BSc (Finance With A Year In Industry)

Learning And Teaching:

Queen’s Business School is one of the largest Schools in the University with more than 1700 full-time undergraduate students and 300 plus postgraduate students. The School has been delivering high quality programmes for more than 40 years and was one of the first schools in the UK to introduce undergraduate management education. Since then, QBS has been developing and enhancing its teaching portfolio for both local and international students and boasts students from more than 20 different nationalities.

In recent years, the School has benefited from significant investment resulting in many new academic appointments and state-of-the-art facilities including computer teaching labs with specialised software and a Trading Room in Riddel Hall. In addition, the new McClay library houses an excellent selection of Management and related texts and there are extensive IT facilities throughout the campus.

At Queen’s, we aim to deliver a high quality learning environment that embeds intellectual curiosity, innovation and best practice in learning, teaching and student support to enable students to achieve their full academic potential. In line with this, one of QBS’ primary objectives is to deliver innovative learning and teaching programmes that provide students with the competences and skills to make a positive contribution to business, economic and civic life.

On the BSc Finance programme we achieve these goals by providing a range of learning environments which enable our students to engage with subject experts both academic staff and industry guest speakers, develop skills and attributes and perspectives that will equip them for life and work in a global society and make use of innovative technologies and a world-class library that enhances their development as independent, lifelong learners. 

Examples of the opportunities provided for learning on this degree programme are:

• Adviser of Studies
• To assist with the choice of modules at the beginning of each academic year
• E-Learning technologies
• Information associated with lectures and assignments is often communicated via a Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) called Canvas. A range of e-learning experiences are also embedded in the degree programme through the use of, for example, interactive support materials, podcasts and web-based learning activities. There are also opportunities to develop technical skills in the use of industry software.
• Induction
• Formalised induction for all undergraduate students. For Stage 1 students, this includes several half-day sessions the week before the programme begins to allow students to familiarise themselves with the campus and the degree programme. During Stage 1 there are a number of follow-up sessions throughout the year. Topics such as academic writing, referencing, plagiarism, communication skills, examination preparation and managing time effectively are all covered in these practical sessions.
• Lectures
• These introduce foundation information about new topics as a starting point for further self-directed private study/reading. As the module progresses this information becomes more complex. Lectures, which are normally delivered in large groups to all year-group peers, also provide opportunities to ask questions and seek clarification on key issues as well as gain feedback and advice on assessments. Additional lectures are also delivered by employer representatives. In addition to the academic content of the lectures and workshops, this enables employers to impart their valuable experience to QBS Finance students, introduces important local employers to our students and allows our students to meet and engage with potential future employers.
• Masterclasses
• Throughout the degree students are offered exposure to financial experts from the London financial markets who share their industry knowledge and offer advice on what it takes to succeed in the world of finance.
• Peer Mentoring Scheme
• Whereby students in second and third year of their degree programme volunteer to mentor Stage 1 students. Developing the programme themselves, with support from academic staff in QBS, the mentors organise informal meetings, regular contact and a series of events ranging from ice-breaker type events to employer-led sessions with the Stage 1 students.
• Personal Development Planning
• To encourage students to engage in independent learning.
• Practicals
• Finance is a very theoretical yet vocational subject and as such we facilitate opportunities for students to engage in the application of theory. Students will have opportunities to develop technical skills and apply theoretical principles to real-life or practical contexts through the modules you study and through industry presentations and workshops that we host.
• Self-directed study
• This is an essential part of life as a Queen’s student when important private reading, engagement with e-learning resources, reflection on feedback to date and assignment research and preparation work is carried out.
• Seminars/tutorials
• A significant amount of teaching is carried out in small groups (typically 15-20 students). These sessions are designed to explore, in more depth, the information that has been presented in the lectures. This provides students with the opportunity to engage closely with academic staff who have specialist knowledge of the topic, to ask questions of them and to assess their own progress and understanding with the support of their peers. During these classes, students will be expected to present their work to academic staff and their peers.
• Student Support Systems
• QBS has an active and co-ordinated student support system to assist students in making the transition from school to university.
• Supervised projects
• As part of the continual assessment on a range of modules, students will be expected to carry out projects. They will receive support from the module coordinators who will guide them in terms of how to carry out projects and who will provide feedback during the write up stage.
• Trading Room
• Several classes on the degree programme are taught in the dedicated financial trading room which recreates the excitement of an investment bank trading floor, and provides students with hands-on experience in a dynamic environment. Real-time data feeds from major exchanges are displayed on terminals and wall screens, and industry-standard software packages are used to provide the best possible introduction to investment banking IT.
• Work placements
• The BSc Finance programme has a compulsory placement year. This begins after all Stage 2 courses have been successfully completed. The Careers and Work Placement Office within the School facilitates students in sourcing and securing appropriate placements and provides appropriate support whilst the student is with the host organisation. This is a significant learning and employability enhancement opportunity and will ensure that the theory being understood in the lecture theatre is complemented by the development of practical, transferrable skills.