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Economics, Finance and Accounting in Maynooth

The Economics, Finance & Accounting Department is one of the largest departments in NUI Maynooth and offers a range of courses in Accounting, Economics, and Finance at both the undergraduate and post graduate levels. As a graduate of the Department you will be equipped for a wide variety of careers from accountancy to journalism to public relations to financial services. You’ll emerge with an ability to think analytically, to communicate your knowledge of economics, finance and accounting, and to work both independently and in teams. We look forward to having you in our programmes.   And, as we place a high premium on quality teaching and personal contact with our students, we will work to ensure that your experience of economics, finance and accounting at NUIM is both enjoyable and productive.

 

BA Economics (Single or Joint Honours)

 Economics is about choice.  It is about the allocation of scarce resources at a point in time and over time.  It is about competition and cooperation, incentives and constraints, rewards and punishments, wealth and poverty, growth and decline, money and inflation, employment and unemployment, work and play, health and welfare, marriage and divorce, death and taxes.  It is about life.

Economics examines the world from the perspective of the individual decision maker, a person or a firm, or from the perspective of the economy as a whole. Economics is analytical, using mathematical methods, deductive logic, and applied statistics, to better understand the world in which we live, the world in which we would like to live, and the world of the future which is ours to make today.

Building on a disciplinary core of microeconomics, macroeconomics, and quantitative and econometric methods, students can choose to study modules covering from personnel economics to international trade to money and banking, to competition and regulation to law.  A research project on a topic of particular interest to the student completes the student’s undergraduate Economics experience.

BA Finance (Joint Honours and Major/Minor)

 An economy is only as strong as its financial sector.  This sector channels funds from lenders to borrowers.   It is made up of hedgers and speculators, big investors and small savers, risk lovers and risk haters, innovators and regulators.  It designs financial instruments to improve the efficiency of the financial market.  It allocates assets to green, growth, ethical, domestic, and international portfolios.  It makes markets.  It prices risk.  It determines the values of currencies, stocks and bonds.  It securitizes mortgages, auto and credit card debt.  It provides the lifeblood of the economy.

To understand how the financial system works, the student must understand how the economy works, which requires grounding in Economics, Accounting, Quantitative Methods and Econometrics.  The student builds on this foundation by learning how the financial system works, assets are traded, international markets are linked, new assets are designed and affect the markets, governments try to control the financial markets, and financial markets respond.  Students take core modules in Finance and choose from a wide range of other modules in Finance, Economics and Accounting.  A research project on a topic of particular interest to the student completes the student’s undergraduate Finance experience.

BA Finance and Accounting

Accounting is the language of business.  It compiles, analyzes, interprets and communicates essential information about the operations and finances of organizations as diverse as nongovernmental not-for-profit organizations and the top 100 firms on the FTSE. Decisions are based on the information accountants provide.  It is crucial for an organization’s success.

The BA Finance and Accounting provides the flexibility of a broadly based finance degree but with an emphasis on accounting related topics to facilitate students who feel they may wish, on graduation, to pursue a career in Accounting.

Graduates of this programme are entitled to exemptions from CAP 1 (formally Prof 11) examinations of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland and equivalent examination papers of the ACCA, CIMA and CPA professional accounting bodies.

Students begin by building a foundation in economics, accounting and financial mathematics.  They then add finance to their portfolio, while continuing with economics and accounting.  Over the degree programme they study financial accounting, management accounting, taxation, financial mathematics, corporate finance, derivatives, law & governance, business law and the legal process, microeconomic theory, macroeconomic theory, econometrics, and international finance or international financial markets. 

Postgraduate Programmes - Taught

MA Finance/MA Economics

The MA Finance and the MA Economics are structured to provide international quality training in Finance, Economics, and Econometrics.  The programmes are built on a trimester model.  Finance students first acquire foundational skills and knowledge in Finance, Microeconomics and Econometrics while Economics students acquire foundational skills in Microeconomics, Macroeconomics and Econometrics.  These skills and knowledge are then applied to fields of specialization in Finance (International Finance, Risk and Uncertainty, Market Microstructure, Financial Intermediation) or in Economics (International Trade, Labour Economics, Industrial Organization, Growth and Development) to produce research of a publishable quality.  The MA in Finance and the MA in Economics prepare students for an ever more competitive job market and provide foundations for further study.

MA Accounting

This programme provides students with the key competencies required by a professional accountant in an ever-changing business and ethical environment.  Students will be encouraged to develop critical and analytical skills and apply their knowledge to unstructured situations.  Upon completion of the programme graduates will be able to:

• Understand, apply and critically appraise the principles and practices relating to financial Reporting, Auditing and Taxation.
• Draw on knowledge across all areas of study and use it creatively in applying concepts and techniques.
• Draw on technical and commercial awareness in developing and evaluating alternatives and in proposing solutions.
• Communicate conclusions effectively to contrasting audiences.
• Implement appropriate research methods to resolve issues in accounting and finance.
• CAP 2 exemptions awarded for successful completion of MA.

Higher Diploma in Economic Science

This course provides an accelerated route to the equivalent of an honours degree in Economics in one year.  Students study microeconomics, macroeconomics, econometrics and a range of applied courses such as labour economics, industrial organisation, international trade, natural resource economics and finance.  A performance of 60% or better in the diploma guarantees a place on our Master's programmes.   It also opens career opportunities in, for example, the civil service or other policy-making institutions, graduate training programmes in large companies, banking. 

Higher Diploma in Finance

This course provides an accelerated route to the equivalent of an honours degree in Finance in one year.  A comprehensive range of modules in finance including corporate finance, international financial markets, derivatives, financial accounting, and the core economics courses of microeconomics, macroeconomics and econometrics. A performance of 60% or better in the diploma guarantees a place on our Master's programme. It also opens career opportunities in banking, financial services, treasury management, accountancy, civil service or other policy making institutions. 

Post Graduate Programmes – Research

PhD in Economics/PhD in Finance

The Structured PhD programmes in Economics and Finance are built on the base of the MA Programmes offered by the Department of Economics, Finance & Accounting. 

The programmes are built on a trimester model.  The purpose of this is to ensure that the students will have acquired adequate knowledge to understand field courses taught at the level of those found in North American or UK programmes and to be able to produce research of a publishable quality.  General skills development is included as a component of the PhD seminar that runs throughout the post-masters years of the PhD programme.  Students can, and will be encouraged to, avail themselves of PhD-level modules in Economics offered by TCD and UCD under the Dublin Region Higher Education Alliance.  Students can avail themselves of general skills offerings in other departments, such as those offered by the Department of Education or NIRSA.  In addition, it is possible for students, with the advice and consent of their dissertation committee, to choose to take modules outside of economics in, for example, the Departments of Mathematics or Sociology while students with adequate backgrounds from other Departments are welcome to take modules in Economics.