Finance and International Relations, _MA

Year 1

Compulsory Courses

Academic Writing for Business (AW1003)

This compulsory evaluation is designed to find out if your academic writing is of a sufficient standard to enable you to succeed at university and, if you need it, to provide support to improve. It is completed on-line via MyAberdeen with clear instructions to guide you through it. If you pass the evaluation at the first assessment it will not take much of your time. If you do not, you will be provided with resources to help you improve. This evaluation does not carry credits but if you do not complete it this will be recorded on your degree transcript.

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The Economics of Business and Society (EC1006)

15 Credit Points

This course is an introductory course in microeconomics where we study the decision making of individual actors (consumers, employees, firms, governments, etc.) in an economy. Actors must make decisions about behaviours because they face scarce resources, but often they find that trading with other actors in markets can increase the wellbeing of all parties. This course models and examines the nature of these interactions, highlighting when they work well and when they fail to increase wellbeing and what might be the solution to these failures.

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Politics & International Relations 1: Democracy and Governance (PI1018)

15 Credit Points

Politics and International Relations impacts on all parts of our lives, with more specifically it being the study of ideas, events, institutions and choice. Studying these provides us with both knowledge of the world and also how it operates and functions. It also changes our perception of our surroundings and makes us aware of an ever changing global context. This course will introduce students to concepts and ideas that form the basis for the study of these disciplines while simultaneously also helping us understand our own place within a global context.

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Finance 1: Finance, Risk and Investment (FI1004)

15 Credit Points

This foundation course in finance, risk and investment is the requisite for several degree programmes and for level 2 real estate and finance courses. The module considers the nature and operation of investment markets, focusing on three asset classes; shares, bonds and real estate. It looks at the characteristics of these investment options in terms of their risks and returns. The module introduces basic financial mathematics: time value of money, calculation of present values and investment rates of return. Finally, it considers the role of financial institutions and regulatory bodies in personal finance, where consumers and financial markets interact.

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Accounting and Entrepreneurship (AC1515)

15 Credit Points

This is an introduction to accounting which aims to provide an understanding of how organisations – particularly small and medium sized businesses – capture, create and use accounting information both to guide their activities internally within the management function and to communicate their financial performance and position to external users of the accounts. This course allows students to develop practical and analytical skills through a problem-solving approach to accounting-related aspects of business performance reporting and control, particularly in relation to bookkeeping, accounts preparation, budgeting and management accounting.

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The Global Economy (EC1506)

15 Credit Points

This course is an introductory course in macroeconomics where we study the behaviour of the economy as a whole. Whereas microeconomics focuses on individual markets, macroeconomics addresses the “big issues” such as unemployment, inflation, economic growth, and financial crises. Macroeconomics is a lively subject, full of discussion and debate, as economists and policymakers take different views on macroeconomic issues, their causes and appropriate policy responses. Issues such as: Is the economy growing? What causes unemployment and how can we reduce it? How can we avoid recessions? When is inflation a problem? Are banks lending too much?

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Politics & International Relations 2: Power and Conflict (PI1518)

15 Credit Points

Politics and International Relations impacts on all parts of our lives, with more specifically it being the study of ideas, events, institutions and choice. Studying these provides us with both knowledge of the world and also how it operates and functions. It also changes our perception of our surroundings and makes us aware of an ever changing global context. This course will introduce students to concepts and ideas that form the basis for the study of these disciplines while simultaneously also helping us understand our own place within a global context.

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Getting Started at the University of Aberdeen (PD1002)

This course, which is prescribed for level 1 undergraduate students (and articulating students who are in their first year at the University), is studied entirely online, takes approximately 5-6 hours to complete and can be taken in one sitting, or spread across a number of weeks.

Topics include orientation overview, equality and diversity, health, safety and cyber security and how to make the most of your time at university in relation to careers and employability.

Successful completion of this course will be recorded on your Enhanced Transcript as ‘Achieved’.

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Optional Courses

Select a further 30 credit points from level 1 courses of choice.

Year 2

Compulsory Courses

Ideas and Ideologies in Politics and International Relations (PI2009)

30 Credit Points

Ideas and ideologies are core to teaching, learning and research in Politics and International Relations. Theoretical developments are at the forefront of academic debates within the discipline, demonstrated by the appearance of a number of new approaches as more traditional theories have struggled to account for an ever changing world. This course will introduce students to these with profound questions and struggles over identity, belonging, justice and rights underpinning these theoretical debates.

