Banking and International Finance (with Professional Placement)

The BSc (Hons) Banking and International Finance degree is delivered by Bayes Business School (formerly Cass), one of Europe’s leading business schools. Part of City St George's, University of London, Bayes is ranked amongst the top 6 business schools in the UK*.

On this highly flexible course, you’ll focus on the global banking industry. You’ll benefit from academic rigour and a strong emphasis on practical, vocation learning in an international context.

As a vocational course, it is tailor-made for your ambition to go straight into a job in banking after you graduate. Whether your interest is domestic or international, this well-balanced course has been designed to propel you to the top of the industry. We offer a wide variety of specialisations: central banking, managerial finance, commercial and retail banking, financial analysis, operations, or strategy.

The degree benefits from world-class faculty at Bayes who conduct research into topics including financial intermediation and international finance. The same faculty members also actively consult for global banks and regulators around the world. These are the lecturers who will be teaching you so you will benefit from their first-hand knowledge and business experience.

Upon completion of the degree, you will be able to understand the different business models of financial institutions, including global banks, new challengers and fintech companies. You will also appreciate the risks to which these institutions are exposed, how to evaluate and manage them and the main regulations with which they must comply. This knowledge places students in an excellent position to pursue a career in banking or in a consulting firm working with financial institutions.

All Bayes undergraduate students will also choose from a range of professional experience modules so that when you graduate you are equipped with the knowledge and experience to make you an attractive candidate to employers. You will also take a career-focused module suitable for your chosen course to help you prepare for entering the job market.

A key part of this degree is the opportunity to gain professional work experience or a period of study abroad. Students are eligible to apply for a one-year paid work placement which takes places during the third year of a four-year sandwich degree course. Students enjoy a wide range of opportunities in business areas such as corporate finance, operations, sales and trading, prime brokerage and hedge funds.

Students can also apply to spend a term (or one year) studying abroad at a range of prestigious partner universities including the University of Virginia and Bocconi University, Italy. Studying abroad enables students to expand their international network of contacts, to develop a wider perspective in the world of global finance and to enhance their career prospects.

The BSc (Hons) Banking and International Finance degree is taught alongside the BSc (Hons) Finance and BSc (Hons) Investment and Financial Risk Management. Students can switch between degrees at any time during the first one-and-a-half years of the course (subject to availability of places).

*Financial Times European Business School Ranking 2022