Course summary

Financial economics is all about managing financial assets such as trade and share prices, interest rates and exchange rates. You’ll not only be introduced to financial economics, but also gain a solid foundation in general economic concepts, principles, analysis, techniques and knowledge. Learning how to predict and advise on the impact of economic, social and public policy issues on monetary activities, you’ll develop your analytical and decision-making abilities, expanding your skills in data gathering, handling and interpretation, quantitative analysis and forecasting. In our state-of-the-art Bloomberg virtual trading room, you will use industry-standard software, including Bloomberg, SAGE, FAME, Excel and other statistical packages, to analyse data, build models and produce forecasts. You will also develop key soft skills such as communicating complex economic ideas to a non-expert, presentation skills and teamwork. We enjoy strong links with employers, including the Government Economic Service and Society of Professional Economists, which was relaunched here at Westminster Business School in 2018. Membership of the Society is offered to all final-year economic students and there are opportunities to attend their monthly meetings, conferences and continuous professional development courses. You can also gain valuable professional experience by taking a paid placement year and begin to build the networks that will help your career take off. Previous economics students have been employed by Goldman Sachs, Boxington Corporate Finance and with the Government Economic Service, to name just a few. Since our economics degrees share a common first year, you get to experience all the main areas in financial economics and, if you choose Crises and Controversies in Economics as an option, you may be eligible to change to the Financial Economics course at the start of your second year. A variety of optional modules also enables you to tailor your studies to suit your interests. For example, in studying Global Economic Issues, we show how economic analysis is used to understand key concerns like climate change, trade and migration.