Accounting and Finance (with a professional placement year) BSc (Hons)

Key information

Duration:
4 years full time
UCAS code:
NN4H
Start date:
September 2025

Our accredited Accounting and Finance degree helps you achieve professional status faster.  You’ll benefit from the latest industry knowledge combined with the practical skills to launch your career.  You have the opportunity to apply for a year in the workplace to gain valuable professional experience.

On this course you develop the knowledge needed for a successful career as well as professional membership of the accounting profession.  You learn about the risks and interdependencies of the modern global economy.  And you’ll gain practical skills through real-world problem-solving exercises including access to our Bloomberg Financial Markets Lab, supervised by academic and industry experts.

You’ll benefit from a solid grounding in the principles of business before focussing on corporate finance, financial institutions and markets, as well as more specific aspects of corporate and managerial accounting. You also benefit from having an Academic Success Adviser who can help you with academic study skills including critical thinking, presenting, academic writing and note-making.

This degree also offers a wide range options including leadership and entrepreneurship, so you can broaden your knowledge to boost your employability.

Accreditation

You’ll join the EQUIS and AMBA-accredited University of Sussex Business School. Learn more about all of our course accreditations here. Find out more

  • Accredited by the Chartered Institute for Securities and Investment (CISI) for the purpose of eligibility to apply for associate membership with that body. Find out more
  • Accredited by the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) for the purpose of exemption from some professional examinations through the Accredited degree accelerated route. Find out more
  • Accredited by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) for the purpose of exemption from some professional examinations. Find out more
  • Accredited by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) for the purpose of exemption from some professional examinations. Find out more

To help you gain experience and increase your employability, you can apply for an optional placement as part of your course. This can be a fantastic opportunity to gain real-life insight into industry as well as skills valued by employers. You’ll be responsible for applying for and securing your placement. Our dedicated careers team can help you:

  • find an employer
  • draft an application
  • prepare for interviews.

Don’t worry if you’re not successful, you’ll simply transfer to a non-placement version of your course.

We understand that deciding where and what to study is a very important decision. We’ll make all reasonable efforts to provide you with the courses, services and facilities described in this prospectus. However, if we need to make material changes, for example due to government or regulatory requirements, or unanticipated staff changes, we’ll let you know as soon as possible.

My placement was a dream role and so varied – from new model launch activity to sales forecasting and stock relocation. And now I have a prestigious employer on my CV!Will O'Donoghue
Accounting and Finance (with a professional placement year) BSc 
Placement year in Sales and Marketing at Aston Martin Lagonda

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Entry requirements

Entry requirements for this course are currently under review – please check back in early March 2024.

Modules

This is a single-honours course, allowing you to focus in depth on your core subject.

Find out about our types of undergraduate degrees, their structure, modules and credits

Core modules

Core modules are taken by all students on the course. They give you a solid grounding in your chosen subject and prepare you to explore the topics that interest you most.

We regularly review our modules to incorporate student feedback, staff expertise, as well as the latest research and teaching methodology. We’re planning to run these modules in the academic year 2024/25. However, there may be changes to these modules in response to feedback, staff availability, student demand or updates to our curriculum. We’ll make sure to let you know of any material changes to modules at the earliest opportunity.

We’ll do our best to provide as much optional choice as we can, but timetabling constraints mean it may not be possible to take some module combinations. The structure of a small number of courses means that the order of modules or the streams you choose may determine whether modules are core or optional. This means that your core modules or options may differ from what’s shown here.

Check back in January 2025 for more details of the modules running in the academic year 2025/26.

Core modules

Core modules are taken by all students on the course. They give you a solid grounding in your chosen subject and prepare you to explore the topics that interest you most.

Options

Alongside your core modules, you can choose options to broaden your horizons and tailor your course to your interests. This list gives you a flavour of our options, which are kept under review and may change, for example in response to student feedback or the latest research.

While it’s our aim for students to take their preferred combinations of options, this can’t be guaranteed and will be subject to timetabling. Options may be grouped and if so, students will be able to choose a set number of options from the selection available in any particular group.

