BSc (Hons) Finance · Durham UniversityBachelor's degree · 3 years
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Durham University · Undergraduate

BSc (Hons) Finance Bachelor's degree at Durham University

BSc (Hons) Finance at Durham University. Rather than treating finance as an abstract subject, the course is oriented towards giving you a working understanding of the mechanisms behind today's markets, so you leave with knowledge that's directly applicable to the financial world…

BSc (Hons)
Award
3
Years
Full-time
Study mode
84%
in work/study (15m)

About this course

Finance 2C77 - Durham University Skip to main content BSc Finance Gain the knowledge you need to understand today’s fast moving global financial markets. From the provider’s course page.

BSc (Hons) Finance is a Bachelor's degree (BSc (Hons)) at Durham University, based in Durham Campus. It runs 3 years, studied full-time.

For Economics graduates from this provider, 84% were in work or further study 15 months after graduating, 86% in highly skilled roles, typical earnings around £40,000. (HESA Graduate Outcomes / LEO, via Discover Uni.)

For the typical curriculum, specialisations, career paths and graduate earnings for Accounting & Finance, see the sections below.

Course evidence score

The arithmetic mean of the official measures available for this course: NSS satisfaction, graduate activity and continuation.

9.0
/ 10
Exceptional
3 of 3 official measures
Student satisfaction
What students say in the National Student Survey
Exceptional93

Published threshold met NSS publication requires sufficient responses; small differences are not a rank. NSS mean of 7 published themes (Discover Uni snapshot 2026-06-21)

Graduate outcomes
In work or further study 15 months after graduating
Excellent84

Moderate evidence Published sample: 45; avoid reading small differences as meaningful. Cohort 2022-23. Graduate Outcomes work or further study 84% (2022-23; Discover Uni snapshot 2026-06-21)

Continuation
Students who continue past their first year
Exceptional93

Published threshold met Discover Uni suppresses continuation data below its publication threshold. Cohort 2022-23. Continuation 93% (2022-23; Discover Uni snapshot 2026-06-21)

Curriculum & modules

Real modules published for this course, grouped only where the source gives a year, stage or level.

  • Foundations of Finance
  • Financial Valuation and Analysis
  • Quantitative Methods 1
  • Quantitative Methods 2

Source: provider course page. Modules can change; required/optional status, credits, descriptions and assessment are shown only when explicitly published.

Course in depth

What this course covers, who it suits and where it leads.

What you'll study

Across the three years, the course structure moves you from foundational understanding towards independent, specialist work. Areas of study include core theory, research and methods, and applied practice, giving you both the conceptual grounding and the practical tools used in financial analysis and decision-making. As you progress, you'll be able to explore specialist options such as areas of finance that align with your particular interests, before undertaking an independent project that lets you investigate a question in depth using the methods you've built up over the degree. Professional skills are woven through the programme too, reflecting the expectation that graduates should be able to apply what they've learned in real working contexts, not just in examinations. The overall design reflects the accredited standards the course is measured against, with research and methods training intended to prepare you for the kind of rigorous, evidence-based thinking that both further study and financial careers demand.

Who it's for

This course suits someone who is genuinely curious about how money, markets and institutions interact, the sort of person who notices financial news and wants to understand the reasoning behind it, not just the headlines. You should be comfortable with quantitative reasoning and analytical thinking, since much of the work involves interpreting data, models and theory, but you don't need to arrive as a finished mathematician; the degree is there to build that capability further. It will suit someone who enjoys structured problem-solving but is also willing to work independently, particularly by the time you reach the independent project, where self-direction and sustained focus matter. Most students who are offered a place come from A-level or equivalent backgrounds, typically with tariffs in the 160–175 range, so you'll be joining a cohort of similarly well-prepared peers. Studying finance at this level can feel intensive at times, the subject moves quickly and connects to real-world events as they unfold, but if you're motivated by that immediacy, and want a degree that keeps pace with genuine financial and economic change, this environment should feel purposeful rather than overwhelming.

