Postgraduate Handbook (MSc)
DEPARTMENT OF FINANCIAL & MANAGEMENT STUDIES (DeFiMS) POSTGRADUATE HANDBOOK
The MSc degrees in International Management focus on management and its institutional environment in the country/region specified. They include high-level courses in international management and finance disciplines. The MSc in Finance and Financial Law relates to both national and international finance, and considers how financial and legal principles are applied in the context of actual case studies.
MSc International Management (China)
The four core courses are International Management, Management in China I: Domestic Perspectives, Management in China 2: International Perspectives, and Research Methods in Management. Elective courses are divided into Chinese Managerial Environment and General Management electives. Students are encouraged to combine courses from both in order to build an understanding of the local business and cultural environment. The 10,000-word dissertation is worth 25% of your final mark. During term 2 you will submit your dissertation proposal and select an academic supervisor. Over the ensuing months you should meet with your supervisor at least three times before the end of term 3 for guidance. The bulk of your dissertation will be written over the summer to meet the September 15th deadline.
Not all optional courses are offered every year; please check your preferences with the Programme Convenor.
Examples of dissertation topics chosen by students include:
• Chinese economic involvement in Ghana - The effects of development of small & medium enterprises
• Motivations for real estate investment in China during the economic boom
• The effects of development in small and medium enterprises
• The development of China's wind power policies and the strategic implications for foreign and domestic wind turbine manufacturers: A two-case study
Part-time Study
Part-time students are required to complete three of the core courses during their first year, then one core and two elective courses plus the dissertation during the second year.
Those enrolled on the three-year programme are required to complete three of the core courses during their first year, one core and two elective courses in the second year, and the dissertation in the third year.
MSc International Management (Japan)
The four core courses are International Management, Management in Japan 1 (Economic Development and Business Environment in Japan), Management in Japan 2 (Current Issues in Japanese Business and Management), and Research Methods in Management. Electives are divided into Japanese Managerial Environment and General Management electives. Students are encouraged to take a mixture of both in order to build an understanding of the local business and cultural environment. The 10,000-word dissertation is worth 25% of your final mark. During term 2 you will submit your dissertation proposal and select an academic supervisor. Over the ensuing months you should meet with your supervisor at least three times before the end of term 3 for guidance. The bulk of your dissertation will be written over the summer to meet the September 15th deadline.
Examples of dissertation topics chosen by students include:
• The subsidiarity principle in Japan - An analysis of the allocation of functions between the central and sub national government
• A multiple-case study of Japanese automotive companies entering into China via joint venture: Benefits and challenges
• Japanese employment system: Perspectives and attitudes of Japanese youths to lifetime employment and the seniority system
• Management buyouts in Japan: Re-evaluating corporate restructuring
Not all optional courses are offered every year; please check your preferences with the Programme Convenor.
Part-time Study
Part-time students are required to complete three of the core courses during their first year, then one core and two elective courses plus the dissertation during the second year.
Those enrolled on the three-year programme are required to complete three of the core courses during their first year, one core and two elective courses in the second year, and the dissertation in the third year.
MSc International Management (Middle East and North Africa)
The four compulsory courses are International Management; Economic, Business and Institutional Environment of the Middle East; Management Perspectives and Sectoral Issues in the Middle East and North Africa; and Research Methods in Management. The 10,000-word dissertation is worth 25% of your final mark. During term 2 you will submit your dissertation proposal and select an academic supervisor. Over the ensuing months you should meet with your supervisor at least three times before the end of term 3 for guidance. The bulk of your dissertation will be written over the summer to meet the September 15th deadline.
Examples of dissertation topics chosen by students include:
• The increasing trend of Islamic project finance: A different mould to conventional means? The implications for Qatar's LNG ventures
• Succession in family businesses: Managing family business in Saudi Arabia
• Islamic finance and micro finance: Combining principles
• The motivation of women entrepreneurs in MENA: Opportunity or necessity
Not all optional courses are offered every year; please check your preferences with the Programme Convenor.
Part-time Study
Part-time students are required to complete three of the core courses during their first year, then one core and two elective courses plus the dissertation during the second year.
Those enrolled on the three-year programme are required to complete three of the core courses during their first year, one core and two elective courses in the second year, and the dissertation in the third year.
MSc Finance and Financial Law
The two Preparatory courses are Introduction to Financial Analysis and Introduction to Law and Legal Method. These are taught consecutively before the formal start of the academic year, concluding with a 2-hour examination in each part of the course. Performance in the examinations will act as an indicator of the students’ ability to complete the MSc. The five core courses of the MSc are Corporate Finance, Financial Law, Legal Aspects of Corporate Finance, Finance in the Global Market, and Legal Aspects of International Finance. You may choose one other course as an elective. Please note that not all elective courses are offered every year so you should check your preferences with the Programme Convenor. The 10,000-word dissertation is worth 25% of your final mark. During term 2 you will submit your dissertation proposal and select an academic supervisor. Over the ensuing months you should meet with your supervisor at least three times before the end of term 3 for guidance. The bulk of your dissertation will be written over the summer to meet the September 15th deadline.
Examples of dissertation topics chosen by students include:
• Revising Islamic investment methodologies with ethical investment tools
• The impact of legislative harmonisation in the integration of the EU financial markets
• Do Sukuk Al Ijarah have the backbone for sustainable success?
• Foreign banks in post-WTO accession China - A speculative analysis
By linking their dissertation topic with their courses, students can focus half their work on the MSc on their own particular interests. There is also ample scope for developing such special interests by taking advantage of the rich calendar of regular seminars and special lectures at SOAS, organised by all the School’s departments and centres.
