Developed in conjunction with the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA), the Finance & Accounting MSc prepares you for a successful career in finance and accounting, working at home or overseas in various business environments.
The master's course offers a portfolio of modules reflecting the needs of those wishing to pursue a career in accounting and/or finance but who may not have accounting as their first degree. The course focuses on conceptual understanding and practical skills of accounting and finance supplemented by an understanding of the background within which accounting operates.
Developed in conjunction with the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA), the Finance & Accounting MSc prepares you for a successful career in finance and accounting, working at home or overseas in various business environments.
The master's course offers a portfolio of modules reflecting the needs of those wishing to pursue a career in accounting and/or finance but who may not have accounting as their first degree. The course focuses on conceptual understanding and practical skills of accounting and finance supplemented by an understanding of the background within which accounting operates.
The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA), founded in 1919, is the world’s leading and largest professional body of management accountants.
The master's course focuses on delivering the conceptual understanding and practical skills involved in accounting and finance with an understanding of how accounting operates. It will enable you to develop a professional accountancy career and join CIMA through the accelerated ‘gateway’ route. This master's course prepares you to sit the external CIMA ‘Gateway Examination’.
Passing this three-hour case study examination allows you to claim 11 exemptions from CIMA’s certificate, operational and management level papers, and you will be awarded the CIMA Advanced Diploma in Management Accounting.
By studying for the CIMA qualification and this degree at the same time you’ll be able to progress faster in your career by showing employers you are a highly motivated individual.
The course has been developed in conjunction with the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA).
of UWS postgraduates are in work or further study 6 months after graduating (DLHE 2017)
Students agreed that their research skills have been developed during their course (Postgraduate Taught Experience Survey 2016)
Graduates in work/further study 6 months after graduating (HESA performance indicator 2014/2015)
We welcome Scottish, UK and international students and consider all applicants on an individual basis.
Don’t worry if your qualifications are not listed here, we take a range of factors into account when assessing your application and are happy to consider other alternative combinations of qualifications and experience
If you are applying with an EU or non-EU qualification, please check our Postgraduate Entry Requirements page which gives more information about country-specific entry requirements.
Applicants must have achieved an Honours degree in any business or accounting related discipline or an equivalent international degree qualification.
Applicants with lesser qualifications may also be considered if they have sufficient relevant work experience within the industry, and/or hold other degrees, as long as they have started to study with any accounting and finance professional body, such as CIMA, ACCA etc.
For applicants whose first language is not English, the University sets a minimum English Language proficiency level. The qualifications below must have been gained within two years of the start of your course.
General English language requirements at UWS: International English Language Testing System (IELTS) Academic module (not General Training)
Exceptions to this level of IELTS scoring exist for some accredited or professionally-recognised courses (see IELTS Score Exceptions section below for more details).
For our research degrees (MRes, MPhil, PhD, DBA, DProf) applicants are required to have an IELTS score as follows:
For all our Health, Nursing & Midwifery courses that lead to, or require professional registration with the Nursing & Midwifery Council, applicants are required to have an IELTS or Occupational English Test (OET)*.
For such courses, the IELTS score is as follows:
* Note that the Occupational English Test (OET) will now be accepted in addition to IELTS as proof of a Nurse's English Language Competence (Nursing & Midwifery Council, 2019).
For our BSc (Hons) Applied Biomedical Science, BSc (Hons) Biomedical Science and MSc Advanced Biomedical Science degrees, applicants are required to have an IELTS score as follows:
Our BSc Paramedic Science degree leads to professional registration with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC); it has different IELTS requirements than other Health-related courses. Although it is not possible to apply for this degree directly as an international student, for applicants who meet SAAS residency requirements and for whom English is not their first language, then the following IELTS scores are required:
Our BA (Hons) Social Work and MSc Social Work degrees are professionally-recognised by the Scottish Social Services Council; applicants are required to have an IELTS score as follows:
For our Certificate of Higher Education courses, applicants are required to have an IELTS score as follows:
All stated English tests are acceptable for admission for both home/EU and international students for this programme:
TOEFL IBT*: 78; no sub-test less than:
* Please note that TOEFL is still acceptable for admission to this programme for both home/EU and international students.
For international students, the Home Office has confirmed that the University can choose to use TOEFL to make its own assessment of English language ability for visa applications to degree level courses. We therefore still accept TOEFL tests taken in the last two years for admission to this programme.
West African Senior School Certificate of Education (WASSCE) including acceptance of WAEC Scratchcard*
*UWS will accept a WAEC scratchcard confirming that an applicant has achieved C6 or above as evidence of meeting English language requirement from Nigeria if the student graduated within the last 5 years. After 5 years applicants would be required to provide the WAEC Certificate.
Applicants who do not meet the minimum English language requirements have the option to study one of our preparatory and pre-sessional English courses. The UWS courses available are:
The MSc Finance and Accounting with CIMA course provides an opportunity to gain relevant contextual and subject specialist knowledge through a structured programme of academic studies. It adds value to your first business or accounting related degree by giving you an integrated and critically aware understanding of your specialism.
For the taught phase of the course, with a possible exit with the Postgraduate Diploma (PgDip), you will study the following core modules:
Students will progress to the master's dissertation phase after the taught phase. Completion of all taught modules and dissertation are required for the MSc award:
A range of teaching methods is used across the module suite.
