Finance
Entry requirements
A level
For entry to Year 2: ABB including at least one of the following: Accountancy, Business, Economics or Maths.
GCSE/National 4/National 5
It is also a requirement of every applicant to have English and Mathematics at a minimum of National 5 Grade C or GCSE Grade C or 4 (or equivalent)
International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme
For entry to Year 2: A total of 34 points including at least one of the following: Accountancy, Business, Economics, Maths at Higher Level 5.
Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)
in a relevant subject (Business/Accountancy/Finance preferred) for entry to Year 1. For entry to Year 2: DDM in relevant subject (Business/Accountancy/Finance preferred).
Scottish Advanced Higher
including at least one of the following: Accountancy, Business, Economics, Maths plus AABB at Higher for entry to Year 2.
Scottish HNC
HNC in a relevant subject with B in graded unit for entry to Year 1. For Year 2 entry: HNC Accounting with A in graded unit.
Scottish HND
For Year 2 entry: HND Accounting with BBB in graded units. For Year 3 entry: HND Accounting with AAA in graded units.
Scottish Higher
We will consider T Levels as suitable for entry to our degree programmes, however, certain subject requirements may be required for entry to specific programmes. Where this is not evident as part of the T Level studies, we may ask for additional qualifications.
UCAS Tariff
We've calculated how many Ucas points you'll need for this course.
About this course
MA (Hons) Finance at Heriot-Watt’s Edinburgh Business School is a degree with true industry focus that benefits from close links to Edinburgh’s financial sector, the second largest in the UK behind London.
This degree achieved 100% overall student satisfaction in National Study Survey 2019 (Unistats).
**An employable degree**
The Edinburgh Business School’s MA (Hons) Finance degree develops graduate employability in the financial sector in its broadest sense. Starting from an introductory level, you will go on to study specialist financial management courses which reflect the current thinking and practices in global financial services.
This degree is particularly suited to those seeking entry into careers in banking, investment management, financial analysis and financial management, both nationally and internationally.
You will study financial markets, statistical techniques, international bonds and currency markets, risk management, mergers and acquisitions and much more.
According to Unistats 2019, 90% of recent graduates were in work or further study 6 months after graduating from MA (Hons) Finance.
**Bloomberg Finance Lab**
Studying this degree, you will have the opportunity to enhance your employability skills in Heriot-Watt's state-of-the-art Bloomberg Trading Lab which opened on Edinburgh campus in 2018. With use of 16 industry-standard Bloomberg Trading Terminals integrated into our curriculum, students can learn financial analysis techniques with access to live financial data from global markets and international organisations.
**Accreditation**
Heriot-Watt University is accredited as a Bloomberg Experiential Learning Partner, recognising us as a leader in experiential learning in the area of finance.
Tuition fees
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The Uni
Edinburgh Campus
Accountancy and Finance
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.
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)
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.
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.
What about your long term prospects?
Looking further ahead, below is a rough guide for what graduates went on to earn.
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.
£21k
£27k
£32k
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.
Explore these similar courses...
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Course location and department:
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Teaching Excellence Framework (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?
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