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Finance 2: Business Finance (FI2004)

15 Credit Points

The main aim of this course is to develop a sound understanding of fundamental principles underlying the theory and practice of finance, thereby providing a strong basis for further study of advanced finance theory and cognate disciplines. The course introduces students to important concepts in finance: principles of assets pricing, concept of risk and return, theory of interest rates and pricing fixed income securities, evaluation of investment project with a focus on embedded real options. It equips students with good analytical skills in order to understand the implications of financial decisions by understanding the fundamentals that govern them.

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Financial Markets and Regulation (FI2501)

15 Credit Points

This course provides students with an understanding of the financial system, primarily from a UK perspective, introducing students to the reasons for, and nature of, financial markets and institutions before moving on to explore the need and importance of financial regulation, and investigating the causes and consequences of the recent global financial crisis. The course will introduce students to a variety of topics including the role of wholesale and retail banks, non-bank financial institutions, the debt and equity markets, and the derivative markets; market efficiency, UK and international regulation, consumer protection and market abuse.

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Understanding Statistics (PO2508)

15 Credit Points

This course aims to provide students with an understanding of statistical concepts and methods relevant to accounting, management, finance, real estate and economics. The course is intended to enable students

i) To understand the principles of descriptive statistics, index construction, statistical inference, correlation, regression and time series analysis

ii) To apply statistical techniques to the analysis of accounting, business and economic issues and interpret findings

iii) To identify important sources of data in accounting, business and economics

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Global Politics: Equality and Inequality (PI2508)

30 Credit Points

Equality and inequality are at the forefront of many debates within contemporary Politics and International Relations. This course will examine the historical context, theoretical underpinnings, and also key concepts which continue to uphold equality and inequality on a global scale.

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Optional Courses

Select 15 credit points from courses of choice.

Year 3

Compulsory Courses

Finance 3: Corporate Finance (FI3004)

30 Credit Points

This course introduces students to a number of areas of corporate finance including examining capital structure theory, project valuation models, the financing decisions of the firm, and corporate restructuring (including reorganisations and mergers and acquisitions). The main aim of the course is to equip students with good analytical skills in order to understand the implications of corporate financing decisions by understanding why companies behave the way they do with respect to financing choices and how this interacts with the real world financial markets, and to enable students to understand the theoretical underpinnings of corporate finance theory.

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Researching in the 21st Century (PI3069)

30 Credit Points

Research methods and techniques are fundamental to the study of Politics and International Relations. In addition, they are highly desired by employers. This course will introduce students to a number of different research techniques which they will use throughout their studies at Honours and in particular their Honours dissertation. Moreover, they will also constitute a significant part of their graduate attributes.

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Advanced Corporate Finance (FI3505)

30 Credit Points

This course aims to build upon FI3001/FI3004 Corporate Finance to develop an advanced understanding of the ideas necessary to analyse the firm’s financing decisions with regards to capital structure, debt and equity issuance, financial distress, corporate restructuring and develop an appreciation of current topical issues in corporate financing behaviour. The class is based mainly on academic research articles that have influenced and directed current understanding in corporate financial and investment theory and policy.

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Optional Courses

Select 30 credit points from level 3 Politics & International Relations courses.

PI3075: The First 9/11

Contemporary Challenges to African Security (IR3020)

30 Credit Points

This course introduces students to contemporary challenges to African security from societal, political, economic and environmental security sectors. As a result, students are introduced to the African state as a security actor and referent, leading approaches to African security and an overview of African security literature.

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Working Together: Employability for Arts and Social Sciences (ED3536)

30 Credit Points

This course provides the opportunity for students to work in small groups to develop solutions for projects posed by industry, businesses and the public sector. It involves workshops on employability skills along with site visits. Students will experience the issues that surround the work environment, including the pressures of working to a deadline, explore the challenges of working with a group of colleagues towards a common aim, and reflect upon their own strengths and areas for development. They will explore how the graduate attributes they have acquired in the course of their degree map onto the experience of work.

