MSc Finance and Economics

A 2.1 Honours degree from a recognised UK university in Economics or Finance with a significant Economics component; or a 2.1 joint Honours in Economics and another subject that includes substantial training in microeconomics, macroeconometrics and econometrics. If you studied your first degree outside the UK, see the international entry requirements.

The qualifications listed are indicative minimum requirements for entry. Some academic Schools will ask applicants to achieve significantly higher marks than the minimum. Obtaining the listed entry requirements will not guarantee you a place, as the University considers all aspects of every application including, where applicable, the writing sample, personal statement, and supporting documents.

Application requirements

• CV 
• a detailed personal statement which includes (1) an explanation of why you want to study the programme (2) why you want to enrol at St Andrews and (3) future career plans
• one original signed academic reference
• academic transcripts and degree certificates  

For fees and funding options, please visit website to find out more

There is a long-standing tradition of Finance and Economics graduates working in a wide variety of challenging and rewarding posts including: 

• academia 
• banking 
• commerce 
• diplomatic service 
• economics 
• finance 
• government 
• industry 
• insurance

They work in the UK, Europe and North America and, more frequently, in locations such as China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Japan and Thailand. 

The Careers Centre offers one-to-one advice to all students as well as a programme of events to assist students in building their employability skills.

Semester 1 - Compulsory

You must take three compulsory modules in Semester 1.

These are: 

• Investment Management: fundamental principles of financial markets, financial instruments and modern security valuation techniques.
  and one of:
• Econometric Methods and Applications: advanced level training in econometric methods.
  Applied Financial Econometrics: training in econometrics with a focus on finance and time series methods.
  and one of:
• Macroeconomics: advanced treatment of the core models and concepts used in modern macroeconomics.
• Microeconomics: advanced treatment of the core models and concepts used in modern microeconomics. 

Semester 2 - Compulsory

In Semester 2, students must choose at least of one of:

• Advanced Corporate Finance: investigates the relationship between corporate liabilities and corporate actions. 
• Portfolio Management: studies key issues in asset allocation, and portfolio composition and management at an advanced level.

Both modules can be selected.

Optional

In your second semester, you will have the opportunity to choose modules from a selection of topics. In total, you will study four modules.

Examples of optional modules that may be offered include: 

• Behavioural Finance: examines the effects of behavioural biases in financial markets.
• Financial Technology: studies FinTech, including blockchain, machine learning and AI technologies. 
• Causal Inference in Econometrics: teaches cutting-edge econometric methods used in many empirical economics fields to establish plausibly causal estimates of phenomena like the minimum wage or the impact of immigration.
• Corporate Governance: covers three key components: corporate governance, risk management, and financial management. 
• Econometric Time Series Analysis: provides an advanced treatment of the core theory and practice of time series econometrics. 
• Game Theory: provides a thorough advanced treatment of the core models and concepts used in modern game theory. 
• Industrial Economics: focuses on the structure and mechanisms governing markets and on the way firms compete against each other in the pursuit of profit maximisation. 
• Monetary Policy: studies key issues in monetary policy.
• Risk Management: teaches standard techniques in risk and insurance problems. 

MSc Finance and  Economics students may take up to one advanced undergraduate optional module from the following in the second semester: 

• Behavioural Economics: Individual Decisions and Welfare 
• Development Economics
• Econometrics of Impact Evaluation

The topics, and therefore module titles, vary year on year as they reflect the research interests of staff. Optional modules require a minimum number of participants to be offered; some may only allow limited numbers of students (see the University’s position on curriculum development). 

Dissertation

The final element of the MSc is a 15,000-word dissertation. The dissertation should be on an area of either finance or economics that you are interested in, chosen in discussion with your supervisor who will support you through the process.  

You will receive training in Semester 1 in framing a hypothesis, conducting bibliographic research, writing a literature survey, and structuring a dissertation.