Finance - Investment & Asset Management

The MSc Finance (Investment & Asset Management) is a one-year programme that will provide you with a broad range of theoretical, technical, and professional skills required to develop a career in international finance. Our graduates have excellent prospects and progress to roles such as investment management, trading, investment banking, and consultancy with Irish and international financial institutions.



The programme is designed for graduates with any business background who want to specialise in investment management and STEM students who want to apply their skills in the field of finance. The programme is designed and run by experienced industry professionals and has a significant practical bias and focuses on developing the skills required by the industry. The syllabus is constantly evolving to incorporate new developments in industry practice and employer requirements.



We recognise the importance of professional qualifications in career development and award academic credit to students sitting a professional examination while on the programme. The programme is a member of the CFA® Institute University Affiliation Programme and a CAIA® Association Academic Partner and incorporates the curriculum of both. This ensures the programme stays current with industry developments and provides students with the knowledge necessary to pass their examinations.



The programme is structured across three semesters: In the first two semesters you will develop your understanding of:



Financial Markets: These modules provide you with the in-depth knowledge to understand financial markets and value the securities that trade on them. Modules here include Equity Valuation, Bond Analysis and Derivatives. These modules focus on analysis and application and have a quantitative element.



Investment Analysis: This component is designed to develop the quantitative skills and theoretical knowledge to build and analyse investment portfolios. You will study topics such as quantitative analysis. risk management, and

portfolio construction. These are complimented by Research Skills, a course which allows students to develop and apply their research skills on typical industry problems.



Professional Skills: The final part of the programme develops the professional skills required to underpin a successful career in finance. You will learn the technical skills necessary to analysis real data with modules teaching Python and Excel and the business skills to build your career. The key module is Professional Development, an innovative module operating across the year where students develop their communication, presentation and IT skills. This module provides the perfect opportunity to hone your networking, communication and presentation skills.



The final element of the programme takes place over the summer and has two components:



Professional Examination: You will pursue a course of independent study, under the supervision of an academic mentor, towards the CFA®, CAIA®, QFA or equivalent relevant professional examination. Our CFA® and CAIA® faculty representatives provide guidance on the best approach to select and prepare for these examinations. As a member of the CFA® Institute University Affiliated programme and as a CAIA® Association Academic Partner, the faculty award scholarships for these exams each year.



Research Project or Internship: Students get the opportunity to apply the skills and knowledge gained over the year. Students taking the applied research report will work under the supervision of an academic mentor, to research and write an applied report. The report will be based on typical industry projects and presented to a professional standard. The report will be practical in nature and students can expect to use professional analysis techniques and IT systems. Alternatively, students may undertake a relevant internship and complete their report on an issue that arises from or is informed by that role.

In total students take 90 credits:



PART I

AC6031 Issues in Modern Finance (5 credits)

AC6101 International Project Finance (5 credits)

AC6105 Managing Financial Institutions (5 credits)

AC6113 Financial Analysis & Forecasting (5 credits)

AC6116 Quantitative Analysis (5 credits)

AC6119 Capital Markets & Funds Industry Regulation & Ethics (5 credits)

EC6005 Derivatives for Risk Management (5 credits)

FI6004 Analysis of Debt Instruments (5 credits)

FI6005 Equity Valuation (5 credits)

FI6006 Professional Development (5 credits)



And either

AC6030 Python and Machine Learning for Finance (5 Credits)



Or



AC6108 Venture Capital and Private Equity (5 Credits)



PART II

AC6126 Professional Examination Report (5 credits) And Either

AC6127 Asset Management Research Report (30 credits) Or

AC6129 Corporate Internship (30 credits)

Requirements



Applicants must normally have a Second Class Honours Grade 1 in a primary honours degree (NFQ, Level 8) in:



- A business-related programme (e.g. Commerce, Law, Business Studies, Economics, Accounting, Finance, Marketing, Information Systems etc.) or



- A programme with a significant quantitative element (e.g. Mathematics, Statistics, Engineering, Science, Computing etc.)



Applicants who achieve a Second Class Honours Grade 2 in a primary honours degree (NFQ, Level 8) but meet all other requirements and applicants from other degree disciplines with at least a Second Class Honours Grade 1 in a primary honours degree (NFQ, Level 8) will be considered under Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) on a case by case basis.



Applicants with a primary honours degree who have passed all three levels of the CFA programme are also eligible to apply.



For Applicants with Qualifications Completed Outside of Ireland

Applicants must meet the required entry academic grade, equivalent to Irish requirements. For more information see our Qualification Comparison page.



International/Non-EU Applicants

For full details of the non-EU application procedure visit our how to apply pages for international students.



- In UCC, we use the term programme and course interchangeably to describe what a person has registered to study in UCC and its constituent colleges, schools, and departments.



- Note that not all courses are open to international/non-EU applicants, please check the fact file above. For more information contact the International Office.



English Language Requirements

Applicants who are non-native speakers of the English language must meet the university-approved English language requirements. Visit our PG English Language Requirements page for more information.

Closing Date: Rolling deadline. Open until all places have been filled. Early application is advised.



Non-EU Closing Date: Open until all places have been filled or no later than 15 June. Early application is advised.

1 year full-time.

Start Date 7 September 2026

Skills and Careers Information

Upon completion of the MSc Finance (Investment & Asset Management), you can expect to have excellent career prospects with the international investment, asset management, finance and banking industries. Our students have gone on to work for the following companies:



Abbey Capital, Advantage Futures (Chicago), Bank of Ireland Treasury, Colonial First State (Sydney), Core Financial Partners (Los Angeles), Davy Stockbrokers, Deutsche Bank, Emerge Capital, Fidelity Investments, Goldman Sachs (New York), Goodbody Corporate Finance, HSBC (Shanghai), JDX Consulting (London), Mitsubishi UFG Fund Services, Morgan Stanley, Northern Trust (Chicago), PwC Wealth Management, Rubrics Asset Management, SMBC Aviation Capital, TOBAM Asset Management, Willis Towers Watson.