Do you want to gain an understanding of how businesses make financial decisions? Would you like to study at a business school with highly respected finance and management academics, with some of Britain's most satisfied students?

Individuals who understand management and finance are in increasing demand by employers. This course is designed to give you career flexibility after graduation. We help you to develop the quantitative skills appropriate for the finance sector, as well as the qualitative, discursive skills appropriate for management and leadership, whether you seek to lead a finance team within an organisation, pursue a career as a financial analyst or use your business knowledge to work in any area of management. In your third year, you also have the option to undertake a paid work placement to develop your professional skills and further enhance your CV.

Our BSc Finance and Management degree teaches you about how businesses make financial decisions and study international financial markets. Your management modules also develop the necessary skills and knowledge to be an effective leader.

We use real-life examples to apply theory to practice and you regularly have access to our virtual trading floor. Here, you can learn how to use real-world Bloomberg data, information and analytics to make better business decisions and practise trading stocks.

You'll study topics including:

management, innovation and new technologies

organisational behaviour

business strategy

human resource management

corporate finance

financial management

portfolio analysis

financial modelling

risk management

financial markets and trading

Your first year introduces you to finance, management and accounting so you receive a fully-rounded business education. As your course progresses, you can tailor your studies to your career aspirations by choosing from a selection of optional modules.

In your final year, you have the opportunity to put your knowledge into practice by completing an in-depth, independent research project or dissertation. This gives you the chance to further develop vital employability skills in areas of research, time management and critical thinking.

The University of Essex is one of just three UK universities to have received Q-Step Affiliate status, including for our BSc Finance and Management, to support the way we develop the quantitative skills of our graduates.

This means we can provide work placement bursaries to develop your skills in evaluating numerical evidence, analysing data and designing research. We also offer the opportunity to follow a specialised degree path, where you graduate with enhanced quantitative skills. These are evidenced on your degree transcript, to help give you the competitive edge in the graduate job market.

Study abroad

The four-year version of this course enables you to study abroad during your third year. In all other areas, this version of the course remains identical to the standard three-year variant.

You can study abroad with one of our exchange partners in the United States, Europe, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Latin America, the Middle East, Hong Kong and Japan. In doing so, you experience other cultures and languages, meet new people, and gain intercultural skills that are sought-after by employers.

Placement year

Alternatively, you may prefer to take on a placement during your third year to gain relevant work experience within an external organisation. A placement can provide you with valuable experience to add to your CV.