The BA (Hons) Business Finance allows you to combine the study of Business Finance as a distinct field of expertise with the study of more general business concepts and management techniques. Concepts and techniques covered in the programme are relevant to four areas vital to any business. They are

• The business goal of producing output, either as a product or service and the reasons why and how consumers buy the product or service,
• The management of business resources with a strong focus on financial management
• The impact of external factors that can affect businesses, their performance and profitability
• The latest exponentially increasing trends and changes in the Financial Industry that affect the global Business Finance area

Business Finance is therefore multi-disciplinary in nature and can lead to many possible careers, although it is an ideal preparation for a career in the Business Finance field, in particular.

The Business Finance degree at UEL has five distinctive attributes:

The first is that it provides the opportunity to study Business Finance in some depth while also gaining a broad understanding of a range of business functions, processes and environmental influences.

The second is that your finance studies and its associated content are updated regularly so as to include the latest developments, theories and techniques of finance and thus provide for cutting edge financial theory, accounting and economics knowledge

The third is that the programme contains a lot of flexibility. The programme structure allows you to switch to another Business degree programme at any time up to half way through the degree, and you can also switch between full-time and part-time modes of study.

The fourth is that at each stage of the degree you will receive support in developing a personal development plan. This will consolidate learning, provide evidence of development to potential employers and also help you plan your future after graduating.

The fifth is that within the Business Finance programme we have an optional year of work placement between years 2 and 3 as well as the option of studying a semester at a partner institution in Europe. If you choose the work placement option you can gain several advantages which should help your career development:

• you can put into effect what you learnt in Years 1 and 2
• you can gain valuable work experience in, and a wider understanding of, your chosen career route
• you can develop a network of contacts in your chosen career route, thus enhancing again your employability profile

The BA (Hons) Business Finance is offered as single honours, major, joint or minor award. The degree is normally studied over three years in the full-time mode and four to five in the part-time mode depending on an individual’s needs. It is possible to switch between modes, subject to timetabling constraints, although only a restricted range of modules are available in the evenings.

The Business Finance programme comprises eighteen 20 credit modules. In line with all business related programmes, the BA Business Finance shares a number of modules with other business degree awards at UEL. This allows you to specialise in areas of interest and facilitates transfer at any point up to half way through the programme.

Completing level 1 successfully qualifies the student for the award of the Certificate in Higher Education, Completing level 1 and 2 qualifies for the award of Diploma in Higher Education in Business Finance.

A one year sandwich placement is available between Level 2 and 3 to all students

*Option modules can be chosen from a range of Business modules. We strongly advise that where the student has opted for a Business Finance degree then Finance related options will provide them with full exposure to the object of their study.

Whilst studying with us you will use our Network facilities and we will teach you how to maximise the benefit you can develop from this powerful resource. In addition, student learning is supported via Web CT, our virtual learning environment to develop skills for life.

Additionally you will develop proficiency in information researching using our extensive, subject specific, online databases and CD-ROM facilities.

We will encourage you to use presentation techniques such as Powerpoint or videos.

By using these Information Technology resources you will enhance your learning and increase your Information Technology skills. Therefore when you enter employment you will have a very wide range of skills which will enable you to effectively demonstrate and apply what you have studied on your degree.

It is the policy of the Royal Docks Business School to include information on assessment criteria in Module handbooks

• Assessment is by a combination of many different types of coursework and examination.
• There are no formal examinations at Level 1 but there are some short time constrained tests.
• In the second and third years examinations generally, although not always, account for around 40% to 50% of the assessment.
• Your marks in level two and three modules will determine your final degree classification, level one marks are not used for this purpose.

Work placement:
Between your second and final year you can gain valuable work experience by working full time in an organisation. You should note that

• we assist you in finding a placement with a suitable organisation
• the placement is normally paid, thus reducing the financial burden of degree study.

There are several other major advantages of this placement.

• it enables you to practice the ideas you have previously learnt.
• when you return for the final year you will be able to critically analyse your study in the final year in the light of your own practical experience.

Before the placement year starts in semester A of Year 2 there are six taught sessions which cover Curriculum Vitae Writing, Sourcing a Placement, Presentation by Past Placement Students, Interview Skills, Written Applications and Health and Safety. The objective of these is to ensure that you are fully briefed on what you should expect on the placement year and how it should interact with and strengthen your studies and employability profile.