Careers & job market

Nationally, graduates of Accounting & Finance courses tend to move into work or further study relatively steadily: across the sector, 87% of such graduates are in work or further study 15 months after graduating, with 65% of working graduates in roles classed as highly skilled. Around 85% of students on these courses continue past their first year, either still enrolled or having completed. On earnings, national Graduate Outcomes and LEO data for this field show starting salaries (measured 15 months after graduation) typically ranging from £25,000 to £32,500, moving to £23,375–£33,000 after three years, and £30,175–£42,600 after five years. These figures describe national patterns across the field of study rather than outcomes specific to this university or a guaranteed result for any individual graduate, and they're worth treating as context rather than a promise, actual outcomes vary depending on specialisation, location, further study choices and the wider economy.

University & format

Durham University is a public, research-intensive Russell Group institution founded in 1832, with a total student population of 19,520. The BSc Finance is delivered full-time over three years on Durham's campus, entirely in English. Entry data shows that 99% of accepted students arrived with A-levels or equivalent qualifications, with the most common UCAS tariff band among entrants sitting between 160 and 175 points, though this reflects what past entrants held rather than a fixed requirement. The course carries professional accreditation from AACSB and the EFMD Quality Improvement System, alongside the university's Silver TEF 2023 rating and Russell Group membership, giving a broader sense of the institutional standards underpinning the degree.

Student satisfaction

How students on this course answered the National Student Survey, by theme.

The teaching on my course
89%
Learning opportunities
93%
Assessment and feedback
91%
Academic Support
94%
Organisation and management
93%
Learning resources
96%
Student voice
95%

Share of students responding positively.

Published threshold met NSS publication requires sufficient responses; small differences are not a rank. NSS mean of 7 published themes (Discover Uni snapshot 2026-06-21)

Applicant information

The next application dates for this course, followed by facts the provider publishes.

Application timelineWhat happens next
  1. 2027 entryCompleted applications can be submitted

    Your application needs a reference before you can send it.

  2. 2026 entryFinal date for 2026 applications

    Applications must reach UCAS by 18:00 UK time.

  3. 2026 entryLast day to add a Clearing choice

    Check that this course still has a vacancy before adding it.

  4. 2027 entryEqual-consideration deadline

    18:00 UK time for most undergraduate courses.

Show 5 later dates
  1. 2027 entryUCAS Extra opens

    Applicants who used all five choices and hold no offer may be able to add another choice.

  2. 2027 entryLast day applications go directly to providers

    Applications received after 18:00 UK time are entered into Clearing.

  3. 2027 entryClearing opens

    Eligible applicants can see vacancies and release themselves into Clearing.

  4. 2027 entryFinal date for 2027 applications

    Applications must reach UCAS by 18:00 UK time.

  5. 2027 entryLast day to add a Clearing choice

    Check that this course still has a vacancy before adding it.

Contextual offersPublished by this provider

The provider publishes contextual-offer information. Eligibility and any reduced offer are applicant-specific.

PlacementPublished placement option

Placement year. Availability, selection and pay can vary.

Open daysOpen days and visits

See and book current events. Dates can fill or change.

Entry & how to get in

Most entrants held A-levels or equivalent99% of accepted students came in with A-levels or equivalent (entrants over recent years).
Typical UCAS tariff: 160 - 175 pointsThe most common UCAS tariff band among accepted students. This is what entrants had, not a stated requirement.
Professionally accreditedAccredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB)
Professionally accreditedAccredited by EFMD Quality Improvement System
Entry requirements are set by the universityGrades, subjects and contextual offers vary. Check Durham University's official course page for the current offer.

Who gets in

What recently admitted students actually held, official admissions data, not a stated requirement.

UCAS tariff of entrants

Grades are the A-level equivalent of each points band. Tap a band to check your own chances below.

Qualifications held on entry

QualificationShare
A-levels or equivalent99%
a Baccalaureate1%

Entry & your chances

An honest read from the official entry data, plus your personal match.

