BSc Finance with Study Year Abroad

Prepare for a career in the fast-paced financial industries – and broaden your skills and experience by studying overseas – with our BSc Finance with Study Year Abroad degree

Recent changes in finance – including the emergence of financial technology and the focus on sustainability – have necessitated changes throughout the industry.

This four-year course develops the key skills and knowledge to meet these changes head-on, as you gain a deep understanding of finance and the financial services industry. You’ll enrich this learning and broaden your life experience with an integrated Study Year Abroad.

Experts from from Henley Business School will introduce you to the:

fundamental principles of accounting, finance and economics
quantitative techniques of finance
role of finance in business and society
ethics required to work in the finance industry.

As your studies progress, you’ll gain deeper knowledge of the core concepts in:

portfolio management
financial modelling
corporate finance.

You’ll learn through a combination of lectures, seminars, practical workshops, and self-guided study. This will provide the opportunity to discuss subject materials in an in-depth way with your lecturers and fellow students.

Choose BSc Finance with Study Year Abroad at Henley Business School

Henley Business School is recognised as one of the top institutions in the UK for finance and accounting. We are:

top 25 in the UK for overall subject (ranked 23rd in The Times & Sunday Times Good University Guide 2024 and 24th in the Guardian University Guide 2024)
top 20 in the UK for graduate prospects outcomes (ranked 16th in the Complete University Guide 2025)
top 20 in the UK for student experience (ranked 20th in The Times & Sunday Times Good University Guide 2024).

All of our finance degrees are affiliated with the CFA Institute. Within this partnership, a number of scholarships are offered towards CFA exams (partial fee reduction) for which students can apply.

Flexible study options

After the first year of your BSc Finance with Study Year Abroad degree, you will have the option to transfer to any of our specialist pathways:

Each pathway is designed to help you understand particular challenges within finance and how to respond to them.

If you choose to remain on the general degree course, you’ll still be offered a wide range of options in your second and final years – allowing you to tailor your learning to your individual interests.

We also offer two other variations of this course: BSc Finance, a three-year course; and BSc Finance with Placement Year, a four-year course with a year spent on work placement instead of abroad.

Dedicated industry facilities with BSc Finance with Placement Year

Put your understanding of financial systems and capital markets into practice in our state-of-the-art dealing rooms, featuring computer trading simulations and financial modelling.

Study Year Abroad

In your third year, you’ll have the opportunity to continue your studies at one of our overseas partner universities.

We’ll help you decide where to go and for how long, guide you through the application process, and support you when you’re abroad.

To find out more about the benefits of studying abroad, and discover where you could go, visit the Study Abroad website.

Overview

Prepare for a career in the fast-paced financial industries – and broaden your skills and experience by studying overseas – with our BSc Finance with Study Year Abroad degree

Recent changes in finance – including the emergence of financial technology and the focus on sustainability – have necessitated changes throughout the industry.

Experts from from Henley Business School will introduce you to the:

fundamental principles of accounting, finance and economics
quantitative techniques of finance
role of finance in business and society
ethics required to work in the finance industry.

As your studies progress, you’ll gain deeper knowledge of the core concepts in:

portfolio management
financial modelling
corporate finance.

Choose BSc Finance with Study Year Abroad at Henley Business School

Henley Business School is recognised as one of the top institutions in the UK for finance and accounting. We are:

top 25 in the UK for overall subject (ranked 23rd in The Times & Sunday Times Good University Guide 2024 and 24th in the Guardian University Guide 2024)
top 20 in the UK for graduate prospects outcomes (ranked 16th in the Complete University Guide 2025)
top 20 in the UK for student experience (ranked 20th in The Times & Sunday Times Good University Guide 2024).

All of our finance degrees are affiliated with the CFA Institute. Within this partnership, a number of scholarships are offered towards CFA exams (partial fee reduction) for which students can apply.

Flexible study options

After the first year of your BSc Finance with Study Year Abroad degree, you will have the option to transfer to any of our specialist pathways:

Each pathway is designed to help you understand particular challenges within finance and how to respond to them.

We also offer two other variations of this course: BSc Finance, a three-year course; and BSc Finance with Placement Year, a four-year course with a year spent on work placement instead of abroad.

Dedicated industry facilities with BSc Finance with Placement Year

Put your understanding of financial systems and capital markets into practice in our state-of-the-art dealing rooms, featuring computer trading simulations and financial modelling.

Study Year Abroad

In your third year, you’ll have the opportunity to continue your studies at one of our overseas partner universities.

We’ll help you decide where to go and for how long, guide you through the application process, and support you when you’re abroad.

To find out more about the benefits of studying abroad, and discover where you could go, visit the Study Abroad website.

Entry requirements A Level ABB

Select Reading as your firm choice on UCAS and we'll guarantee you a place even if you don't quite meet your offer. For details, see our firm choice scheme.

