UK first: Trading degree for Sheffield Hallam

Sheffield Hallam is set to become the UK’s first university to offer an undergraduate course designed exclusively to teach the next generation of financial traders.
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Published 28th Nov 2019, 11:16 BST
Updated 29th Nov 2019, 11:02 BST
Bears or bulls: Sheffield Hallam to produce the next generation of financial tradersBears or bulls: Sheffield Hallam to produce the next generation of financial traders
Bears or bulls: Sheffield Hallam to produce the next generation of financial traders

The university’s Business School has recently announced an exciting new partnership with a leading London-based education business that focuses solely on global derivatives trading.

The arrangement will see Sheffield Hallam offer a new BSc (Hons) course in Financial Trading and Investment Management, delivered via OSTC’s digital learning suite.

OSTC is a proprietary trading group that believes in democratising the world of global financial markets, putting its faith in individual traders to trade derivatives on anything from forex and commodities to equities. With political events such as Brexit and the ongoing trade war between the U.S. and China, the financial markets have never been more in the spotlight.

With interest in the movement of foreign currencies and how the price of commodities relates to the state of global and regional politics, it’s little surprise that financial trading platforms have become increasingly popular.

Some sites even offer a demo account functionality to practice executing derivatives trades using thousands of pounds worth of ‘virtual’ funds.

Students who enrol in Sheffield Hallam’s new course will spend the first and final years of their undergraduate course getting to grips with the theory of financial trading.

The middle year will see them gain valuable work experience on the trading floor at OSTC, equipping graduates with the mental and technical tools to understand market behaviours and prepare for a lifelong career in wealth and fund management.

In terms of the theory-based practice of derivatives trading, students will cover everything from the fundamentals of economics and the principles of accounting through to more hands-on aspects such as the practical execution of trading and the variety of portfolio management techniques that exist. All graduates will also be made wholly aware of the regulatory and legal boundaries that exist today in the financial markets.

During the course, students will also seek to obtain two additional qualifications, including the Level 5 Advanced Diploma in Financial Trading and the Investment Management Certificate (IMC).

The latter is an entry-level requirement for most proprietary trading firms, while the former is designed to give graduates alternative scope for work in financial services should they not wish to pursue a career in trading at the end of their course.

Financial trading is a demanding profession; in recent days, the Association for Financial Markets in Europe (AFME) has called for a change in trading hours 2 from 8am to 4.30pm to 9am to 4pm in a bid to improve the work-life balance of traders and make the career a more appealing one for all ages.

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