Higher Diploma in Arts - Finance

Finance is a stimulating and challenging discipline that offers a wide range of exciting and dynamic careers across the financial industry. The finance sector has grown in terms of the complexity as it meets the needs of increasingly international, technologically complex and data driven markets. By studying finance, you will acquire a wide range of skills that can be applied to problems faced by agents ranging from entrepreneurs who need to fund their ideas to investors seeking the best opportunities to grow their wealth, from private investment banks who engineer innovative financial products to regulators tasked with protecting the industry, and from individuals searching for a mortgage to multinational firms seeking to finance their operations. The study of finance opens the door to a myriad of diverse career opportunities. This is a one-year full-time programme. If you have the desire and ambition to forge a successful career in the world of Finance, then this is the perfect programme for you. The course provides an accelerated route to the equivalent of an honours degree in finance. Students will cover the basic concepts, empirical methods and applications in investment, derivatives, international finance and econometrics as well as choosing field courses of interest from a range of optional modules such as corporate finance, fixed income markets and financial accounting. Students complete a research thesis in a topic of their own choosing. A performance of 60% or better in the diploma guarantees a place on our master's programme.

An honours primary degree in any discipline. Students without any knowledge of Economics or Finance are strongly advised to have a good background in Statistics and Quantitative Methods and to be prepared to undertake substantial independent study to equip themselves with the expected level of Economics and Finance. Well-motivated, quantitatively-able honours graduates of any discipline are welcome to apply. Applicants must have a recognised primary degree which is considered equivalent to Irish university primary degree level, a primary degree in any other discipline and have at least 5 years relevant work experience. In exceptional cases, consideration will be given to candidates who do not hold a primary degree, but who do have at least 10 years’ relevant work experience, at least three of which are in a management position.

IELTS - 6.5 with no less than 6.0 in each band; TOEFL internet-based test iBT: 90 with no less than 21 in writing and at least 19 in all other sections; Pearson Test of English - 63 with no less than 59 for each item in the Communicative Skills section; Duolingo English Test (DET) - 120 with no less than 110 in literacy, conversation, and comprehension subscores and no less than 95 in production. (This lower production subscore applies to non-EU applicants only), Cambridge Proficiency Cert. - 176+ on Cambridge English scale with no less than 169 in each skill and use of English. Proficiency Certificate, Grade C or better (CEFR Level C1 or C2); Cambridge Advanced Cert. - 176+ on Cambridge English scale with no less than 169 in each skill and use of English Advanced Certificate, Grade C or better (CEFR Level C1 or C2); ETAPP - C1 or better (CEFR Level C1 or C2); Oxford Test of English - 140 with no less than 125 in each skill; Trinity College London ISE - ISE III with at least merit in each skill category.