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Finance and Business (with a professional placement year)

Entry requirements


A level

B,B,B-A,B,B

You must have GCSE (or equivalent) Mathematics, with at least grade 6 (or grade B). We will also consider applicants with grade 5 in Maths if you are taking A-level Accounting, Business, Chemistry, Economics, Maths, Physics, Psychology or an LIBF Diploma in Financial Studies or Level 3 Certificate in Core Maths (grade B). AAT accounting qualifications can be used as an alternative to the grade 6 GCSE Maths requirement. You should also have a broad range of GCSEs grade 9-4 (A*-C), including good grades in relevant subjects.

Pass Diploma with at least 39 level 3 credits at Merit or above including 21-24 credits at Distinction. The Access to HE Diploma would preferably be in Business Studies or include a Business pathway. You must have GCSE (or equivalent) Mathematics, with at least grade 6 (or grade B). AAT accounting qualifications can be used as an alternative to the grade 6 GCSE Maths requirement.

We take the EPQ into account when considering your application and it can be useful in the summer when your results are released if you have narrowly missed the conditions of your offer. We do not routinely include the EPQ in the conditions of your offer but we sometimes offer alternative conditions that include the EPQ. If you wish to discuss this further please contact Admissions at [email protected]

International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme

30-32

This score should be from the full IB Diploma.

Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)

DDD-DDM

The BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma would normally be in Business. You must have GCSE (or equivalent) Mathematics, with at least grade 6 (or grade B). AAT accounting qualifications can be used as an alternative to the grade 6 GCSE Maths requirement. You should also have a broad range of GCSEs grade 9-4 (A*-C), including good grades in relevant subjects.

Scottish Higher

A,B,B,B,B-A,A,B,B,B


You will need Scottish National 5 in Mathematics at grade B. If you are taking Advanced Highers we would normally expect you to have at least BBB.

T Level

D

including grade B in the Core Component. The T Level would normal be in Accounting, Finance, Management and Administration, Digital Business Services, Digital Support Services, Digital Production, Design and Development, Science, Design and Development for Engineering and Manufacturing. You must have GCSE (or equivalent) Mathematics, with at least grade 6 (or grade B). We will also consider applicants with grade 5 in Maths if you are taking A-level Accounting, Business, Chemistry, Economics, Maths, Physics, Psychology, an LIBF Diploma in Financial Studies or Level 3 Certificate in Core Maths (grade B). AAT accounting qualifications can be used as an alternative to the grade 6 GCSE Maths requirement. You should also have a broad range of GCSEs grade 9-4 (A*-C), including good grades in relevant subjects.

UCAS Tariff

120-147

We've calculated how many Ucas points you'll need for this course.

About this course


Course option

4years

Full-time | 2024

Subjects

Business studies

Finance

**11th in the UK for Economics and Business (US News & World Report Best Global Universities 2023)**

**Top 15 in the UK for Business and Economics (The Times Higher Education World University Rankings by Subject 2023)**

**About the course**

On the Finance and Business BSc, you develop an in-depth understanding of modern financial markets alongside the essential management skills you'll need in your career. You study diverse aspects of finance, business and management, economics and accounting, gaining an essential understanding of the context within which business in conducted today. You also have the opportunity to apply for a year in industry where you can gain professional experience and put your knowledge into practice.

In Finance, you focus on corporate finance, financial institutions, markets, derivative products and banking. In Business, you cover the different aspects of the global business world, entrepreneurship, leadership and the processes of management. You also build your knowledge of analytical techniques to apply throughout your course, including statistics and mathematics for finance and economics.

While broadening your knowledge of finance and business, you can tailor your degree to suit your desired career path through a wide range of options including blockchain finance, cryptocurrency markets, entrepreneurship, global supply chain, law and ethics. You can also boost your employability with an option to study abroad or apply for a professional placement year.

**Professional partnership**

The Chartered Institute for Securities and Investment (CISI) provides official recognition of the Year 1 and Year 2 modules as strong preparation for selected CISI qualifications. You may also opt into CISI membership for career events, presentations and employability training.

**About Sussex**

Sussex graduates change the world. Our students become the leaders of the future, making discoveries, improving lives and changing things for the better.

Study with us to join a welcoming and inspiring community of staff and students from more than 140 countries.

**Location**

We shape the world from a fantastic campus on the UK’s beautiful south coast.