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Nordic Politics (PI3555)

30 Credit Points

This course provides an introduction to the political systems of the five Nordic countries Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden. It will cover a wide range of topics, such as parties and party systems, elections and voting, welfare systems, security and international relations, policy making, parliaments and governments. It is not necessary to have any specific prior knowledge of the countries concerned, or to be able to read any of the Nordic languages. The course is suitable for anyone interested in Politics and/or IR, and the different themes covered will be linked to key theories in those disciplines.

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American Politics (PI3074)

30 Credit Points

The 2016 American Presidential election further intensified global interest in the politics of the USA. The course takes an in-depth look at the institutions, the actors and the issues that make American politics a fascinating subject for observers the world over.

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International Terrorism Counterterrorism & International Relations (PI3567)

30 Credit Points

International terrorism and counterterrorism are at the top of today’s agenda – of scholarly debates in International Relations (IR) as well as of policy discussions on international politics. The course focuses on both the (individual and/or structural) causes and different manifestations of terrorism and reviews the debates on how to respond to terrorism not only effectively but also without violating humanitarian principles and international law. The course is interdisciplinary and will provide both an overview on current research on international terrorism and counterterrorism in IR and also with in-depth knowledge of core aspects of the issue.

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Memory and Politics of the Past (PI3570)

30 Credit Points

This course examines the ways in which societal understandings of the past shape political outcomes in the present. Introducing students to the concept of ‘Collective Memory’, the course engages with key theoretical and empirical debates in this emerging field of Politics and IR. It asks such questions as: How can narratives of the past reproduce or challenge contemporary power relations? To what extent do political actors and institutions engineer particular historical narratives that serve their current interests? To what extent are societal ideas of the past malleable? What is the relationship between ‘remembering’, ‘forgetting’ and political power?

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Human Rights in Global Politics (PI3572)

30 Credit Points

Human Rights have long been at the epicentre of heated debates in contemporary global politics. This course will examine the theoretical and philosophical foundations of human rights within their historical context, along with the key controversies that shape current implementation and enforcement of the human rights regime in global politics. This course is suitable for specialist and non-specialist alike. No prior knowledge is required.

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Three Lies: Lies, Damned Lies, and Statistics (PI3577)

30 Credit Points

This course is a how-to-guide to enquiring research questions in politics and international relations using quantitative methods. We uncover lies and damned lies about statistics in reporting about politics and international relations and learn how to correctly analyse different kinds of quantitative data using statistical software package Stata. We will learn how to produce analyses that is replicable.

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The Politics of Nationalism (PI3078)

30 Credit Points

The aim of this course is to study the relationship between the politics of nationalism and stability. It introduces students to the different theories of nationalism in addition to several case studies in different parts of the world. The course will cover nationalism in the Middle East, the Balkans, Scotland, South and East Asia.

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Digital Politics: Political Communication in the Internet Age(S) (PI3579)

30 Credit Points

This course is about political communication - how media, politicians and citizens interact, and how parties run their election campaigns - in the digital age(s). Students will learn topics like how journalism is changing, who social media empower, whether echo chambers divide, how populists treat the media, who runs campaigns, how parties target citizens, and whether digital media jeopardise democracy. These themes are explored through cases from the UK and US, but also from across the globe.

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Global Challenges in an Ethnographic Perspective (SL3504)

30 Credit Points

This course addresses major global challenges of the contemporary world as they emerge is specific local contexts. It offers an understanding of these challenges from a local point of view. The challenges the course will discuss include: global warming and rising sea levels; the ecological crisis; oil and energy; war and terrorism; religion and politics; sexual violence; the economic crisis; mining in post-colonial contexts; animal rights; the war on drugs; human rights and global justice; animal rights; science and the state.

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Year 4

Compulsory Courses

Select one of the following dissertation options:

• Dissertation (International Relations) (IR4031)
• Dissertation in Finance (FI4501)

Plus select one of the following:

• Empirical Methods in Finance (FI4003)
• Financial Strategy and Investment Management (FI4002)

Empirical Methods in Finance (FI4003)

30 Credit Points

This course aims to provide an overview of quantitative methods needed to conduct empirical research in finance and financial economics. The course is intended to enable students

i) To develop knowledge and understanding of the theoretical practical approaches to quantitative methods in finance.

ii) To develop the practical quantitative skills to equip students for dissertations in finance and for on-going work in the finance area.

iii) To develop intellectual skills by understanding of the appropriate use of statistical techniques for various financial problems.

iv) To develop the ability to write extended research reports on original topics in finance

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Financial Markets and Regulation (FI4002)

30 Credit Points

Covering the intellectually and commercially fertile ground at the accountancy/finance interface. Considering financial analysis from both theoretical and practical angles. Do you need to understand financial reporting to be an investor? How should we assess the success of an acquisition? Why do accountants think mergers don’t exist? How do companies decide on financing strategies? Does corporate governance and ethics really matter – do share prices react to it? These are some of the questions we will address alongside using DataStream and the ThomsonReuters Eikon system. The course might give you some ideas for your dissertation too.