Competitive entry

Accepted students typically held strong UCAS tariffs. Check how your predicted grades compare and whether a contextual offer applies.

Will you get in? Plot your grades

Pick your predicted A-levels and watch your UCAS points land on the real spread of students admitted to this course.

Each bar is the share of admitted students in that UCAS-points band (lower → higher). Grades show the A-level equivalent.

Add your grades to see where you land

Your points will drop onto the distribution above, with an honest above / within / below read.

Based on the official admitted-student tariff distribution. Many universities make contextual (reduced-grade) offers, so a result below the range doesn’t rule you out.

How to apply

Undergraduate applications go through UCAS. Here’s what matters for this course, the right deadline, the grades to aim for, and the steps in order.

Apply by13 January 2027, 18:00 UK timefor this course
Typical gradesA*A*A*A-level equivalent admitted students held
  1. 1
    Register on UCAS Hub

    Create your UCAS application and add this course. One application covers up to five choices.

  2. 2
    Write your personal statement

    A single statement covers all your choices, so keep it broad enough for similar courses while showing genuine interest in this subject.

  3. 3
    Submit by 13 January 2027, 18:00 UK time

    UCAS equal-consideration deadline for most undergraduate courses. Source: UCAS 2027 dates.

  4. 4
    Reply to your offers

    When decisions are in, pick a firm (first) choice and an insurance (back-up) choice with slightly lower grades.

  5. 5
    Results day & confirmation

    On results day (mid-August) your place is confirmed if you meet the offer. Just missed? Talk to the university, or find a place through Clearing.

💡 Many universities make a contextual (reduced-grade) offer, for example based on your school’s results, time in care, or where you live. Ask Durham University whether you’re eligible before you apply; it can lower the grades you need.

Fees & funding

What this course costs and how UK student finance covers it.

Tuition per year

Homeup to £9,790 / yr
Internationalset by the university

Standard capped home fee at English providers (2026/27); Scotland, Wales & NI differ.

Check fees at Durham University →

For students who normally live in England

illustrative Maintenance Loan per year
£9,790tuition used per year, illustrative full-time England fee-cap scenario
illustrative borrowing over 3 years

2026/27 Student Finance England figures. Maintenance support is means-tested and this two-point view is not an entitlement calculator. The course total uses its published length and home fee where both are available; a missing full-time fee uses the clearly labelled England-cap scenario, while part-time fees and unknown lengths are never guessed. Use the official calculator. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland use separate systems: SAAS, Student Finance Wales, and Student Finance NI.

Starting on or after 1 January 2027?

The Lifelong Learning Entitlement is a separate system. A new learner’s tuition entitlement is currently stated as £39,160 (about 480 credits at 2026/27 fee levels), subject to prior study and eligibility. Check the official LLE guide.

Paying for it

  • Tuition Fee Loan: can cover eligible tuition up to the applicable limit and is paid straight to the provider.
  • Maintenance Loan: up to £10,830/yr away from home outside London (England, 2026/27), means-tested on household income.
  • Repayment: 9% of income above £25,000, nothing below it; written off after 40 years.
  • Earn alongside: most students work part-time in term, part-time roles on the StudySmarter job board.

England figures shown; Scotland, Wales & NI run their own schemes, check gov.uk.

Funding matched to this course

Scholarships & bursaries you could qualify for

All Durham University funding →
No verified named award is shown for this provider yet.

That does not mean no funding exists. Check the university directory for current amounts, eligibility and application dates.

We only display a named award when its provider source identifies the award and who it is for.

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Still deciding what to study?

StudyKit brings course choice, applications and funding together in one place, with a personal AI assistant. Find what really fits you and start your UCAS application step by step.

Career quizApplication walkthroughSalary & CV check

Careers & earnings

What Accounting & Finance graduates actually earn, from real outcome data, 15 months, 3 years and 5 years after graduating.

Graduate earnings: this course

WhenMedianTypical rangeGraduates
15 months after£40,000£33,000 – £50,00045
3 years after£42,000£33,500 – £55,000190
5 years after£64,000£50,000 – £84,000210

Nominal earnings for graduates of this course/subject at this provider. Moderate evidence. Published sample: 45; avoid reading small differences as meaningful. Cohort 2022-23.

