MSc Finance 2023–24

Programme handbook
 CONTENTS

1 CONTENTS
2 WELCOME MESSAGE .................................................................................................. 4
3 PROGRAMME OVERVIEW ........................................................................................... 5
3.1 Aims, Objectives, Learning Outcome and Skills Mapping ........................................ 5
3.2 Programme Structure .............................................................................................. 9
3.3 Marking Scheme for Foundations Module ............................................................. 11
3.4 Assessment Scheme and Marking Criteria ............................................................ 12
Award and Classification for MSc Finance ..................................................... 12
Marking criteria for Exams and Assignments.................................................. 12
3.5 Examinations and Marking .................................................................................... 15
The Examinations Process ............................................................................. 15
Mitigating Circumstances ............................................................................... 16
Anonymity ...................................................................................................... 16
Additional Exam Arrangements ...................................................................... 16
3.6 Prizes .................................................................................................................... 17
3.7 Association with Professional Bodies .................................................................... 19
Chartered Financial Analyst Institute (CFA).................................................... 19
3.8 Online Modules ..................................................................................................... 20
BUSI97289 Accounting Primer (Required) ..................................................... 21
BUSI97080 Introduction to Maths ................................................................... 22
BUSI70070 Plagiarism Awareness Module (Required)................................... 23
BUSI97176 Ethics and Professional Standards in Finance (Required) ........... 24
3.9 Foundations Module .............................................................................................. 25
BUSI97594 Foundations in Finance: Application of R for Finance .................. 26
BUSI97594 Foundations in Finance: Business Valuation ............................... 27
BUSI97594 Foundations in Finance: Financial Modelling ............................... 28
BUSI97594 Foundations in Finance: Markets and Securities ......................... 30
3.10 Careers ................................................................................................................. 31
BUSI97077 Careers & Professional Development.......................................... 31
3.11 Compulsory Modules............................................................................................. 33
BUSI97043 Corporate Finance (Autumn Term) .............................................. 34
BUSI97047 Investments and Portfolio Management (Autumn Term).............. 35
BUSI97046 Mathematics for Finance (Autumn Term) .................................... 36
BUSI97049 Financial Econometrics (Spring Term) ........................................ 37
BUSI97071 Macro Finance (Spring Term)...................................................... 38
BUSI97048 Derivatives (Spring Term) ........................................................... 39
3.12 Electives................................................................................................................ 40
3.13 Final Project .......................................................................................................... 41
4 INFORMATION FOR STUDENTS ............................................................................... 43
4.1 Term Dates ........................................................................................................... 43

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 4.2 Student Year Planner ............................................................................................ 44
4.3 Academic Director and Programme Team contact details ..................................... 45
4.4 Plagiarism and Cheating ....................................................................................... 46
4.5 Group Work and Peer Review ............................................................................... 48
4.6 Module Excellence Surveys (MODES) .................................................................. 49
4.7 Global Skills Development..................................................................................... 50
5 INDICATIVE MODULE LIST ........................................................................................ 51

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2 WELCOME MESSAGE

Welcome from Academic Director

I am delighted to welcome you all to the 2023/2024 Master of

Finance. You are embarking on an exciting and enjoyable year
where you will immerse yourselves in finance and get to grips with
both the theory and the practice.

The faculty will be working hard to stimulate you and help you to
understand the concepts of financial theory and to show how theory
and practice interact; to obtain maximum benefit you too will need
to work hard. The pay-off will be a thorough grounding and
competence in finance that will stand you in good stead throughout
your career.

The Hub is the Business School’s bespoke on-line learning platform. Each programme has an
online Hub, which contains all the module resources as well as provides a space for all module
communication (so students will just need to check the Hub rather than receive numerous
emails).

The programme handbook contains key information about the programme; you should make
sure that you read it carefully when it is released. Please pay careful attention to the checklist
of administration tasks that you need to complete in the first week.

We are extremely fortunate in having a very experienced programme team to ensure the
smooth running of your programme; they are available to deal with any queries that arise.

I hope you all have a fruitful year at Imperial.

With best wishes

Lara Cathcart

Academic Director
MSc Finance, MSc Financial Technology and MSc Risk Management and Financial
Engineering

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3 PROGRAMME OVERVIEW

3.1 Aims, Objectives, Learning Outcome and Skills Mapping

MSc Finance: AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

Imperial College’s MSc Finance is the ultimate qualification for finance professionals. The
financial world’s demand for innovation has always been intense. Today, as the international
markets become increasingly complex, the need for understanding advanced systems and
sophisticated financial instruments has never been greater. Success in these markets calls
for intellectual rigour. Against this background, the MSc Finance equips you to meet the
contemporary challenges and enjoy the rewarding career opportunities offered by a dynamic
industry. It also provides the necessary tools for academic research at the subject’s frontier.

The MSc offers a range of careers-related activities which form an integral part of the
programme. Please consult the Careers section in the Key Information area of the Hub for
further information.

Learning Outcomes

• Demonstrate knowledge of finance theories and models and their use and context in
global financial markets;
• Apply mathematical tools to complex financial problems including the pricing of
financial instruments and products;
• Use a range of programming tools to develop live implementations of financial models
and use these implementations in practical simulations;
• Analyse and evaluate investment decisions and data — students should be able to
apply econometric theory and software to draw valid conclusions about data.

Knowledge objectives

• The fundamental ideas in finance which include: expected utility, risk aversion, mean
variance portfolio analysis, two fund separation, state prices and risk neutral valuation
and efficient markets;
• The application of mathematical tools including matrices and linear algebra (calculus
and optimisation), probability theory, discrete and continuous time stochastic
processes and partial differential equations;
• Futures and option pricing and interest rate models;
• The core knowledge base including the essential facts, concepts, principles and
theories relevant to the chosen area of specialisation.

Skills objectives:

• Analyse and evaluate financial models using a wide range of appropriate techniques
and assess their empirical validity;
• Analyse corporate financial decision making and assess a company’s real and
financial investment decisions;
• Analyse government policy decisions in the light of finance theory and evidence (e.g.
risk management).
• Write and present ‘short reports’ and complete a substantive piece of research work;
• Produce creative and realistic solutions to complex problems based on finance
theory;
• Use R programming language to illustrate and examine concepts;
• Execute econometric analysis of financial data;
• Use Bloomberg to access and study financial data sets.

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 • Communicate effectively in context through oral presentations, computer software,
presentations and written reports;
• Critically review evidence including its reliability, validity and significance;
• Transfer techniques and solutions from one discipline to another;
• Use Information and Communications technology;
• Manage resources and time effectively in order to achieve intended goals;
• Learn independently with open-mindedness and critical enquiry;
• Learn effectively for the purpose of continuing professional development;
• Work effectively as a team member;
• Clearly identify criteria for success and evaluate his or her own performance against
those criteria.

Skills Mapping

Here at Imperial College Business School you have the opportunity to develop a wide range
of professional skills through a variety of different mediums. These skills will not only aid your
personal development but also make you more competitive within the marketplace.
Importantly, this involves more than just workshops. It involves a blend of learning through
both curricular and non-curricular activities. In order to rationalise the approach to developing
these skills we have created a matrix outlining the different categories and the methods in
which you will learn them.

Categories

We split professional skills into three main categories. This provides you with the chance to
identify the structure of skills learning and how useful they can be in the workplace.

Category Description Example

Personal Personal effectiveness on an operational Working in teams or time
Development level. This includes the dynamics of management.
working individually or as a member of a
team.
Communication Verbal, non-verbal and written skills. CV writing or presentation
skills.
Technical & Essential workplace tools and techniques VBA, C++, R
Analytical beyond curriculum teaching.

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 Professional Foundation Compulsory Electives Project Optional Careers
Skills Modules Modules Workshops Development
Type

Personal An important You will quickly The electives The project The workshops Workshops and
Development emphasis is realise, once provide you gives you the and GSEPS one to one
placed on this the compulsory with an opportunity to modules and sessions give
in the modules start, excellent put previous online study you the
September that you need opportunity to and taught skills modules opportunity to
term. You will to sharpen up expand your skills into offered provide learn about the
start thinking your personal personal action. Project you with the operational
about your management development and time opportunity to approach to
approach to skills whilst skills and put management develop a take in the
learning as an working them into will certainly be range of workplace and
individual, team effectively on practice. Some needed here. personal skills the way to
and cohort team emphasise from team- conduct
member and as coursework. collaboration, based skills to yourself within
an international others will personal the working
student. require more organisation environment
practical skills. and
effectiveness.

Communication You will spend Throughout the The electives The project The workshops Workshops and
time developing compulsory you choose will allows you to and GSEPS one to one
an modules you help develop develop your modules and sessions will
understanding will be required your written online study help you
of to communicate communication communication skills modules develop your
communication with fellow skills. Some of and helps you offered provide communication
and how to students, the more learn how to get you with the skills to enable
come across complete technical your message opportunity to you to
effectively. coursework and modules will across develop a communicate
negotiate your enable you to effectively. range of effectively
way around learn the more communication within the
work priorities. technical skills from workplace and
You will also be language of writing technical at interviews.
introduced to finance. presentations to
financial networking
terminology. effectively.

Technical and You will be In addition to Electives The MSc The workshops Workshops and
Analytical introduced to the actual provide project requires offer a direct one to one
the hub and R subject matter students with a you to use route to sessions
that you will use taught, there number of technical and improving your provide you
regularly will be many technical skills analytical skills. technical and with the tools to
throughout the technical and related to Data collection analytical skills. get through an
year. analytical skills subject matter and analysis You will be able assessment
to develop. of the module. will require to master centre.
This will involve These can many IT and packages such
learning skills range from numerical skills. as VBA and
from analysing specific IT skills C++.
case studies to such as C++ to
effective use of maths formulae
R, VBA and to risk analysis.
spreadsheets.

