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FinTech and Financial Markets MSc

  • Level(s) of Study: Postgraduate taught
  • Start Date(s): September 2024
  • Duration: One year full-time
  • Study Mode(s): Full-time
  • Campus: City Campus
  • Entry Requirements:
    More information

Introduction:

Our MSc FinTech and Financial Markets degree is designed to provide you with an understanding of contemporary issues and conceptual frameworks used to adopt financial technology in organisations. You will build a solid foundation of global financial markets, principles of FinTech and Blockchain as well as coding and data analytics for finance and FinTech.

This course will enable you to become a finance professional who understands what is driving the FinTech evolution, with the ability to shape financial markets and transform ideas to create new FinTech products. The course will equip you with coding and data analytics skills to understand FinTech products and their place in financial markets.

You will be applying knowledge, tools and techniques to resolve issues in new and diverse situations within the finance disciplines, evaluate the rigour and validity of published research, and assess its relevance to the practice of finance.

In your third semester, you'll complete a hands-on consultancy project, giving you a fantastic opportunity to use the theories and knowledge you've gained to produce a meaningful piece of work.

What you’ll gain from this degree?

  • develop your comprehensive understanding of the principles of FinTech and Blockchain and a solid theoretical background in finance.
  • apply knowledge, tools and techniques to resolve issues in new and diverse situations within FinTech and the Finance discipline.
  • understand a range of technologies that can be used to drive financial innovation and be able to use creativity and intellectual curiosity to apply your knowledge.
  • combine FinTech and mainstream finance content. This balanced approach allows you to develop a comprehensive understanding of FinTech combined with solid foundations on financial theories and models.
  • Created in collaboration with the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA), our modules are closely aligned with the institution’s own qualifications, which you can work towards upon completion of your degree.
  • You will be allocated an Academic Mentor at the beginning of the academic year and you will meet with them regularly throughout the year. Your Mentor will help you make the most of your time at NBS.

Join our internationally accredited business school

Nottingham Business School is accredited to AACSB and EQUIS, the highest international standards for business school education. We are one of 47 global PRME Champions - a United Nations-supported initiative leading the way with sustainable and responsible management education.

  • EQUIS logo
  • PRME Champions Logo

What you’ll study

At NBS you can create a personalised learning experience, giving you a unique Masters degree that equips you with the skills you'll need, for the career you want. Each of the modules will be delivered over a four week period, with teaching delivered in three weeks and the fourth week left clear for assessment work. This enables you to focus on one subject at a time, whilst allowing time for preparation and assessment work.

Semester one modules

  • Global Financial Markets
  • Principles on FinTech
  • Introduction to Programming and Data Analytics for Finance and FinTech

Semester two modules

  • Valuation of Investment Products
  • Regulation and Compliance in Financial Markets and FinTech
  • International Entrepreneurial Finance and FinTech Ventures

Semester three module

  • Consultancy Experience Project

Semester one

Global Financial Markets (20 credits)

Become familiar with the full range of international financial markets and the financial securities traded in each of these markets. You will also consider the growing importance of interest rates on the course of financial markets and critically evaluate the impact of the different directions of monetary policy on each of the core financial markets.

Principles of FinTech (20 credits)

The Principles of FinTech module is designed to provide an introduction to the key aspects and applications of financial technology and Blockchain technology. You will develop your ability to critically evaluate the applications and limitations of each of the key technologies involved in the evolution of FinTech.

Introduction to Programming and Data Analytics for Finance and FinTech (20 credits)

Develop your understanding of Python as a coding and data analytics tool, in the context of analysing financial data. Data Analytics and Big Data play an essential role in FinTech evolution. Python, in particular, is the most popular programming language in data analytics and is used as the backbone of many FinTech applications. As such, possessing Python coding skills is a key prerequisite for anyone who is looking to make a career in FinTech and the contemporary Financial Markets.

Semester two

Valuation of Investment Products (20 credits)

This module will provide you with a deep and integrated view of the theory and practice of the key aspects of financial management and valuation of various investment products in a multinational environment. Explore key theories of corporate finance and valuation, and consider how these may be applied in practice.

