Program Overview

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 and securities using X_TRADER. This industry leading software enables you to trade multiple markets from a single screen.

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, accounting and economics 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.

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.

The Essex Business School Placements Manager can offer bespoke support throughout the process of researching, applying and interviewing for placements. However, it is your responsibility to apply, prepare for and secure your own role. In recent years, our students have gained placements with organisations such as BMW, Samsung and Cummins.