skills in areas such as financial modelling, forecasting and financial services management, using industry-standard platforms and approaches aligned with global certification frameworks. Optional modules allow you to tailor your studies to your interests, with opportunities to explore areas including emerging technologies, taxation, strategic business management, marketing, foreign exchange markets, corporate reporting and digital business strategy.
You’ll apply your knowledge through a flexible final stage of study designed around your academic and career ambitions. Alongside a core module in investment and risk management, you can choose to complete a dissertation, undertake an industry-focused project (subject to availability), or study specialised taught modules. This flexibility allows you to develop research expertise, gain practical experience and explore key challenges facing organisations, including sustainability, project management and strategic decision-making in a global business environment.
You’ll also complete a year-long Employability Skills module to support your transition into the workplace and prepare you for your placement year. Through workshops, one-to-one coaching and online and in-person sessions, you’ll develop practical career skills including CV writing, interview techniques, LinkedIn and job applications. You’ll receive personalised support throughout your placement search and interview preparation. Successful completion of the module, including meeting attendance requirements, is required to progress to the placement year.
Compulsory Modules
Optional A Modules
(Credits: 20)Optional B Modules
(Credits: 40)Optional C Modules
(Credits: 20)Important Information
Whilst the University will make every effort to offer the modules listed, changes may sometimes be made arising from the annual monitoring, review and update of modules. Where this activity leads to significant (but not minor) changes to programmes and their constituent modules, the University will endeavour to consult with students and others. It is also possible that the University may not be able to offer a module for reasons outside of its control, such as the illness of a member of staff. In some cases optional modules can have limited places available and so you may be asked to make additional module choices in the event you do not gain a place on your first choice. Where this is the case, the University will inform students.
Structure
In your second year, you'll complete a placement, giving you the opportunity to gain professional experience in a role relevant to your discipline. You'll receive dedicated support throughout your placement search, alongside in-person workshops designed to help you reflect on your progress, strengthen your applications, and prepare for the recruitment process. If you don't secure a placement, you'll complete three employer-led industry projects with organisations across a range of UK sectors, ensuring you still gain valuable professional experience.
You'll complete a portfolio documenting your placement search and a reflective report on your placement or industry projects. Both are assessed on a pass/fail basis. This assessment gives you the opportunity to reflect on the skills you've developed, your understanding of the sector, and your future professional goals. By the end of the placement year, you'll have strengthened your CV, expanded your professional network, and built the confidence to take the next step in your career, whether in the UK or internationally.
Compulsory Modules
Important Information
Whilst the University will make every effort to offer the modules listed, changes may sometimes be made arising from the annual monitoring, review and update of modules. Where this activity leads to significant (but not minor) changes to programmes and their constituent modules, the University will endeavour to consult with students and others. It is also possible that the University may not be able to offer a module for reasons outside of its control, such as the illness of a member of staff. In some cases optional modules can have limited places available and so you may be asked to make additional module choices in the event you do not gain a place on your first choice. Where this is the case, the University will inform students.
Teaching and Learning, and Assessment
Teaching and Learning
You'll learn through lectures, seminars, workshops, and applied sessions that develop your understanding of banking operations and financial systems. Interactive learning includes access to Bloomberg Terminals, where you'll work with live market data and industry‑standard analytical tools.
Teaching draws on industry practice and academic insight, encouraging critical thinking about financial decision‑making, regulation, and responsible business. You'll work independently and in teams, developing leadership, communication, and problem‑solvingskills for a global financial environment. Class sizes typically range from 20 to 40 students, with smaller specialised modules providing tailored support and interaction. You can also join the UEA Finance and Investment Society, gaining practical experience through peer learning, networking, and student‑led fund management.
Assessment
Assessment on the MSc Banking and Finance programme reflects both professional practice and academic depth. You'll be assessed through written coursework, analytical reports, formal examinations and practical assignments involving financial data and banking decision-making scenarios. These methods are designed to develop your ability to apply theoretical concepts to real-world financial and regulatory challenges and communicate your analysis effectively. You'll receive formative feedback in most modules to support improvement before final assessments, with summative feedback provided in line with university guidelines.
Entry Requirements
- This course is open to
UK and International fee-paying students. Choose UK or International above to see relevant information. The entry point is in September each year.
- Typical UK Entry Requirements
Degree classification
Bachelors degree - 2.2
Degree Subject
Any subject area.
Please note that if you have studied business before at undergraduate or postgraduate level, we recommend you check the modules carefully to make sure that this course is right for you.
- Admissions Policy
Our Admissions Policy applies to the admissions of all postgraduate applicants.
- This course is open to
UK and International fee-paying students. Choose UK or International above to see relevant information. The entry point is in September each year.
- Typical International Entry Requirements
Degree classification
UK Bachelors degree - 2.2
Degree Subject
Any subject area.
Please note that if you have studied business before at undergraduate or postgraduate level, we recommend you check the modules carefully to make sure that this course is right for you.
- English Foreign Language
Applications from students whose first language is not English are welcome. We require evidence of proficiency in English (including writing, speaking, listening and reading):
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IELTS: 6.0 overall (minimum 5.5 in each component).
We also accept a number of other English language tests. Review our English Language Equivalencies(opens in a new window) for a list of example qualifications that we may accept to meet this requirement.
Test dates should be within two years of the course start date.
If you do not meet the English language requirements for this course, our UEA International Study Centre(opens in a new window) offers a variety of English language programmes which are designed to help you develop the required English skills.
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- UEA International Study Centre
If you do not meet the academic requirements for this course, you may be able to study the International Pre-Masters programme offered by our partner UEA International Study Centre. This programme guarantees progression to selected Master's degrees if students achieve the appropriate grade. For more details, please click here:
International Pre-Masters in Business, Economics and Social Sciences (opens in a new window)
- Admissions Policy
Our Admissions Policy applies to the admissions of all postgraduate applicants.
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Fees and Funding
Tuition fees for the Academic Year 2026/27 are:
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UK Students: £14,500
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International Students: £25,700
We estimate living expenses at £1,171 per month.
If you choose to take this course with a placement year, your tuition fees for the first year will be as shown above. An additional fee of £3,500 will apply for the placement year (see our FAQs page for further details).
Further Information on tuition fees can be found here(opens in a new window).
Course Related Costs
Please see additional course fees(opens in a new window) for details of course-related costs.
How to Apply
Applications for Postgraduate Taught programmes at the University of East Anglia should be made directly to the University.
To apply please use our online application form(opens in a new window).
Further information
If you would like to discuss your individual circumstances prior to applying, please do contact us:
Postgraduate Admissions Office
Tel: +44 (0)1603 591515
Email: admissions@uea.ac.uk(opens in a new window)
International candidates are also encouraged to access the International Students(opens in a new window) section of our website.