Subject

Finance and banking

Impatient for finance to be a force for positive change?

Finance and banking

Essex is home to one of the largest groups of finance academics in the UK. They can teach you how to forecast share prices, manage investment portfolios, understand the role of financial technology and big data, identify factors behind market booms and crashes, and why the psychological behaviour of investors is so important.

Not only will you become a skilled practitioner, you’ll become a responsible one. We’ll help you to understand the impact that the financial sector has on the world and its people and how finance professionals can be a force for positive change.

Many of our finance and banking degrees are professionally accredited and you’ll enjoy access to industry-standard facilities, such as our Bloomberg virtual trading floor.

Why study here?
  • Get a head start on your career and develop your practical skills on our Bloomberg virtual trading floor.
  • Our academics work with the Bank of England, the European Central Bank and the Federal Reserve ensuring your teaching is grounded in the sector.
  • Professional accreditation gives you the opportunity to qualify into your finance career faster.
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Discover where a career in finance and banking could take you

Careers in the financial services industries are highly desirable for finance and banking graduates and, luckily, there are many graduate routes to a successful career. Discover opportunities in hedge funds, risk management, data analytics, FinTech and more.

Find out more
Dr Thanos Verousis, Reader in Finance, stands at a lectern as he teaches postgraduate Finance students
"Teaching at the highest standards requires commitment and dedication and there are two ideas that I have been working on that will challenge both the students and myself. The first one is to ask students to work on group essays prior to a guest speaker’s talk. The second one is to drop PowerPoint and give the presentations entirely using a statistical software."
Thanos Verousis Lecturer in Finance Essex Business School

Business is global and therefore finance is too. Our staff and students join us from around the world, attracted by opportunity to work alongside world-leading researchers and practitioners in finance.

We offer Masters courses for students who want to specialise in highly skilled areas of finance, such as risk management, financial engineering and fintech. Alongside these, we offer programmes for students who have studied only a little finance, economics or business previously and want to fast-track to a career in the financial sector.

Why study here?
  • Up to six scholarships per year to support students wishing to qualify as a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA).
  • We offer courses for you if you've studied only a small amount of finance before, as well as specialist programmes if you want to extend your knowledge.
  • Our academics and practitioners regularly present at the Bank of England, the European Central Bank and the Federal Reserve. 
Two male visitors looking at an event programme at an open day.
Join us for our Postgraduate Evening

We are hosting a Postgraduate Open Evening on Wednesday 22 March. Join us for an evening of talks and tours, and get answers to your questions about studying a postgraduate course at Essex. We are also incorporating virtual content into this event so you can join us from the comfort of your own home.

Find out more
A virtual trading floor simulated in Essex Business School.
Which Masters in finance is right for you?

Considering a career in finance? Got a head for numbers and a desire to work in a fast-paced industry but don’t know where to start? Don’t panic, there’s a Masters degree in finance with your name on it. In this article, we interviewed the finance Masters course leaders to find out what makes each of our finance Masters degrees unique.

Find out more

We believe in advancing financial research that makes a difference to industry. Work by our researchers is discussed at the most influential financial institutions in the world, such as the Bank of England and the Federal Reserve, but most importantly it is relevant to real people's lives.

By joining our research community, you’ll be at the forefront of thinking in areas such as the financing of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs), commodity prices and their relation to food poverty, bank risk and regulation, acquisitions and financial econometrics.

We are very proud that Essex is ranked in the top 150 for Business and Economics in THE World University Rankings by Subject 2023 and Ranked in the top 200 for Accounting and Finance in the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2022.

We’re pleased to be able to offer a number of integrated PhDs, for students who have a strong research proposal but who do not have previous research or Masters-level study experience.

Our Research Group

  • Finance Group
    Our vision is to be at the forefront of the next age of finance and to focus on research that can harness the potential of technological innovation and digital disruption to transform financial services and support sustainable growth.

Our Research Centres

  • Essex Centre for Macro and Financial Econometrics (ECMFE)
    The Essex Centre for Macro and Financial Econometrics (ECMFE) brings together academic and industry expertise from both inside and outside the University of Essex to research and help solve important issues in macroeconomics and financial markets.
  • Essex Finance Centre (EFiC)
    The Essex Finance Centre (EFiC) provides a world-class and stimulating environment for research activity in banking, finance and financial econometrics.  Our culture is one of integrity, inclusion and respect, with a particular emphasis on encouraging collaboration and synergy between our internal and associate members. 
Why study here?
  • You’re part of a vibrant research community, challenging the conventional perspective of the finance sector and its impact.
  • Limited research training or don't have a Masters? You can still gain a PhD with our integrated PhD route.
  • We’re home to two thriving research centres, Essex Centre for Macro and Financial Econometrics and Essex Finance Centre, offering plenty of opportunity for research collaboration and supervision. 
Student reading in a library and taking notes
What lies at the heart of a successful PhD?

Magda Oldziejewska, who is studying for a PhD in Organisation Studies and Human Resource Management, explains why the thesis is not the only thing at the heart of her PhD: "I don’t think it can be overstated how important it is to find the right fit for you and your research – in terms of the supervisor and the wider School and University community – before embarking on a PhD. I consider myself very lucky."

Read more
Student holding books next to the library at Colchester Campus
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We understand that deciding where and what to study is a very important decision for you. We'll make all reasonable efforts to provide you with the courses, services and facilities as described on our website. However, if we need to make material changes, for example due to significant disruption, or in response to COVID-19, we'll let our applicants and students know as soon as possible.