Our typical offers are expressed in terms of A level, BTEC and International Baccalaureate requirements. However, we also accept many other qualifications.

Typical offer

ABB with B in A/AS-level Mathematics OR A-level Physics, Chemistry, Economics, Statistics.

Extended Project Qualifications (EPQ)

If you are taking an EPQ, you will receive two offers: our standard offer and an alternative offer of BBB in your A-level subjects on the condition that you achieve a B in your EPQ.

International Baccalaureate

32 points overall including minimum 5 in Maths and 4 in English at standard level.

GCSE

4 in GCSE English and 6 in GCSE Mathematics if not done at A/AS level.

International Baccalaureate

32 points overall including minimum 5 in Maths and 4 in English at standard level

GCSE

GCSE English at grade B (5)

BTEC Extended Diploma

Not accepted unless studied alongside A level or AS level Maths (the BTEC Extended Diploma cannot be accepted on its own to cover the Maths subject requirement).

English language requirements

IELTS 6.5, with no component below 5.5

For information on other English language qualifications, please visit our international student pages.

Alternative entry requirements for International and EU students

For country specific entry requirements look at entry requirements by country.

International Foundation Programme

If you are an international or EU student and do not meet the requirements for direct entry to your chosen degree you can join the University of Reading’s International Foundation Programme. Successful completion of this 1 year programme guarantees you a place on your chosen undergraduate degree. English language requirements start as low as IELTS 4.5 depending on progression degree and start date.

Learn more about our International Foundation programme

Pre-sessional English language programme

If you need to improve your English language score you can take a pre-sessional English course prior to entry onto your degree.

Find out the English language requirements for our courses and our pre-sessional English programme

Compulsory modules

Introductory Securities and Markets

Explore financial institutions, credit risk, maturity transformation and liquidity, plus the economics of banking and types of money including cryptocurrencies and central bank digital currencies. Focus on sustainable finance and its important contribution to achieving Net Zero by 2050.

Introductory Finance/Trading Simulation I

Get an overview of the role the financial system plays in the economy. Discuss the main players in the system, the instruments they trade, and the trading prices. Focus on capital markets and the private and public financial institutions participating in these markets

Introductory Economics for Business and Finance

Develop an understanding of micro- and macroeconomics, enabling you to see how businesses are affected by developments in specific markets as well as by changes at the level of the entire economy.

Introductory Quantitative Techniques for Business and Finance

Discover a range of quantitative techniques that are commonly applied in business, finance and management. You'll learn about introductory statistics and mathematical techniques that are necessary for a good understanding of financial theories and which are vital to develop and understand the models used in business and finance.

Ethics in Investment Management (BSc)

Explore the ethical conflicts encountered by the investment management and finance professionals and firms. You'll be encouraged to reflect on financialization and the impact of unethical behaviour on trading partners, customers, financial markets and wider stakeholders.

Business in Practice: Accounting for Managers

Develop a foundation in how businesses use accounting information. Learn about management accounting and financial accounting, which will provide the necessary foundation to allow you to specialise in your later studies.

These are the modules that we currently offer for 2024/2025 entry. They may be subject to change as we regularly review our module offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Please note that the University cannot guarantee that all optional modules will be available to all students who may wish to take them.

You can also register your details with us to receive information about your course of interest and study and life at the University of Reading.

Compulsory modules

Corporate Finance

Focus on corporate value: its measurement, and its maximisation through corporate financial decisions, growth strategies, and governance practices. Get a good grounding in corporate finance theory and an appreciation of the related empirical evidence.

Portfolio Management (BSc)

Examine the issues involved in understanding the investment market, constructing an optimal investment portfolio, evaluating the performance of that portfolio, and adjusting its composition through time. Develop a detailed knowledge of the theoretical underpinnings and the practical techniques required to form and manage portfolios of assets.

Financial Modelling

Put finance theories, that you studied during Part 1 Introductory Finance, into practice with the use of Microsoft Excel functions, giving you the opportunity to apply your theoretical knowledge to solve some real-life financial problems.

Optional modules

Introductory Econometrics for Finance

Discover the econometric techniques used in empirical finance literature. Building on Introductory Quantitative Techniques for Finance module, you'll gain a solid understanding of the econometric approaches that are commonly employed to test financial theories.

Trends in Finance

Contextualise current issues and debates in finance by placing them in the historical evolution of finance. Understand how finance has evolved over time and where it may develop in the future.

Programming for Finance

Learn about Object Oriented Programming using Python as the main programming language, and use the learning outcomes for data processing and applications in Finance. Discover the basics of programming, including class, objects, datatypes, conditional statements and loops, processing data from files, receiving inputs and displaying relevant outputs.