Regulation and Compliance in Financial Markets and FinTech (20 credits)

The module covers the key regulatory frameworks that dominate the global financial marketplace. In addition, there is particular emphasis on the emerging regulation for FinTech in different parts of the world. The aim of this module is to give an overview of the regulatory environment in financial markets and FinTech and understand the emerging regulatory developments at an international level. Finally, the module evaluates the use of technology for the implementation of regulation (e.g. RegTech).

International Entrepreneurial Finance and FinTech Ventures (20 credits)

Develop your understanding of the traditional and non-traditional sources of financing available to early stage organisation (e.g. start-ups) with particular emphasis on FinTech related ventures. Additionally, the module provides a comprehensive overview of the process required to assess the viability of a new venture in the context of unit economics and construct a model of projected financial information. As part of this module, you will take part in an international trip to visit a FinTech start up in Europe.

Semester Three

In your final semester you will take on a major project, giving you a fantastic opportunity to use the theories and knowledge you've gained to produce a challenging, meaningful piece of work.

Consultancy Experience Project (40 credits)

Working as part of a team, you will undertake focused research, developing your professional skills, managing a complex project and delivering results in a real business situation. You will present your findings to the client and learn valuable project management tools and concepts.

Ongoing learning

Throughout the year you will also study the following modules which will help you understand how to manage your own continuous personal and professional development (PPD).

Transformational Leadership Development (10 credits)

Transformational management education is a key focus within NBS, where effective ethical education across all business and management courses is the foundation of our students’ abilities to understand and contribute in meaningful ways towards current and future challenges in the area of sustainable development. The purpose of the module is to increase understanding of how to manage your own continuous personal and professional development in order to enable sustained career success and to be an effective and transformational leader.

Research Methods for Finance and Accounting (10 credits)

The aim of this module is to develop students as effective researchers in different contexts within the finance and accounting subject areas.

Professional development

Chartered Financial Analyst Institute (CFA)

Our MSc FinTech and Financial Markets course has been created in collaboration with the Chartered Financial Analyst Institute (CFA). The modules are aligned with the institution’s own qualifications, which you can work towards upon completion of your degree. The CFA credential is held by over 150,000 professionals around the world. The charter gives a strong understanding of advanced investment analysis and real-world portfolio management skills.

Please note this course is not eligible for any CFA Institute exemptions.

Don’t just take our word for it, hear from our students themselves

Student Profiles

Trung Hieu Nguyen

Finance

I chose to study a Masters degree because I wanted to specialise and deepen my finance knowledge. In addition, through my research, I discovered that NBS is practice focused rather than theory focused. Finally, the NBS graduates I spoke to all recommended NBS.

How you’re taught

Teaching and Learning

Nottingham Business School adopts a distinctive approach to the design of student learning opportunities. Your learning is structured around theory, practice, experience & observation, and reflection & improvement. At each level (course, module and session), you will study different theories, concepts and approaches and be given opportunities to apply these in a range of practical settings. The aim is to enhance your understanding through the direct experience of business, where you will have opportunities to observe business practices and behaviours (including your own) and analyse these using theoretical knowledge. It is our intention that by reflecting on these experiences, you will be able to use these theories to guide your actions and decisions in a business context or even consider how a theory itself might be improved. In this way, we aim to enhance the quality of your learning.

During your studies you will be using our Bloomberg Terminals in our dedicated Business Lab. The Bloomberg Terminal is the industry standard in financial markets by bringing together real-time data on every market, breaking news, in-depth research, powerful analytics, communications tools and world-class execution capabilities. Also, as a student of Nottingham Business School you will be able to complete the Bloomberg Market Concepts certificate with no extra costs*.

*Bloomberg Market Concepts (BMC) is an 8-hour self-paced e-learning course that provides a visual introduction to the financial markets.

Guest Lectures

Through our popular Business Leaders Lecture Series, you'll have the chance to listen to experts from a wide range of industries who will share their knowledge with you. Recent guests have included Jason Bates, the co-founder of digital banks Monzo and Starling, who is currently creating new banks and customer propositions in Hong Kong, the US, Europe, Middle East, and the UK with his consultancy group 11:FS.

