Overview

First Year - Finance

To be admitted to the First University Examination in Finance, a student must have satisfactorily attended modules to the value of 60 credits.

Second Year - Finance

No student may register for the Second Year programme of study until the First University Examination in Finance has been passed. To be admitted to the Second University Examination in Finance, a student must have satisfactorily attended modules to the value of 60 credits.

Work Placement

At the end of the second year, following consultation with the Placement Officer and staff of the Departments of Accounting, Finance and Information Systems, and Economics, the class will be divided into 2 groups for the placement component of the programme (FI3002). Any student not placed will be given an equivalent assignment by a UCC Accounting and Finance or Economics staff member and will submit a research report thereon. The period of work placement for Group One will run from July-December inclusive, i.e. immediately following the Second University Examination in Finance. The work placement will be jointly monitored by a UCC academic mentor and a business mentor in the external organisation. Students will be expected to keep and submit a weekly log book for examination by the academic mentor. Upon completion of the placement, students will then spend the following January-March inclusive taking their third year taught modules and completing coursework as appropriate. Group Two will take their third year taught modules and complete coursework between October and December inclusive of their third year, and will then go on placement from January-June inclusive.

There is no provision for repeating the Work Placement module in the Autumn or in a Repeat Year. Exceptions to this rule may be granted by the School only for very serious reasons. Any student who commences placement in Group One and subsequently fails at the Year Two Autumn Supplemental Examination must withdraw from the placement and re-register and complete Year Two. If Year Two is subsequently passed, either in a first or second repeat year, the student will not then enter a second period of placement but will undertake a substantial assignment in the second Semester of Year Three, as directed by the Head of Department/Module Co-ordinator. Students who fail the Work Placement will not be eligible for the award of an honours degree.

Third Year - Finance

No student may register for the Third Year programme of study until the Second University Examination in Finance has been passed. To be admitted to the Third University Examination in Finance, a student must have satisfactorily attended the prescribed modules to the value of 60 credits.

Fourth Year - Finance

No student may register for the Fourth Year programme of study until the Third University Examination in Finance has been passed. To be admitted to the Fourth University Examination in Finance a student must have satisfactorily attended the prescribed modules to the value of 60 credits.

Programme Requirements

For information about modules, module choice, options and credit weightings, please go to Programme Requirements. 

Programme Requirements

Module List

Code	Title	Credits
Year 1
Students take 60 credits as follows:
Core Modules
AC1103	Financial Accounting Fundamentals	5
AC1104	Accounting for Partnerships and Companies	5
AC1105	Investment Analysis	5
AC1106	Introduction to Asset Valuation	5
AC1109	Management Accounting: Principles and Concepts	5
AC1115	Management Accounting: Cost & Control Systems	5
EC1200	Quantitative Techniques for Economics 1	5
EC1209	Understanding and Interpreting Data	5
EC1210	Skills for Analysing Economic Data	5
EC1211	Quantitative Techniques for Economics 2	5
EC1213	Microeconomic Reasoning and Practice	5
EC1214	Macroeconomic Tools of Analysis	5
Year 2
Students take 60 credits as follows:
Core Modules
AC2100	International Financial Reporting 1	5
AC2101	Consolidated Financial Statements and Ethics	5
AC2115	Introduction to Taxation	5
AC2118	Data Analysis, Business Reporting & Process Automation	5
AC2119	Placement Plan	5
AC2121	Corporate Financial Policies	5
EC2206	Business Econometrics and Forecasting	10
EC2214	The Macroeconomic Environment in a Global Context	5
EC2215	Macroeconomic Growth and Competitiveness	5
EC2219	Microeconomics and the Individual	5
EC2220	Microeconomics and Macroeconomic Outcomes	5
Year 3
Students take 60 credits as follows:
Core Modules
AC3020	Multinational Finance	5
AC3022	Governance, Regulation and Control of Financial Organisations	5
EC3208	Economics and Markets after the Crisis	5
EC3209	Time Series Analysis	5
EC3211	Advanced Data Analysis for Finance	5
FI3002	Placement and Research Report	30
IS3002	Emergent Digital Technologies and their application in Accounting and Finance	5
Year 4
Students take 60 credits as follows - all listed core modules (45 credits) and 15 credits of elective modules:
Core Modules
AC4009	Financial Information Analysis	5
AC4010	International Corporate Valuation	5
AC4119	Securities Analysis	5
EC3213	Money, Credit and Banking	5
EC3214	International Finance	5
EC3215	Corporate Strategy and International Business	5
EC3216	Economics of Strategic Behaviour	5
EC3217	Finance and Capital Markets	5
EC3218	Portfolio Analysis	5
Elective Modules
Students take modules to the value of 15 credits from the following:		15
AC4007	Taxation: Income Tax and VAT (5)
AC4100	Management Accounting: Planning and Control (5)
AC4101	Management Accounting: Performance and Decision Making (5)
AC4404	Entrepreneurial Finance (5)
AC4405	Derivatives Valuation (5)
Total Credits		240