We are the only UK university surrounded by a national park, so you can step off campus to explore the hills and woodlands of the South Downs. The vibrant, colourful and creative seaside city of Brighton & Hove is just nine minutes away.

With Brighton voted the happiest city in England for students, (Student Living Survey, Sodexo, 2018) there can be few better places to study.

Tuition fees

Select where you currently live to see what you'll pay:

Channel Islands
£9,250
per year
England
£9,250
per year
EU
£21,500
per year
International
£21,500
per year
Northern Ireland
£9,250
per year
Republic of Ireland
£9,250
per year
Scotland
£9,250
per year
Wales
£9,250
per year

The Uni


Course location:

University of Sussex

Department:

Business and Management

Read full university profile

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.

81%
Business studies
81%
Finance

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.

Business studies

Teaching and learning

71%
Staff make the subject interesting
84%
Staff are good at explaining things
83%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
71%
Opportunities to apply what I've learned

Assessment and feedback

Feedback on work has been timely
Feedback on work has been helpful
Staff are contactable when needed
Good advice available when making study choices

Resources and organisation

81%
Library resources
88%
IT resources
87%
Course specific equipment and facilities
77%
Course is well organised and has run smoothly

Student voice

Staff value students' opinions
Feel part of a community on my course

Who studies this subject and how do they get on?

54%
UK students
46%
International students
66%
Male students
34%
Female students
74%
2:1 or above
8%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

B
B
C

Finance

Teaching and learning

72%
Staff make the subject interesting
86%
Staff are good at explaining things
80%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
79%
Opportunities to apply what I've learned

Assessment and feedback

Feedback on work has been timely
Feedback on work has been helpful
Staff are contactable when needed
Good advice available when making study choices

Resources and organisation

82%
Library resources
88%
IT resources
87%
Course specific equipment and facilities
74%
Course is well organised and has run smoothly

Student voice

Staff value students' opinions
Feel part of a community on my course

Who studies this subject and how do they get on?

49%
UK students
51%
International students
66%
Male students
34%
Female students
68%
2:1 or above
6%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

B
B
B

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.

Business studies

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.

£23,000
med
Average annual salary
99%
high
Employed or in further education
83%
high
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

22%
Business, finance and related associate professionals
22%
Sales, marketing and related associate professionals
17%
Business, research and administrative professionals

The number of business studies graduates fell significantly last year after a long period of increase. But there were still more than 14,000 degrees awarded and this is the third most popular subject for new graduates. Because so many graduates get business studies degrees, you can find them everywhere in the economy, and very few jobs are completely out of reach for a good business studies graduate. Around 40% go into jobs in finance, sales, recruitment, management (particularly retail) or marketing. There is also a small (but well paid) group who take their technical skills into computing and IT. Thousands of graduates from this subject go into professional jobs every year, and average starting salaries are above the average for all subjects and particularly healthy in London where they top £25k. Graduates with good degree grades in business studies are much more likely to get good jobs, so don’t be complacent, and keep a close eye on your grades.

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.

£24,000
high
Average annual salary
91%
low
Employed or in further education

Top job areas of graduates

42%
Business, finance and related associate professionals
22%
Business, research and administrative professionals
19%
Sales, marketing and related associate professionals

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.

Business studies

The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.

£23k

£23k

£29k

£29k

£43k

£43k

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.

£23k

£23k

£29k

£29k

£43k

£43k

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...

Higher entry requirements
City, University of London | Islington
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BSc (Hons) 3 Years Full-time 2024
UCAS Points: 144-159
Lower entry requirements
Coventry University | Coventry
Business and Finance
BSc (Hons) 3 Years Full-time 2024
UCAS Points: 104-150
Same University
University of Sussex | Brighton and Hove
Finance and Business
BSc (Hons) 3 Years Full-time 2024
UCAS Points: 120-147

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This is what the university has told Ucas about the criteria they expect applicants to satisfy; some may be compulsory, others may be preferable.

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This is the percentage of applicants to this course who received an offer last year, through Ucas.

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This is what the university has told Ucas about the course. Use it to get a quick idea about what makes it unique compared to similar courses, elsewhere.

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Course location and department:

This is what the university has told Ucas about the course. Use it to get a quick idea about what makes it unique compared to similar courses, elsewhere.

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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