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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.
All academic degrees/awards at UWS are taught in English. For applicants whose first language is not English*, the University sets a minimum English Language proficiency level. All English language qualifications must have been gained within two years of the start of your UWS course.
* applicants who are exempt from english language requirements include:
In general terms, if you are applying to study a course at, or above, Year 1 (SCQF Level 7) bachelor’s degree level, then the UKVI’s minimum level of English proficiency is Common European Framework for References of Languages (CEFR) at B2 (Upper Intermediate).
At UWS, we define our general English language requirements using the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) Academic module (not General Training) as follows:
These are minimum requirements and some courses may require a higher standard for admission†.
† Exceptions to this level of IELTS scoring exist for some accredited or professionally-recognised courses (see IELTS Score Exceptions section below for more information).
For our research degrees (MRes, MPhil, PhD, DBA, DProf) applicants are required to have an IELTS score as follows:
For Health, Nursing & Midwifery courses that lead to professional registration with the Nursing & Midwifery Council (BSc Adult Nursing, MSc Adult Nursing, BSc Mental Health Nursing, MSc Mental Health Nursing, BSc Midwifery and MSc Midwifery), 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:
For our BSc (Hons) Applied Biomedical Science, BSc (Hons) Biomedical Science and MSc Advanced Biomedical Science degrees, which may lead to professional registration with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC), applicants are required to have an IELTS score as follows:
Our BA (Hons) Social Work and MSc Social Work degrees are professionally recognised by the Scottish Social Services Council and 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:
In additional to IELTS, we also accept a number of alternative English language for application and admission to our courses for both home/EU and international students at bachelor's degree study at Year 3 (SCQF Level 9), and above. From Cambridge to TOFEL iBT qualifications the number of these qualifications is extensive.
Find out about non-IELTS English Language Tests
UWS has also reviewed a range of High / Secondary School qualifications studied by non-EU applicants that can be used as a basis of entry to a UWS. These range from Botswana GCSEs to USA High School Graduation Diplomas, the number of these qualifications is extensive.
Find out more about international English Language high-hchool qualifications
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. Lecture slides, notes and other core resources will be available in advance via our online learning platform, AULA.
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.
Taught modules in Parts 1 & 2 of the course entail the following assessment split:
Programme Specification and Module Descriptors for Undergraduate and Postgraduate courses are available to download (PDFs). These provide you with core information concerning your chosen subject.
£8,420 per year of study
£12,760 per year of study
£12,760 per year of study
£16,170 per year of study
£1,200 per module (20 credits)
£1,810 per module (20 credits)
£1,810 per module (20 credits)
£2,310 per module (20 credits)
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.
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 complete the initial application form. You will then receive a follow-up email with further instructions relating to your application including documents that you will need to forward to support your application, e.g. degree transcripts and certificates etc.
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.
The Academic Technology Approval Scheme (ATAS) applies to all international students and researchers (apart from exempt nationalities) who are subject to UK immigration control and are intending to study or research at postgraduate level in certain sensitive subjects.
Students and researchers who are nationals of EU countries, the European Economic Area (EEA), Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, Switzerland or the United States of America do not need an ATAS certificate.
An ATAS certificate may be required for certain taught postgraduate master's degrees for international students at UWS.
For the latest information on ATAS and details of eligibility and how to apply for a certificate check the UK Government's dedicated ATAS web pages.
Do you have a question about applying for this course? Get in touch. We are here to help!
With cutting edge facilities, specialist knowledge and world-leading and internationally excellent expertise, we aim to develop research outputs that have a tangible, early and positive impact on society across the globe.
DiscoverWe will always try to make sure that we publish accurate course information but we do not accept responsibility for any mistakes or omissions. We will also try to make sure that we deliver our courses in line with our published information. However, we may not always be able to do so and you can find further information about this in our enrolment terms and conditions.