Global central banking and financial regulation qualifications

Professional development for people working in central banking, finance and financial regulation

Overview

We offer this modular postgraduate programme in collaboration with Warwick Business School, part of the University of Warwick. It offers you part-time, flexible online development to support your career.

Our modular format and flexible starting dates allow you to study at your own pace. 

You’ll learn about the theory and practice of traditional areas of monetary policy and financial regulation. And you’ll explore the new challenges faced by central banks, including Big Data and the policy response to Covid.  

You’ll join professionals from across the world and gain insight into real-world issues and industry best practice.

Four qualification levels and three start dates 

Choose the qualification level best suited to you:

  • Postgraduate Award (one 17-week module)  
  • Postgraduate Certificate (three 17-week modules)
  • Postgraduate Diploma (six modules)
  • MSc (six modules and a dissertation) 

Choose when to start your course:

  • February
  • June
  • October 

  • This provides a rigorous discussion of the role of money, banks and other financial institutions in a modern economy.

    You will study the fragilities in fractional reserve banking, the role of the central bank, the foundations and the weaknesses of inflation targeting and the weaknesses caused by the shadow-banking sector. 

    You will also explore the causes of historic bank failures and systemic crises, as well as developing the necessary analytical tools from macroeconomics to understand the role of monetary policy in the macro-economy.

    Next course:
    Monday 5 February to Friday 31 May 2024

    Alternative date:
    Monday 3 February to Friday 30 May 2025

  • We will look at how to build an ethical leadership capacity in critical areas of banking, and in particular financial conduct. 

    You will explore what ethics in business are, and should be, by first taking an economic approach and exploring how incentives and industrial structure may alter the propensity to malpractice.

    You will study ethical leadership from all angles; academic, through practice and via peer learning, as well as exploring financial conduct, covering the regulatory rules and the enforcement tools available if ethics are poor.

    Next course:
    Monday 3 February to Friday 30 May 2025

    Alternative date:
    Monday 6 October 2025 to Friday 30 January 2026

  • We will cover the fundamental concepts of international finance, emphasising the operation of the spot and derivative securities in international markets as well as the financial architecture of exchanges and the promise of FinTech. 

    You will consider the management of foreign exchange risk for multinationals and study financial instruments as well as regulatory aspects. 

    Covering international banking and the stability of the global financial system, you will explore risk categories such as market or credit risk and discover the necessary tools required to manage those risks.

    Next course:
    Monday 3 February to Friday 30 May 2025

    Alternative date:
    Monday 2 February to Friday 29 May 2026

  • Investigate the analytical and empirical tools from macroeconomics and econometrics to understand the role of monetary policy and how monetary policy is implemented. This module emphasises the interaction between the financial system and the macro economy; and critiques post Global Financial Crisis policy responses.

    You will cover topics including Optimal Inflation targeting; Quantitative Easing; the credit cycle; global financial imbalances; and unconventional monetary policy making in practice. Through these topics, you will learn the use of basic econometric tools for monetary policy such as the linear regression.

    Next course:
    Monday 3 June to Friday 27 September 2024

    Alternative date:
    Monday 2 June to Friday 3 October 2025

  • Study the rationale behind financial regulation and supervision, such as what are the market failures, how regulators are addressing these challenges, and which tools are being used.

    Your learning will be structured around critical, policy relevant questions in financial regulation, which have seen scholarly study, such as:

    • the benefits of narrow banking
    • the threat of competition to financial stability
    • managing the tension between deposit insurance and moral hazard
    • too-big-to-fail
    • remuneration and incentives
    • resolution challenges.

    Next course:
    Monday 3 June to Friday 27 September 2024

    Alternative date:
    Monday 2 June to Friday 3 October 2025

  • Explore and discover why central banks have different mandates, objectives, governance and operating procedures. You will gain an understanding of the scope of possible policy choices across the broad range of central bank activities.

    You will learn to draw comparisons between the US, Europe, Japan and EMEs (including fixed exchange rate regimes), and case studies on how central bank operations – to support both monetary and financial stability – evolved during the Great Financial Crisis. You will also cover how central banks have responded during the early phase of the Covid-19 pandemic. 