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 Personal Skills Development for Individual Modules – MSc Finance

Spreadsheet/ Analytical &

Personal
Written Presentations Numerical Critical Verbal Teamwork
Skills
Software Reasoning
September Modules
Foundations in Finance      
Compulsory Modules
Corporate Finance     
Derivatives      
Financial Econometrics      
Investments and Portfolio Management      
Macro Finance      
Mathematics for Finance     
Electives
Advanced Corporate Finance       
Advanced Financial Statistics      
Advanced Options Theory      
Asset Allocation & Investment Strategies      
Banks, Regulation & Monetary Policy     
Big Data in Finance I       
Blockchain and Applications    
Climate Finance     
Corporate Dealmaking    
Corporate Finance for Practitioners (Int. Elective)     
Credit Risk     
Entrepreneurial Finance     
Fixed Income Securities      
Innovation and Strategy in FinTech      
International Finance     
Introduction to Quantitative Investing (Int. Elective)     
Machine Learning and Finance     
Market Microstructure Trading and Liquidity    
Mergers & Acquisitions    
Private Equity & Venture Capital      
Real Estate Investment, Finance & Private Equity     
Shareholder Activism and Corporate Responsibility     
Structured Credit and Equity Products       
Sustainable Finance Investment    
Text Mining for Economics and Finance    
Depends on
Individual Research or Applied Project      
topic

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 3.2 Programme Structure

The programme consists of four required (and one optional) online modules, seven
compulsory modules including the foundation module, one key elective, two or three further
electives (depending on the project you do), two optional modules, and a project.

Compulsory/ Course Module Exam/Test

Term Element
Elective work Code Schedule
Accounting Primer Complete by 24
Required 100% BUSI97289
(pre-study – Aug 2023) September 2023
Finance Careers Primer* Complete by 10
Required 100% BUSI97077
(for Careers module) November 2023
Online Introduction to Mathematics
Optional 100% BUSI97080 N/A
Modules (pre-study – Aug 2023)
Plagiarism Awareness Module Complete by 29
Required 100% BUSI70070
(pre-study – Aug 2023) September 2023
Ethics and Professional
Required 100% BUSI97176 July 2024
Standards in Finance

Business
Compulsory 100% N/A
Valuation
Foundations Financial
Compulsory 100%
(Sept 2023) Modelling
2 - 6 October 2023
Foundations Markets and
Compulsory 100% BUSI97594
in Finance Securities
Application of
R for Finance Autumn Term
Compulsory 100%
(cont. in Week 8
Autumn Autumn Term)
(Oct – Dec Corporate Finance Compulsory 30% BUSI97043
2023) Investments & Portfolio 11 - 15 December
Compulsory 10% BUSI97047
Management 2023
Mathematics for Finance Compulsory 20% BUSI97046
Complete a TOTAL of three or four electives, depending on the project chosen:
• You must choose a minimum of one KEY elective
• You may only select one elective in Spring Term
Derivatives Compulsory 30% BUSI97048
Financial Econometrics Compulsory 50% BUSI97049
Macro Finance Compulsory 20% BUSI97071
Advanced Corporate Finance Key 40% BUSI97041
Spring Asset Allocation & Investment
Key 40% BUSI97059
(Jan – Mar Strategies 11 - 22 March 2024
2024) Big Data in Finance 1 Elective 35% BUSI97066
Blockchain and Applications Elective 50% BUSI97595
International Finance Elective 15% BUSI97045
Text Mining for Economics
Elective 50% BUSI97605
and Finance
Advanced Financial Statistics Elective 15% BUSI97143
Advanced Options Theory Key 30% BUSI97042
Banks, Regulation & Monetary
Key 40% BUSI97069
Policy
Summer Climate Finance Elective 50% BUSI97799
(Apr – Jun Corporate Dealmaking Elective 50% BUSI97074 17 – 28 June 2024
2024) Corporate Finance for
Key 45% BUSI70098
Practitioners (Int. Elective)
Credit Risk Key 40% BUSI97050
Entrepreneurial Finance Key 30% BUSI97606
Fixed Income Securities Key 30% BUSI97044

9
 Compulsory/ Course Module Exam/Test
Term Element
Elective work Code Schedule
Innovation & Strategy in
Elective 50% BUSI97068
FinTech
Introduction to Quantitative
Key 50% BUSI97067
Investing (Int. Elective)
Machine Learning & Finance Elective 50% BUSI97608
Market Microstructure Trading
Elective 50% BUS70326
and Liquidity
Mergers & Acquisitions Elective 50% BUSI97058
Private Equity & Venture
Elective 40% BUSI97051
Capital
Real Estate Investment,
Elective 50% BUSI97064
Finance & Private Equity
Shareholder Activism and
Elective 60% BUSI97604
Corporate Responsibility
Structured Credit & Equity
Elective 15% BUSI97139
Products
Sustainable Finance &
Elective 50% BUSI70444
Investment

Compulsory/ Course Module

Term Element Deadlines
Elective work Code
Research Project OR BUSI97040 14 August 2024
July-August Applied Project OR BUSI97053 14 August 2024
Elective 100%
2024 Applied Project
BUSI97072 28 August 2024
(Work Placement)
Resit Period All exams 9 - 20 Sept 2024

∗ To complete the Careers & Professional Development module, in addition to completing the
Finance Careers Primer students must also attend a number of required workshops and
appointments throughout the year. Please see the Careers section for further details.

 Not all combinations of electives are possible, as some electives run concurrently. Normally,
a minimum of 20 students needs to be enrolled on an elective in order for it to run. If fewer
than 20 students have chosen a particular elective, it is at the discretion of the Imperial
College Business School elective committee if it will go ahead or not. Students will be notified
one week prior to the start of an elective if the minimum threshold to run the module hasn’t
been reached. Students affected will be asked to select an alternative elective. Places will
be made available on alternative elective choices.

Prerequisites for electives: to be accepted on to certain electives, completion of

prerequisite modules or optional workshops that run in Autumn and Spring may be required.
Please refer to the hub for more details.

In addition to the electives, students may also take the following optional modules:

• C++ for Finance (Spring term)

• VBA (Summer term)

Further information is available in the Electives section of this handbook.

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3.3 Marking Scheme for Foundations Module

Module Component Assessment Weighting

To be assessed by 50%
Application of R for
group coursework and 50% 25%
Finance
individual coursework
To be assessed by 30%
Business Valuation coursework and 70% online 25%
Foundations in quiz
Finance
To be assessed by 100%
Financial Modelling 25%
MCQ test

Markets and To be assessed by 100%

25%
Securities MCQ test

A pass in the Foundations in Finance module is a requirement for the MSc degree
award.

To pass the Foundations in Finance module, students need to achieve a pass mark in every
component.

To gain a pass in this module, students will be required to achieve an average of 50% or
above across the four weighted components, with a minimum mark of 40% in each
component.

If students do not achieve a pass or get less than 40% in any component they will have the
opportunity to resit any coursework element they have failed no later than September 2024
and to resit the tests no later than the first week of October 2024.

The Foundations in Finance module will appear in the official transcript as Pass or Fail.

11
3.4 Assessment Scheme and Marking Criteria
Award and Classification for MSc Finance

Award of a Postgraduate Degree

To qualify for the award of a postgraduate degree a student must have:

1. accumulated credit to the value of no fewer than 90 credits at level 7;
2. and no more than 15 credits as a Compensated Pass;

Classification of Postgraduate Taught Awards

The College sets the class of Degree that may be awarded as follows:
1. Distinction: The student has achieved an overall weighted average of
70.00% or above across the programme.
2. Merit: The student has achieved an overall weighted average of
60.00% but less than 70.00%.
3. Pass: The student has achieved an overall weighted average of
50.00% but less than 60.00

Marking criteria for Exams and Assignments

All postgraduate work is marked to the following Scheme:

Marks Interpretation

85+ Marks represent an exceptional distinction performance

70 – 84% Marks represent a distinction performance

Marks represent a merit performance demonstrating a clear grasp of the
60 – 69%
relevant concepts and facts
Marks represent a pass performance demonstrating an adequate grasp
50 – 59%
of most of the relevant concepts and facts
40 – 49% Marks represent a fail performance

30 – 39% Marks represent a fail performance (with significant shortcomings)

0 – 29% Marks represent a fail performance (with major shortcomings)

The Pass Mark for all postgraduate taught modules is 50%. Students who undertake a re-sit
of an assessment will have the overall module mark capped at the pass mark.

Compensation of module marks

Whilst a mark of below 50% for a module is a failure according to the College assessment
scheme, in some cases, this may be compensated. Compensation is when a module can be
passed and credit can be awarded by the Board of Examiners where the student has
achieved a marginal fail. This normally applies when the average for the module overall (for
instance, when the exam mark is combined with the coursework mark) is between 40-49%.

Where a student achieves less than 40% for the module overall, the module cannot be
compensated. Compensated passes can be awarded for up to a maximum of 15 ECTS
credits.
12
Candidates who fall within 2% of the boundary for a higher classification may be considered
for the next classification based on their overall academic performance.

Those who achieve an overall weighted average of n9.50 (whereby n can range from zero to
9, but of practical relevance are primarily 49.50, 59.50 and 69.50) and above will have their
classification rounded to the higher classification.

Those who achieve an overall weighted average of n8.00 and n9.49 (for example 48.00–
49.50, 58.00–59.50 and 68.00–69.50) will be considered for the higher classification.

The School has approved criteria for application to borderline candidates that it uses in all
examination boards. In summary, the criteria includes ALL of the following:

• More than 50% of individual assessments in the higher classification (one piece of
individual work is counted per module. In most cases this will be the examination. For
modules assessed by 100% coursework, this will be the single highest weighted piece of
work. If there are multiple pieces of individual work with the same weighting, priority will
be given to individually written pieces over participation. If priority cannot be decided then
the average of the combined pieces will be used).
• No compensated modules or assessment that has been re-taken (without approved
mitigating circumstances)

All students falling within the 2% boundary of the higher classification will be considered for
uplift. However, uplift is not automatic (except for those within 0.5% of the overall degree
boundary) and the above is the minimum criteria that normally applies. An examination
board retains discretion in applying the criteria.

In addition, the following guidance is provided to staff in relation to projects:

70% + A mark of this level corresponds to a distinction The Report indicates

exceptional success in tackling the Project. All the Project’s objectives have
been met as fully as could reasonably be expected. The student has shown
initiative and been rigorous in the collection and use of data. Where
appropriate, relevant literature has been critically evaluated. The standard of
the Report presentation is very high.