Sustainable Finance

Learn about the basics of Sustainable Finance, covering applications in financing and investment activities. You'll explore the Environmental, Social and Governance factors, and will discuss the relevant policies and international regulations.

FX and International Debt Markets

Study the international debt markets, equip yourself with the tools to analyse and compare products, and determine trading and hedging strategies. Develop an understanding of the products and practices of international money and bond market cash instruments and bond futures.

Climate Change and Finance

Gain an overview of the scientific consensus on climate change and its projected social and economic consequences, in order to understand how the financial sector can help to mitigate and manage these impacts.

Please note that the University cannot guarantee that all optional modules will be available to all students who may wish to take them.

You can also register your details with us to receive information about your course of interest and study and life at the University of Reading.

Study Year Abroad

Compulsory modules

Management of Risk

Develop techniques to measure and manage market and credit risks in banks. Explore recent developments in bank regulation. Develop critical risk management skills that are indispensable for anyone willing to undertake a career in the financial sector.

Derivative Securities

Explore derivatives markets and their products through theories and practical trading strategies. Become equipped with the essential knowledge to continue studying the advanced derivatives pricing model and practising trading with derivatives.

Optional modules

Machine Learning in Finance

Discover the fundamentals of Machine Learning (ML), an important innovation behind many changes in Business and Finance in recent years. Learn ML algorithms, which provide useful tools for extractions of intelligence in the era of big data.

Bonds and Money Markets

Explore the economic drivers and relationships between bond, money markets and central bank monetary policies, and the impact of key economic drivers on the pricing, trading strategies and portfolio management for bonds and money market instruments.

Information Systems and Digital Business

Explore key concepts, theories, techniques, and issues in developing information systems solutions for digital business. Understand the importance of aligning business and IT strategies through an understanding of the structure and function of information processed by IT systems from both business and technical perspectives.

Financial Engineering

Apply engineering methods to finance for the design, analysis, and construction of financial contracts that meet the needs of investors and companies. Gain an overview of the theory and practice of Financial Engineering, with emphasis on contract design, payoffs replication and application of simple derivatives pricing and hedging methodology to complex derivatives and structured products.

Research Project (BSc)

Choose a finance question that is of interest to you, and produce a Research Project that addresses your question.

Private Equity and Venture Capital

Develop your appreciation of the practical aspects of investing by private equity and venture capital firms, understand the dynamics between the venture capital investor and the entrepreneur, and the practicalities of raising private equity and venture capital funds from institutional investors.

Finance and Occupational Pensions

Gain a detailed knowledge of the biggest group of global institutional investors (pension schemes), and the real-world problems they face. This is an applied course with little mathematical content.

Fintech and Crytpocurrencies

Learn about fintech, cryptocurrencies, and blockchain. Gain an understanding of how and why firms are implementing blockchain technology in their day-to-day business as well as the challenges they face.

Advanced Derivative Securities Hedging and Trading

Focus on option/volatility trading and risk management. Seminars take place in the dealing room, and you will manage the risk, as market makers, of equity options portfolios on ICTrader. Gain a basic practical working knowledge of the hedging and trading of derivative securities, and in particular options.

Please note that the University cannot guarantee that all optional modules will be available to all students who may wish to take them.

You can also register your details with us to receive information about your course of interest and study and life at the University of Reading.

Fees

New UK/Republic of Ireland students: £9,535 per year for 2025/26 then fixed per year at this fee for the standard duration of your course.

New international students: £29,950 per year for 2025/26 then fixed per year at this fee for the standard duration of your course.

Tuition fees

To find out more about how the University of Reading sets its tuition fees, see our fees and funding pages.

Year abroad fees

If you spend a full year abroad, you will only pay 15% of your usual tuition fee for that year. For more information, please see our fees and funding pages or contact studyabroad@reading.ac.uk.

Additional costs

Some courses will require additional payments for field trips and extra resources. You will also need to budget for your accommodation and living costs. See our information on living costs for more details.

Financial support for your studies

You may be eligible for a scholarship or bursary to help pay for your study. Students from the UK may also be eligible for a student loan to help cover these costs. See our fees and funding information for more information on what's available.

Careers

Careers for BSc Finance with Study Year Abroad graduates

The skills and knowledge you acquire from your degree in finance will be applicable to, and provide a route into, many areas:

Asset management
Multinational firms operations
Financial technology
Banking and investment banking
Consultancy
Finance
Start-ups
Financial analysis
Trading
Brokerage
Hedge funds
Sustainable fund management
Environmental project management
Corporate governance.

BSc Finance with Study Year Abroad

Choose BSc Finance with Study Year Abroad at Henley Business School

Flexible study options

Dedicated industry facilities with BSc Finance with Placement Year

Study Year Abroad

Tuition fees

Additional costs

Financial support for your studies

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