Course selection

Hello,

I have received offers from several universities as follows:
- Msc Banking, Regulation and Financial Stability from Uni of Bristol
- Msc Financial Economics from Uni of Birmingham
- Msc Economics and Econometrics from Uni of Nottingham
- Msc Finance from Uni of St Andrews

My plan is to find PhD opportunities in Finance in top 100 uni such as Uni of Warwick. Which the above mentioned courses should I choose? Any other advice?

Thank you.

Reply 1

MindMax2000

Universities Forum Helper

21

Original post by karmavu

Hello,

I have received offers from several universities as follows:
- Msc Banking, Regulation and Financial Stability from Uni of Bristol
- Msc Financial Economics from Uni of Birmingham
- Msc Economics and Econometrics from Uni of Nottingham
- Msc Finance from Uni of St Andrews

My plan is to find PhD opportunities in Finance in top 100 uni such as Uni of Warwick. Which the above mentioned courses should I choose? Any other advice?

Thank you.

Just out of interest, what did you do for your undergrad?
If you intend to do a PhD in finance, why are you looking into economics related masters' as opposed to MScs specifically in Finance?

Personally, I would go for the degree from St Andrews, but you should be fine with Bristol and Birmingham.

On a more important note, have you looked at the entry requirements fo the PhDs at the universities that you want to do it at? Just because one university would accept a certain degree from a certain university, it doesn't mean another university will accept the same.
Do you have a specific thesis that you intend to do? What is it about? Should your MSc be focused on this topic?

As an example, see the following page for the entry requirements for a PhD in Finance from Warwick: https://www.wbs.ac.uk/courses/doctoral/mres-phd-finance-economics/requirements/
Their requirements are:

•

An honours degree from a UK university or equivalent from an overseas university; plus a Masters degree, in economics or Finance (with a significant quantitative finance component). Accounting or Financial Mathematics may be considered with a significant finance component. A 1st class degree and a distinction at Masters level is recommended but serves as a guideline only.

•

A GMAT or GRE score is required and should be provided as part of your application. However, we have no defined threshold and the score provided will be indicative to merely supplement and strengthen applications.

•

You should have strong academic references and excellent potential for research.

In other words, if there isn't any difficult quantitative finance modules in your MSc degree, you are not likely going to be considered for this PhD program. This is because this PhD will involve a lot of maths.

Reply 2

karmavu

OP

2

Thank you very much for your detailed response.

For your interest, I did bachelor of business administration in finance for my undergrad.

I am looking into economics related courses as I prefer economic research topics to finance topics. Moreover, economics courses are more affordable, although some universities rejected me due to my finance background =)).

I have already looked at entry requirements at some uni in the UK and Australia. I just worry that the ranking of the institution where I will study may be an important factor.

To be honest, I am still finding ideas for my thesis. However, I will try to focus on corporate financial distress as I have conducted some research on this topic.

With your advice and my own consideration, I may opt for Birmingham as the offered modules are fine and it is easier for me to find good accommodation as compared to Bristol or St Andrews.

Once again, thank you very much for your advice.

Reply 3

MindMax2000

Universities Forum Helper

21

Original post by karmavu

Thank you very much for your detailed response.

For your interest, I did bachelor of business administration in finance for my undergrad.

I am looking into economics related courses as I prefer economic research topics to finance topics. Moreover, economics courses are more affordable, although some universities rejected me due to my finance background =)).

I have already looked at entry requirements at some uni in the UK and Australia. I just worry that the ranking of the institution where I will study may be an important factor.

To be honest, I am still finding ideas for my thesis. However, I will try to focus on corporate financial distress as I have conducted some research on this topic.

With your advice and my own consideration, I may opt for Birmingham as the offered modules are fine and it is easier for me to find good accommodation as compared to Bristol or St Andrews.

Once again, thank you very much for your advice.

Moreover, economics courses are more affordable, although some universities rejected me due to my finance background =)).
I'm not surprised. If your undergrad has a strong concentration in financial modules, then you would more or less be repeating the same material in your MSc. A master's degree is essentially half of an undergrad + a master's dissertation, which is why you can sometimes go straight into a PhD with just an undergrad (if you have a high score, and ideally have an honour's degree).

I just worry that the ranking of the institution where I will study may be an important factor.
For some courses at some universities it will be, so if you have any specific PhDs at top end universities in mind I would strongly recommend you look at their entry requirements before you decide on your master's.

(edited 9 months ago)

Reply 4

karmavu

OP

2

Thank you very much for your insightful recommendation. I will carefully review entry requirements of the universities where I want to apply for a PhD to decide on my master’s.

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