Core courses and electives

As a student of the MSc in Applied Financial Economics (MAFE), you will learn frontier ideas in finance and economics with a focus on real-world applications. You will engage deeply with rigorous models and state-of-the art methods and will apply them to real challenges drawn from financial markets, global institutions and your own workplace.

The content of the core courses aligns closely with the MSc in Financial Economics (MFE programme), ensuring that you will receive the same world-class education, but in a flexible format that is more suited to working professionals. Because you’ll be learning part time, you can take the principles and apply them in real time.

The delivery and style of teaching will be more focused on applications, interactivity, group work and digital activities. This approach promotes active learning, reinforces key concepts through real-world application and builds your practical skillset. You will develop the confidence and capability to make informed decisions relevant to your professional context.

The materials will allow you to engage with manageable portions in carefully sequenced steps. You will have flexibility to learn in your own time, revisit key topics and apply the ideas to contexts that align with your work and career goals.

The economics courses apply theories and methodologies to finance, while the finance courses provide the underlying economic principles of financial practice.

Online Maths pre-course

Quantitative skills will be a key part of the MAFE. This is a pre-programme course on mathematics, designed for Financial Economics. The course is designed to provide a working knowledge of main techniques on linear algebra, probability and random variables, mathematical analysis and static and dynamic optimisation, which are used and integrated in Economics and Finance courses at a graduate level.

Students are strongly encouraged to undertake the pre-programme maths course. For students who are familiar with these topics, the course enables them to revise and organise their knowledge.

Online Financial Reporting pre-course

This course is designed as a financial reporting for non-specialists. The course is pitched assuming little prior knowledge, however the course also includes extra exercises for those already familiar with the material. We realise that many students will have had some exposure to financial reporting, either through an online course or other prior study or work experience. This course is designed to give students lacking this knowledge, a basic grounding which will be important in both core and elective finance courses.

Asset Pricing

This course covers the theory and practice of valuing claims to uncertain cash flows; for example, stocks and stock options, bonds, and foreign exchange instruments. It covers standard material such as CAPM and the Black-Scholes formula and some advanced material such as consumption-CAPM and pricing formulas for 'exotic options'.

You will apply advanced statistical tools to real-world datasets, learning to code and calibrate models that help you evaluate and price modern financial instruments.

Corporate Finance

You will learn the fundamental principles of corporate finance, the valuation of firms' assets and the determinants of firms' financial structures. The course covers key components of firms' financial decisions and the operation of financial markets, including new issues of securities, debt and dividend policy. You will learn about the relevance of different financial institutions to the financing of firms, the takeover process, corporate restructurings and financial distress.

You will look at corporate governance from the viewpoint of principal-agent models and the relationship between theory and practice in the control of firms.

Financial Econometrics

This course provides students with a background in the fundamentals of empirical modelling and testing in finance. It will introduce you to modern financial econometrics providing appropriate techniques for empirical investigation in financial economics where you will gain a better understanding of crucial concepts like risk, evidence and prediction.

Economics

Microeconomics is the study of how financial and commercial frameworks and conditions impact on individual situations and business units. In this course, you will apply the basic tools of market and firm analysis, game theory, incentive theory and auctions. In addition, the course will provide an introduction to fundamental ideas in macroeconomics, reinforced by lectures from leading policy experts. You will learn how to apply economic analysis to understanding changes in consumer and producer behaviour or in global macroeconomic conditions.

Ethics and Finance

This course engages students with theory and practice, offering the opportunity to interact with practitioners on an ethical topic and write a case study from real world data. You will explore the ethical foundations of the finance profession, addressing questions of governance, regulation and professional responsibility. You will engage with real-world ethical dilemmas through practitioner-led case studies and take account of complex structural and cultural factors that generate financial ethical problems.

You will have the opportunity to choose three electives, tailoring your learning experience and expanding your knowledge in areas important for your career.

You will also be required to complete an individual project that blends academic research with practical application, allowing you to explore a topic relevant to your professional interests. The following gives examples of the electives.

Year 1 electives

• Corporate Valuation
• AI and Machine Learning
• Intermediate Econometrics
• Economic Policy
• Financial Markets

Year 2 electives

• Financial Markets
• Quantitative Topics in Corporate Valuation
• Advanced Machine Learning and Big Data
• International Finance
• Advanced Econometrics
• Macrofinance: Theory and Empirical Models
• Individual project (compulsory)

Individual project (compulsory)

Your individual project should be related to an area of financial economics and demonstrate your ability to apply the tools of financial economics learned on the programme to a problem in the field. The topic could address an issue of practical significance to investors, firms, financial institutions, governments or regulatory bodies.

For students in employment, you will apply the theory you have learned to an issue relevant to your own area of work. Building on and developing your professional experience, you will apply the latest research developments to the challenges faced in your career. Alternatively, you could consider a topic of academic interest.