Help in selecting a university for MSc in Financial Risk

I've gotten a few offers from several universities in the UK for Masters programs in slightly varying courses due to availability, fees, etc.. I am hoping to secure a good internship offer during the course and probably work in the UK for 1-2 years before moving back to my home country. I am inclined towards a career in the central bank, either in policy making or financial risk management.

Swansea - MSc Economics and Finance
QUB - MSc Risk and Investment Management
Reading - MSc Financial Risk Management
Essex - MSc Financial Engineering and Risk Management
Kent - MSc Finance, Investment and Risk
Queen Mary - MSc Banking and Finance

I am leaning towards Reading due to the specific course, reputation of the business school and its close proximity to London, however I appreciate any insight to any of these schools (campus life, course details, career prospects, etc.). Thank you so much!

Hiya 👋

I'm a current student at the University of Essex

If you were to study at Essex you would be based at our Colchester Campus. If you wanted to stay in the area after your degree and commute instead of moving into London, the city of Colchester has direct train links to London Liverpool Street which is within the financial sector and easily commutable in under an hour.

We've got a fantastic friendly campus with many international students represented from over 140 nationalities.

We do also have a great careers advice team and placements programme if you were interested in doing a placement. There is support and guidance on internships as well

Best of luck with your choices!

Essex Student Rep - Hayley

Thank you so much for the response! It sounds like Essex is a solid option as well, I just need to delve deeper into the subjects to determine which university aligns with my interests better.

I've gotten a few offers from several universities in the UK for Masters programs in slightly varying courses due to availability, fees, etc.. I am hoping to secure a good internship offer during the course and probably work in the UK for 1-2 years before moving back to my home country. I am inclined towards a career in the central bank, either in policy making or financial risk management.

Swansea - MSc Economics and Finance
QUB - MSc Risk and Investment Management
Reading - MSc Financial Risk Management
Essex - MSc Financial Engineering and Risk Management
Kent - MSc Finance, Investment and Risk
Queen Mary - MSc Banking and Finance
Cardiff - MSc Operational Res., App. Stats & Financial Risk

I am leaning towards Reading due to the specific course, reputation of the business school and its close proximity to London, however I appreciate any insight to any of these schools (campus life, course details, career prospects, etc.). Thank you so much!

Hey there @selfishjean,

I hope you're keeping well!

I have to say, you have a great list of choices there! In my opinon, Kent is a brilliant place to follow through with your studies though, for the exact reasons you mentioned and more!

Firstly, it's very close to London and Canterbury is actually becoming more of a commuter city to the capital as more links establish, which makes sense considering its about an hour away from Victoria by train.
The city is also a beautiful, and full of history and culture, which also happens to be a relatively close to relaxing coastal areas such as Whistable, Herne Bay, and Margate, making it an incredibly cozy and stunning place to stay at.

The course itself here is also highly praised and great to study, offering top quality, relevant modules - funnily enough, the business department really prides itself a lot more on its postgraduate courses (but don't tell anyone I told you that). It's a Triple Crown Business School which places a lot of focus on the quantitative side of finance, whilst still teaching about other necessary business elements that are needed to carry you to the job-market securely. We have a lot of alumni here at Kent who have not only worked in banks such as Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, and the Central Bank in Monetary Policy, but who also return to give talks to current students about what they can expect and how to prepare!

Honestly, the best thing that I truly love about this University though is the amount of support which it provides it's students with. It's an incredibly underrated factor, however, for me it's been instrumental in helping my academic life evolve and improve since I joined. I mean this in the sense that most major classes have drop-in sessions, whereby it's really just an hour of questioning your lecturer, consultation hours which is where professors have to drop everything they do and converse with you about any questions you may have, as well as you having your own academic advisor - who are staff with specialised knowledge in your area of study whom you can contact to support you, if need be.
The University here also has a whole host of support departments which are around to give you necessary help, such as Mental Health Support. Work Opportunity and Job Searching Support, Academic Support, etc.

Campus is very cozy, with a very friendly atmosphere. In my opinion, it's rural enough that's its peaceful and green (you'll see many rabbits, birds, squirrels, and the like) - but close enough to the city that you can get what's necessary. There are so many societies here, all of which would be more than hapy to take you in!

Sibson, the home of KBS and Economics, is an award-winning building which hosts a Bloomberg Suite, Computer labs, breakout spaces, student meeting areas, dedicated MBA suite, modern seminar rooms, multiple lecture theatres, a big atrium for conference and meeting events, and an ASPIRE lab. You'll often see students studying all around, or just sitting comfortably whilst waiting for friends or lectures to start - it's a really comforting environment there. Plus, the building has a nice little cafe for coffee breaks as a cherry on top.

I'm sorry for writing a lot, but I do feel like Kent would be a great place for you to study. It has been for me afterall!

Anyways, I hope this helped at least somewhat.
If you have more questions, please don't hesitate to ask .

Warm Regards,

David
University of Kent Representative

PS. you can find out even more here if you're still interested 🙂:
https://www.kent.ac.uk/courses/postgraduate/1703/finance-investment-and-risk

Wow thank you so much for your reply!

Honestly the course at Kent is the one that I find most interesting given the subjects covered in this program and your detailed description may have just sold me! My main goal is to do either a 1 or 2-year internship so I need to carefully select a course and school which would give me the highest chance to achieve that. Though I understand that at the end of the day my grades would matter above all. I would appreciate if I could obtain support from the relevant people to help me reach my goal.

Thank you so much for your response, I will be doing some more research on the course and the lovely town of Kent!

It's genuinely my pleasure! Honestly, your reply truly makes me feel happy, so if anything, thank you!

Plus, seeing as you're clearly incredibly keen and eager to learn and expand your knowledge, I have absolutely no doubt that you're the ideal type of student that the department wants to teach. I truly mean that from the bottom of my heart.

As for your goals - I understand what you're trying to go for, and I've already messaged some members of staff of the business school to see who's the best person to help you out (or group of people).
Of course, it is now the weekend, so it might take a few days for a response - but as soon as some names come my way - I'll immediately redirect them here. I'll also share their staff profiles (since I don't think I can share emails on the forum) - but you'll be able to see their contact details there.

Anyways, I hope this helps!

If there happens to be anything else you might need a bit of support with, please don't hesitate to ask!
I'm more than happy to help!

Warm regards,

David
University of Kent Rep

I've gotten a few offers from several universities in the UK for Masters programs in slightly varying courses due to availability, fees, etc.. I am hoping to secure a good internship offer during the course and probably work in the UK for 1-2 years before moving back to my home country. I am inclined towards a career in the central bank, either in policy making or financial risk management.

Swansea - MSc Economics and Finance
QUB - MSc Risk and Investment Management
Reading - MSc Financial Risk Management
Essex - MSc Financial Engineering and Risk Management
Kent - MSc Finance, Investment and Risk
Queen Mary - MSc Banking and Finance
Cardiff - MSc Operational Res., App. Stats & Financial Risk

I am leaning towards Reading due to the specific course, reputation of the business school and its close proximity to London, however I appreciate any insight to any of these schools (campus life, course details, career prospects, etc.). Thank you so much!

Thank you so much David, that really means a lot and thank you so much for your efforts
I look forward to speaking to your contacts and learning more about what I can do to get to my goals.

Thanks again for everything