A mark of this level should be reserved for Reports of exceptional merit

which has something extra and which surprises. The supervisor will be
required to justify why a distinction has been awarded in the section provided.
60 - 69% A mark of this level corresponds to a merit The student has tackled the
problem conscientiously and logically and has produced sound conclusions.
Presentation is of good standard.
50 - 59% The student’s work has been no more than moderate overall or would have
deserved a higher grade but for areas of significant weakness.

< 50% The student’s work has failed to reach a satisfactory standard. A mark below
50% should be used to indicate a “fail” in the Project.

13
14
3.5 Examinations and Marking

The Examinations Process

The following describes the process for examined modules.

The essentials of this process are laid down by the College and are requirements that apply
to all taught programmes.

The Board of Examiners is made up of all members of the School's academic staff who teach
on the programme (called 'internal examiners') plus a number of external examiners drawn
from other universities. A representative of the College Registry also normally attends Board
meetings. The external examiners are appointed for no more than four consecutive years.
School examiners have, in the past, been, drawn from LBS, Manchester, Cranfield,
Lancaster, City, Open University, Universita’ Commerciale La Bocconi, Oxford University,
and LSE. Each external is allocated a number of subjects in their area of expertise. The
Board Chairman is normally the Academic Director.

*This year, the external examiners for MSc Finance are as follows:

Dr Amrit Judge Nottingham University

Professor Chendi Zhang University of Exeter Business School
Professor Roman Kozhan Warwick Business School
Professor Dennis Philip Durham University Business School
Dr Pantelis Kazakis University of Glasgow
Dr Adam Golinski University of York

The details provided above are for information only. Please note that it is not appropriate for
students to contact the externals directly regarding their studies. Any issues that you have in
relation to your assessment should be raised internally with your Programme Team in the
first instance or with the College Registry, if necessary. Issues with results can only be raised
with College Registry once the External Examiners’ meeting has taken place and results
have been released by Registry. *External examiners are subject to change

All examination scripts will be marked in detail by the Module Leader or appointed marker
with a second marker undertaking sample check marking to ensure that the mark awarded is
appropriate. A sample of scripts, along with coursework samples, are sent to the External
Examiner to ensure that the standard of marking at Imperial College Business School is
commensurate with elsewhere in the UK. External Examiners also approve draft examination
questions prior to the examination being set.

Specimen questions are provided ahead of the examination to guide students on content
only. The format is subject to change and the Module Leader will provide full information
during the module.

If candidates have experienced serious illness or other major problems which they consider
to have affected their academic performance, they should complete a mitigating
circumstances form. Please see the relevant section of the Academic Regulations and
Policies document on the Hub.

Candidates who are judged to have failed by the Board of Examiners are allowed by College
regulations ONE further entry to the examination(s). Students who need to re-sit will be given
the option to either re-sit in the August re-sit period, or during the next academic session.
Students with more than one re-sit exam will need to choose whether to re-sit exams either
in August or in the next academic year. At the discretion of the Programme Director, students
are allowed to split re-sit exams between the August re-sit period and the next academic
year. Students will still only have one re-sit opportunity per examination.

15
A candidate will normally be required to re-sit if they achieve less than 50% in the overall
module average (the combined examination and coursework marks). In this instance a
candidate will normally be required to re-sit any examination in which they achieved less than
50%, in order to increase their overall average above 50%. For modules assessed by
coursework only, candidates will be given the opportunity to re-sit the relevant failing
coursework components (e.g. those under 50%). In some cases, failure in a module may be
compensated. This normally applies if the average for the module overall (when the
individual assessment component marks are combined) is between 40-49%. Compensated
passes can be awarded for up to a maximum of 15 ECTS credits. Information on re-sitting
examinations, resubmitting coursework, resit/resubmission fees, examination feedback and
reasonable examination adjustments can be found in the Academic Regulations and Policies
document on the Hub.

Mitigating Circumstances

If you experience serious illness or other major problems that you feel has affected your
academic performance, you should provide the Programme Manager with details of the
problems experienced in writing along with relevant documentary evidence. This would
normally be before any examination that might be affected. Mitigating circumstances are
then considered at the Mitigating Circumstances Board which meets three times per year.

Details regarding mitigating circumstances can be found in the ‘Academic Regulations and
Policies’ document on the Hub.

Anonymity

In line with the College Regulations for Taught Programmes of Study, anonymity is observed
and maintained during the marking process for all written examinations by using random
identifier numbers only. Anonymity is also observed in the marking process for coursework
in the same way, a random identifier will be assigned to group and individual assignments,
but practical assessments (e.g. participation, video submissions and presentations) and
supervised projects, cannot be marked anonymously. For group assignments, please choose
one person to submit your group assignment.

For individual and group assignments you should name your file with the assignment name
and file extension e.g. Group Assignment.pdf or Assignment 1.doc.

Where a student breaches their own anonymity, for example by writing their name visibly on
an assessment or naming a file with their name or CID, or by discussing the assessment with
a member of faculty, the student forfeits their right to anonymity.

Additional Exam Arrangements

If you have any additional educational needs, for example, dyslexia, AD(H)D etc it is advised
that you contact our Disability Advisory Service (DAS) and register with them as soon as
possible. The DAS will provide you with a telephone appointment should you require one.
They are able to advise you on the range of services that are available to you during your
time at Imperial and assist you in gaining access to the support you need. Find out more
about the Disability Advisory Service team: https://www.imperial.ac.uk/disability-advisory-
service/about-us/contact-us/

Should you wish to make an application for additional exam arrangements you should
contact the Head of Exams and Assessment, Jo Chaffin, as soon as practicable after you
have started the MSc Finance and Accounting programme. This should be done no later
than six weeks before your first assessment so your application can be processed for
approval with student records. Jo can be contacted on j.chaffin@imperial.ac.uk. Details of
how to apply for additional exam arrangements can also be found in the ‘Academic
Regulations and Policies’ document on the Hub.
16
3.6 Prizes

Each year, outstanding MSc Finance students are awarded a prize in various areas of
finance in recognition of their academic achievements.

Below is the list of prizes* currently available to students:

MSc Finance Outstanding Student Prize - £500

Awarded annually to the MSc Finance student with the best all round performance in
examinations, electives and Project work taken together.

MSc Finance Best Applied Project Prize - £250

Awarded annually to the MSc Finance student with the highest mark in their Applied Project.

Nigel Meade Quantitative Finance Prize - £200

Awarded annually to the MSc Finance student with the highest average in Financial
Econometrics and Derivatives combined.

Best Research Project Prize (shared across the Finance Suite) - £250
Awarded annually to the student on the Finance suite of MSc programmes with the highest
mark in their Research Project.

Andreas Kyriakides Memorial Prize for Investment and Portfolio Management (shared
with MSc Risk Management & Financial Engineering and MSc Financial Technology
programmes) - £200
Awarded annually to the MSc Finance/MSc Risk Management & Financial Engineering/ MSc
Financial Technology student with the highest average in Investment & Portfolio
Management and Asset Allocation & Investment Strategies combined.

The Worshipful Company of International Bankers Award (shared across the Finance
Suite) - £300
Awarded annually to the student for the best dissertation or extended piece of written work
as assessed by faculty. Typically, the work will be related to the City, international banking,
or an aspect of finance.

Capstone Prize for the Best MSc Project in Asset Management (shared across the
Finance Suite) - £500
Awarded annually to the student producing the best Asset Management focused project.

There are also a number of School wide prizes available, details of which are in the
Information Guide on the Hub.

Dean’s List for Academic Excellence

The Dean’s List recognises students whose overall performance in their programme is above
70% and is within the top 10% of the cohort from each Business School taught programme.

Dean’s Community Award for Students

The Dean’s Community Awards encourage and recognise citizenship amongst Business
School students who excel in extra-curricular activities.

Nominations are accepted from students, faculty members and professional staff.
Nominations can be for an individual student or a team of students. Self-nominations or
anonymous nominations will not be considered. Students found proven to have committed
an academic offence or disciplinary breach will be precluded from receiving a School award.

When judging this award, consideration will be given to students who have made a
significant contribution to the Business School community or wider society. Contributions
17
should be current; the Panel will give greater weight to initiatives that have taken place in the
current academic session. As these awards celebrate extra-curricular activities, nominations
relating to academic/ assessed work such as projects will not normally be considered.

There are six categories:

1. Improving Society – someone who has made a positive contribution to raising social
awareness e.g. raising awareness of social causes with the cohort, volunteering, organising
a fundraising or community engagement activity
2. The Power of Innovative Thinking – someone who thinks outside of the box,
demonstrating creative thinking e.g. innovative contributions or leadership that takes a
project, event or solution to the next level
3. Inspiring Brilliant Minds – someone who has broadened the minds of others e.g.
organising an event or activity that provoked inspiring discussion or innovation and enhanced
your learning and development
4. Pioneering Practical Solutions – someone who identified an opportunity to benefit their
cohort or the School and takes action e.g. someone who has developed a new initiative to
improve the student experience.
5. Sustainable Business Thinking – someone who raises awareness of business practices
that are economically sustainable, socially responsible and actively promotes an
environmentally friendly culture both in the College and the wider community.
6. Inclusive Business - someone who consistently promotes (or has shown by a specific
action) practices and behaviours that enhance equality, diversity and inclusion in our
community of students, staff, or wider society. "

*All prizes are subject to change and to College approval

18
3.7 Association with Professional Bodies

The MSc Finance programme at the Imperial College Business School is reputed for its
academic excellence, and as such is associated with a number of prestigious financial
bodies.

Chartered Financial Analyst Institute (CFA)

The MSc Finance is one of a limited number of programmes internationally to be part of the
University Affiliation Program of the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Institute. With 70% of
the CFA Level 1 syllabus covered by the MSc Finance programme, our students experience
a high level of success in the CFA exams, enabling many to go on and qualify as a full
Chartered Financial Analyst. The CFA charter is the gold standard for the investment
industry. Charter holders enjoy a mark of distinction throughout the world.

CFA Exam Support Package

An exam support package is available to students who wish to register and take a CFA exam
in June 2024. The support package has been developed specifically for the Finance MSc
programmes suite, in association with a Corporate Business partner, and is fully funded by
the Business School.

Further details will be released during the Autumn term.

For more general details about the CFA and the CFA exams, see here:
https://www.cfainstitute.org/programs/cfa

CFA Institute Student Scholarship

MSc Investment and Wealth Management students who register for a CFA exam will be
invited by the Programme Team to apply for a CFA Program Partner scholarship in January
2023. There are 6 scholarships available to ICBS MSc Investment and Wealth Management
students who will be sitting the CFA Level 1 exam in June 2024.

