MSc Global Financial Trading

Year of Entry 2025/26
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MSc

Global Financial Trading

Carve out a career as a successful financial markets trader, taught by experienced academics and professional traders using industry standard tools.

Everything you need to know...

  • Pound sign

    What is the fee?

    Home: £11,590 for the course
    International/EU: £19,705 for the course

  • Time

    How long will I study?

    12 Months

  • Location

    Where will I study?

    City Campus

  • Date

    When do I start?

    September 2025
    January 2026


Course summary

  • Develop transferable skills for the international business world. 
  • Explore global financial systems, markets, institutions and regulation. 
  • Gain valuable experience with a live trading simulation.  
  • Analyse financial risk strategies for investment and portfolio management. 
  • Undertake real-world learning to gain immediate value for current or potential employers.

This course is designed to meet the growing demand for highly skilled and intellectual professionals in financial trading. You’ll gain specialist knowledge in finance, investments and trading, while developing your ability to research, appraise and critically evaluate current issues in the financial sector. You’ll look at topics such as pensions, socially responsible mutual funds and the impact of hedge funds on economic growth.


How you learn

At Sheffield Hallam, all our courses are designed to engage you with the world and challenge you to think in new ways. You’ll get to collaborate with others, and you’ll be taught in a supportive environment where you can thrive. 

On this course you’ll be taught by staff who have industry experience and/or are active researchers. Through a combination of teaching methods you’ll develop in-depth knowledge and a range of skills. You’ll implement theories and techniques, problem-solving activities, research and teamwork – taking an active approach to your learning and self-development.   

You learn through:  

  • lectures  
  • tutorials  
  • IT sessions 
  • regular formative feedback  
  • teamwork and group-based learning  
  • practice-based applied learning 
  • authentic learning experiences  
  • engagement with guest lectures 
  • discussions  
  • self-managed study 

Key themes

This course starts by helping you develop a strong understanding of finance and the associated practical skills relating to global finance, trading and investment practices. You’ll develop your understanding of how and when to apply your subject knowledge – using appropriate techniques, technologies, project management practices and methodologies for problem-solving and research.   

We’ll further develop your understanding by introducing you to real-life case studies, business problem scenarios and projects. You’ll work independently and in small teams to identify solutions and produce reports, presentations and recommendations. These experiences will help prepare you for a career in banking and finance, all within a supportive learning environment.  

At the final stage of the master’s degree, you’ll undertake a dissertation or an applied business project – applying all your knowledge and skills to successfully fulfil your research objectives.   

Course support

You’ll be supported in your learning journey towards highly skilled, graduate-level employment. This includes:  

  • Access to our student support triangle to help with your personal, academic and career development   
  • Access to our Skills Centre for support with one-to-ones, webinars and online resources, where you can get help with planning and structuring your assignments  
  • Industry-specific employability activities such as live projects, learning in simulated environments and networking opportunities

Course leaders and tutors

Adil Elfakir
Adil Elfakir
Senior Lecturer

Senior Lecturer

Applied learning

You’ll develop your employability skills throughout the course, using real-life scenarios and business problems.

‘Knowledge applied’ is the underlying design principle for all our courses and modules. All modules on your course adopt forefront research, updated regulations and standards. Teaching and assessment activities use real-life case studies and business problem scenarios – underlined by a combination of complex regulatory, political, economic, social and environmental factors – all helping to prepare you for a career in accounting and finance.   

Live projects

Your research project could be a dissertation – where you carry out an in-depth research enquiry to address existing gaps in knowledge. Or you could undertake an applied business project – an extensive research project to produce insights, solutions and recommendations for a specific client.

You’ll have the freedom to tailor your research project according to your academic and career aspirations. 

As part of this capstone project, you’ll apply all the knowledge and skills you’ve developed throughout the course, while also developing new ones. From the initial stage of generating research ideas to the final stage of writing up your dissertation or applied business project report, you’ll be guided by the module team and a dedicated project supervisor.  

Networking opportunities  

You’ll have numerous opportunities for career planning and development – from career fairs and workshops to employer presentations, field visits and professional careers advice. All these opportunities can enhance your confidence and skills development – and your employability as a result.

You’ll also be able to join the economics society, financial trading society, and finance and banking society. 

Field trips

Field trips are an important part of your studies. They're the perfect opportunity to connect with your peers and tutors – as well as putting your theoretical knowledge into context with in-depth discussions about your discipline. Previous students have visited financial institutions such as the Bank of England.

Guest lectures

You can attend guest talks delivered by organisations in the financial sector. In previous years we’ve hosted talks from the Bank of England, Clipper Logistics, Virgin Money, Vodafone, GXO, HSBC and Capgemini


Future careers

This course prepares you for a career in: 

  • trading
  • banking
  • finance
  • investment
  • wealth management
  • business consulting 

Previous graduates of this course have gone on to work for:

  • Investec
  • RBC Capital Markets
  • Santander
  • Citibank
  • Credit Suisse
  • EY
  • Shell
  • HSBC
  • Barclays
  • Chinatrust Commercial Bank

Where will I study?

