DipHE Accounting and Finance Foundation degree at the Open University
DipHE Accounting and Finance at Open University. The Open University's DipHE in Accounting and Finance emphasises flexible, part-time study designed around working lives.
About this course
DipHE Accounting and Finance is a Foundation degree (DipHE) at the Open University. It is studied part-time; duration varies by route.
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.
Published threshold met Discover Uni suppresses continuation data below its publication threshold. Cohort 2022-23. Continuation 52% (2022-23; Discover Uni snapshot 2026-06-21)
Curriculum & modules
A typical UK Accounting & Finance degree builds from foundations to specialist options and a final project. An indicative structure:
| Stage | Module |
|---|---|
| Year 1 | Financial Accounting Double-entry, financial statements and the reporting framework. |
| Year 1 | Introduction to Finance Time value of money, markets and instruments, risk and return. |
| Year 1 | Quantitative Methods for Business Statistics and spreadsheet modelling for financial decisions. |
| Year 2 | Management Accounting Costing, budgeting and performance measurement for decision-making. |
| Year 2 | Corporate Finance Capital structure, investment appraisal and company valuation. |
| Year 2 | Financial Reporting & Analysis Interpreting accounts under IFRS; ratios, disclosure and audit basics. |
| Year 3 | Specialist options Typically audit, taxation, financial risk, fintech or international finance. |
| Year 3 | Advanced Corporate Reporting Group accounts, complex transactions and professional-exam alignment. |
| Year 3 | Dissertation / applied project An independent study, often with professional-body exemptions in view. |
Typical structure for this subject (indicative). Modules vary by university. Check the provider's course page for the exact curriculum.
Specialisations & pathways
Tip: click a specialisation → current jobs in that area.
Course in depth
What this course covers, who it suits and where it leads.
What you'll study
You'll study the financial and accounting knowledge needed for professional practice. A course like this typically progresses from foundations, double-entry bookkeeping, financial statements and the reporting framework, alongside introductions to finance, markets and quantitative methods, through management accounting, corporate finance and detailed financial reporting under IFRS. In later study, you'll move towards specialist options, such as audit and assurance, taxation, corporate finance, financial risk, or fintech, culminating in an advanced corporate reporting module and an independent dissertation or applied project. Many students pursue this progression with professional-body exemptions in view.
Who it's for
This course suits people who are already working or managing significant commitments and want to develop formal accounting and finance expertise without pausing their careers. You'll thrive if you're detail-oriented, comfortable with numerical reasoning, and genuinely interested in how organisations manage money and resources. Many entrants bring prior higher-education qualifications, reflecting a pattern of professionals building on existing knowledge. The part-time structure means balancing study with work and life requires discipline and organisation, but it allows you to apply what you're learning immediately. You're seeking a foundation degree rather than a full honours path: a recognised qualification that opens doors without the time commitment of a three-year programme.
Careers & job market
Across accounting and finance graduates nationally, 87% are in work or further study fifteen months after graduating. Around 65% of working graduates move into highly skilled roles or continue studying. Starting salaries typically range from £25,000 to £32,500; after five years, graduates earn between £30,175 and £42,600. These figures reflect the full spectrum of the national graduate outcomes for the field, not a guarantee. The foundation degree opens pathways into accounting practice, financial services, business analysis, and related sectors, both as a standalone qualification and as a stepping stone to further study.
University & format
The Open University is a public university founded in 1969. This DipHE Accounting and Finance foundation degree is taught part-time, in English, and can be studied flexibly around other commitments. The university holds Gold for teaching quality in the Office for Students' TEF 2023, and its degrees are nationally recognised as awarded by a UK degree-awarding body.
Applicant information
The next application dates for this course, followed by facts the provider publishes.
Part-time application dates vary by provider. UCAS dates
Opened 2 July 2026; last choice 19 October 2026. Check vacancies now. A cached page never claims a place is still available.
Entry & how to get in
Who gets in
What recently admitted students actually held, official admissions data, not a stated requirement.
Qualifications held on entry
| Qualification | Share |
|---|---|
| Other | 34% |
| another higher-education qualification | 32% |
| A-levels or equivalent | 25% |
| a previous degree | 8% |
| No / unknown prior qualifications | 1% |
Entry & your chances
An honest read from the official entry data, plus your personal match.