For those recipients of the scholarship, the CFA Program enrolment and exam registration
fee is discounted to $350 USD (including curriculum e-book). Recipients wanting a print-only
curriculum pay an extra $150 USD plus shipping costs and any applicable taxes and import
duties. Scholarships cannot be deferred to another exam offering. Those who receive a
scholarship after they have registered are entitled to a refund.

For the application you will need to write a personal statement, outlining why you feel you are
deserving of the scholarship (i.e. motives for pursuing the designation, career plans, financial
need, etc.). Please note this should not be more than 250 words. We will also consider your
MSc grades to date in making a decision.

Further details on the Student Scholarships can be seen here:

https://www.cfainstitute.org/programs/cfa/scholarships/student

19
3.8 Online Modules

Students are required to complete the following online modules:

Pre-Study: before your arrival at the School:

1. Accounting Primer (Required)

2. Introduction to Mathematics

Experience tells us that students without a basic knowledge of these subjects will struggle on
parts of the programme. If you have not yet completed these modules, you should do so
before the Autumn term starts in October.

September:

3. Plagiarism Awareness module (Required)

You will also complete the Finance Careers Primer, as the first stage of the Career and
Professional Development module to enhance your career development skills.

Summer term:

4. Ethics and Professional Standards in Finance (Required)

Although the marks for the exercises, tests and quizzes for these modules will not count
towards your final grade, it is a programme requirement that you complete and pass modules
1, 3 and 4 above.

It is also a Business School requirement that you complete module 3 above.

20
 BUSI97289 Accounting Primer (Required)

Module Aims:
This module is at an introductory level and includes several self-help exercises. You must
then pass a one-hour computer-based accounting test. If you fail the test, you will be able to
retake it. We expect all students to gain some basic knowledge of accounting as part of their
MSc studies.

Module Content:
This module introduces the basic financial statements, namely the balance sheet, the income
statement and the cash flow statement. It is a legal requirement for companies and large
organisations to report their financial status through these statements.

The basic pro-forma of these statements, how they are prepared, and the limitations of the
statements are explained. It is imperative for business people to be able to interpret and
analyse this information to support good decision-making.

Learning Outcomes:
On completion of the module, students will:
• Have gained a knowledge of the three main principles that guide the processes of
financial accounting and the concepts that underpin them.
• Understand the difference between a sole trader, a partnership and a company.
• Know about the three major accounting statements (the balance sheet, the income
statement and the cash flow statement) and will understand what each of them is
used for and the difference between them.
• Be aware of the terms needed to produce and understand financial statements.

Topics covered:
• The balance sheet
• Profit and loss account
• The cash flow statement

Assessment:
You will be required to take a multiple choice quiz based on this module before the start of
the first term. If you do not pass the quiz at the first attempt, you will have the opportunity to
resit later in the term. The Accounting Primer module must be completed by Sunday 24
September 2023.

21
 BUSI97080 Introduction to Maths

Module Aims:
This module reviews mathematical techniques that you will generally have encountered in
your earlier studies. The material is presented in a self-contained way. This module is
highly recommended to those who have not studied this subject for a while and need to
refresh their maths knowledge.

Learning Outcomes:
When you have completed the online module, you will be able to:
• Take derivatives and integrate simple commonly encountered functions
• Employ product and chain rules and integrate by parts
• Understand and manipulate simple equations involving vectors and matrices
• Be familiar with commonly encountered matrix functions such as determinants and
eigenvectors
• Understand simple properties of linear ordinary differential equations

Topics covered:
• Differentiation
• Integration
• Taylor expansion
• Linear algebra
• Differential equations

This pre-sessional module is not examined. However, in preparation for the start of your
MSc programme, it is in your interest to complete all the learning materials, quizzes and
activities.

22
 BUSI70070 Plagiarism Awareness Module (Required)

Module Aims:
How would you define plagiarism? Do you know what plagiarism is? Do you know there are
different types of plagiarism? We’ve asked lots of students what they think plagiarism is, and
most of them say plagiarism is when you ‘cut and paste’ or copy other people’s work.
This is only one half of a definition of plagiarism. You need to have a full understanding of
what plagiarism is, and why it is an academic offence.

Learning Outcomes:
After working through this module, you should:
• be able to explain what plagiarism is, and identify six different types of plagiarism
• be familiar with the concept of academic integrity
• be able to explain how to avoid plagiarism
• know what your department and the College policy is on plagiarism
• be able to explain the difference between paraphrasing and using a quotation in your
work

Assessment:
You are required to complete each stage of the module and pass the online quiz with a
minimum grade of 70% by Friday 29 September 2023. Students who have not completed
the module will have their exam marks withheld until they have done so.

23
 BUSI97176 Ethics and Professional Standards in Finance (Required)

Module Aims:
This module aims to introduce students to corporate responsibility and professional
standards for financial analysts. This online module will be available in the Summer term
and, at the end of it, students are required to take a compulsory test, which must be passed
before they can be awarded the MSc.

Module Outline:
In this module, students will review the key factors and responsibilities for ethical practice in
finance.

There are nine sessions in total for students to complete. Each session will include a
practitioner video commentary, a web-based lecture, suggested readings, practical examples
and questions to test the key concepts learned in that section.

Assessment:
This module is assessed by 100% coursework. You are required to complete and pass the
online Ethics and Professional Standards in Finance module during the Summer term.

24
3.9 Foundations Module

The Foundations module in September will introduce you to the tools of modern finance.

BUSI97594 Foundations in Finance

1. Application of R for Finance

• Hands-on introduction to R programming
• Development of good practice and knowledge to tackle complex problems
• During September students will be required to complete online modules.
Teaching will begin in Autumn term.

2. Business Valuation
• Systematic exploration of accounting and corporate valuation tools

3. Financial Modelling
• Elements of probability theory
• Review of matrix algebra and statistics

4. Markets and Securities

• Introduction into securities trading, pricing and investment
• Review of probability theory and optimisation

25
 BUSI97594 Foundations in Finance: Application of R for Finance

Module Instructor:
Name: Liam Gao (Module Leader) & Jay DesLauriers
Email: j.gao@imperial.ac.uk & j.deslauriers@imperial.ac.uk
Refer to the Hub for office hours details

Module Aims:
This module introduces students to the R programming language as a tool for the analysis
and presentation of financial data. Weekly sessions will feature a mix of lecture, tutorial and
hands-on practice that see students work towards a final project. Students will become
familiar with the basics of R and the various presentation formats it offers, before moving on
to the process-oriented coding, visualization, and analysis of financial data. Weekly exercises
will support learning between sessions by challenging students to think laterally and apply
concepts learned in class to solve classic programming and financial problems. Students will
succeed by attending lecture and completing the weekly exercises, which together will help
them develop a solid foundation in programming that will support them in future modules and
throughout their careers.

Module Outline:
The module discusses the following concepts:
• Variables, Matrices, Indexing and Operations
• Logical Operators, Flow Control, User Defined Functions
• Data Reading/Writing, Graphics with R
• Elements of regression analysis
• Slightly More Advanced Application: e.g. Trading Strategy
• The basics of efficient data processing with finance applications
• Introduction to Big Data in R

Learning Outcomes:
• Be confident with the basics of programming in R

Assessment:
• Group Coursework (50%)
• Individual Coursework (50%)

26
 BUSI97594 Foundations in Finance: Business Valuation

Module instructor:
Name: James Sefton
Email: j.sefton@imperial.ac.uk
Room: 53 Prince’s Gate - Room 3.08
Telephone: 020 7594 9128
Refer to the Hub for office hours details

Module Aims:
The module aims to provide a thorough understanding of the key background material
underlying corporate finance and indeed much of modern finance.

After a brief overview of the aims of financial intermediation, the module focuses on the
principal user of capital; the corporation. We start by looking at its legal and organisational
structure, and discuss how it reports its activities in the annual accounts. Probably a
company’s most important decision is which projects to invest in. After introducing the time
value of money, we discuss various investment or capital budgeting decision rules.

In the second half, we focus on techniques to value securities and in particular common
shares. We will do this both theoretically and through a number of case examples. We ask
how financial analyst might approach this problem, and techniques that are used to verify or
corroborate their estimates of fair value.

Finally, we will look at some alternative approaches to valuation that ‘anchor’ the value of the
firm either to its book value or to its current earnings. With examples, we will discuss when
the Residual Income Model (RIM) or the Abnormal Earnings Growth Model (AEG) would be
more appropriate, and what we can learn from these alternative approaches.

At the end of the module, the student will have all the necessary background knowledge to
understand the more specialised modules on the theory of investments and corporate
finance.

Module Outline:
The module discusses the following concepts:
• Introduction to Financial Intermediation
• The legal and organisation structure of the corporation
• Basic Accounting – Principles and Financial Statements
• Financial Statement Analysis and Corporate Valuation
• The Timeline of Cash Flows, and their Present and Future value
• Capital Budgeting and Investment Decision Rules
• Free Cash Flows, Enterprise Value
• EVA and the Residual Income Valuation Model
• Valuation using the Abnormal Earnings Growth Model
After introducing the concepts, most of the main ideas are reinforced using case studies.

Learning Outcomes:
• Have an understanding of corporate accounting processes and techniques used in
valuation
• Appreciate and understand the various ways to adjust project financing

Assessment:
• Coursework (30%)
• Online Multiple-Choice Test (70%)
27
 BUSI97594 Foundations in Finance: Financial Modelling

Module Instructor:
Name: Paolo Zaffaroni
Email: p.zaffaroni@imperial.ac.uk
Room: 53 Prince’s Gate - Room 4.02
Telephone: 020 7594 9186
Refer to the Hub for office hours details

Module Aims:
This module aims to provide students with the essential background in probability and
statistics for the core and elective modules of the Department of Finance MSc programmes.