You study at City Campus through a structured mix of lectures, seminars and practical sessions as well as access to digital and online resources to support your learning.

City Campus

City Campus is located in the heart of Sheffield, within minutes of the train and bus stations.

City Campus map | City Campus tour 


City Campus map
Location

Howard Street
Sheffield
S1 1WB

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Adsetts library

Adsetts Library is located on our City Campus. It's open 24 hours a day, every day.

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Equipment and facilities

The new Sheffield Business School building will be net-zero ready, with state-of-the-art teaching and learning facilities and social spaces.

On this course, you’ll work with and have access to: 

  • our virtual learning environment – Blackboard sites 
  • updated office software 
  • accounting software  
  • Bloomberg terminals 
  • our financial trading floor  
  • a physical and online library
  • digital books, journals, newspapers and magazines 

Entry requirements

All students

You typically need one of the following: • 2.2 honours degree in a relevant subject • recognised professional qualification or equivalent in a relevant subject Relevant subjects include • business management • finance • accounting • economics • banking • law • the natural sciences • IT and computing. We consider applicants without these academic qualifications’ dependant on personal, professional and work experience and other formal qualifications. You may also be able to claim credit points which can reduce the amount of time it takes to complete your qualification at Sheffield Hallam. Find out more.

Overseas applicants from countries whose first language is not English must normally produce evidence of competence in English, such as an IELTS score of 6.0 with 5.5 in all skills. If your English language skill is currently below an IELTS score of 6.0 with a minimum of 5.5 in all skills we recommend you consider a Sheffield Hallam University Pre-sessional English course which will enable you to achieve the required level of English.

Additional information for EU/International students

If you are an International or non-UK European student, you can find out more about the country specific qualifications we accept on our international qualifications page.

For details of English language entry requirements (IELTS), please see the information for 'All students'.


Modules studied may differ depending on when you start your course.

Modules

Important notice: The structure of this course is periodically reviewed and enhanced to provide the best possible learning experience for our students and ensure ongoing compliance with any professional, statutory and regulatory body standards. Module structure, content, delivery and assessment may change, but we expect the focus of the course and the learning outcomes to remain as described above. Following any changes, updated module information will be published on this page.

Modules studied may differ depending on when you start your course.

Final year

Compulsory modules

Module
Credits
Assessment
Applied Financial Trading
Credits 30
Assessment Coursework(100%)
Finance And Trading Algorithms
Credits 30
Assessment Coursework(100%)
Financial Stability, Regulation And Sustainability
Credits 30
Assessment Coursework(60%) , Practical(40%)
Statistics And Big Data In Finance
Credits 30
Assessment Coursework(100%)

Elective modules

Module
Credits
Assessment
Consultancy
Credits 60
Assessment Coursework(100%)
Dissertation
Credits 60
Assessment Coursework(100%)

Fees and funding

Home students

Our tuition fee for UK students starting full-time study in 2025/26 is £11,590 for the course.

If you are studying an undergraduate course, postgraduate pre-registration course or postgraduate research course over more than one academic year then your tuition fees may increase in subsequent years in line with Government regulations or UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) published fees. More information can be found in our terms and conditions under student fees regulations.

International students

Our tuition fee for International/EU students starting full-time study in 2025/26 is £19,705 for the course.

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Postgraduate student loans

Up to £11,222 available for Home students on most masters courses.

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Additional course costs

The links below allow you to view estimated general course additional costs, as well as costs associated with key activities on specific courses. These are estimates and are intended only as an indication of potential additional expenses. Actual costs can vary greatly depending on the choices you make during your course.

General course additional costs

Additional costs for Sheffield Business School (PDF, 142KB)

Legal information

Any offer of a place to study is subject to your acceptance of the University’s Terms and Conditions and Student Regulations.

 

How do I apply?

You apply for this course via our online application form.

Apply for September 2025

You can also use the application form above to apply for future years of entry.

Not ready to apply just yet?

Why not come to our next open day? Open days are the perfect place to talk to staff and students, visit our campuses and get all the information you need. Alternatively, feel free to ask us a question.

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Why choose us?

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Teaching

We are Gold rated in the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) for the outstanding quality of our teaching and student outcomes

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Accommodation

We guarantee to find you an affordable place to live that’s close to campus and comes with all bills included

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Excellence

Graduate from Sheffield Business School – rated in the top 6% globally for excellence in teaching and research

Where next?

Find out more about Sheffield Hallam's postgraduate opportunities and community.

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You can chat to teaching and admissions staff, view our facilities and learn more about your funding options.

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Information for international students

Information for international students including entry requirements by country and funding.

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