You will undertake a project at level three on a topic of your choosing. You will receive specific guidance on its preparation in modules taught in the proceeding semester, and at level two, so you will be well prepared!

You will also find that mini projects or group work exercises feature in some of the modules taught in the degree, throughout each of the three years

Each student is placed with an individual tutor at level three so as to maximise communication, assistance and the student’s chances of achieving high marks

Studying for a degree is not just about acquiring knowledge but more about developing a range of skills and confidence which are valued by employers. The programme is designed to help you develop knowledge, skills and experience. We will help you to reflect upon this and recognise how you have developed and what the evidence for this is. This will help you to not only present but also market yourself in the best possible light to employers.

• What makes people prefer one investment over another?
• How do organisations prepare, implement and evaluate their financial strategies
• How do organisations manage their resources effectively?
• What trends and changes are occurring in Business Finance in an increasingly interconnected and globalised world?

• Evaluate the possibility of setting-up and managing your own business

• Recognise how globalisation affects you as a financial analyst, manager or generally a financial services professional

• Improve your working relationship with others from different cultures and other management/ business disciplines from Law to Business Economics, from Marketing to Corporate Strategy, from Accounting and Finance to Organisational Behaviour

• Appreciate consumer and investor perceptions, attitudes and preferences towards products, services and ideas

• If you can answer yes to some or most of these then you will probably enjoy studying for a Business Finance degree at UEL

The Business Finance programme has been designed to be combined with other programmes that run across UEL. As stated above, Business can be combined as either a Major, Joint or Minor award when taken in conjunction with other awards. Typical combinations might include:

• Human Resource Management
• Accounting
• Business Studies
• International Business
• Economics
• Marketing

For details on possible combinations see the Combined Honours web pages at http://www.uel.ac.uk/combined/programmes/index.htm

Studying Business Finance with another subject may increase the range of career choices open to you.

Talk to your careers adviser, they should be able to give you further advice or come and see us on an Open Day, the details of which you can find on our web page.

The range of potential careers is probably limitless, there are so many that they cannot be listed here.

As well as going on to run their own business our Business Finance graduates have the potential of working in many different organisations. To give you an idea of the organisations which employ our graduates, from a range of Business Finance degrees, we show below some of the employers of our most recent graduates:

Please click on the organisations name to be taken to their web-site.

• Abbey National plc
• Cancer Research Fund
• Clarins (UK) Ltd
• College of Law
• Credit Suisse First Boston Bank
• Department for Education and Skills
• Direct Computer Training Ltd
• Hamleys of London Ltd
• HM Customs and Excise
• HSBC Bank plc
• Intec Telecom Systems Plc
• Lloyds TSB Group
• London Borough of Redbridge
• London Borough of Waltham Forest
• London School of Economics and Political Science
• Marks & Spencer plc
• Merrill Lynch Inc.
• J.Sainsbury plc
• The Financial Services Authority
• The Home Office
• The National Health Service
• United Dairies plc

Graduates have also progressed to study Masters Degrees in either specialised subjects or the Master of Business Administration. Additionally graduates can also proceed to take Professional qualifications in their chosen fields.

As you can see, our graduates work in many different sectors of the economy, so there is a very wide choice of careers.
We hope you will use your degree at UEL to identify what you wish to do and preparing for that career. You should start achieving your goal upon graduation.

Introducing you to degree level study:

• we have designed the assessment and teaching processes throughout the first year so that you are progressively introduced to degree study
• we have developed a specific module in the first year that gives you the techniques needed for degree level study

Academic and administrative support :

• our Undergraduate Student Centre which will be able to answer the queries you may have about the operation of the Business Finance degrees
• a personal tutor will be allocated to you for each year of study who can advise on academic matters and personal development planning
• the year tutor for your programme and/or programme leader can help if you have programme related issues you wish to raise

The new Docklands Campus:
In September 2006, the Royal Docks Business School will relocate to our new state of the art campus at the UEL Docklands campus. The new campus boasts a large range of brand new student facilities including new, modern lecture theatres, IT labs and Library.

Study Abroad:
During your second year, in semester B, you can study in Europe, but be taught in English if you wish. We have links, with the benefits of additional funding direct to you from the EU Socrates Programme, with Universities in

• France,
• Italy,
• Germany,
• the Netherlands and
• Finland

where you will study courses which we have previously agreed, and the grades for which will count towards your degree classification.