Durham University
UCAS Code: 2C77 | Bachelor of Science (with Honours) - BSc (Hons)
Entry requirements
A level
Specific subjects excluded for entry: General Studies. A strong proficiency in Mathematics is required. If not taken as an A level, a grade 7 (or grade A) in Mathematics at GCSE is required. We welcome the Core Mathematics Qualification and accept a grade 5 minimum (or grade B) in lieu of our GCSE mathematics requirement.
Access to HE Diploma
60 credits in total with a minimum of 45 credits at level 3. At least 30 level 3 credits at Distinction and in addition at least 15 level 3 credits at a minimum of Merit. A strong proficiency in Mathematics is required. If Mathematics is not taken beyond GCSE, a grade 7, (or A) in GCSE Mathematics or equivalent, or Core Mathematics grade B is essential.
Cambridge International Pre-U Certificate - Principal
A strong proficiency in Mathematics is required. If not taken as an A level, a grade 7 (or grade A) in Mathematics at GCSE is required. We welcome the Core Mathematics Qualification and accept a grade 5 minimum (or grade B) in lieu of our GCSE mathematics requirement.
International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme
IB Diploma score – 36 with 665 in higher level subjects. If Mathematics is not taken at higher level, then it is required at standard level 5.
Leaving Certificate - Higher Level (Ireland) (first awarded in 2017)
including H2 in required subjects.
OCR Cambridge Technical Extended Diploma
A strong proficiency in Mathematics is required. If not taken as an A level, a grade 7 (or grade A) in Mathematics at GCSE is required. We welcome the Core Mathematics Qualification and accept a grade 5 minimum (or grade B) in lieu of our GCSE mathematics requirement.
Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)
A strong proficiency in Mathematics is required. If not taken as an A level, a grade 7 (or grade A) in Mathematics at GCSE is required. We welcome the Core Mathematics Qualification and accept a grade 5 minimum (or grade B) in lieu of our GCSE mathematics requirement.
Scottish Advanced Higher
A strong proficiency in Mathematics is required. If not taken as an A level, a grade 7 (or grade A) in Mathematics at GCSE is required. We welcome the Core Mathematics Qualification and accept a grade 5 minimum (or grade B) in lieu of our GCSE mathematics requirement.
Scottish Higher
In the absence of 3 Advanced Highers, where these are not offered by the applicant’s school, offers comprising of Advanced Highers and Highers or a number of Highers may be made on a case by case basis. A strong proficiency in Mathematics is required. If not taken as an A level, a grade 7 (or grade A) in Mathematics at GCSE is required. We welcome the Core Mathematics Qualification and accept a grade 5 minimum (or grade B) in lieu of our GCSE Mathematics requirement.
At Durham we welcome applications from students of outstanding achievement and potential from all educational backgrounds. We will consider applicants studying T level qualifications for entry to many of our courses. Where a course requires subject specific knowledge and this is not covered within the T level being studied, you may need to supplement your T level studies with a suitable qualification to meet this requirement, for example at A level. Where this is needed this will be clearly stated in our entry requirements. Detailed entry requirements can be found on individual course entries on our courses database.
UCAS Tariff
We've calculated how many Ucas points you'll need for this course.
About this course
As financial markets across the world grow more closely connected, this specialist degree develops the quantitative and analytical skills you’ll need to pursue a career in the financial services industry.
Learning from expert lecturers and guest speakers, the degree will give you a taste of real-world finance. We combine academic excellence, insightful research and exceptional global business connections, equipping you with the tools to become an innovative business thinker in your career and beyond.
Our flexible study programme puts you in control. The curriculum links academic theory with practical experience through a combination of modules that offer plenty of opportunities to tailor your studies as your interests evolve. You have the option to complete the course in three years, alternatively, you can add a placement year or spend a year abroad.
In the first year, you study the key fundamentals to examine and evaluate modern financial markets.
The second year will give you the skills to examine financial issues and institutions, markets and securities across global markets. You’ll also learn to interpret financial data and price financial securities.
The final year offers more flexibility. You can choose modules tailored to your interests and career aspirations. The dissertation, on a finance topic of your choice, makes up a third of your final year marks.
Modules
Year 1
Core modules:
Foundations of Finance introduces the key principles of corporate finance and their importance to firms. From bonds and stocks to capital structure and dividend policy, it provides you with a solid grounding in issues of finance as they relate to the business and financial markets.
Financial Accounting covers the basic concepts and techniques involved in financial accounting reports, including the preparation of basic financial statements.
Quantitative Methods 1 provides you with a rigorous introduction to the fundamental mathematical techniques you will need throughout your degree.
Quantitative Methods 2 introduces the analytical and statistical techniques widely used in finance and business.
Introduction to Financial Economics examines the basic principles of economics of microeconomics and macroeconmics in a financial context. The study of subjects like market structure, fiscal policy, stock market and economic growth will provide a solid foundation for modules in micro- and macroeconomics.
Global Financial Systems and Markets develops the knowledge of the operations of financial institutions within the global financial system and the products and services these institutions provide; the markets in which financial institutions operate and that facilitate the process of intermediation; and the purpose and scope of financial oversight and regulation.