Module Outline:
1. Summarising data
1.1 Graphical summaries of the data: Dot plot and histogram; The time series plot
1.2 Numerical descriptive measures
1.3 Measures of central tendency: The sample mean; The median; Mean versus median
1.4 Measures of dispersion: The sample variance; The sample standard deviation
1.5 The empirical rule
1.6 How to relate two things
1.7 Linearly related variables: Linear functions; Mean and variance of a linear function;
Linear combinations; Mean and variance of a linear combination

2. Continuous random variables

2.1 Probability and random variables
2.2 Continuous random variables, the PDF
2.3 The normal family of distributions
2.4 The CDF
2.5 IID random variables
2.6 IID draws from the normal distribution
2.7 The histogram and IID draws
2.8 The normal distribution and data
2.9 Standardisation

3. Numerical summaries for random variables

3.1 Expected value as long run average
3.2 Theoretical variance as long run sample variance
3.3 Expected value and variance of a continuous RV
3.4 Population versus sample quantities
3.5 Mean and variance of a linear function
3.6 Covariance and correlation for random variables
3.7 Mean and variance of a linear combination
3.8 The central limit theorem
3.9 Combinations of independent normal

4. Estimates and confidence intervals

4.1 Estimating a normal mean
4.2 The distribution of the normal sample mean
4.3 Normal data, confidence interval for m, s known
4.4 Normal data, confidence interval for m, s unknown (the t-distribution)
4.5 The central limit theorem and a general approximate confidence interval for m
4.6 Summary
4.7 Prediction with IID normal data

28
5. Hypothesis tests and p-values
5.1 Hypothesis tests for m
5.2 P-values
5.3 Confidence intervals and hypothesis tests: The big picture

Learning Outcomes:
• Be able to master the most important techniques of statistics and probability, tailored
to applications in finance, risk management and financial engineering

Assessment:
• Multiple Choice test (100%) during week 2 - 6 October 2023

29
 BUSI97594 Foundations in Finance: Markets and Securities

Module Instructor:
Name: Lara Cathcart
Email: l.cathcart@imperial.ac.uk
Room: 53 Prince’s Gate - Room 3.09
Telephone: 020 7594 9126
Refer to the Hub for office hours details

Module Aims:
This module firstly provides a broad overview of key financial markets; Stocks, Bonds and
Derivatives. Secondly it introduces the concepts of risk and return and how diversification
influences risk and return.

Module Outline:
• Bonds
• Equity
• Portfolio Analysis
• Derivatives

Learning Outcomes:
• Have developed an understanding of the main financial instruments including debt,
equity and financial derivatives and of the concepts of market efficiency, portfolio risk
and diversification.

Assessment:
• Multiple Choice test (100%) during week 2 - 6 October 2023

30
3.10 Careers

BUSI97077 Careers & Professional Development

Module Instructor:
Name: Careers
Email: ibcareers@imperial.ac.uk
Room: Central Library Building, Level 2
Telephone: 020 7594 1510/6432

Module Aims:
The aims of this module are to allow students to:
1. Carefully consider their career plans and improve their knowledge of their sector(s)
and job role(s) of choice
2. Gain bespoke careers support for their situation and goals
3. Develop their professional skills and maximise their chance of career success

Module Outline:
This module will be delivered by a combination of Imperial College Business School Careers
Consultants, external consultants and professionals working in the sector.

For 2023-2024 MSc full time students, it is expected that the four steps below are completed,
as well as optional activities that students can choose to participate in.

1. Careers Primer (this should be completed by 10 November 2023)

Students who are not seeking employment due to already having a role lined up, returning to
a previous employer or family business, or pursuing entrepreneurial activities will still need to
complete the Careers Primer to enhance their career development and self-awareness.

*1:1 appointments with a Careers Consultant cannot be booked until the Careers Primer is
complete.

2. Careers Appointment (to be completed by the end of February 2024)

This is an appointment with a Careers Consultant where students will have the chance to
discuss the year ahead and their post-study career goals. The Careers Consultant will
provide advice and signpost related sources and activities based on the student’s individual
career objectives.

*Please note that 1:1 appointments are available all year round and can cover any topic the
student wishes to discuss, such as reviewing their CV or cover letter, helping them to
prepare for an interview, or negotiating the salary of a new job – anything careers-, or
recruitment orientated that is relevant.

3. Attend Careers Induction session and at least 1 Careers Session from the below list

• Succeed at Interview
• Presenting with Impact
• Job Search for Experienced Students

4. Attend careers session to establish online profile and personal brand

• Accelerate Your Career Online – The LinkedIn Guys

31
Spring Careers Masterclass workshops

Professional Development will be ongoing throughout your career, and to kickstart this a
stream of masterclasses on soft skill development will be offered in the Spring term. Content
will be aligned with skills most sought after by employers in 2024 and focus on building
emotionally intelligent graduates and students are strongly encouraged to engage with this
part of the program.

Learning Outcomes:
• Knowledge of the careers support available to them at Imperial College Business
School and how to access this
• Understanding of their chosen sector(s), including typical roles and the recruitment
process
• Development of their CV and cover letter, online profiles, and interview technique

To complete the Careers Module, students will:

• Complete the Careers Primer
• Attend Careers Induction and 1 workshop of choosing from list above
• Attend ‘Accelerate Your Career Online’
• Attend 1 x 1:1 appointment (minimum) (to discuss any careers related topic)

32
3.11 Compulsory Modules

The six compulsory modules (in addition to the Foundations module) are:

• Corporate Finance
• Investment and Portfolio Management
• Mathematics for Finance
• Macro Finance
• Financial Econometrics
• Derivatives

Three compulsory modules are taught in the Autumn term and three in the Spring term.

For each module there is a 3-hour lecture and a 1-hour class per week.

We endeavour to record the lectures and have them available to view via the Hub. However,
this is not a substitute for live class attendance. The system occasionally does not work due
to technical errors, so this should not be relied upon as an alternative to attending at the time
of the lecture whether in person, or online.

You are expected to attend all lectures, classes and workshops.

The following sections will provide information about the Autumn and Spring Term
compulsory modules.

33
Autumn Term Compulsory Modules

BUSI97043 Corporate Finance (Autumn Term)

Module Instructor:
Name: Jamie Coen
Email: w.coen@imperial.ac.uk
Refer to the Hub for office hours details

Module Aims:
The module will give students a critical understanding of the key issues in corporate finance,
and the ability to apply and evaluate the main practical approaches used to study these
issues. Students will learn to evaluate firms’ decisions regarding investment, capital structure
and pay out policy, and understand how, in combination, these decisions determine the value
of a firm.

Module Outline:
Lecture 1: Intro, fundamentals and cost of capital.
Lecture 2: The investment decision I.
Lecture 3: The investment decision II.
Lecture 4: The financing decision I.
Lecture 5: The financing decision II.
Lecture 6: The dividend decision.
Lecture 7: Intrinsic valuation.
Lecture 8: Relative valuation and contingent claims valuation.
Lecture 9: Review and revision.

Learning Outcomes:
By the end of the module, you will be able to:
• Prepare financial data to compute the cost of equity and the cost of capital for any
firm.
• Find the optimal mix of debt and equity financing for a firm.
• Evaluate manager’s dividend and share buyback policies.
• Select DCF methods to value the equity in a firm or the entire business.
• Apply a wide array of financial multiples to investment analysis.

Assessment:
• Coursework (30%)
• Exam (70%)

34
 BUSI97047 Investments and Portfolio Management (Autumn Term)

Module Instructor:
Name: Robert Kosowski (Module Leader) & Farouk Jivraj (Visiting Lecturer)
Email: r.kosowski@imperial.ac.uk & farouk.jivraj01@imperial.ac.uk
Room: 53 Prince’s Gate – Room 5.01C (RK)
Telephone: 020 7594 3294 (RK)
Refer to the Hub for office hour details

Module Aims:
This module provides you with a critical understanding of important investment and portfolio
management techniques used for portfolio management by fund managers, risk managers,
banks’ trading desks, structured product groups, hedge funds, pension funds and other
financial institutions. One of the strengths of the module is that it is accompanied by case
studies and realistic practical examples that you are asked to solve each week using R.
Moreover, the module covers pricing and predictability of a large range of asset classes
including equities, bonds, foreign exchange, commodities and hedge funds.

Module Outline:
Indicative content below, subject to confirmation.
Lecture 1: Portfolio Choice, CAPM Review and Testing, Beta, Alpha
Lecture 2: Advanced models of expected returns: APT (Arbitrage Pricing Theory), Multi-
factor models, CCAPM (Consumption CAPM), ESG
Lecture 3: Market Efficiency, Event Studies, Behavioural Finance, Prospect Theory
Momentum
Lecture 4: Fixed Income Securities (Credit Risk, Term Structure of Interest Rates and
Predictability), Green Bonds
Lecture 5: Interest rate risk and bond portfolio management, duration, convexity,
immunization, interest rate swaps
Lecture 6: Foreign exchange, Uncovered and Covered Interest Rate Parity, Forward
Discount Rate Puzzle and FX return predictability, Purchasing Power Parity
Lecture 7: Commodities, Contango and Backwardation, Spot-Futures Parity and
Convenience Yield
Lecture 8: Portfolio Insurance, Options, Market Timing and Accounting for Options, Options
and Hedge Fund Evaluation
Lecture 9: Revision (Module summary and revision exercises).

Learning Outcomes:
At the end of the module, you will be able to:
• Understand demonstrate knowledge of portfolio diversification and asset allocation.
• Implement trading strategies, risk management techniques, stock selection, valuation
and portfolio. construction methods in a wide range of assets including equities,
bonds, foreign exchange, commodities and derivatives.
• Critically evaluate important investment and portfolio management techniques.
• Assess real-world case studies using relevant statistical models.

Assessment:
• Coursework (10%)
• Exam (90%

35
 BUSI97046 Mathematics for Finance (Autumn Term)

Module instructor:
Name: Harjoat Bhamra
Email: h.bhamra@imperial.ac.uk
Room: 53 Prince’s Gate – Room 4.03
Telephone: 020 7594 9077
Refer to the Hub for office hours details

Module Aims:
The aim of this module is to introduce you to the theory of asset pricing and relevant
mathematical tools.