Entry is set by the university and based on your offer. Use your predicted grades to see how you compare, then check the university's stated requirements.
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.
- 1Register on UCAS Hub
Create your UCAS application and add this course. One application covers up to five choices.
- 2Write 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.
- 3Submit by Apply directly to the provider
Part-time application dates vary by provider. Source: UCAS 2027 dates.
- 4Reply to your offers
When decisions are in, pick a firm (first) choice and an insurance (back-up) choice with slightly lower grades.
- 5Results 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.
Fees & funding
What this course costs and how UK student finance covers it.
Tuition per year
The cap depends on the UK nation the provider sits in; the provider's page is authoritative.
Check fees at Open University →Check the finance route that applies to you
Support depends on ordinary residence, assessed fee status, course and provider nation. The provider nation is unresolved here, so no national cap or loan amount is being guessed.
Find your official student-finance route →Paying for it
- Tuition fee loan: applied for through the student-finance body for the UK nation you live in.
- Living-cost support: means-tested on household income, from your nation's student-finance body.
- Repayment: only above the income threshold set by your nation's student-finance system.
- Earn alongside: most students work part-time in term, part-time roles on the StudySmarter job board.
Each UK nation runs its own student-finance system; check gov.uk for the rates that apply to you.
Scholarships & bursaries you could qualify for
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.
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.
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
| When | Median | Typical range | Graduates |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 years after | £26,000 | £19,000 – £36,000 | 120 |
| 5 years after | £31,500 | £22,500 – £43,500 | 135 |
Nominal earnings for graduates of this course/subject at this provider. Published threshold met. Sample size is not included in this snapshot.
Graduate outcomes, 15 months on: this course
- 1Graduate roleFirst role after the degree · 0–2 yrs
- 2Specialist / PractitionerWorking in accounting & finance · 2–5 yrs
- 3Senior / LeadLeading work and people · 5–10 yrs
- 4Head of / ExpertSenior leadership or deep expertise · 10+ yrs
How pay grows: this course vs Accounting & Finance nationally
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.
continued or completed
continued into the next year or completed their qualification
Source: Discover Uni, using Graduate Outcomes and continuation data. Cohorts: 2022-23. Published threshold met. Sample size is not included in this snapshot. 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.
Compared with 957 courses with compatible official earnings data. This is a course-value comparison, not a quality ranking.
Job market & outlook
How Accounting & Finance graduates fare in the labour market, and how AI is reshaping the work.
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.
Roles graduates go into
Where they work
- The Big Four (Deloitte, PwC, EY, KPMG)
- Banks & insurers
- Corporate finance teams
- HMRC & public sector
Jobs after this course
Current roles from the StudySmarter job board that suit Accounting & Finance graduates.
Accounting & FinanceLecturerGEDU Global EducationAccounting Engineer - Pre-Sales & Post SalesStacksAccounting Advisory Manager | Lead Client Projects HybridCFGIAccounting, Insight and Advisory ManagerRSM UKAccounting & FinanceLecturerGEDU ServicesAccounting Associate Apprentice Business Services (September 2026)Best ApprenticeshipsIs this course right for you?
The essentials UK applicants ask about: finance, outcomes, entry and quality.
Student finance
Home tuition is regulated and the cap depends on the UK nation the provider sits in; check the provider's course page for the exact figure. Eligible students can apply for a tuition fee loan and living-cost support from the student-finance body for the UK nation they live in. Repayment thresholds differ by nation.
Official-data snapshot
Averaging the official measures published for it, this course scores 5.2 out of 10: continued 52%.
Who studies here and in this subject?
Provider- and UK subject-level context.
The Open University
Business and management across the UK
HESA student record 2024/25. Counts are rounded.
Is Accounting & Finance right for you?
Tick what applies to you and see how good a fit it is.
International students
What applying to Open University from outside the UK involves: fees, English, visa, funding and living costs.
Tuition fees
International tuition is set per course by Open 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 Open 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 Open University and gov.uk before you apply.
Related courses
More at Open University
Common questions
What are the entry requirements?
What do graduates earn?
What will it cost me?
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