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Prepare for a career in the fast-paced financial industries – and gain valuable real-world experience – with our BSc Finance with Placement Year degree.
Recent changes in finance – including the emergence of financial technology and the focus on sustainability – have necessitated changes throughout the industry.
This four-year course develops the key skills and knowledge to meet these changes head-on, as you gain a deep understanding of finance and the financial services industry. An integrated Placement Year provides a fantastic opportunity to put your skills into practice in preparation for your future career.
Experts from from Henley Business School will introduce you to the:
- fundamental principles of accounting, finance and economics
- quantitative techniques of finance
- role of finance in business and society
- ethics required to work in the finance industry.
As your studies progress, you’ll gain deeper knowledge of the core concepts in:
- portfolio management
- financial modelling
- corporate finance.
You’ll learn through a combination of lectures, seminars, practical workshops, and self-guided study. This will provide the opportunity to discuss subject materials in an in-depth way with your lecturers and fellow students.
The University of Reading is a CFA partner university. Within this partnership, a number of scholarships are offered towards CFA exams (partial fee reduction) for which students can apply.
Choose BSc Finance with Placement Year at Henley Business School
- Ranked 19th in the UK for Accounting and Finance (The Times and The Sunday Times Good University Guide, 2020).
- Triple-accredited status from the UK, European and US accrediting bodies (AMBA, EQUIS and AACSB).
Flexible study options
After the first year of your BSc Finance with Placement Year degree, you will have the option to transfer to any of our specialist pathways:
- BSc Finance (Investments)
- BSc Finance (FinTech)
- BSc Finance (Sustainable Finance)
- BSc Finance (International Business)
Each pathway is designed to help you understand particular challenges within finance and how to respond to them.
If you choose to remain on the general degree course, you’ll still be offered a wide range of options in your second and final years – allowing you to tailor your learning to your individual interests.
We also offer two other variations of this course: BSc Finance, a three-year course; and BSc Finance with Study Year Abroad, a four-year course with a year of overseas study instead of a placement.
Dedicated industry facilities with BSc Finance with Placement Year
Put your understanding of financial systems and capital markets into practice in our state-of-the-art dealing rooms, featuring computer trading simulations and financial modelling.
Placement Year in industry
In your third year, you’ll have the opportunity to gain valuable experience in a real-world setting with our Work Placement module.
We will support you to find and secure a placement that’s right for you.
As well as enriching your studies, an industry placement can be an excellent way to:
- deepen your knowledge and develop new skills
- build a network of industry contacts
- boost your employability with new experiences
- learn more about the sector you may wish to enter.
A focus on employability
In addition to your Placement Year, we work hard to ensure that the personal skills required to secure, and succeed in, future roles are embedded into the curriculum.
Alongside your business acumen, our focus on self-development aims to prepare you for the external market – from internships and placements to full-time employment.
For example, you will undertake a group project on portfolio management in your second year. Within this project, you’ll have the opportunity to put your quantitative skills and knowledge of investment analysis into practice, gain new experiences, and open yourself up to new ways of thinking.