Module Outline:
Indicative content below, subject to confirmation
• Arbitrage Theory in One Period: Hedging in Complete and Incomplete Markets, Arbitrage,
State Prices, Risk-neutral Valuation in One Period.
• Arbitrage Theory in Dynamically-Complete Markets: Binomial model, Dynamic Hedging,
Dynamic Arbitrage, Risk-neutral Valuation in Multiple Periods.
• Utility Theory: Rational and Behavioral Theory, Expected Utility Theory, Mean-Variance
Utility, Prospect Theory, Risk Aversion.
• Consumption-based Asset Pricing Model and Equilibrium: Stochastic Discount Factor,
Competitive Equilibrium, Edgeworth Box, Lagrangian.
• Continuous-time Math: Stochastic processes, Brownian motion, Ito processes, Ito’s
lemma, Stochastic differential equations, Stochastic integration.
• Continuous-time Finance: Replication pricing, Risk-neutral pricing, Black-Scholes partial
differential equation.

Learning Outcomes:
At the end of the module, you will be able to:
• Articulate comprehensive knowledge of the fundamental concepts in asset pricing,
such as state prices, arbitrage, payoff replication, and risk-neutral pricing.
• Demonstrate the key concepts relevant to individual decision-making and market
equilibrium, as they relate and give rise to asset prices.
• Apply technical tools required to price assets in static as well as in discrete and
continuous dynamic settings; these include matrix algebra, backward induction, Ito’s
lemma, and stochastic differential equations.
• Employ mathematical and numerical tools in a way which builds both technical skill
and economic/financial intuition.

Assessment:
• Coursework (20%)
• Exam (80%)

36
Spring Term Compulsory Modules

BUSI97049 Financial Econometrics (Spring Term)

Module Instructor:
Name: Roald Versteeg
Email: r.versteeg@imperial.ac.uk
Room: 53 Prince’s Gate – Room 4.08a
Refer to the Hub for office hours details

Module Aims:
The aim of this module is to acquaint the students with a range of modern econometric
techniques which are an essential part of advanced empirical research. The module will also
focus on empirical applications using the methodologies that are introduced.

Module Outline:
Each of the first 8 lectures will cover a different topic in applied econometrics focusing on
financial applications, including a series of empirical examples to illustrate the theory in
practice. The lecture in week 7 will be delivered by a guest lecturer, who is usually a
professional working in the industry and talks about topics that are of great interest to
potential employers. The last lecture will focus on revising the material.

Problem sets will be distributed to students at the end of each lecture. Students will have to
solve the problems prior to classes. Problem sets will then be discussed in classes with the
TA. Suggested readings will be either uploaded onto the Hub or a link will be provided. It is
very important that the students make an effort to go through them before the lectures.

In addition, there is a coursework assignment that students need to perform in groups. The
coursework uses real world databases and requires the application of the methodologies
taught in the lectures. The group coursework enhances and stimulates a team building
approach from students.

Learning Outcomes:
At the end of the module, you will be able to:
• Construct adequate econometric models
• Estimate the chosen econometric models
• Evaluate the outputs of those models
• Utilise the models to inform financial decisions, such as producing trading signals or
portfolio allocation signals.

Assessment:
• Coursework (50%)
• Exam (50%)

37
 BUSI97071 Macro Finance (Spring Term)

Module instructor:
Name: Alex Michaelides
Email: a.michaelides@imperial.ac.uk
Room: 53 Prince’s Gate – Room 5.02
Telephone: 020 7594 9177
Refer to the Hub for office hours details

Module Aims:
This module will focus on the role of monetary and fiscal policy as well as crisis periods in
affecting business opportunities, risk management and the possible directions of asset
prices.

Module Outline:
To introduce a framework for thinking about how macroeconomics affects the business
environment, in particular the factors that drive long run economic growth and shorter-run
business cycles. Particular emphasis will be given to the role of monetary and fiscal policy in
determining the macroeconomic environment, and by implication, asset prices.

To gain an understanding of the empirical properties of financial asset prices (interest rates,
stock market valuations, exchange rates and housing prices) over the business cycle.
Popular macro trading strategies will be discussed in the context of this analysis.

Quantitative techniques used to analyse these issues include structural VARs (Vector
Autoregressions) and cointegration methods in R or Eviews. Other modern techniques
introduced in the module involve machine learning (eg textual analysis) as applied to
understanding monetary policy.

Particular emphasis will be given in addressing the question of whether/when asset prices
are predictable and the methods that can be used to relate this predictability to monetary and
fiscal policy but also to economic events.

Special emphasis will be given to the role of monetary and fiscal policy as well as crisis
periods in affecting business opportunities, risk management and the possible directions of
asset prices. You will be expected to read and comment on articles appearing in The
Financial Times as that is a great preparation for job interviews, understanding the class
material and doing well on the exam.

Learning Outcomes:
At the end of the module, you will be able to:
• Articulate the role of macroeconomics plays in financial asset pricing
• Evaluate the impact of monetary and fiscal policies, and crisis periods on the asset
prices
• Relate learning from this module to current affairs in macro finance
• Have a good understanding how macroeconomics interacts with financial asset
prices.

Assessment:
• Coursework (20%)
• Exam (80%)

38
 BUSI97048 Derivatives (Spring Term)

Module instructor:
Name: Savitar Sundaresan
Email: s.sundaresan@imperial.ac.uk
Room: 53 Prince’s Gate – Room 5.01a
Telephone: 020 7594 6499
Refer to the Hub for office hours details

Module Aims:
In recent years there has been considerable growth in markets for derivatives contracts, such
as futures, swaps, and options on financial assets. Derivatives are used by individuals and
institutions to meet a variety of objectives. Firms and portfolio managers can use derivatives
to hedge particular kinds of risk or alter the distribution of the returns on their portfolios in
certain ways. Some institutions may use derivatives to speculate. There is a large literature
on derivatives valuation. At first the theory might appear advanced and difficult, but it is in
fact quite accessible. The purpose of the module is to provide you with the necessary skills to
value and to use derivatives instruments in a purposeful way. In order to provide a useful
treatment of these topics in an environment that is changing rapidly, it is necessary to stress
fundamentals and to explore topics at a technical level.

Module Outline:
The module has 3 broad aims:
• Build skills in computer programming which allow you to price derivatives
• Build experience in using mathematical tools to price and hedge derivatives
• Use techniques from derivatives pricing to develop an understanding how the
concepts of time and risk underpin all of finance

IMPORTANT: PLEASE NOTE!

Many students choose not to learn the stochastic calculus part of the Mathematics for Finance
module as a part of their exam strategy. If this applies to you, make sure you learn it over
Christmas before you start the Derivatives module.

Some students have not had much experience with coding. Make sure you install R on your
machine over Christmas. Make sure you at least know how to define matrix in R.

Learning Outcomes:
At the end of the module, you will be able to:
• Create computer code to work out zero coupon discount factors based on bond
prices and for pricing American style options using binomial trees.
• Explain and define the difference between physical and risk-neutral probabilities and
identity conditions under which risk-neutral probabilities are unique.
• Compute implied risk-neutral probability distributions based on option prices and use
Ito’s Lemma in combination with the principle of no arbitrage to derive partial
differential equations for option prices
• Select and apply relevant theorems to measures
• Apply relevant derivatives in a variety of options

Assessment:
• Coursework (30%)
• Exam (70%)

39
3.12 Electives

The list of electives available on the MSc Finance can be found in Section 3.2 Programme
Structure, within this handbook.

There is a total of 27 contact hours for each elective. Electives are taught in the Spring and
Summer terms.

Students choose and complete 4 electives, unless they get approval to do the Research
Project (rather than the Applied Project) in which case they only take 3 electives. Please
note that not all combinations of electives may be possible due to timetabling restrictions or
unforeseen circumstances.

KEY ELECTIVES

A number of modules within your programme will be designated as “Key” electives. These
modules, whilst not compulsory, are considered to be central to your programme of study.

All students are required to choose a minimum of ONE ‘Key’ elective.

ELECTIVES

Students should then choose three further electives (if completing the Applied Project) or two
further electives (if completing the Research Project).

These additional modules can be selected from EITHER the “Key” Electives OR the
Electives lists.

OPTIONAL ELECTIVES

In addition to the electives, students may also take the following optional modules:

o C++ for Finance (Spring term)

o VBA (Summer term)

Should you take and pass the above C++ for Finance or VBA modules you will receive a
certificate of completion for each. Your marks will not count towards your final grade and the
module(s) will not appear in the official transcript.

FURTHER INFORMATION

You will receive full information about the process of choosing your electives, and details of
each module offered (including module outlines), via the Hub, during the Autumn term.

Prerequisites for electives: to be accepted on to certain electives, completion of

prerequisite modules or optional workshops that run in Autumn and Spring may be required.
Please refer to the hub for more details.

Please Note: Not all combinations of electives are possible, as some electives run
concurrently. Normally, a minimum of 20 students need to be enrolled on an elective in order
for it to run. If fewer than 20 students have chosen a particular elective, it is at the discretion
of the Imperial College Business School elective committee if it will go ahead or not.
Students will be notified one week prior to the start of an elective if the minimum threshold to
run the module hasn’t been reached. Students affected will be asked to select an alternative
elective. Places will be made available on alternative elective choices.

40
3.13 Final Project

The vast majority of students are expected to complete the Applied Project which has a
practical focus and is designed for those who wish to pursue a career in a financial
institution. For the small number of students who wish to follow an academic career and
want to go on to a PhD programme, we offer the Research Project, which is more
appropriate for this context.

Applied Project

This is a project undertaken by you independently, which you will work on over the Spring
and Summer terms. In scope it is broadly equivalent to one elective and the work will be
presented via a 5 minute presentation and in a 3,000 word report.

Typically the Applied Project falls into one of these five categories:

• Corporate Investment Project

• Applied econometric or other type of quantitative analysis
• Writing and documenting new software for a financial application
• Accounting based topic
• Financial Technology Report

You will be provided with Applied Project information and guidelines, in December 2023.
Your final report must be submitted by 14 August 2024. Presentations will take place early in
the Summer term.

The Applied Project may involve an outside partner, such as a work placement sponsor or a
prospective employer. Students who are successful in obtaining an approved work
placement during June/July/August will be transferred to the Applied Project (work-based)
module after approval. Work-based Applied Projects must be submitted by 28 August 2024.

Research Project

This is an original piece of academic financial research undertaken by you under the
supervision of a member of academic faculty. You will work on the Research Project during
the Spring and Summer terms and the research project must be submitted by 14 August
2024. In scope, the Research Project is broadly equivalent to two electives and the work will
be presented in a report of a maximum of 10,000 words. You will be given information on
academic Research Project topics and guidelines in December 2023.