Graduate outcomes, 15 months on: this course

84%
in work or further study 15 months on
86%
in highly skilled work or study
93%
continue past their first year
80%
find their work meaningful
80%
say work fits their future plans
  1. 1Graduate roleFirst role after the degree · 0–2 yrs
  2. 2Specialist / PractitionerWorking in accounting & finance · 2–5 yrs
  3. 3Senior / LeadLeading work and people · 5–10 yrs
  4. 4Head of / ExpertSenior leadership or deep expertise · 10+ yrs

How pay grows: this course vs Accounting & Finance nationally

Starting (15 months) HESA GO
£40,000
£25,000 – £32,500
After 3 years LEO
£42,000
£23,375 – £33,000
After 5 years LEO
£64,000
£30,175 – £42,600
national rangethis course’s medianaxis £20,500 – £67,000

National figures for Accounting & Finance graduates, HESA Graduate Outcomes (15 months) and the Longitudinal Education Outcomes (LEO) dataset (3 & 5 years). These are national, not university-specific; actual pay varies by employer, region, role and experience. Different cohorts, so the bars are not one group over time.

Work out your pay

Headline figures hide a lot. Calculate realistic take-home pay for this field by role, region and experience, then check your CV before you apply.

What happened to 100 students?

Choose an outcome to translate the published percentage into a simple 100-person view. Each dot represents one percentage point, not an individual tracked student.

84 of 100

were in work or further study

15 months after graduation

65% working25% working and studying5% in further study86% in highly skilled work or study

Source: Discover Uni, using Graduate Outcomes and continuation data. Cohorts: 2022-23. Moderate evidence. Published sample: 45; avoid reading small differences as meaningful. Cohort 2022-23. Each tab is a separate published measure; categories can overlap and should not be added together.

Value compared with similar courses

How this course’s 5-year median earnings compare with Accounting & Finance courses at the same study level.

This course £64,000Peer median £35,500Middle 50% £30,000–£42,500
99th percentile

Compared with 957 courses with compatible official earnings data. This is a course-value comparison, not a quality ranking.

UK occupations graduates enter

Published graduate destinations, joined conservatively to UK SOC 2020, ONS pay and Skills England demand.

  • Finance ProfessionalsSOC 2020 242 · 42% of published destinations · ASHE median £47,173
  • Business, Research and Administrative ProfessionalsSOC 2020 243 · 20% of published destinations · ASHE median £48,746
  • Business and public service associate professionalsSOC 2020 35 · 12% of published destinations · ASHE median £38,760

Discover Uni JOBLIST/JOBTYPE; ONS ASHE 2025 provisional, all employee jobs; Skills England Occupations in Demand 2025. SOC is shown only for an exact normalised label match; demand is shown only at exact four-digit SOC. Published sample: 65; response rate: 60%. Pay describes the occupation across workers, not a guaranteed graduate salary.

Job market & outlook

How Accounting & Finance graduates fare in the labour market, and how AI is reshaping the work.

87%
in work or further study 15 months after graduating, across Accounting & Finance courses nationally.
Graduate Outcomes
65%
of working graduates are in highly skilled work or further study.
highly skilled
85%
of students continue past their first year (still enrolled or completed).
continuation

How AI is changing the work

AI doesn't replace the profession, it shifts it: routine tasks get automated, while judgement, working with people and using AI well become more valuable.

What AI takes off your plate

  • Routine information gathering
  • First-draft writing and summaries
  • Standard analysis and admin
  • Repetitive processing tasks

More human than ever

  • Judgement and original thinking
  • Working with and leading people
  • Owning and sense-checking AI output
  • Ethics and accountability

The strongest graduates pair subject depth with the ability to use AI tools critically.

Roles & employers

Where Accounting & Finance graduates typically go, indicative destinations from graduate career data. Each role links to live openings on the StudySmarter job board.