Finance Simulation

Our approach to teaching incorporates a range of innovative elements aimed at providing you with a practical exposure to financial markets. One of the key highlights of the academic year is our financial markets simulation events delivered by Amplify Trading in association with the major investment bank Morgan Stanley.

Amplify trading is an award-winning FinTech company offering professional training solutions to the world’s largest financial institutions (e.g. Bank of America/Merry Lynch, Deutsch Bank, UBS, S&P).

Morgan Stanley is a major investment bank which operates in more than 42 countries and has approximately 58,000 employees.

During the Amplify/Morgan Stanley simulation events, you will be using the FlowTrader platform to experience the different roles, operations and objectives within financial markets, as you will operate on simulated or real market prices.

Academic Mentors

Every postgraduate student will be allocated an Academic Mentor at the beginning of the academic year and you will meet with them regularly throughout the year. Academic Mentors help you make the most of your time at NTU. They will support you in developing and enhancing the qualities and transferrable skills necessary for your studies, career progression, professional and personal development.

Assessments

A range of assessment methods are used across the course, the choice of which reflects the needs and demands of the different types of module. Some modules will assess the ability to work collaboratively in a team and others will assess individual capability. Types of assessment will range from examinations to group presentations including essays, reports, financial analyses, literature reviews and research based projects.

The interactive nature of the taught sessions offers opportunities to gain feedback on your performance before being formally assessed and increasing use is made of eLearning to further support the feedback process.

In-sessional English language support

In-sessional English language classes are offered to international students at no extra cost. The classes aim to provide focused support in the skills you need in order to develop your English in your subject area.

Further information please contact the Nottingham Language Centre based in the DICE building on City Campus:

Tel: +44 (0)115 848 6156 | Email: englishsupport@ntu.ac.uk | Website: www.ntu.ac.uk/nlc

Personalisation

We know our postgraduate students are a diverse group, with different levels of academic knowledge in their chosen area of study, different cultural and educational backgrounds, and varying levels of personal and professional skills and competencies.

At NBS we strive to ensure that these two motivating factors are nurtured and therefore supported. Our students are encouraged to practice and develop the skills and competencies required to critically reflect on their learning, and on their ability to apply this learning to their studies and to real world complex issues within the workplace. Through a series of curricula and extra-curricular initiatives, strengthened by tailored academic mentor support, NBS provides all our postgraduate students with the ability to participate in a range of challenging and unique activities, projects, events and experiences to enable our students to succeed in a competitive and dynamic global environment.

Staff Profiles

Vangelis Tsiligkiris - Associate Professor

Nottingham Business School

Vangelis Tsiligkiris (Tsiligiris) is Associate Professor at Nottingham Business School, Nottingham Trent University.

Solomon Y Deku - Senior Lecturer

Nottingham Business School

Solomon Deku is a Lecturer in Accounting and Finance. His research interests include asset backed securitisation and financial exclusion. He is a chartered accountant (ACCA) and holds a Master’s degree

Thao Ngoc Nguyen - Senior Lecturer

Nottingham Business School

Dr Thao Nguyen - MSc, PhD, PGCHE, FHEA is Senior Lecturer in Accounting and Finance at Nottingham Trent University. Thao is supervisor, internal moderator and personal tutor at undergraduate, master,

Careers and employability

At Nottingham Business School, we’re focused on your employability from the start of your postgraduate degree. We provide you with a learning experience that integrates theory and practice.

Graduates from this course have gone onto roles within the public, private and third sector, undertaking positions such as:

  • Finance Executive
  • Auditor
  • Financial Analyst
  • Consultant
  • Direct Tax Accountant

Employability Team

We have a dedicated Employability Team who not only help you during your time with us but also following graduation, they’ll continue to support you by providing a number of services that will help kick-start your career.

Our Employability Team offer a wide range of support from one-to-one appointments with our specially trained consultants, to arranging recruitment fairs and skill building workshops.

Services they provide include:

  • Finding placements, internships and part-time work
  • Helping you to pursue self-employment
  • Advice on taking gap years and time out
  • Information and help on getting into volunteering
  • Providing advice on further study.

As a student you will have access to our virtual learning environment, where you will be able to get in touch with our Employability team for CV support, application, interview and job hunting advice, career ideas and employer videos.

