Overview
If you’re interested in a career in the fast-paced banking and financial sector, a degree in Banking and Finance could provide you with the opportunity to learn the skills needed to succeed.
Over the past ten years, the scale and importance of the banking industry to the global economy has grown – with a 2018 report showing the world’s top 1000 banks now hold $123.7 trillion in assets, up from $96.4 trillion ten years ago. Such growth requires an increase in talent, with the City of London, home to many of the UK’s largest banks, predicting a 34% growth in jobs in the next 30 years.
Our BSc Banking and Finance course has been designed to help meet this need by focusing on your future employability. Not only will you have the opportunity to study modules specifically related to banking, such as Banking Regulation, Principles of Banking and Risk Management in Banking, you should also gain applied knowledge in the areas of economics, finance and accounting. Coupled with the support offered by our Employability team, Business Futures, and the experience you can gain on our industry-standard Trading Floor, this course should help to prepare you to enter the banking and finance industry upon graduation.
Course information
A key feature of this degree is its applied nature, which makes use of related case studies, databases and software throughout core banking modules and relevant financial, economics and accounting modules. By covering this range of areas, you will have the opportunity to gain a breadth of knowledge, which will not only be applicable to the banking sector, but also to roles in financial institutions or wider finance-related fields.
To help develop skills and knowledge of the banking sector, throughout your degree you will have the opportunity to study modules which specifically relate to the banking industry. In your first year, Introduction to Banking allows for an overview of the topic, which is further developed throughout your course by modules focused on contemporary issues within the sector, such as the regulation of banks, risk management within banking, and corporate governance and ethics. Such modules present you with the opportunity to understand the key current issues in the sector, while also receiving a strong background in applied techniques and skills within banking.
Alongside banking, you will have the opportunity to gain a wider breath of knowledge, covering key topics within finance, accounting and economics. In your first year, you will study modules on the Fundamentals of Finance, as well as Mathematical Skills for Finance and Statistical Analysis for Finance. These modules should help to develop your ability to interpret finance-related data, to understand the function of financial markets, and to apply appropriate financial techniques to a range of banking related issues. As you progress through your degree, you will also have the opportunity to study an Introduction to Econometrics and Applied Econometrics, modules which should allow you to understand how to apply statistical methods to economic data.
Knowledge will also be built through exposure to case studies, software and databases which are of particular relevance to the banking sector. This hands-on approach is further enhanced through our students access to Coventry Business School’s Trading Floor, currently one of the largest academic Trading Floorsin Europe. The Trading Floor is equipped with industry standard tools such as Thomson Reuters Eikon and Bloomberg, and by using such industry recognised software, students can enhance their employability – and there is also the opportunity for Bloomberg certification of key financial database skills, on successful completion of a short course.
Employability is not only enhanced by the Business School’s dedicated employment team, Business Futures, who offer support in gaining placements and work experience opportunities, but also by the incorporation of employability modules within the course, with Employability Skills in Finance 1 and 2 focusing on internship or placement applications and graduate scheme applications respectively. We also welcome guest speakers from the banking industry for lectures or employability events – 2019’s Careers in Banking event saw attendees from the Bank of England, Barclays and Deutsche Bank provide advice and answer questions on careers in the sector.