BA (Honours) International Finance and Banking
Four years full-time (including one year work placement) or three years full-time
UCAS code • N390
Location • City Campus
Subject area • Accounting, banking and finance
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Watch videos of undergraduate students talking about our accounting, banking and finance courses.
View a 360 degree tour of the Stoddart lecture theatre. The lecture theatre is housed within the Stoddart Building, which is home of the Sheffield Business School and in the heart of the city centre.
Watch videos of our students talking about their work placements and the benefits they've gained.
Read about the extras we embed into the course to enhance your study experience and to give you greater employability and technical skills.
At a glance
Prepare for a career in finance on a course that emphasises risk management and responsible banking and investment practices. The course has close links with financial institutions and professional bodies. You have the opportunity to enhance your career potential and starting salary with a placement at international organisations such as the Bank of New York and Morgan Stanley.
Key points
• Benefit from close links with professional bodies such as the Chartered Institute for Securities and Investment (CISI), The Chartered Insurance Institute (CII) and the Association of Corporate Treasurers (ACT).
• Study post financial crisis case studies that illustrate how the banking industry has changed and how you can be part of a continually changing financial services industry.
• Network with alumni who work in some of the most prestigious banks in the world.
• Learn from academics who have published banking and finance texts or who held roles in leading organisations including HSBC and Investec.
What is international finance and banking?
Financial institutions accept and safeguard deposits owned by other individuals and entities. They use those deposits for lending activities such as mortgages and business loans in order to earn a profit. Banks face a number of risks when conducting their business, including reputational and credit risks, and it is necessary for them to understand those risks to be able to operate their business successfully.
This course
Study on a course that was designed in collaboration with financial institutions and major professional bodies. You cover all the relevant areas of banking and benefit from links with some of the industry’s major employers such as HSBC and Morgan Stanley.
In the first year, you get a broad grounding in finance and related topics, to ensure that you have a sound platform on which to build. You also begin to develop your IT and numerical skills.
In the second and final year, you focus on banking and finance and start developing your specialisation. You study important topics such as credit analysis, financial management, investment banking and gain key skills required by employers. You also develop a greater understanding of the different financial roles within organisations.
To keep up to date with the latest industry insights you receive regular lectures from industry specialists. In the past speakers have included experts from the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII), and the Royal Bank of Scotland.
In your third year, you have the opportunity to apply what you have learnt on placement in a financial services organisation or other company. We recommend this as it gives you a valuable insight into the workings of a business or service organisation and increases your career potential. You build professional relationships with potential employers that can sometimes lead to the offer of a permanent job after you graduate.
Previous placement employers have included large organisations such as the Bank of New York, Morgan Stanley, the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi, Bank of America and smaller organisations, such as stockbrokers and independent financial advisers.
If you complete a placement you also study the career management and professional development module. This asks you to reflect on your placement experiences and plan future career moves. If you don’t go on placement you complete a period of work-based learning in your final year.
If you gain more than 60% in the financial services regulation and ethics module you can complete a Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment (CISI) exam as part of your degree. We pay for your tuition material, the exam and student membership of the CISI.
You can also gain professional exemptions from the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII) and the Association of Corporate Treasurers (ACT). These industry recognised qualifications can further enhance your prospects as you prepare for a career in the sector.
Key areas of study
You cover key areas of banking and finance including • portfolio management • credit analysis • global investment banking • international financial markets • financial regulation • international derivatives and risk.
Enhanced study experience
We embed a wide range of extras into your course to enhance your study experience and to give you greater employability and technical skills after graduating. Visit the enhanced study media box to view examples of our many initiatives.
Find out more about BA (Honours) International Finance and Banking
Related courses
You apply for this course through UCAS.
2013/14 academic year
For 2013 entry, membership of a professional body is included in the course fee.
The course fee may be subject to annual inflationary increase. For further information on fees and funding see www.shu.ac.uk/study/ug/fees-and-funding
2013/14 academic year
Typically £11,880 a year
2014/15 academic year
Typically £11,880 a year
The course fee may be subject to annual inflationary increase. For further information on fees, scholarships and bursaries see www.shu.ac.uk/international/fees
• examinations • coursework • computer-based assignments • group assessments • presentations • multiple choice tests • case study based assessments
Find out about work placements and how we can support your placement experience.