We regularly review our modules to incorporate student feedback, staff expertise, as well as the latest research and teaching methodology. We’re planning to run these modules in the academic year 2024/25. However, there may be changes to these modules in response to feedback, staff availability, student demand or updates to our curriculum. We’ll make sure to let you know of any material changes to modules at the earliest opportunity.

We’ll do our best to provide as much optional choice as we can, but timetabling constraints mean it may not be possible to take some module combinations. The structure of a small number of courses means that the order of modules or the streams you choose may determine whether modules are core or optional. This means that your core modules or options may differ from what’s shown here.

Check back in January 2025 for more details of the modules running in the academic year 2025/26.

Recent students have gone on placement at:

  • IBM
  • GSK (GlaxoSmithKline)
  • Hewlett Packard.

For more details, visit Business and Management: Placements

Our careers team offers dedicated support to help you obtain a placement, including:

  • finding an employer
  • drafting an application
  • preparing for interviews
  • ongoing help throughout a placement.

Don’t worry if you’re not successful in securing a placement, you’ll simply transfer to a non-placement version of your course.

My placement has given me perspective on where my degree is taking me in terms of career options, while improving my chances of employment.”Rachael Ferguson
Accounting and Finance BSc

Please note that if you’re receiving – or applying for – USA federal Direct Loan funds, you can’t undertake your placement in the USA if the number of credits for the placement/internship exceeds 25% of the total credits for your course. Find out more about American Student Loans and Federal Student Aid

Core modules

Core modules are taken by all students on the course. They give you a solid grounding in your chosen subject and prepare you to explore the topics that interest you most.

Options

Alongside your core modules, you can choose options to broaden your horizons and tailor your course to your interests. This list gives you a flavour of our options, which are kept under review and may change, for example in response to student feedback or the latest research.

While it’s our aim for students to take their preferred combinations of options, this can’t be guaranteed and will be subject to timetabling. Options may be grouped and if so, students will be able to choose a set number of options from the selection available in any particular group.

We regularly review our modules to incorporate student feedback, staff expertise, as well as the latest research and teaching methodology. We’re planning to run these modules in the academic year 2024/25. However, there may be changes to these modules in response to feedback, staff availability, student demand or updates to our curriculum. We’ll make sure to let you know of any material changes to modules at the earliest opportunity.

We’ll do our best to provide as much optional choice as we can, but timetabling constraints mean it may not be possible to take some module combinations. The structure of a small number of courses means that the order of modules or the streams you choose may determine whether modules are core or optional. This means that your core modules or options may differ from what’s shown here.

Check back in January 2025 for more details of the modules running in the academic year 2025/26.

TEF 2023 silver

Silver

The student experience and student outcomes are typically very high quality.
This rating was awarded in 2023, for four years.
(Teaching Excellence Framework 2023)

Find out more about our approach to teaching and supporting you to thrive

Our staff

My goal is for my students to understand how accounting and finance can improve the contemporary business environment. My teaching encourages learners to become critical thinkers, responsible leaders and great communicators.Dr Sami Adwan
Lecturer in Accounting

Fees

Fees are not yet set for the academic year 2025/26 – please check back in September 2024. Note that your fees, once they’re set, may be subject to an increase on an annual basis.

Find out about typical living costs for studying at Sussex

Find out about our terms and conditions

Scholarships

Details of our scholarships are not yet set for entry in the academic year 2025/26.

Careers

Join the University of Sussex Business School and benefit from extensive career support and business connections, including mentoring by employers, networking, guest lectures and development of your workplace skills.

This course is ideal if you want to become a chartered accountant or financial analyst, and for careers in accountancy, finance and management, in both the public and private sector. Your degree opens employment opportunities worldwide because your professional accounting qualifications are recognised internationally.

You develop ethical awareness, independent thinking, leadership, self-confidence, and problem-solving and teamwork skills.

 

Working while you study

Our Careers and Entrepreneurship team can help you find part-time work while you study. Find out more about career development and part-time work

Having a strong degree from such a reputable institute certainly helped me stand out from the crowd when applying for jobs.”Elwira Mroczko
Accounting and Finance BSc 
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