You can visit the Employability Team on your local campus every day during term time. They are also open outside of term time too, except on University closure days. So drop in, say hello, and get help with quick enquiries or book an appointment with a careers consultant from your school.

Re:search Re:imagined

To us, research is about more than writing papers and proposing new ideas. By daring to think differently, we’re disrupting the research landscape and finding the answers to the questions that really matter. From ethics, innovation and entrepreneurship to behavioural science, we’re inspiring the brightest minds to rise up and find solutions to some of the most significant global challenges facing society.

Find out more: ntu.ac.uk/research

Campus and facilities

We are continually investing in our facilities, and transforming our learning and teaching environment to create an inspiring and innovative atmosphere.

The School is based in the impressive Newton Building on NTU's City Campus.

Postgraduate Centre

A short walk from the Newton building and Boots library, the Postgraduate Centre facilitates on-campus teaching for Nottingham Business School’s postgraduate and executive education courses.

Dryden Centre

Benefit from the newly built NTU Dryden Enterprise Centre that provides dedicated support for entrepreneurs, start-ups, small and medium-sized enterprises.

Fantastic facilities

  • You can take advantage of the Link Lounge, a space dedicated to Business School students, located on floor zero of the Newton building.
  • Explore your career prospects with the help of the University's Employability Team.
  • You will benefit from spacious teaching rooms and lecture theatres.
  • We provide students with a variety of social spaces.
  • Your studies will benefit from the £13 million Boots Library.
  • You can take advantage of our 24-hour IT facilities.
  • Our Student Services Centre will also be on-hand should you need support.
  • The location of the City site also means that you have easy access to:

  • sports facilities
  • shops
  • student accommodation
  • music venues
  • cafés.

Entry requirements

  • You will need an undergraduate degree equivalent to a UK undergraduate honours degree (2.1 or above) containing some evidence of quantitative ability.
  • Applicants will require a solid foundation on quantitative methods that could have been acquired through modules completed during their undergraduate studies. Some examples of these modules can be: Statistics, quantitative methods, financial mathematics, data analytics, and any coding-related modules.
  • One academic reference is required.

Get in touch If you need any more help or information, please contact us at Ask NTU or call on +44 (0)115 848 4200.

NTU may admit a student with advanced standing beyond the beginning of a course, through an assessment of that student's prior learning, whether it is certificated or uncertificated. Our Recognition of Prior Learning and Credit Transfer Policy outlines the process and options available to these prospective students, such as recognising experiential learning or transferring to a similar course at another institution, otherwise known as credit transfer.

All prospective students who wish to apply via Recognition of Prior Learning should initially contact the central Admissions and Enquiries Team who will be able to support you through the process.

Getting in touch

If you need more help or information, get in touch through our enquiry form

  • You will need an undergraduate degree equivalent to a UK undergraduate honours degree (2.1 or above) containing some evidence of quantitative ability.
  • Applicants will require a solid foundation on quantitative methods that could have been acquired through modules completed during their undergraduate studies. Some examples of these modules can be: Statistics, quantitative methods, financial mathematics, data analytics, and any coding-related modules.
  • One academic reference is required.

International qualifications

We accept qualifications from all over the world – check yours here:

Postgraduate preparation courses (Pre-Masters)

If you don’t yet meet our entry requirements, we offer Pre-Masters courses through our partner Nottingham Trent International College (NTIC), based on our City Campus:

English language entry requirements

You can meet our language requirements by successfully completing our pre-sessional English course for an agreed length of time, or by submitting the required grade in one of our accepted English language tests, such as IELTS:

Would you like some advice on your study plans?

Our international teams are highly experienced in answering queries from students all over the world. We also have members of staff based in Vietnam, China, India and Nigeria and work with a worldwide network of education counsellors.

Fees and funding

Home fees for September 2024 entry

Study route

Home fees

One year (full-time)

£13,750

Additional costs

Your course fees cover the cost of studies, and include loads of great benefits, such as the use of our City Campus library, support from our expert Employability team, and free use of the IT equipment across our campuses.

You may choose to purchase core text books for your course, and prices for these may vary. However, our City Campus library is home to four floors of books, journals and materials (many of which you can access online) – meaning you may not need to purchase as many books as you might think!