Plagiarism

Information on plagiarism is available in Section 4.4 of this Handbook and in the Academic
Regulations & Policies document on the Hub.

If your completed MSc project is discovered to contain material from other sources that have
not been referenced correctly, then this will be referred to the Business School’s Plagiarism
Committee. If they deem it to be a major case of plagiarism they in turn will refer it to
Registry. If plagiarism is found to have taken place, a number of penalties will be considered,
details of which can be found in the College’s Academic Misconduct Policy and Procedures
document (appendix 1, point 8). For severe cases it is possible that your MSc qualification
could be withdrawn (e.g. even if the plagiarism is discovered several years after submission).
Please note that self-plagiarism is also disallowed (e.g. reusing your own essay or your other
thesis/dissertation).

The Business School has produced a short module on plagiarism and this is available on the
programme area on the Hub. This should be completed at the beginning of the programme.

41
The Education Quality Team will track who has completed it and exam marks will be withheld
until the assessment has been taken and a pass mark attained.

Submission of your project

You must submit your project by relevant deadline in August 2024. A plagiarism detection
software will be used to check and test your project for plagiarism.

Late submission

Late submission will be allowed only for reasons of mitigating circumstance such as serious
illness (supported by a medical certificate) or death of a near relative. Further details on
mitigating circumstances can be found in the 'Academic Regulations and Policies' document
on the Hub. The option to defer submission to the following year is not available. The
submission dates are an inflexible deadline, so you should ensure you pace your work such
that you can easily meet it.

∗ Further details on mitigating circumstances can be found in the 'Academic Regulations

and Policies' document on the Hub.

42
4 INFORMATION FOR STUDENTS

4.1 Term Dates

The Department of Finance* dates for 2023/24 are:

September Term Monday 04 September 2023 Friday 29 September 2023

Test and Coursework Submission 02 - 06 October 2023
Autumn Term Monday 09 October 2023 Friday 08 December 2023
Exams 11 - 15 December 2023
Spring Term Monday 08 January 2024 Friday 08 March 2024
Exams 11 - 22 March 2024
Summer Term Monday 15 April 2024 Friday 14 June 2024
Exams 17 - 28 June 2024
Research and Applied Project
Wednesday 14 August 2024
Submission deadline
Applied Project (Work-based)
Wednesday 28 August 2024
Submission deadline
Official End of Programme Wednesday 28 August 2024

In addition, the following sessions will take place outside of term time, in the Easter break

International Elective Trip:

Introduction to Quantitative Investing 07 - 13 April 2024
Corporate Finance for Practitioners

* PLEASE NOTE:

The Department of Finance term dates may be different from other programmes in the
Business School and/or in the wider Imperial College. Please, therefore, refer to the term
dates above or those published on the Department of Finance webpages only.

43
4.2 Student Year Planner
Introduction to Maths
Accounting Primer
Pre-study courses Finance Careers Primer
Plagiarism Awareness

Activity Weeks Notes

Programme Induction Day w/c Aug 28 Bank holiday: 28 August Induction Day - TBC September 2023
Business School Welcome Day w/c Sept 4 Welcome Day - TBC September 2023
w/c Sept 4
September Foundation w/c Sept 11
Modules w/c Sept 18
w/c Sept 25
Assessment Week w/c Oct 2 Tests and coursework submission
w/c Oct 9
w/c Oct 16
w/c Oct 23
Autumn Term w/c Oct 30
Compulsory Modules w/c Nov 6
w/c Nov 13
w/c Nov 20
Elective Selection system open (20 November - 27 November 2023)
w/c Nov 27
Revision week w/c Dec 4 Revision classes take place
Exams w/c Dec 11 Autumn core module exams
w/c Dec 18
College closure: 22 December 2023 - 1 January 2024
Christmas Holidays w/c Dec 25
Business School facilities are closed in this period
w/c Jan 1
w/c Jan 8
w/c Jan 15
w/c Jan 22 Optional workshops
Spring Term scheduled in the first few weekends of spring term
w/c Jan 29
Compulsory Modules
w/c Feb 5
plus Elective Optional C++ module
w/c Feb 12 takes place throughout the Spring term
w/c Feb 19
w/c Feb 26
Revision week w/c Mar 4 Revision classes take place
w/c Mar 11
Exams Spring core and elective exams
w/c Mar 18
w/c Mar 25 College Closure: 28 March - 2 April 2024
Easter Holidays
w/c Apr 1 Business School facilities are closed in this period
International Elective w/c Apr 8 International Elective Trip from Sunday 7 April - Saturday 13 April 2024
w/c Apr 15
w/c Apr 22
w/c Apr 29 Online Ethics &
w/c May 6 Bank holiday: 6 May Professional
Standards in VBA Module
w/c May 13
Applied Project Presentations Finance module (Optional)
w/c May 20 (Compulsory)
Bank holiday - 27 May
w/c May 27 April - July 2024
w/c June 3
Revision week w/c June 10 Revision classes take place
w/c June 17
Exams Summer elective exams
w/c June 24
w/c July 1
w/c July 8
w/c July 15
w/c July 22
Applied or Research Project work
w/c July 29
plus
w/c August 5
optional work placements
w/c August 12 Applied and Research Projects due by TBC August 2024
w/c August 19
Applied Projects (Work Placement) due by TBC September 2024
w/c August 26
Bank holiday: Mon 26 Aug 2024
w/c Sep 2
w/c Sept 9
Resit Exam Period
w/c Sept 16

Please note: Dates may be subject to change

44
4.3 Academic Director and Programme Team contact details

Students can contact the Academic Director for academic issues and they should contact the
Programmes Team for all other issues.

Email: finance.programme@imperial.ac.uk

Programme Team Office: Room 3.05, 3rd Floor, 53 Prince’s Gate

Your Programme Team : MSc Finance

Programme Programme Academic Director

Manager Coordinator

Abi Tepania Mark Guilfoyle Dr Lara Cathcart

finance.programme@imperial.ac.uk Room 3.09

rmfe.programme@imperial.ac.uk l.cathcart@imperial.ac.uk

Senior
Programme Programme Programme Programme
Programme
Coordinator Manager Coordinator Director
Manager

Keeley Mariam Ayo Jess Anique

Trevitt Shallal Oyafunke Frankland Varleigh

fintech.programme@imperial.ac.uk
fanda.programme@imperial.ac.uk All Finance Suite Programmes
iwm.programme@imperial.ac.uk

45
4.4 Plagiarism and Cheating

Plagiarism

Plagiarism is the presentation of another person’s thoughts, words, images or diagrams as

though they were your own, including work generated by artificial intelligence and/or machine
learning. Another form of plagiarism is self-plagiarism, which involves using your own prior
work without acknowledging its reuse. Plagiarism may be intentional, by deliberately trying to
use another person’s work by disguising it or not citing the source, or unintentional where
citation and/or referencing is incorrect.

Plagiarism must be avoided, with particular care on coursework, essays, reports and projects
written in your own time and also in open and closed book written examinations.

Examples of plagiarism include:

• not referencing the source of your ideas or arguments when they are derived from
your reading,
• taking verbatim the words of someone else’s work and putting it into your work
without quotation marks and referencing,
• taking whole sections out of books, articles, lecture notes, other reports or students’
work, and including them in your report uncited.

When submitting your assessed work, via the Hub or in hardcopy, you will be required to
confirm that you have read and understood the definition of plagiarism. Submitting the
assignment will certify that the work presented is entirely your own, except where indicated.
This includes your final project or essay as well as all other assessed work. Submitting work
and assessments created by someone or something else, as if it was your own, is plagiarism
and is a form of cheating and this includes AI-generated content

Collusion

This is the term used for work that has been conducted by more than one individual, in
contravention of the assessment brief. Where it is alleged that there has been collusion, all
parties will be investigated. Sharing completed work with other students and allowing them to
copy is also considered collusion. There can be serious penalties for collusion, particularly if
it is found to have taken place in a remote examination.

Group work

When submitting group work, members of that group are deemed to have collective
responsibility for the integrity of work submitted by that group and may be liable for any
penalty imposed if plagiarism is detected, proportionate to their contribution. You should,
therefore, retain an audit trail of your contribution, as proof of which team members
contributed to each section of the work. For this reason, it is also important that you
contribute to all pieces of groupwork. If plagiarism is proven in a group assignment and an
audit trail provides evidence that an individual did not contribute the plagiarised text,
individuals will normally be marked on their contribution to the overall piece of work. If, for
whatever reason, a student chooses not to contribute to an assignment, they increase the
risk of scoring a zero for that piece of work.

Plagiarism checks

All final year projects/reports/essays will be submitted to plagiarism detection software.

Random plagiarism checks will be made on coursework submissions and timed remote
assessments (TRAs).
46
Plagiarism penalties

Plagiarism is a serious offence. The External Examiners’ Board may penalise you for
plagiarism, and serious cases will result in an automatic failure of the coursework/TRA/
project. The Board reserves the right to take further action as it deems appropriate to protect
the good name of the School and the College, and this may involve expulsion of a student
from the programme or withdrawal of a degree award. Please note that there have been
instances in recent years where Business School students have committed Major Plagiarism
or have cheated in an examination and have been excluded from their programme.

If your completed project or essay is discovered to contain substantial amounts of verbatim

material from other sources that have not been acknowledged, then this will be referred to
the College. If plagiarism is found to have taken place, your degree qualification may be
withdrawn (even if the plagiarism is discovered several years after submission).

All students are expected to have:

• Satisfactorily completed the online module on plagiarism, available on the Hub

(examination marks will be withheld until this has been completed).
• Attended the plagiarism session organised by the Library in the Autumn term.
• Familiarised themselves with the recommended referencing style.

Additional information on how to reference correctly can be found in the Harvard Referencing
Guide. An electronic version of this guide and other referencing information can be found on
the Library’s website.

It is important that you learn how to properly attribute and acknowledge the work, data and
ideas of others. Students whose assessments can be shown to contain plagiarism are
subject to penalties as outlined in the College’s Misconduct Policy and Procedures.

You are expected to conduct all aspects of your academic life in a professional manner. A full
explanation of academic integrity, including information on the College’s approach to
plagiarism is available on the College website.

