Finance with Placement Year

Finance is the discipline that concerns itself with the management of money, capital and risk across individuals, corporations and financial markets. It encompasses corporate financial decision-making, investment analysis and portfolio management, the pricing of financial instruments, risk management, banking and the regulation of financial systems. Finance professionals need both rigorous analytical skills and a clear understanding of how markets behave and why, combining quantitative methods with economic and strategic thinking.

The University of Reading offers this four-year full-time programme, with a placement year built into the structure. The placement year provides a sustained period of professional experience in a financial services organisation, giving you direct exposure to how finance is practised in banking, investment management, corporate treasury, financial technology or accounting firms. Reading's location in Berkshire, between London and the South East, gives particularly strong access to the City and to the regional financial services sector.

The typical entry tariff for this programme is around 104 UCAS points.

You will study the principles of corporate finance and financial management, investment theory and portfolio construction, financial markets and institutions, quantitative methods and econometrics, and the regulation and ethics of financial practice. As the programme progresses you will move into more specialist areas such as derivatives, fixed income, behavioural finance or international finance, depending on the curriculum design. The placement year sits within this structure, giving you the opportunity to contextualise and apply your academic learning in a professional environment before completing your final year.

Graduates of finance programmes work in investment banking, asset management, corporate finance, treasury, risk management, financial analysis, commercial banking, insurance and financial technology. The placement year at Reading typically establishes professional connections that lead directly into graduate employment. Many graduates also pursue professional qualifications alongside or after their degree, including the CFA, ACA or ACCA.

Postgraduate study in finance, financial economics or quantitative finance is available for those who wish to develop technical expertise further.