Examinations

Full details and regulations governing Examinations for each programme will be contained in the Marks and Standards Book and for each module in the Book of Modules.

Programme Learning Outcomes

Programme Learning Outcomes for BSc (Hons) (Finance) (NFQ Level 8, Major Award)

On successful completion of this programme, students should be able to:

1
1-1
Communicate and work effectively to a professional and ethical standard;
1-2
2
Demonstrate analytical and problem solving skills associated with effective practice;
1-3
3
Engage in the application of frameworks and techniques in organisational settings;
1-4
4
Demonstrate a wide range of capabilities in Corporate Finance, Financial Economics and Accounting;
1-5
5
Identify financial problems, analyse their impact and formulate sustainable solutions using knowledge of Finance, Economics, Accounting and Information Technology;
6
6-1
Explore contemporary themes in International Finance.

*** Only for Incoming First Years and Repeat First Years 2024/2025 ***
*** Click here for Marks and Standards for all other years ***

Marks and Standards

These Marks and Standards should be read in conjunction with the Programme Requirements and the Book of Modules.

Fitness to Practise

All students on programmes subject to Fitness to Practise in UCC will be required to comply with the Fitness to Practise Policy and meet the relevant Fitness to Practise standards, in order to progress to the next year of his/her/their programme. Click here for a list of programmes subject to the Fitness to Practise Policy.

Marks and Credits

Students are required to take modules to the value of 60 credits.
Total Marks for year: 1200.

First Year - Pass and Progression Criteria

To pass first year and progress to second year, students must achieve:

1. An aggregate mark of 40% across all modules,
2. A pass mark in modules to the value of at least 50 credits, and
3. A module mark of at least 30% in any remaining modules.

Pass by Compensation: Students who satisfy each of the above criteria are allowed to compensate in modules to the value of 10 credits and pass the year overall.

Award of Honours in the Degree Award

An honours classification is awarded for the final degree using the final year examination results and marks carried forward from the penultimate year. The aggregate of 33.33% of the penultimate year marks plus 66.67% of the final year marks will be used to calculate the final degree award.

Honours will be awarded as follows:

1. First Class Honours: ≥ 70%
2. Second Class Honours, Grade I: ≥ 60% and <70%
3. Second Class Honours, Grade II: ≥ 50% and <60%
4. Pass: ≥ 40% and <50%

Award of Honours when a student undertakes Study Abroad
When students study abroad as part of his/her/their degree programme, the calculation of the final degree award is based on modules in the Book of Modules only.

Examination Boards

• Provisional marks for Semester 1 examinations are released in January/February of each year. These marks are subject to approval at the University Examination Board.
• Marks for all modules taken in Semester 1 and 2, including those wholly assessed by Continuous Assessment, will be presented to the University Examination Board at the end of Semester 2.