In recent years, optional modules have included:
Ethics and Finance
Principles of Taxation
Assessment methods
Modules are assessed via a combination of examinations, written assignments and reports, projects and presentations.
The range of assessment methods is designed to assess your knowledge and understanding of the material, test your capacity to solve problems, enhance your written and oral communication skills, and assess your ability to relate your learning to real-world issues.
The 12,000-word dissertation makes up one-third of your final-year marks.
Tuition fees
Select where you currently live to see what you'll pay:
Extra funding
We're committed to supporting the best students irrespective of financial circumstances. https://www.durham.ac.uk/study/scholarships/
The Uni
Durham City
Durham University Business School
What students say
We've crunched the numbers to see if overall student satisfaction here is high, medium or low compared to students studying this subject(s) at other universities.
How do students rate their degree experience?
The stats below relate to the general subject area/s at this university, not this specific course. We show this where there isn’t enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.
Accounting
Teaching and learning
Assessment and feedback
Resources and organisation
Student voice
Who studies this subject and how do they get on?
Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)
Finance
Teaching and learning
Assessment and feedback
Resources and organisation
Student voice
Who studies this subject and how do they get on?
Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)
Economics
Teaching and learning
Assessment and feedback
Resources and organisation
Student voice
Who studies this subject and how do they get on?
Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)
After graduation
The stats in this section relate to the general subject area/s at this university – not this specific course. We show this where there isn't enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.
Accounting
What are graduates doing after six months?
This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.
Top job areas of graduates
You don't have to be an accountant if you take this degree, but over half of graduates take a look at the rewards on offer for accountancy trainees and go into the job. Many others go into other parts of the finance industry as advisors or book-keepers, and some go into management or marketing. London is very popular for accountancy graduates going into their first job, but it's also quite common to work in Scotland, with Glasgow a perennial hotbed of Scottish accountancy recruitment. If you want to find a job in finance as an accountancy graduates, recruitment agencies were particularly important last year, so try to get in touch with one as soon as you can to improve your chances.
Finance
What are graduates doing after six months?
This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.
Top job areas of graduates
Over 2,000 students graduated with a degree in finance in 2015, and a sign of the strength of the finance industry, numbers are on the up. Over half of finance graduates go into the finance industry, with accountancy and financial advice roles particularly popular. It's also quite common for finance graduates to go into jobs which require you to take more training and gain professional qualifications — finance graduates who take further study are more likely to be studying accountancy than finance. About a third of graduates start their careers in London - but Glasgow, Manchester and Birmingham are other popular locations for finance graduates to work.
Economics
What are graduates doing after six months?
This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.
Top job areas of graduates
This is a degree in demand, as business increasingly needs workers who can examine and explain complex data. And yet the number of economics graduates fell by nearly 10% last year, which means demand is even greater. As so many economic grads go into banking and finance, it's not surprising that over half of all 2015's economics graduates who did go into work were working in London. And don't think it's just the finance industry that's interested in these graduates - there's a significant number who enter the IT industry to work with data as analysts and consultants. It's quite common for economics graduates to go into jobs such as accountancy and management consultancy which may require you to take more training and gain professional qualifications - so don’t assume you won’t have to take any more exams once you leave uni. And the incentive to take them, of course, is better pay, which will be on top of an already healthy average starting salary of over £30,000 for graduates working in the capital.
What about your long term prospects?
Looking further ahead, below is a rough guide for what graduates went on to earn.
Accounting
The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.
£31k
£42k
£45k
Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.
Finance
The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.
£31k
£42k
£45k
Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.
Economics
The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.
£30k
£40k
£58k
Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.
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Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF):
We've received this information from the Department for Education, via Ucas. This is how the university as a whole has been rated for its quality of teaching: gold silver or bronze. Note, not all universities have taken part in the TEF.
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This information comes from the National Student Survey, an annual student survey of final-year students. You can use this to see how satisfied students studying this subject area at this university, are (not the individual course).
This is the percentage of final-year students at this university who were "definitely" or "mostly" satisfied with their course. We've analysed this figure against other universities so you can see whether this is high, medium or low.
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This information is from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), for undergraduate students only.
You can use this to get an idea of who you might share a lecture with and how they progressed in this subject, here. It's also worth comparing typical A-level subjects and grades students achieved with the current course entry requirements; similarities or differences here could indicate how flexible (or not) a university might be.
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Post-six month graduation stats:
This is from the Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education Survey, based on responses from graduates who studied the same subject area here.
It offers a snapshot of what grads went on to do six months later, what they were earning on average, and whether they felt their degree helped them obtain a 'graduate role'. We calculate a mean rating to indicate if this is high, medium or low compared to other universities.
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Graduate field commentary:
The Higher Education Careers Services Unit have provided some further context for all graduates in this subject area, including details that numbers alone might not show
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The Longitudinal Educational Outcomes dataset combines HRMC earnings data with student records from the Higher Education Statistics Agency.
While there are lots of factors at play when it comes to your future earnings, use this as a rough timeline of what graduates in this subject area were earning on average one, three and five years later. Can you see a steady increase in salary, or did grads need some experience under their belt before seeing a nice bump up in their pay packet?
Have a question about this info? Learn more here