Finance with Placement Year N306 September 2026

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Typical offers

Typical offers
A Level	AAB
BTEC	DDD
International Baccalaureate	36

Course details

As financial markets across the world grow more closely connected, this specialist degree develops the necessary quantitative and analytical skills you’ll need to pursue a career in the financial services industry. The course combines academic excellence, insightful research and exceptional global business connections, equipping you with the tools to become an innovative business thinker in your career and beyond.

This four-year degree includes a placement year to give you a real-world taste of work. The placement is a valuable opportunity to gain first-hand industry experience and start building a network of business contacts in preparation for graduation.

Our flexible study programme puts you in control. The curriculum links academic theory with practical experience through a combination of core and optional modules that offer plenty of opportunities to tailor your studies as your interests evolve. As an alternative to the placement route, you have the option to complete the degree in three years or spend a year abroad.

In the first year, you study compulsory modules that provide the key fundamentals to examine and evaluate modern financial markets.

The second year is made up of finance modules which will give you the skills to examine financial issues and institutions, markets and securities across global markets. You’ll also learn to interpret financial data and price financial securities.

The final year offers more flexibility. You can choose modules tailored to your interests and career aspirations. The dissertation, on a finance topic of your choice, makes up a third of your final year marks.

Course structure

Year 1 modules

Core modules:

Foundations of Finance

explores the key principles of corporate finance and their importance to firms. From bonds and stocks to capital structure and dividend policy, it provides you with a solid grounding in issues of finance as they relate to the business and financial markets.

Financial Accounting

covers the basic concepts and techniques involved in financial accounting reports, including the preparation of basic financial statements.

Quantitative Methods 1

provides you a rigorous introduction to the fundamental mathematical techniques you will need throughout your degree.

Quantitative Methods 2

introduces the analytical and statistical techniques widely used in finance and business.

Introduction to Financial Economics

examines the basic principles of economics of microeconomics and macroeconomics in a financial context. The study of subjects like market structure, fiscal policy, stock market and economic growth will provide a solid foundation for modules in micro- and macroeconomics.

Global Financial Systems and Markets

develops you the knowledge of the operations of financial institutions within the global financial system and the products and services these institutions provide; the markets in which financial institutions operate and that facilitate the process of intermediation; and the purpose and scope of financial oversight and regulation.

Optional modules:

Ethics and Finance
Principles of Taxation

Year 2 modules

Core modules:

Corporate Finance

provides theoretical knowledge and practical understanding of key theories in finance and corporate policy decisions.

Intermediate Financial Economics

develops knowledge and understanding of international macroeconomic analysis, performance and its importance for the business community.

Financial Econometrics 1

teaches you about statistics and business models in preparation for a project in applied financial econometrics. It equips you with the mathematical, statistical and analytical skills required to interpret literature in business finance and provides a strong foundation for higher level study.

Financial Valuation

equips you with knowledge and understanding of the key issues in valuing companies and alternative investment securities as well as the practical tools for undertaking valuations of companies and alternative investment securities.

Financial Technology

introduces you to contemporary financial technologies related to financial markets and institutions. You will learn frameworks and obtain skills needed to understand and critically evaluate core concepts in financial technology.

Derivative Markets

helps you develop knowledge and understanding of theoretical concepts of derivative securities as well as pricing and practical application of derivative securities in financial markets. You will also develop the ability to evaluate academic literature in derivative markets.

Banking

covers key concepts in banking and the purpose of banks as financial intermediaries. You will learn frameworks and obtain skills needed to understand and critically evaluate core concepts in banking.

Optional modules:

Programming for Finance
A credit-bearing language module

Year 3 modules

Core modules:

Placement

Year 3 is spent on placement. A minimum of 40 weeks of work experience is an opportunity to put learning from the first two years into practice in the workplace. You will also gain valuable experience and a tailored skill set to take forward to your final year. The skills and professional network gained during the placement year will give you a head start with graduate employers.

Year 4 modules

Core modules:

Security Investment Analysis

provides a thorough grounding in investment and portfolio management, focusing on theoretical concepts and practical applications.

Dissertation

develops your ability to plan and manage your own learning. It provides you with an opportunity to research the topic and present your findings and conclusions.

Optional modules:

Financial Derivatives and Financial Engineering
Computational Quantitative Finance
Behavioural Finance
Islamic Economics and Finance
Real Estate Finance
Financial Econometrics 2
Corporate Governance.

Additional Pathways

Students can apply to be transferred onto either the with Year Abroad or with Placement pathway during the second year. Places on these pathways are in high demand and if you are chosen your studies will extend from three years to four.

Accreditation

Career prospects for Durham graduates are excellent. This flexible course has been developed to meet the needs of industry and provide you with the skills you need to succeed. With our rigorous curriculum, exceptional teaching and global business connections, you’ll build world-class foundations for graduate employment or further study.

Many recent graduates now work with global innovators and leaders in the sector, including EY, PWC, Morgan Stanley, China Development Bank, Société Generalé, Amazon, Deloitte, KPMG and Bank of America. Others have set up their own businesses or continued into postgraduate education.