Where they work

  • The Big Four (Deloitte, PwC, EY, KPMG)
  • Banks & insurers
  • Corporate finance teams
  • HMRC & public sector

Is this course right for you?

The essentials UK applicants ask about: finance, outcomes, entry and quality.

💷

Student finance

For comparison, the standard full-time England tuition cap is up to £9,790 per year in 2026/27; the actual fee varies by course and provider. If you normally live in England, eligible students can apply for a Tuition Fee Loan, plus a Maintenance Loan for living costs. Under Plan 5 you repay 9% of income above £25,000, nothing below that, and the balance is written off after 40 years.

📈

Where graduates go

84% were in work or further study 15 months after graduating, with a median salary of £40,000. See the full breakdown in Careers & earnings above.

🎯

Your entry chances

Use the UCAS points calculator above to see how your predicted grades compare with admitted students, and whether a contextual offer could apply.

Official-data snapshot

Averaging the official measures published for it, this course scores 9.0 out of 10: NSS 93% · in work or study 84% · continued 93%.

Who studies here and in this subject?

Provider- and UK subject-level context.

University of Durham

All students21,150
International32.6%
Aged 25+11.2%

Business and management across the UK

Students586,710
Aged 25+44.3%

HESA student record 2024/25. Counts are rounded.

Local crime-data context

A neutral snapshot around the published teaching location.

Around Durham Campus

698 street-level reports returned within roughly one mile across 2026-04 to 2026-06.

Violent Crime 219Anti Social Behaviour 136Shoplifting 79Public Order 78Criminal Damage Arson 58

Police.uk street-level API. Approximate locations, not confined to campus. England, Wales and Northern Ireland; not Scotland.

Is Accounting & Finance right for you?

Tick what applies to you and see how good a fit it is.

International students

What applying to Durham University from outside the UK involves: fees, English, visa, funding and living costs.

Tuition fees

International tuition is set per course by Durham University; international fees are typically £12,000–£30,000/year for classroom subjects and higher for lab/clinical ones. You’re not eligible for UK Tuition Fee or Maintenance Loans, so plan for fees plus living costs upfront.

English language

Most UK undergraduate courses ask for around IELTS 6.0–6.5 (no band below 5.5–6.0), or an accepted equivalent. If you’re just short, most universities run a pre-sessional English course that counts towards the requirement.

Student visa

You’ll usually need a Student visa (Student Route). After you accept an offer the university issues a CAS; you then show funds for fees plus about £1,023–£1,334/month living costs and pay the Immigration Health Surcharge for NHS access.

Scholarships & funding

Many universities offer international/global scholarships (often £2,000–£6,000/yr), check Durham University’s funding pages.

Living costs

Budget roughly £1,100–£1,400/month outside London and £1,400–£1,800/month in London for rent, food and travel; the figure also matters for your visa.

Working while you study

A Student visa usually allows up to 20 hours/week in term time and full-time in holidays, useful alongside study, though not something to rely on for fees.

Visa rules and fees change. Always confirm the current requirements with Durham University and gov.uk before you apply.

Common questions

Entry is competitive. Accepted students typically held strong UCAS tariffs. The most common tariff band among recent entrants was 160 - 175 UCAS points. Use the calculator on this page to see where your predicted grades would put you; many universities also make lower contextual offers.
Set by Durham University. Most accepted students held A-levels or equivalent. Check the university's course page for the exact offer.
For Economics graduates from this provider, 84% were in work or further study 15 months after graduating, 86% in highly skilled roles, typical earnings around £40,000. (HESA Graduate Outcomes / LEO, via Discover Uni.)
For comparison, the standard full-time England tuition cap is up to £9,790 per year in 2026/27; the actual fee varies by course and provider. If you normally live in England, eligible students can apply for a Tuition Fee Loan, plus a Maintenance Loan for living costs. Under Plan 5 you repay 9% of income above £25,000, nothing below that, and the balance is written off after 40 years. See Fees & funding on this page to work out your numbers.
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