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Dissertation (IR4031)

30 Credit Points

This course affords students the opportunity to apply their knowledge/research skills in the field of Politics & International Relations to an individual piece of research, focusing on a topic selected by the student and approved by the Dissertation supervisor. Over the course of the project, with guidance from a supervising member of staff, the student will conduct a literature review of relevant material, select appropriate research methods, gather data where necessary, analyse data, and write a final analysis in the form of the Dissertation. Particular emphasis will be given to helping students develop their own skills.

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Dissertation in Finance (FI4501)

30 Credit Points

All Accountancy and Finance students must undertake a dissertation. Students taking a joint degree may undertake the dissertation in either discipline, but not both. It is designed to show that you are able to:

Carry out a substantial piece of research on a chosen subject without close supervision

Critically analyse and evaluate work carried out by others

Reach your own conclusions based upon your analysis and evaluation of relevant evidence, whether this is prior research only or prior research coupled with your own research.

Write-up the results of your work in a clear, coherent and logical way.

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Optional Courses

Plus further credit points from level 4 course(s) in Finance and Politics & International Relations to gain a total of 60 credits in each discipline.

Global Politics from the Middle East (IR4032)

30 Credit Points

The course draws on key debates in global political theory to examine the politics of the modern and contemporary Middle East. The course focuses first on theoretical debates (e.g. sovereignty, security and surveillance, revolution, democracy, debt, poverty), and then encourages the development of an analysis of those debates, their applicability, strengths, weaknesses and possible innovation by exploiring them through concrete problems in Middle East politics, from the region's exprience with colonialism and neocolonialism to the emergence of nationalism and 'political Islam', from the Palestinian-Israeli question to the Arab Uprisings.

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The Constitutional Imagination (AT4525)

30 Credit Points

This course will examine anthropological theories of the state, political organization and violence. Through an analysis of both modern and historical case studies from Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas, we will critically examine theories of state of modern and non-modern state formation and organisation, and the nexus of religion and colonial history. In the second half of the course, particular attention will we paid to the ethnography of violence as a mode of state and proto-state political action.

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The Political Anthropology of Indigenous Rights (AT4547)

30 Credit Points

Indigeneity is one of the more controversial relations created by globalisation. Widely criticised for being ‘essentialist’ and ‘anti-liberal’, it is one of the more quickly growing identities recognized by the United Nations and defended in the constitutions of many nation-states. Using anthropological insight, this course survey the history of the term, study its expansion from the ‘salt-water colonies’ and ‘settler states’ to the heartland of Europe, and explore some of the challenges and advantages of the term. The seminar will explore how the term has come to be used in different post-colonial situations from the classic “heartlands” if indigeneity in North America, Latin America, and Northern Fennoscandia, to new contexts in China, India, Africa. The course will also explore how the politics of aboriginal rights has become closely linked to struggles for recognition, environmentalism, and collective struggles against neo-liberalism. The course is run in a seminar format with students encouraged to weigh and evaluate the results of their reading.

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Extreme Right in Western Europe (PI4060)

30 Credit Points

This course will provide an in-depth analysis of a European party family which is growing in electoral support as well as political influence. Individual countries and parties will be covered, as well as key concepts such as fascism, racism, xenophobia and populism. Students will also be familiarised with different theoretical approaches explaining the growth of extreme right parties, and responses from the political environment. The course will be beneficial to future study and work in a wide range of areas and contexts, and has relevance to social and political challenges such as integration, internationalisation, globalisation and social cohesion.