Guidance on the nature and content of lectures will be provided in the associated module handbook. All lecture slides will be available in advance via CampusMoodle.
Tutorials and seminars will be interactive in nature allowing students to actively participate making the most of the learning opportunities available to them.
The Learning, Teaching and Assessment Strategy of this course is designed to ensure the development of confident individuals with high quality skills and graduate attributes that are recognised and valued not only by the students themselves, but also by employers and the wider community. This is achieved through:
The master's course has three parts containing a mixture of theory and practice core modules. There are three 20-credit modules in both Part 1 and 2 with Part 3 consisting of a 60-credit dissertation module.
The course uses a blend of academic and professional work to produce graduates with well-rounded academic skills and the techniques to perform in professional accounting and finance environments.
Teaching and learning across the taught modules employ a mix of:
Students learn to integrate their knowledge through exploration of management case study problems.
LEARNING AND TEACHING (Typical for taught modules)
ASSESSMENT (Typical for taught modules)
Assessment methods will include:
Find out more about the structure, learning outcomes, compulsory and optional modules in this course.
£7,920 Cost of study
£12,170 Cost of study
£12,170 Cost of study
£15,420 Cost of study
£1,130 Cost per 20-credit module of study
£1,610 Cost per 20-credit module of study
£1,610 Cost per 20-credit module of study
£2,195 Cost per 20-credit module of study
£8,420 Cost of study
£12,670 Cost of study
£12,670 Cost of study
£16,170 Cost of study
£1,205 Cost per 20-credit module of study
£1,810 Cost per 20-credit module of study
£1,810 Cost per 20-credit module of study
£2,310 Cost per 20-credit module of study
Student Awards Agency Scotland (SAAS) postgraduate tuition fee and living cost loans may be available for eligible (Scottish/EU) students. Check SAAS website for more information.
The cost of attending university is an investment in your future career.
In addition to tuition fees and living expenses, some courses involve extra costs like study materials, field trips, equipment and uniforms.
Fortunately, there is a great deal of financial support available to help students meet the cost of their study. This ranges from:
The sections below provide details of additional costs that your course may involve along with any financial support that may be available.
You can also find additional information in our Postgraduate Money, Fees & Funding section.
Students on certain degrees will incur some additional costs not covered by their tuition fees. These could be for things like specialist equipment, study materials, work placements, graduation, membership of relevant organisations or costs related to carrying out fieldwork.
For students on course with an element of fieldwork, there may also be extra costs for travel and accommodation.
Please contact the course leader for details of the additional costs associated with this course.
Tuition fees are calculated based on where you are from and what you are studying. Some courses also involve additional costs, such as mandatory field trips, equipment or studying abroad.
Find out how much it will cost you to study at UWS as a postgraduate student.
Scottish students studying at postgraduate level at UWS are entitled to various funds and support towards tuition fees and living costs.
English, Welsh and Northern Irish students studying at postgraduate level at UWS are entitled to various funds and support towards tuition fees and living costs.
EU students studying at postgraduate level of UWS may be eligible for SAAS funding, as well as support to meet the costs of childcare and various sources of additional funding.
There are several scholarship and incentive schemes available to international students studying at postgraduate level at UWS, as well as support to meet the costs of childcare and various sources of additional funding.
UWS administer a range of discretionary and childcare funds. These are designed to support students who are experiencing financial difficulty or struggling to meet the costs of childcare.
Becoming a student can have an impact on your entitlement to certain benefits. It may mean you are no longer eligible to claim a benefit you have been receiving, or your new income from student funding may affect the amount you are able to receive.
If there isn’t a statutory source of funding for you or your course, or you are in need of additional financial support, you may wish to consider more alternative sources of funding such as trust funds and scholarships.
At UWS, we believe financial restrictions should never be a barrier to your education.
The WEST (Widening Education and Supporting Talent) Scholarship Programme aims to remove the financial barriers that stop talented students from progressing throughout their degree to graduation.
Choosing to become a student can have a big impact on your budget and you may need to reassess your spending to account for a reduced income. We’ve put together some guidance to help you manage your money and make the right financial choices for you and your family.
Graduates can explore a rich diversity of career options in finance and accounting management posts in industry and commerce e.g. management accountant, business analyst, management consultant, finance manager or chief financial officer.
Graduates may also choose to pursue a research career or further management qualifications such as an MBA or DBA.
All students should apply directly to the University through our online application system. Before you apply, you should check that you meet our entry requirements and you should have all your supporting documents ready.
The first stage of the process is to create a profile; you don't have to complete the application in one session - you can complete it in stages by saving each section and return to complete it at a later date.
You will need to upload documents with your applications, which may include transcripts and degree certificates.
Most courses don't have a formal closing date, but they will close when they are full; apply early to avoid disappointment. There may also be funding deadlines that apply to you. Please be aware that programme fees are subject to increases each year.
Before you begin your application, it is important to read the Postgraduate & Post-Experience application step-by-step guide for a smooth process.
An ATAS certificate is not required for overseas students applying for this course.
Do you have a question about applying for this course? Get in touch. We are here to help!
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