Take a look at some of the roles taken up by recent Finance graduates:

Commercial Banking Graduate at Lloyds Banking Group
Financial Analyst at Bank of America
Product and Pricing Analyst at Principality Building Society
Assistant Tax Advisor at EY
Finance Management Trainee at Wates Group

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Entry requirements

A level offer – AAB

Contextual offer – BBB

BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma/OCR Cambridge Technical Extended Diploma – DDD

IB Diploma score – 36 with 665 in higher level subjects. If Mathematics is not taken at higher level, then it is required at standard level 5.

In addition to satisfying the University’s general entry requirements, please note:

We also consider other level 3 qualifications, including T-levels.
We consider each application holistically, on an individual basis and against the other applications we receive. Whilst academic achievement is important, it is not the only factor that we consider when assessing applications and applicants who have achieved, or are predicted to achieve, close to our typical offer, but who have not met it exactly, will be welcome to apply if they have a strong application in other key elements, for example if they can demonstrate merit and potential through their personal statement or their reference.
We welcome applications from those with other qualifications equivalent to our standard entry requirements and from mature students with non-standard qualifications, please email us for more information.
We are willing to consider applications for deferred entry from those who have well-structured plans for work or travel, for example. We may, however, need to restrict the number of deferred entry offers we make because we have to be careful not to fill too many of next year’s places in advance. However, if you do apply for a deferred place and are unsuccessful, you are welcome to reapply the following year.
You are welcome to apply if you are taking resits; we do not make higher offers to students who declare resits.
If you do not satisfy our general entry requirements, the Foundation Programme offers multidisciplinary degrees to prepare you for a range of specified degree courses.

Science A levels: Applicants taking Science A levels that include a practical component will be required to take and pass this as a condition of entry. This applies only to applicants sitting A levels with an English examination board.

Alternative qualifications

Other UK qualifications

EU qualifications

International qualifications

International students who do not meet direct entry requirements for this degree might have the option to complete an International Foundation Year.

English language requirements

Country specific information

Fees and funding

The fees for this academic year have not been confirmed yet.

Full-Time Study

The tuition fees shown for home students are for one complete academic year of full-time study and are set according to the academic year of entry. Fees for subsequent years of your course may rise in line with an inflationary uplift as determined by the government.

The tuition fees shown for overseas and EU students are for one complete academic year of full-time study, are set according to the academic year of entry, and will be subject to an annual inflationary increase expected to rise throughout the programme of study. The fee listed above is for the first year of the course only; fees for subsequent years will be confirmed not less than 3 months before the start of the academic year to which the increase is intended to apply and will be published on the Finance webpages.

In deciding the annual level of increase, the University will take into account inflationary pressures on the costs of delivery. Tuition fees will rise annually by up to the higher of:

6%, or
the latest annual percentage increase in the Consumer Prices Index.

Part-Time Study

The tuition fees shown for home students are for one complete academic year of part-time study and are charged proportionately to the Full-Time fee. Fees for subsequent years of your course may rise in line with an inflationary uplift as determined by the government.

Please also check costs for colleges and accommodation.

Scholarships

We are committed to supporting the best students irrespective of financial circumstances and are delighted to offer a range of funding opportunities.

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Department information

Accounting and Finance

Degrees in Accounting and in Finance at Durham University Business School can open the door to opportunities with leading employers in the accountancy and finance sectors and beyond. Valuable professional accreditation is also available, dependent on the degree and modules chosen.

The Departments of Accounting and Finance are two specialist departments within Durham University’s Business School; one of the UK's longest established business schools. We offer an inspiring and stimulating learning environment, and consistently rank highly for the quality of our teaching, research and for graduate career prospects.

Our reputation is down to the expertise of our staff. Their global experience, outstanding research insight, professional experience and real business connections keep us at the leading edge. We offer a wide selection of courses in both accounting and in finance, including specialist routes that are designed to provide maximum accreditation from professional accountancy qualifications.

Areas of study in accounting may include financial and management accounting, the legal, regulatory and social context within which accounting operates, the mechanisms by which individuals plan their tax affairs, the role of the accountant in achieving sustainable business practices and the influence of artificial intelligence (AI) and big data on the world of accounting. You won’t just learn the technical side of accounting, but you’ll also have the opportunity to think critically about how accounting impacts on the global world of business.

If you are interested in finance your studies may include areas such as corporate finance, investments, financial institutions and the vast array of sophisticated financial products traded in today’s global financial markets.

Both our finance and our accounting courses offer a final year dissertation – an independent piece of research – which helps you build your research skills and allows those looking for further Masters study able to demonstrate their research skills.

For more information see our department pages .

Rankings

5th The Guardian University Guide 2025
Top 10 The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2025
Top 100 The QS World University Rankings by Subject 2025

Staff

For a current list of staff, please see our department web pages.

Facilities

You’ll be taught across the University campus by world leading academics from the Business School. The University campus is within walking distance of the historic centre of Durham, a city with UNESCO World Heritage Status.