Master of Applied Finance in Financial Services

at University of Wollongong - Southern Sydney Campus Australia

The Master of Financial Management provides an opportunity for you to enhance your career opportunities by developing further professional and personal skills, and knowledge in Financial Management areas.

You will learn to plan, organise, direct and control financial activities such as obtaining funds and using funds for investments. You will study topics such as investment management, financial strategy, financial statement analysis and learn how to review the global financial system and understand the principles of descriptive and inferential statistics and their applications in the business environment.

Economics is concerned with the big picture how a country, region or particular market is operating; while finance is a more microscopic look at industry risk and return on investment. The two disciplines complement each other giving you a more complete picture of the business world and open many doors to sought-after careers.

This degree
The Bachelor of Economics and Finance is for high achievers and as a graduate of the degree, you will be able to identify and apply the tools of analysis to a wide range of economic issues, including the behaviour of consumers and firms, the labour market, the environment, fiscal and monetary policy, and international trade.

Students will develop the skills necessary to make responsible professional judgements in their economic and financial decision-making. Your final year culminates with an exciting applied research project capstone subject. This experiential learning opportunity offers an international workplace-based project, or more traditional research-based project.

What you will study
You will study the theory, policies, practices and institutions of both the domestic and global economies. You will also develop expertise in the ways individuals, businesses and other organisations raise, allocate and use money.

Management is the art and science of planning, coordinating and leading group efforts. It is the mobilising of human and material resources to achieve organisational goals. Effective managers make socially responsible decisions both in the short and long term whilst providing inspiring and motivating leadership that can affect all levels of the organisation.

This degree
You will undertake a foundation year that covers all core disciplines of business, giving you a solid understanding of issues facing organisations today. From your second year, you will major in Management to understand the framework of organisational structures, be able to examine quality and risk management, and analyse business strategies. Careers in management include company manager, operations manager, workforce planner, general manager, and strategic development executive.

You will also undertake a final-year capstone subject that lets you apply everything you have learned in collaboration with students from other disciplines. Plus, you have the option of applying for an internship to gain valuable experience whilst receiving credit towards your degree.

What you will study
You will learn how to manage – strategically and ethically – both physical and intangible assets for organisational success and employee wellbeing. You will do this by gaining a sound understanding of the framework of organisational structures, including the local and international environments in which they operate. Final year subjects enable you to identify and analyse quality management systems, strategically manage risk and develop international business strategies.

Marketing is the activities, institutions and processes for creating, communicating and delivering products and services. This includes facilitating relationships to deliver value for consumers, clients and society. It's about everything from establishing who the customer is to developing a competitive advantage by effectively positioning products/services in the market. Marketing is essential for all organisations, even small business operators and not-for-profits.

This degree
You will undertake a foundation year that covers all core disciplines of business, giving you a solid understanding of issues facing organisations today. From your second year, you will major in Marketing and develop the skills and knowledge needed to plan, develop and execute integrated marketing and communications strategies.

Graduates take many different directions including advertising, digital and social media marketing, social change marketing and the development and of marketing new products. You will also undertake a final-year capstone subject that lets you apply everything you have learned in collaboration with students from other disciplines. Plus, you have the option of applying for an internship to gain valuable experience whilst receiving credit towards your degree.

What you will study
You will study how consumers behave, how organisations find out about their markets and the customers in those markets, how to create effective marketing communications campaigns, and how organisations manage marketing successfully. You will have the opportunity to deepen your understanding in key areas of marketing, for example, how to create change for the better in society or learn about marketing's applications internationally.

The Master of Applied Finance (Financial Services) is for students interested in acquiring an advanced understanding of financial institutions, bank management, and lending. If you are currently working in the Finance industry or a recent graduate, you will benefit from the specialized knowledge learned in this course.

You will study the theory and practice of financial management and gain an understanding of the global financial system. Additionally, competing approaches to corporate governance and business ethics will be developed, and you will learn how to provide protection against portfolio, financial and corporate risks.

You will examine the legal framework establishing, controlling and regulating financial institutions and examine bank management theory, a bank's lending process and the securities associated with it.

The Master of Business Administration (MBA) is designed for experienced professionals with ambition and drive who wish to develop their responsible and sustainable leadership skills. You will gain a holistic strategic business point-of-view required to operate effectively in an increasingly competitive and changing global business world.

The course has been designed to cover three stages:

• Diagnostics, where you learn to diagnose issues in real organisations with a focus on marketing, employee engagement, talent management and accounting.
• Exploration, where you explore the latest thinking and practices in organisations and research worldwide, while developing skills in innovation and business transformation.
• Integration and Application, where you develop your strategic decision-making skills, undertake a real-world business project and hone your personal effectiveness as a responsible leader.

Finance is about money and investments. People on their own, people in partnerships, companies and other entities (including state and federal governments), have a common objective of profitable investment. What is a government-secured bond? What is a share? What are the reasons for investing in either and when is the right time? These are some of the questions answered in the domain of finance.

This degree
You will undertake a foundation year that covers all core disciplines of business, giving you a solid understanding of issues facing organisations today. From your second year, you will begin your major in Finance. The degree has an emphasis on practical applications and real-world financial management. Careers include finance manager, research analyst, management reporting manager, equity trade analyst, stockbroker, bank officer, investment operations analyst and venture capitalist.
You will also undertake a final-year capstone subject that lets you apply everything you have learned in collaboration with students from other disciplines. Plus, you have the option of applying for an internship to gain valuable experience whilst receiving credit towards your degree.

What you will study
You will learn the theoretical knowledge and tools demanded by employers in all sections of the world economy: investment, financial markets, financial modelling and portfolio analysis. You will utilise state of the art technology to learn advanced statistical techniques for analysis, including the classical linear regression model, model diagnostics, univariate time series modelling and forecasting. You will explore corporate finance, including financial strategies, security analysis and portfolio management.

The Master of Project Management explores how efficient management can provide organizations with an improved ability to plan, implement and control their business activities. This master’s course provides comprehensive project management skills and capabilities on the full project lifecycle; from project initiation, planning, execution to project closing, and teaches strategies for dealing with a broad range of issues encountered within business organizations. The growth of new forms of technology in project management has prompted organizations to look for skilled project managers who can enhance the performance of their businesses.

The Master of Marketing involves an exploration of the motives of consumers during the purchase of products and services. You will learn how to use this market research to make more effective marketing decisions.

Leading Marketing academics will teach you to examine who the customer is to develop a competitive advantage by effectively positioning products/services in the market. You will study how to utilize promotional tools an organization may use to create this competitive advantage and enhance a brand’s equity, whether the organization is a commercial, non-profit, or social entity.

This master’s degree will ultimately enable you to develop and demonstrate technical knowledge and skills in marketing, a field increasingly important for all types of organizations that need to deliver value through the products and services they create. You will have the opportunity to study a wide range of advanced topics in marketing and gain professionally oriented generalist and specialist marketing skills.

In today’s technology-driven world, people and organizations are generating, collecting, and storing more data than ever before. Organizations across various industries are seeking graduates with skills to utilize and interpret this data to inform business strategies and add value to their business.

The Master of Business Analytics is designed to prepare you with the essential skills to undertake real-world Business Analytics tasks on big data business problems. You will develop skills and knowledge in business analytics, including how to apply tools and technologies required to perform descriptive, predictive, and prescriptive analytics and how to apply these tools to a business landscape.