Get degree ideas using our A level explorer tool

Accounting and Finance

Entry requirements


UCAS Tariff Points accepted.

GCSE/National 4/National 5

3 GCSEs at grade C, or grade 4, or above, including English and Maths.

UCAS Tariff

96

UCAS Tariff points from a minimum of 2 A Levels (or equivalent).

About this course


Course option

3years

Full-time | 2024

Subject

Accounting

You see yourself with a rewarding career in accountancy and finance.

Using real-world challenges as your starting point, our BSc (Hons) Accounting and Finance degree will equip you with all the skills you need to dive into the world of business. Whether it’s through our Bloomberg Financial Markets Labs in Chelmsford and Cambridge, out on placement or through an internship, you’ll get the chance to put what you learn to the test.

Alongside these practical opportunities, you’ll also be learning all about the ever-changing world of business – from business law to marketing concepts and beyond.

Our course could see you go on to become a practising accountant or opt for a wider range of careers in business – it’s up to you where your journey takes you.

At ARU, we’re helping to develop the next generation of business practitioners and thinkers.

Our Bloomberg Financial Markets Labs in Chelmsford and Cambridge can give you the chance to enhance your professional development and employability, through virtual trading and live financial information on global stock exchanges. Peterborough students can visit the Labs in their free time too alongside any-time access to data through Canvas, our learning management system.

With us, you’ll develop a deeper understanding of the knowledge and tools you need to launch your career. Because there’s having access to facilities and software, and there’s having the support to experiment with them. We believe the sooner you start, the more you’ll get out of it; that’s why our students can access Bloomberg from Year 1.

We know that your future career is important and you want to build your CV. So we’ll encourage you to grab every opportunity for real-world experience. This could mean a placement year in industry, studying abroad for a semester, or a short study visit in Europe, Canada, the USA or Malaysia.

Our Accounting and Finance degree course will set you up with all the theoretical and practical knowledge you need to work in finance or as an accountant once you graduate from ARU.

Modules

Level 4 modules:
Introduction to Financial Analysis and Management, Global Business Environment and International Strategy, Introduction to Business Contracts and the Law, Digital Business and Principles of Marketing, Organisational Behaviour.
Level 5 modules:
Financial Management, Introduction to Financial Reporting, Performance Management, Taxation in the UK, Ruskin Module.
Level 6 modules:
Corporate Governance and Auditing, International Financial Reporting, Advanced Corporate Finance, Undergraduate Major Project

Assessment methods

We'll assess your work in a number of ways including exams, coursework, essays and activity-based assignments. Expect, for example, problem-solving activities, consultancy projects, presentations, computer-based exams, a trading simulation portfolio, and group or individual reports. You'll also be able to access support materials through our learning management system, Canvas.

Tuition fees

Select where you currently live to see what you'll pay:

Channel Islands
£9,250
per year
England
£9,250
per year
Northern Ireland
£9,250
per year
Republic of Ireland
£9,250
per year
Scotland
£9,250
per year
Wales
£9,250
per year

The Uni


Course locations:

Chelmsford Campus

Cambridge Campus

ARU Peterborough

Department:

School of Economics, Finance and Law

Read full university profile

What students say


We've crunched the numbers to see if overall student satisfaction here is high, medium or low compared to students studying this subject(s) at other universities.

72%
Accounting

How do students rate their degree experience?

The stats below relate to the general subject area/s at this university, not this specific course. We show this where there isn’t enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.

Accounting

Teaching and learning

65%
Staff make the subject interesting
74%
Staff are good at explaining things
74%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
70%
Opportunities to apply what I've learned

Assessment and feedback

Feedback on work has been timely
Feedback on work has been helpful
Staff are contactable when needed
Good advice available when making study choices

Resources and organisation

77%
Library resources
88%
IT resources
91%
Course specific equipment and facilities
56%
Course is well organised and has run smoothly

Student voice

Staff value students' opinions
Feel part of a community on my course

Who studies this subject and how do they get on?

73%
UK students
27%
International students
65%
Male students
35%
Female students
86%
2:1 or above
24%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

D
C
D

After graduation


The stats in this section relate to the general subject area/s at this university – not this specific course. We show this where there isn't enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.

Accounting

What are graduates doing after six months?

This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.

£19,500
med
Average annual salary
93%
med
Employed or in further education
58%
low
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

33%
Business, finance and related associate professionals
31%
Administrative occupations: finance
11%
Business, research and administrative professionals

You don't have to be an accountant if you take this degree, but over half of graduates take a look at the rewards on offer for accountancy trainees and go into the job. Many others go into other parts of the finance industry as advisors or book-keepers, and some go into management or marketing. London is very popular for accountancy graduates going into their first job, but it's also quite common to work in Scotland, with Glasgow a perennial hotbed of Scottish accountancy recruitment. If you want to find a job in finance as an accountancy graduates, recruitment agencies were particularly important last year, so try to get in touch with one as soon as you can to improve your chances.

What about your long term prospects?

Looking further ahead, below is a rough guide for what graduates went on to earn.

Accounting

The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.

£23k

£23k

£27k

£27k

£32k

£32k

Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.

Explore these similar courses...

Share this page

This is what the university has told Ucas about the criteria they expect applicants to satisfy; some may be compulsory, others may be preferable.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

This is the percentage of applicants to this course who received an offer last year, through Ucas.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

This is what the university has told Ucas about the course. Use it to get a quick idea about what makes it unique compared to similar courses, elsewhere.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

Course location and department:

This is what the university has told Ucas about the course. Use it to get a quick idea about what makes it unique compared to similar courses, elsewhere.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF):

We've received this information from the Department for Education, via Ucas. This is how the university as a whole has been rated for its quality of teaching: gold silver or bronze. Note, not all universities have taken part in the TEF.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

This information comes from the National Student Survey, an annual student survey of final-year students. You can use this to see how satisfied students studying this subject area at this university, are (not the individual course).

This is the percentage of final-year students at this university who were "definitely" or "mostly" satisfied with their course. We've analysed this figure against other universities so you can see whether this is high, medium or low.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

This information is from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), for undergraduate students only.

You can use this to get an idea of who you might share a lecture with and how they progressed in this subject, here. It's also worth comparing typical A-level subjects and grades students achieved with the current course entry requirements; similarities or differences here could indicate how flexible (or not) a university might be.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

Post-six month graduation stats:

This is from the Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education Survey, based on responses from graduates who studied the same subject area here.

It offers a snapshot of what grads went on to do six months later, what they were earning on average, and whether they felt their degree helped them obtain a 'graduate role'. We calculate a mean rating to indicate if this is high, medium or low compared to other universities.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

Graduate field commentary:

The Higher Education Careers Services Unit have provided some further context for all graduates in this subject area, including details that numbers alone might not show

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

The Longitudinal Educational Outcomes dataset combines HRMC earnings data with student records from the Higher Education Statistics Agency.

While there are lots of factors at play when it comes to your future earnings, use this as a rough timeline of what graduates in this subject area were earning on average one, three and five years later. Can you see a steady increase in salary, or did grads need some experience under their belt before seeing a nice bump up in their pay packet?

Have a question about this info? Learn more here