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War and Peace in International Politics (IR4528)

30 Credit Points

The course aims to provide students with an understanding of how conflict between ethno-national groups impacts on international politics. It explores the responses of the international community to intra-state conflict. Following an initial exploration of the relevant theories, the course focuses on a number of key conflicts in international politics. What explains violent conflict between ethnic groups? What role do external actors play in peace processes? Should the international community intervene to stop violent conflict? What kind of institutional frameworks do external actors promote in post-conflict states?

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Science, Technology & International Relations (IR4534)

30 Credit Points

This course investigates the international relations of science and technology, focusing on both the causes and effects of technology in terms of domestic and global governance. It examines issues such as ‘big science’ projects, technology transfer, the regulation of technology, competition in technology, and state policies toward technology using examples such as the nuclear industry, biotechnology, the internet, and others.

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Energy and Climate Politics (PI4072)

30 Credit Points

Energy and Climate Politics is a course designed to increase understanding of how energy and climate politics affects conventional political analysis and vice versa. EU politics of energy, controversies surrounding electricity market reform in the UK, how problems of energy security and climate change interact are among the topics.How contemporary political issues are illustrated by energy issues is an important subject for discussion - for example electricity policy and the debate about the referendum and devolution and the issue of how different political systems work in their policy consultation patterns are important topics in the course.

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Maritime Security (IR4535)

30 Credit Points

This course aims to introduce students to Maritime Security from a strategic perspective. As a result, students are introduced to maritime strategic thinkers, maritime (naval) power and contemporary issues in Maritime Security. This course is a multidisciplinary course that combines elements from Maritime and International Law, Environmental Politics and Security, Economics (Blue Economy) and International Relations. The senior honours variant of this course will include an element of Policy analysis (Maritime Security Policy).

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Political Islam: Islamist Ideologies and Practices (PI4573)

30 Credit Points

Taking a historical approach, the course will trace the key events that have led to current Political Islam (Islamism) concentrating on the ideology and practice of various movements and groups. It will explore contemporary constructs of identity and political arrangements within Islamism and encourage critical analysis and independent thought in relation to the challenges Islamist poses to existing theoretical paradigms. Areas to be explored will include: the political construct of early Islam, the Sunni/Shia divide, key ideologues, and contemporary movements such as the Muslim Brothers, Hamas and Hizbullah.

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Wealth, Poverty and International Order (PI4576)

30 Credit Points

This course introduces advanced Politics and International Relations students to different ways of thinking about how the production of wealth and poverty serves to sediment economic, political and cultural hierarchies globally, especially how international practices depend on the re-production of these hierarchies for their legitimation.

Beginning with a reading of some classic texts on the sources of wealth and poverty, the course offers a close theoretical and historical investigation of the silences around questions of wealth and poverty in dominant understandings of the contemporary shape of the world, including questions of development, gender, security, and human rights.

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Between Peace and Conflict: Societies in Transition (TR4004)

30 Credit Points

This course utilises a range of disciplinary and theoretical approaches to analyse the concept of ‘transition’ as a fundamental condition of world history. It examines this through two related processes: the transition from peace to conflict and from conflict to peace at both a macro and micro level. Topics include how states transition through revolutionary violence or through peaceful means, how individuals are radicalized into terrorist groups or become involved in non-violent movements, and transitions in global institutions, norms and technology that generate local and individual changes.

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Dirty War and Its Aftermath (PI4577)

30 Credit Points

The term 'dirty war' has gained currency within both popular and academic discourse, especially within the realm of conflict and terrorism. Popular and academic interest in the terms can be traced to the deployment of the tactics of 'dirty war' in a number of notorious cases by states seeking to quell internal conflict. This course will address the historical, social and political conditions in which 'dirty war' arose in specific contexts while analysing both its form and consequences.

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Democratization (PI4583)

30 Credit Points

This course offers a broad introduction to the changing nature of why countries become and stay democratic and to the problems of putting democracy into practice in today’s world. The module introduces to the process of conducting empirical research by introducing the nature, limitations and possible applications of different analytical tools, and research methods including simple quantitative analysis.

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Gender and Politics (PI4584)

30 Credit Points

This course introduces students to key ideas utilised in the analysis of gender and politics. It engages students with scholarship from the fields of Political Science and International Relations, offering an in-depth analysis of cases ranging from the racial politics of the #MeToo campaign to discussion of gender quotas, the politics of gendered labour, body and emotions, the causes and implications of gendered violence, political apologies and peace.

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