Part-time Study
Part-time students are required to complete three of the core courses during their first year, then two core and one elective courses plus the dissertation during the second year.
PROGRAMME STRUCTURES
Please see the following links for detailed programme structures.
MSc International Management (China)
MSc International Management (Japan)
MSc International Management (Middle East and North Africa)
Departmental Seminars
The Business Network Seminars
DeFiMS values both its academic strength and its links with the practical worlds of management, finance, law, and policy. The Business Network Seminars are designed to enable all students to share those links. We invite people in key positions within firms to give their own views on the practical issues facing enterprises and professionals, and discuss them with you. In past years the Business Network Seminars have given our students good insights as well as the opportunity to network and build professional contacts, and students have given the speakers food for thought. This year’s series should be equally good. The Seminars are held in Room L67 of the Main Building (Lower Ground Floor near the Khalili Lecture Theatre) on Wednesdays between 1.30 p.m. and 3.0 p.m.
Guidelines for students
BLE (Moodle)
BLE is run on Moodle, a virtual learning environment which is used to make reading lists and other course information available online. Log-on to http://ble.soas.ac.uk. For further information about BLE, contact ble@soas.ac.uk. During the busy registration period, all students will have access to all courses within their registered departments. From the second week of term, students will only have access to courses they are registered for. If you don’t have access to any of your courses on BLE, there is likely to be a problem with your registration. In this case, please contact the faculty office as soon as possible.
Assessments
Marking criteria are available on the faculty website. Please note that coursework cannot be reassessed and appeals against the academic judgment of markers will not be accepted, nor will requests that work should be re-marked.
Submission of Dissertations
The dissertation deadline is before 16.00 on 15 September of the year in which the dissertation is undertaken. If 15 September falls on a Saturday or Sunday, then the deadline is before 16.00 on the Monday immediately following 15 September. For further information please see the Guidelines for the Preparation of Masters Dissertations in the SOAS Postgraduate Taught Masters regulations for the current year, available at http://www.soas.ac.uk/registry/degreeregulations/.
Submission of coursework
All coursework is to be submitted online via Moodle.
Please see section 6 and 7 of the SOAS Postgraduate Taught Masters regulations for the current year, available at http://www.soas.ac.uk/registry/degreeregulations/ for information about the regulations relating to coursework (submission, late submission, resubmission, plagiarism and word count). Please note that you must undertake all elements of assessment and examination prescribed for each course you are taking and must submit sufficient work for each assessment to enable it to be assessed or examined.
If you are unable to meet a course deadline and wish to request that the Examination Sub-Board waive or reduce the penalty for late submission, the procedure is as follows:
1. Go to the Faculty Office (room R201) as soon as you think you might have a problem meeting the deadline.
2. Collect and complete a Late Submission Request form.
3. You may contact relevant members of staff to support your claim - e.g., a student counsellor or tutor.
4. Attach any supporting evidence (e.g. medical notes or letters from a tutor) to the form. All information provided will be handled sensitively and confidentially.
5. Submit the form (with supporting documentation) to the Faculty Office as soon as possible and no later than the School deadline.
All applications will be considered by the July meeting of the Examinations Board to determine appropriate deductions. The Board will determine what is acceptable evidence and ‘good cause’ in consultation with Registry and the Associate Dean where necessary.
Please note that ONLY the Sub-Board of Examiners have the authority to remit the penalty for late submission. Individual members of staff or tutors have no powers to grant extensions or to waive the penalty. All requests should be made through the procedure described above.
If you have any questions about these procedures, please ask at the Faculty Office.
House style for submitting coursework
When submitting coursework students must ensure that their essay has a coversheet with the following information on it:
Name of student in full
ID number
Name of course
Code of course
Name of Marker
Assignment number e.g. 1 for first assignment, 2 for second assignment – etc.,
Date of deadline, which is given out at the start of term with the course outlines – also available on BLE.
Word count
You should submit your work before 11.59pm on the due date, however you should aim to submit coursework at least an hour before the deadline. If you encounter any technical problems please email your essay to the departmental Student Support Officer.
Students who fail to meet the attendance and coursework requirements stated above
Programme Convenors will inform the Head of Registry of the names of students who fail to meet the attendance and coursework requirements. The Associate Dean (Learning and Teaching) of the relevant Faculty or Faculties will review each case, and will decide what further action should be taken. The School may withdraw permission to take examinations or terminate the degree courses of students who persistently fail to meet the attendance and coursework requirements. Please see section 5 of the SOAS Postgraduate Taught Masters regulations for the current year, available at http://www.soas.ac.uk/registry/degreeregulations/, for more information.
Key Contacts
For faculty contacts see http://www.soas.ac.uk/lawsocialsciences/keystaff/
For department contacts see http://www.soas.ac.uk/defims/staff/
For Registry contacts see http://www.soas.ac.uk/registry/
For Student Services contacts (Welfare, Counselling, Disabilities, and Mental Health and Wellbeing) see http://www.soas.ac.uk/studentservices/contact/.
N.B. For information on making appointments and drop-in times, see http://www.soas.ac.uk/studentservices/appointment/.
For Library contacts and information see http://www.soas.ac.uk/library/subjects/finance/
For Careers contacts and information see http://www.soas.ac.uk/careers/about/
Key Dates
For terms and other key dates see http://www.soas.ac.uk/about/keydates/.
For events at SOAS see http://www.soas.ac.uk/careers/events/
Key Locations
For a map of the SOAS’ campus, please see http://www.soas.ac.uk/visitors/location/maps/.
Teaching at SOAS takes place on different sites. For more information on how to find rooms, see http://www.soas.ac.uk/timetable/teaching-and-meeting-rooms/finding/.