Optional year-long work placements are normally gained by competitive interview and are not a guaranteed part of a course.
Key Information Set 
About our courses (1:08)
In this video, undergraduate student Nick Thompson talks about our course covers both practical and theoretical aspects of the sector, preparing you well for a finanacial career.
Benefits of a placement year (1:48)
Nick discusses the optional placement year and modules studies throughout his course. Nick chose to go on placement at Redmayne Bentley Stockbrokers, Leeds.
Favourite project (0:25)
Nick talks about the favourite project he has completed, which involves him setting up a finance and investment society.
Student support (0:21)
As someone with dyslexia, Nick talks about the extra support he receives for assignment work and exams.
Elizabeth Bada (3:14)
Undergraduate student Elizabeth Bada talks about her course and how it has prepared her for a financial career.
Stoddart lecture theatre
This is the Stoddart lecture theatre. The lecture theatre is housed within the Stoddart Building, which is home of the Sheffield Business School.
Lauren Haggar – part 1 (1:29)
Lauren Haggar talks about her experiences on placement at PricewaterhouseCoopers and the benefits she's gained from it.
Download the video transcript (DOC, 78KB).
Andy Ward, PricewaterhouseCoopers Director, and Lauren Haggar (1:53)
Andy Ward, a Director at PricewaterhouseCoopers, talks about the relationship the company has with Sheffield Hallam and why they choose our graduates.
Lauren Haggar also talks about her experiences on placement at PricewaterhouseCoopers and the benefits she's gained from it.
Download the video transcript (DOC, 79KB).
Placement opportunities at Coats Plc (2:32)
Find out about the placement opportunities at Coats Plc.
Elizabeth Bada (3:13)
Elizabeth Bada talks about her experiences on placement at Coats Plc and the benefits she’s gained from it.
Enhanced study experience
These are examples of some of the extras we embed into the course to enhance your study experience and to give you greater employability and technical skills after graduating.
Automatic professional membership
Our innovative partnership with the CISI means your student membership fees for CISI for all years of your course are paid, enabling you to access the services they provide from day one. Also if you perform well you will be provided with additional study support and have your CISI exam fees paid. This potentially enables you to not only graduate with a degree from an industry recognised Business School but also gain an industry recognised professional qualification, all at no additional cost.
The Sewell Academy
All final students attend the Sewell Recruitment Academy as part of their course giving them an excellent basis on which to gain employment after graduating. This involves attending a number of sessions throughout the academic year to get career advice, CV help, job searching tips and guest talks from prominent local recruiters. Sessions are run from a specialist financial recruitment company. We are the only university with such an arrangement and there have been a number of notable successes, such as students gaining prominent positions in global companies, as a direct result of this programme.
Excel training
All students gain additional training on the more advanced tools in preparation for placement and graduate roles. This is achieved through a number of half day masterclasses held in semester two. Excel is widely used throughout the business world and by having advanced skills we try to ensure our graduates are one
step ahead of the competition.
Student Finance Society
Students are encouraged to take part in the Finance Society which arranges guest speakers, trips and social events. The society also organises a finance careers event where all the major professional bodies attend along with key employers such as KMPG, Aviva, Grant Thornton and the Cooperative Bank. It gives students an opportunity to discuss future career plans and find out about the latest placement and graduate vacancies.
Maths help
Many think accountancy and finance is maths and yet this really isn’t the case, however any role in finance will involve numbers. We have a comprehensive range of support in place to help students enhance their numeracy skills. All students have access to further support through one-to-one help and drop in sessions to improve skills and confidence.
Links to business
We have a comprehensive range of links to regional, national and international companies. This ensures that • our courses stay up to date • a range of guest lectures are embedded in modules • a number of companies recruit directly from us for internship’s • we maintain our excellent reputation with business which enhances your job prospects.
Sponsored prizes
Students on this course can win cash prizes for outstanding academic achievement which are sponsored by institutions and professional bodies such as the CII.