Supplemental Examinations and Assessment

• Students who fail to achieve the progression standard for the year at the Summer Examination Board must complete Supplemental Examinations and/or Continuous Assessment for those specific module(s), where there is provision to do so.
• Please refer to the Book of Modules for requirements governing the Supplemental Examination and Assessment for individual modules. Note: For some modules there is no Supplemental Examination and Assessment.
• The marks achieved in the Supplemental Examinations and/or Continuous Assessment of a repeat module are considered at the Autumn Examination Board.
• The actual mark achieved by the candidate in the Supplemental or Repeat Year Examination will be recorded on the student record (Academic Transcript).
• The maximum mark that will be taken into account for aggregation and progression purposes is a pass level, unless the student has been granted a cap waiver or deferral by the University Mitigation Committee, or a University Examination Board, or has been approved to defer the previous attempt by the University Mitigation Committee.
• At the Autumn Examination Board, marks from all passed modules approved at the Summer Examination Board are carried forward and are combined with the marks achieved in Supplemental Examinations and/or Assessments. The pass and progression criteria are applied to the aggregate mark achieved.

Note: The mark achieved at the last examination/assessment attempt is the mark that is included in the calculation of the aggregate mark for pass and progression purposes.

Study Abroad

• When students study abroad as part of his/her/their degree programme, they will be assessed by his/her/their host university.
• To pass the study abroad period and progress to the subsequent year, a student must achieve a pass standard as applied by the host institution.
• A Pass/Fail judgement will be presented to the UCC Examination Boards:
  • At the Summer Examination Board for students spending Semester 1 abroad.
  • At the Autumn/Winter Examination Board for students spending the full academic year abroad or Semester 2 only.
• For students failing to achieve a pass mark, Supplemental Assessment will be prescribed by the School in UCC, and these results will be presented at a Winter Examination Board.

Exemptions

All passed modules carry an exemption, which is limited to a period of five academic years (or two in the case of Computer Science modules) subsequent to the award of the exemption.

Repeat Year Examinations

Students repeating the year may do so choosing one of the following mechanisms:

1. Students retain module exemptions, if any, and must repeat all failed/absent modules, including those modules where the failing mark previously achieved was greater than the level of compensation (≥ 30%) but who failed to achieve the progression standard for the year (see above). The pass and progression criteria are then applied to the combination of full marks achieved in modules passed at the first attempt, plus capped marks achieved in modules in the Repeat Year Examinations.​

Note: For students selecting different modules not previously taken, there are no restrictions on the marks awarded for those modules at the first attempt in a repeat year. The selection of different modules by the student means that the student foregoes any previous marks achieved in the original modules (including previously passed modules).

2. Students may forego all module exemptions achieved and repeat the year choosing modules to the value of the full 60 credits. In determining pass and progression, there is no restriction on the marks awarded for modules taken at the first attempt of the Repeat Year. Modules taken at the subsequent Supplemental Examination and Assessment are capped at the pass mark.

Subject to capacity, all students - whether they have failed or passed - are allowed to choose this second option, in an attempt to improve his/her/their grade.

Students repeating the final year are eligible for the award of Honours in the first Repeat Year only. Final year students wishing to repeat the year with a view to improving his/her/their degree result may do so only if they have not been conferred.

Three Year Rule

Students must pass/progress within three academic years of the date of first registration for a year, otherwise they cannot continue in the programme.

Terms and Definitions

Programme Description

• The programme description is outlined in the Programme Requirements tab.

Module Descriptions/Assessment

• Module descriptions, including the pass standard for a module, special requirements to pass a module, and assessment elements and their weightings, are contained in the Book of Modules.

Marks and Credits

• A maximum of 100 marks may be awarded for every five credits of a programme.
• Some modules are assessed on a Pass/Fail basis only, i.e. marks are not awarded.

Pass and Progression

• Progression is defined as the permission granted to a student to register in the subsequent academic year for the next set of modules within his/her/their programme of study.
• Compensation is defined as the process by which a student, who fails to satisfy some of the regulations for credit in a specific module, is nevertheless recommended for credit to be awarded on the grounds that the failure is offset by his/her/their performance in the other modules on his/her/their programme of study.