The costs for the International trip as part of the module International Entrepreneurial Finance and FinTech Ventures will be covered by Nottingham Business School. Whilst on placement students will be expected to pay for accommodation, travel and living costs.

Funding your studies

Preparing for the financial side of student life is important, but there’s no need to feel anxious and confused about it. We hope that our fees and living costs page and funding pages will answer your questions.

Postgraduate loans

The government introduced a new postgraduate loan scheme for Master degrees. The loan will be a contribution towards the costs of study and it will be at the student's discretion to use the loan towards fees, maintenance costs or other costs. Find out more on our postgraduate loans page.

Scholarships

You might be able to get a scholarship to help fund your studies. We award scholarships to those students who can demonstrate excellent achievement, passion and dedication to their studies.

Alumni Discount

We’re happy to be able to offer a 20% alumni discount to most current NTU students and recent NTU alumni. This discount is currently available for those starting an eligible postgraduate taught, postgraduate research or professional course.

Getting in touch

For more advice and guidance, you can contact our Student Financial Support Service on Tel: +44 (0)115 848 2494 or for Scholarship help please contact us on Tel: +44 (0)115 848 4460.

International / EU fees for September 2024 entry

Study route

International / EU fees

One year (full-time)

£22,000

Scholarships

We offer scholarships of up to 50% of your tuition fee. You can apply for your scholarship when you have an offer to study at NTU.

Living costs

Get advice on the cost of living as an international student in Nottingham and how to budget:

Paying fees

Find out about advanced payments, instalment plan options and how to make payments securely to the University:

Would you like some advice on your study plans?

Our international teams are highly experienced in answering queries from students all over the world. We also have members of staff based in Vietnam, China, India and Nigeria and work with a worldwide network of education counsellors.

Additional Costs

Your course fees cover the cost of studies, and include loads of great benefits, such as the use of our library, support from our expert Employability team, and free use of the IT equipment across our campuses.

Library books

Most study modules will recommend one or more core text books, which most students choose to purchase. Book costs vary and further information is available in the University’s bookshop. Our libraries provide a good supply of essential text books, journals and materials (many of which you can access online) – meaning you may not need to purchase as many books as you might think! There may also be a supply of second-hand books available for purchase from previous year students.

Field trips

All essential field trip costs will be included in your course fees. There may be the opportunity to take part in optional field trips, which do incur additional costs.

Print and copy costs

The University allocates an annual printing and copying allowance of £20 depending on the course you are studying. For more details about costs for additional print and copying required over and above the annual allowance please see the Printing, photocopying and scanning information on the Library website.

How to apply

Ready to join us? Apply through our NTU Applicant Portal.

  1. Register as a new applicant and create an account in the Applicant Portal - don't worry you won't need to complete your application at once, you can come back to it so keep your details safe.
  2. Fill out and submit your application - make sure to check all the information such as entry requirements before submitting.
  3. Track the progress of your application – you can do this by logging into the Application Portal.
  4. Check your offer – As long as you’ve provided all the information we need, we’ll try and make a decision on your application within five to ten working days. However, this can take longer and you should allow at least three weeks for a decision.
  5. Accept your offer within four weeks - Remember that competition for places is high, and if you don’t accept your offer within four weeks it may lapse. After eight weeks it will be automatically withdrawn.
  6. Meet the conditions of your offer (if you have any) - Upload all the documents required to meet the conditions of your offer using the My Documents section of the Applicant Portal.

Don’t worry if you’re waiting for results – we recommend applying now, and then adding them to your Application Portal once they arrive.

If you need some help in writing your application you can view our handy tips.

Good luck with your application!

Apply online through our NTU applicant portal.

Application advice

Apply early so that you have enough time to prepare – processing times for Student visas can vary, for example.  After you've applied, we'll be sending you important emails throughout the application process – so check your emails regularly, including your junk mail folder.

Writing your personal statement

Be honest, thorough, and persuasive – we can only make a decision about your application based on what you tell us:

Would you like some advice on your study plans?

Our international teams are highly experienced in answering queries from students all over the world. We also have members of staff based in Vietnam, China, India and Nigeria and work with a worldwide network of education counsellors.

The University's commitment to delivering the educational services advertised.

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