Opening doors to a banking career

The programme is your career pathway to the banking and financial industry.

With this qualification, you can look forward to opening doors in banking, and related careers such as corporate investment, financial consultancy and fund management.

Teaching Faculty

Local faculty, with intensive workshops by UK academics.

Delivery Mode

Lectures, group discussions, workshops and online study

Duration of each lesson is 3 hours.

Mode of Study

Full time classes are held in three-hour blocks between Monday and Saturday, starting at 8.30am, 12pm or 3.30pm. There are occasional classes on weeknights at 7pm and on Sundays and public holidays. Classes for part-time programmes are held form 7pm to 10pm on weeknights or on Saturdays, with occasional classes on Sundays and public holidays.

Local students may transfer between the part-time and full-time programme after a year, at the annual course enrolment exercise for continuing students.

Learning Support

• Annual intensive revision from mid-March to end-April (lessons may be held in the evenings / weekends / public holidays).
• Classes on study skills, academic writing and the Peer-Assisted Learning sessions.

Academic Materials

• Virtual Learning Environment
• SIMConnect portal
• University materials such as subject guides, past exam papers and exam commentaries, reading lists and handbooks on good study strategies

Programme Calendar

Classes / Sept 2019 – Feb 2020
SIM Preliminary Exams / Feb 2020
Revision / Mar – Apr 2020
University Exams / May 2020
Results released / Mid-Aug 2020

Candidature Period

The programme is made up of 4 units and there are no prerequisites for each unit.

1 and 5 years to complete the qualification, with a minimum duration of 1 year.

Students will attend classes with those pursuing a Bachelor’s programme at SIM campus.

Minimum Class Size

Minimum class size to commence: 25 students. Students will be informed within 30 days after the application period.

Curriculum

One compulsory unit:

FN1024 Principles of banking and finance

+

Two units chosen from:

• AC3059 Financial management or  FN2190 Asset pricing and financial markets
• FN2191 Principles of corporate finance
• AC2091 Financial reporting
• AC3093 Auditing and assurance
• AC3143 Valuation and securities analysis
• FN2029 Financial intermediation
• FN3023 Investment management
• FN3142 Quantitative finance

+

One 200 or 300 unit (or two half-units) chosen from any of the Selection groups, including any of those units not already selected above.

2019-2020 Units offered at SIM (PDF 57 KB)
Outline of Modules (PDF 344 KB)
Sample of Full-time class schedule (PDF 67 KB)
Sample of Part-time class schedule (PDF 20 KB)

Entry Requirements

• A full first degree completed in a minimum of 3 years duration on a full-time basis (or equivalent) from a university or an institution acceptable to the University of London,
• GCE ‘O’ level Mathematics – grade C or C6 and above or its equivalent
• GCE ‘O’ level English – grade C or C6 and above or its equivalent

Candidates holding professional and/or postgraduate qualifications without a full first degree cannot be considered for admission to the Graduate Entry Route.
University of London graduates from the same range of degrees under the academic direction of LSE cannot be considered for the Graduate Entry Route or for the Graduate Diploma.

The list is not exhaustive and is subject to annual revision.

Refer to the University of London prospectus (PDF 5.4 MB) for full information.

Foreign Applicants:
Click here for information on overseas qualifications

Estimated Overall Fees

Estimated Overall fee: S$10,400 for 4 units (1 year programme)

All fees inclusive of prevailing GST.

The Estimated Overall Fee is made up of :
1. Programme Fees
2. UOL Application Fee
3. UOL Initial Registration Fee
4. UOL examination fee (payable to UOL and RELC Examinations Bureau)

*Refer to the breakdown cost listed below:

Breakdown of Estimated Overall Fees

Payable to SIM

Programme Fees 
4 full units : $6,014.00

Application Fees Applies

Payable to University of London (UOL)

UOL Application Fee (One Time Payment) : £92.00
UOL Initial Registration Fee : £935.00
UOL Examination Fee (4 full units) : $2,550.00

Additional UOL and SIM fees apply for those who repeat/resit the coursework/exam and also for those who extend their registration with the University.

Note: This estimated University of London examination fee, payable in S$ to the RELC Examinations Bureau, includes an admin fee (per paper) to RELC. All UOL fees are subjected to yearly revision.

Click here to refer to the Miscellaneous fees.

The fees above are only valid for 2019/2020 intake.

Exemption Eligibility

There are no exemptions from units.

Students will not be permitted to transfer from the Graduate Diploma to the related BSc qualifications offered through the UOL Programmes.

Students may transfer between the different Graduate Diploma.

A student who fails a unit twice may transfer to another unit, within the 5-year registration period.

Lecturers & Teaching Modules (PDF 94 KB)

Average teacher-student ratio 1:92

Assessment & Exams

The programme is made up of full and half-units. Candidates may take four full units and complete them in one sitting at the end of the academic year.

SIM assignments, class tests and preliminary examinations allow students sufficient practice for the University’s annual examinations.

The examination marks account for 100% for most papers. The exception is for selected units where the coursework needs to be assessed by the University.

Candidates who fail a module may repeat the module and re-sit the examination the following year. The re-sit unit which is an elective may be replaced by another new unit.

Units which have been passed may not be re-taken. There are a maximum of two attempts for each paper.

There are no pre-requisites for candidates in the Graduate Diploma.

Grading Scheme

Graduates who do well may be awarded with a Diploma with Distinction or Merit.

70-100 : Distinction
60-69 : Merit
40-59 : Pass
0-39 : Fail

Attendance requirement

Local: 75%
International (includes Dependent Pass and Long Term Social Visit Pass): 90%

Graduation

The award of the Graduate Diploma requires successful completion of all 4 units.

Graduates may participate in the presentation ceremony on SIM campus in April or the University of London (UK) in March.

Graduates of the UOL programmes may progress to postgraduate studies either locally or overseas.