    We will also touch on all of a central bank’s typical roles including monetary policy; financial stability; balance sheet and reserves management; market operations; banknotes; lender of last resort, supervision and regulation; and other regulatory issues such as market conduct, payments, resolution and digital currencies.

    Next course:
    Monday 30 September 2024 to Friday 31 January 2025

    Alternative date:
    Monday 6 October 2025 to Friday 30 January 2026

  • The Postgraduate Award in Behavioural Finance explores a variety of issues related to behavioural finance in banking.

    You will develop an understanding of key deviations from rationality that have been documented in behavioural science, and learn how these deviations can affect the economy, and in particular central banks’ analyses across their macroeconomic, macro-prudential; and micro-prudential responsibilities.

    Next course:
    October 2024 (dates to be confirmed)

  • The Postgraduate Award in Big Data focuses on big data wrangling and machine learning in the context of central banking. You will explore data analytics and visualisation, through machine learning techniques for regression, classification, and clustering.

    You will also develop an understanding of the ethical issues surrounding big data and how this is applied in central banking.

    Next course:
    June 2025 (dates to be confirmed)

  • You will be equipped with the knowledge and general research tools to execute a project such as a Master’s dissertation. In your dissertation, you will identify and investigate a current research topic that will help to develop your theoretical and practical understanding.

    Next course:
    Monday 3 June to Friday 27 September 2024

    Alternative date:
    Monday 30 September 2024 to Friday 31 January 2025

Details on funding and fees
Play Why choose MSc Global Central Banking & Financial Regulation video

Why choose MSc Global Central Banking & Financial Regulation

Play MSc Global Central Banking & Financial Regulation video

Postgraduate Award

To achieve a Postgraduate Award, you can choose a single module to study and gain advanced insight and knowledge in 17-weeks. 

As a guide, you can expect to spend approximately 11 hours studying per week. You will learn through a variety of teaching methods including lectures, guest speaker sessions, video interviews, live webinar sessions and written documents.

This option is perfect for those seeking to build their professional development in a specific area and over a short period of time. 

The cost of a Postgraduate Award in the February/June 2024 intakes is £3,800 and in the October 2024 intake is £3,875.

Your Postgraduate Award is worth 20-credits at Master’s level and by successfully completing additional modules you can build up your credits to earn a higher qualification. 

How to apply  

To get more information and find out how to apply visit Warwick Business School’s website.

Postgraduate Certificate and Postgraduate Diploma

To achieve a Postgraduate Certificate you will need to complete three out of the seven online modules. For a Postgraduate Diploma you need to complete six of these modules.  

You then will have the choice of continuing your study and gaining a master’s degree.

How to apply  

To get more information and find out how to apply visit Warwick Business School’s website.

MSc Global Central Banking and Financial Regulation

To gain an MSc Global Central Banking and Financial Regulation you will need to complete six modules and the Research Methods and Dissertation module - see above.

This option is perfect for you if you are looking to develop a holistic understanding of central banking and the wider financial environment and develop your career. 

If you enrol for the full master’s qualification, you may be eligible to apply for a bursary.  

The cost of the MSc for the February/June 2024 intakes is £30,400 and for the October 2024 intake is £31,000.

For more information on study options, fees and bursaries please visit the Warwick Business School MSc Global Central Banking and Financial Regulation page

How to apply 

To apply for the MSc please visit the application portal.

Bursaries and scholarships

A limited number of bursaries and scholarships will be available to those applying for the full MSc and starting in 2024. 

For more information, including eligibility criteria and deadlines, please email onlinemasters-info@wbs.ac.uk or visit the Warwick Business School website.

"We are excited to be continuing our partnership with Warwick Business School on the Global Central Banking & Financial Regulation Qualification.
Our partnership provides a unique opportunity for colleagues around the world to learn from experts in both research and practice.”

Andrew Bailey, Governor of the Bank of England

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This page was last updated 05 February 2024