Proofreading

The Business School believes that academic writing is a specific skill and we encourage you
to spend time proof-reading your work in order to develop this skill; this is part of studying for
a degree. You are advised not to use any third party proof-reader. It is pivotal that the
content of the work and the expression of ideas remains solely your own work.

Referencing in examinations

It can be good to include short quotations in your answers, because those words were said
by someone important, or describe an idea particularly well. At other times, a short quotation
is helpful to illustrate an example. Where you refer to a particular piece of academic work as
the source of an idea (without actually directly copying any text), you will gain credit if you
show that you know which piece it is (by adding "(author name(s), date)" as if you were
writing a normal academic assignment). You do not need to do this for ideas that are
generally known (the earth goes round the sun...). However, if you simply copy large
amounts of material in your answer, examiners will assume that this is because you do not
understand it well enough to write it in your own words.

When preparing for an exam or timed remote assessment (TRA), many students might learn
information word-for-word. Referencing is expected if you repeat this material in your
examination/ TRA paper. You should acknowledge the source (e.g. book, article, webpage,
lecture slides, lecture notes etc.) and attempt to paraphrase the text, in order to apply it to the
47
question being asked. If you would prefer to use the original text then quotation marks should
be used, in addition to citing the source.

Please be aware that if large sections of unreferenced text are found within a student’s
examination/TRA paper it may be necessary to conduct a viva, in order to ascertain whether
the material has been copied or memorised. Even if it is determined that the material has
been memorised, then this would still constitute plagiarism if the source is not acknowledged.
It is also very unlikely that a large amount of pre-learned material (as opposed to a short
definition or key quotation) would help you to write a good answer to the question actually set
by the examiner.

4.5 Group Work and Peer Review

All Business School programmes require students to work in study groups. Study groups are
responsible for joint work (including assessed work) in the form, for example, of case study
preparation and reports, essays, and class presentations.

You should be aware that you have a collective responsibility for the integrity of the piece of
group work submitted for assessment. This means that if part of the work is plagiarised, all
group members will be held accountable unless proof can be provided by each member of
their contribution. You should, therefore, retain an audit trail of your contribution for this
purpose. You should also retain documentation relating to the decisions taken on who will
contribute what to a piece of work as this may also be requested by markers.

Groups are responsible for how they allocate workload and contribution for a particular piece
of group work. Whilst doing this, students should leverage the strengths of their team
members in order to produce the best piece of work in the most efficient way. However,
regardless of how you decide to split the work across your team members you should be
aware that, as stated above, all team members have a “collective responsibility” for the final
piece of work submitted and all team members will normally get the same grade. The most
substantial element of each module is normally assessed individually – usually a formal
examination. So, you should not feel that you are not being given an opportunity to
demonstrate your personal knowledge and skills.

The School operates a system of peer assessment when grading group work. This is to
address the issue of ‘free-riders’ (students who do not make a reasonable contribution to the
final piece of work). The peer assessment system is not meant to be used as a way of
penalising someone who you feel is weaker in some way, for example whose English or
subject knowledge is not as strong as other group members.

The peer assessment systems works in the following way. A grade will be awarded for a
piece of group coursework overall. A student’s individual mark, however, will depend on the
effort their team members think they have put in. Your Programme Team will go through the
details of the peer assessment process when your first piece of group work is due.

Any student whose work is to be marked down as a result of the peer assessment may be
asked to meet the Academic Director, Senior Programme Manager or Programme Manager.
Their contribution to the piece of work will then be discussed. This stage is a precaution to
ensure that individual students are not being victimised by the rest of their group. If there is
evidence to suggest that an individual student is being victimised then the rest of the group
will be penalised.

48
4.6 Module Excellence Surveys (MODES)

At the end of every module you will be asked to complete a survey in order for you to provide
feedback. The surveys will give you the opportunity to rate the module content and
instructor(s) and also give written comments on the learning environment and module
overall. The School issues a survey per instructor and at the end of each term students are
also asked to score and comment on the term as a whole. A link to the surveys can be found
in the external tools section of both the module itself and the programme area on the Hub.
You will also receive a link to the surveys via email (hosting@evasys.co.uk). In some
instances lecturers may prefer to have you complete a paper survey at the end of the final
class. Also in the external tools section you will see a link to a short video called ‘Making
Feedback Effective’. We would appreciate it if you would please take the time to watch it
before completing your first set of MODES surveys.

The MODES feedback is taken very seriously and is used to identify examples of good
practice and highlight areas that could be improved. The School really appreciates your
support in completing the surveys. If only a small number of students respond, the feedback
will not truly reflect the general thoughts of the cohort and therefore be less valid.

MODES usually open on the Monday during the final week of teaching of a module. It is
timed to enable feedback on the teaching experience to be collected whilst it is still fresh in
your mind. The surveys are open for 7 days (final 2 weeks for online modules, open for 14
days). For modules where condensed teaching takes place, e.g. MBA electives which are
taught over a weekend, MODES open on the final day of teaching and are available to be
completed for 7 days.

MODES results are passed onto the lecturers, Academic Director, Programme Director,
Department Heads, the Dean and the Associate Dean. Your feedback is completely
anonymous and is not given to faculty until they have completed and submitted their
marking, so you can be assured that the feedback you provide will have no influence on the
grades you receive. Similarly, the MODES are timed ahead of you receiving your
assessment results, to avoid any possible unconscious bias in your teaching experience
feedback based on your performance in the module. Once they have received the feedback,
your Programme Director will post a response to the themes and issues raised in the
MODES on the Hub.

Programmes achieving a 70% response rate average across all modules in the term will
receive an additional £5 per head for each student that responds into the programme’s social
fund. Alternatively, this amount can be donated to a charity of the programme’s choice – to
be decided by the Staff & Student Committee following consultation with the cohort.

The response rate will be calculated using an average across all surveys for that programme
in each term. For example if there are 6 modules in a term (say 3 in each block), then the
overall response rate will be an average of the response rate for the 6 modules combined.

Surveys for optional workshops will not be included.

Those programmes which beat the response rate for the same term in the previous
academic session (2022/23) but do not achieve the 70% response rate average, will receive
£2.50 per head for each student that responds for the programme’s social fund/ donation to
charity (a minimum 33% response rate needs to be achieved to be eligible).

A response rate update will be provided to all students before MODES is due to close.

49
4.7 Global Skills Development

The Global Skills Team provides a variety of year-round, face-to-face, and online academic
and professional skills support for MSc students.

Our provision includes:

• 1-to-1 study skills consultations

• 1-to-1 language checks for CV and cover letters
• 1-to-1 English language support
• workshops on team working and cross-cultural competence
• programme specific writing and presentation workshops
• presentation rehearsals

1-to-1 consultations are available throughout the year and can be booked via Symplicity, the
Careers consultation booking platform, which all Business School students have access to
and can be accessed here:

https://imperial-csm.symplicity.com/students/

To book a 1-to-1 consultation, select the label: Language & Study Skills Support 30 minutes
(Online)

For any further information, please contact James McCloskey: j.mccloskey@imperial.ac.uk

50
5 Indicative Module List

Compulsory/
Code Module Title Term Credits
Elective

Pre-
BUSI97080 Introduction to Maths Optional sessional
0.00

Pre-
BUSI97289 Accounting Primer Required sessional
0.00

BUSI97077 Career & Professional Development Required Sept 0.00

BUSI70070 Plagiarism Awareness Required Sept 0.00

BUSI97176 Ethics and Professional Standards in Finance Required SU 0.00

BUSI97594 Foundations in Finance Compulsory Sept 7.50

BUSI97043 Corporate Finance Compulsory AU 7.50

BUSI97047 Investments and Portfolio Management Compulsory AU 7.50

BUSI97046 Mathematics for Finance Compulsory AU 7.50

BUSI97048 Derivatives Compulsory SP 7.50

BUSI97049 Financial Econometrics Compulsory SP 7.50

BUSI97071 Macro Finance Compulsory SP 7.50

BUSI97041 Advanced Corporate Finance Key Elective SP 7.50

BUSI97143 Advanced Financial Statistics Elective SU 7.50

BUSI97042 Advanced Options Theory Key Elective SU 7.50

BUSI97059 Asset Allocation and Investment Strategies Key Elective SP 7.50

BUSI97069 Banks, Regulation and Monetary Policy Key Elective SU 7.50

BUSI97066 Big Data in Finance I Elective SP 7.50

BUSI97595 Blockchain and Applications Elective SP 7.50

BUSI97052 C++ for Finance (Optional) Optional SP 0.00

BUSI97799 Climate Finance Elective SU 7.50

BUSI97074 Corporate Dealmaking Elective SU 7.50

Corporate Finance for Practitioners (International

BUSI70098 Key Elective SU 7.50
Elective)

BUSI97050 Credit Risk Key Elective SU 7.50

BUSI97606 Entrepreneurial Finance Key Elective SU 7.50

BUSI97044 Fixed Income Securities Key Elective SU 7.50

BUSI97068 Innovation and Strategy in Fintech Elective SU 7.50

51
 Compulsory/
Code Module Title Term Credits
Elective

BUSI97045 International Finance Elective SP 7.50

Introduction to Quantitative Investing (International

BUSI97067 Key Elective SU 7.50
Elective)

BUSI97608 Machine Learning and Finance Elective SU 7.50

BUSI70326 Market Microstructure: Trading and Liquidity Elective SU 7.50

BUSI97058 Mergers and Acquisitions Elective SU 7.50

BUSI97051 Private Equity & Venture Capital Elective SU 7.50

BUSI97064 Real Estate Investment, Finance and Private Equity Elective SU 7.50

BUSI97604 Shareholder Activism and Corporate Responsibility Elective SU 7.50

BUSI97139 Structured Credit and Equity Products Elective SU 7.50

BUSI70444 Sustainable Finance and Investment Elective SU 7.50

BUSI97605 Text Mining for Economics and Finance Elective SP 7.50

BUSI97667 VBA (Optional) Optional SU 0.00

BUSI97053 Applied Project Elective SU/SUP 7.5

BUSI97072 Applied Project (Work Placement) Elective SU/SUP 7.5

BUSI97040 Project Elective SU/SUP 15

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Imperial College Business School
South Kensington Campus
London SW7 2AZ
United Kingdom

imperial.ac.uk/business-school