Bachelor in Finance and Accounting

Current Program

• Program modified in 2018. In 2020/21 only 1st., 2nd. and 3rd. years will be implemented. You can see other years in "previous program".

• Language requirement: a B2 level of English language must be accredited before finishing the studies. More information.

Any of elective courses could not be offered in a specific year. You can check it in schedules page.

Previous Program

Study plan for students who started in the academic year 2017/18 or earlier.

• In 2020/21 only 4th. year will be offered.

Any of elective courses could not be offered in a specific year. You can check it in schedules page.

Exchange programs

The Erasmus programme permits UC3M first degree and post graduate students to spend one or several terms at one of the European universities with which UC3M has special agreements or take up an Erasmus Placement, that is a work placement or internship at an EU company. These exchanges are funded with Erasmus Grants which are provided by the EU and the Spanish Ministry of Education.

The non-european mobility program enables UC3M degree students to study one or several terms in one of the international universities with which the university has special agreements. It also has funding from the Banco Santander and the UC3M.

These places are offered in a public competition and are awarded to students with the best academic record and who have passed the language threshold  (English, French, German etc..) requested by the university of destination.

European mobility

Non european mobility

Entry profile

New students should be interested in understanding the financial and business world and be capable of abstract reasoning. Also valued are the capacity to analyse, the ability to separate causes from consequences and to extract the most relevant points when facing a problem and its solution.

The degree does not require knowledge of social sciences as the first semesters are devoted mainly to providing general education in these areas (especially in economics and business administration). Students should have a solid grounding in maths and feel confident with analytical and deductive reasoning. Finally, it is important that students be flexible and prepared to face non-structured problems for which there are no “recipes” to be immediately applied. They should also have the intellectual curiosity necessary for assessing the impact and consequences of decisions.

Application for a place in the degree

Graduate profile

It is very likely that after finishing your studies you would like to work in a Bank, Stock Exchange, Financial or Account Department of a company become part of the existing supervising institutions, such as the Bank of Spain, Central European Bank or the Stock Market National Commission. If this is the case, the degree in Finance and Accounting provides the ideal training.

The degree in Finance and Accounting aims to train professionals who will follow a career in the areas of investment analysis and management, banking, auditing, management and financial consulting and also provide a base for those wishing to do postgraduate studies in this field. It is a general qualification in the area of finance and accounting, with a clear professional focus, providing specific training in finance and accounting, together with a solid grounding in related areas, such as economics, business economics, quantitative methods, computing and law.

The labor market needs professionals with strong specialization in financial areas. This specialization requires or will require in the near future a professional certification. Among the best known professional certifications we find:

• The (Financial Risk Manager) FRM® certification is the most recognized internationally for professionals in the field of financial risk management
• The American certification CFA, is the best known among financial analysts professional certification.
• The Directive on Markets and Financial Instruments (MiFID II) forces individuals to make advice or selling financial products to have the necessary knowledge to perform these activities.

Professionals who want to acquire these certifications must demonstrate their knowledge in economics, financial accounting, quantitative methods, corporate and asset finance and financial instruments and ethical and professional standards. The degree in Finance and Accounting will provide the necessary certifications to further achieve these skills.

The general skills of the degree course in Finance and Accounting include:

• Knowledge and comprehension of the way in which  financial markets operate and the characteristics of the various financial instruments used by the company to attract capital. More specifically knowledge of the theoretical and technical bases of the valuation of financial assets, risk assessment and management and the possibilities of adopting conduct which will maximum value for businesses and homes.
• Familiarity with and knowledge of how to provide and analyse information for a set of questions relating to corporate management (planning, control and performance assessment), decision making processes, assignment of resources and compliance with legal requirements.

Specific skills in finance and accounting include:

• Basic knowledge of the nature of the context and institutional framework of finance and accounting.
• Knowledge of the main theoretical tools and their relevance and application to theoretical and practical problems.
• Content, concept, structure and significance of  accounting reporting for business operations, for both internal and external use, including information required for financial decision making and a critical assessment of the role of accounting information in satisfying those needs.
• Integration in the various accounting and financial elements in order to make investment decisions which will generate value.
• Concepts, methods and control process which provide accuracy and integrity of financial data and protection of company assets.
• Approach to the evaluation of businesses and typical and atypical projects through accounting (internal) and financial (external in financial markets) information.
• Internal and external business risk measures and presentation of various financial instruments in order to reduce those risks.
• National and international standards of accounting and auditing. Accounting regulation.
• Study of various forms of corporate governance, advantages and disadvantages depending on the international context in which the company is required to compete.
• Accounting management, including planning and budgeting, cost management quality control and benchmarking.
• Taxation and its impact on financial decisions  and management. In turn, effect on the assessment of asset portfolios.
• The nature of auditing and other control services and conceptual bases and procedures for carrying them out.
• Ethical and professional responsibilities in relation to the professional and general environment.

Use of the financial structure for resolving conflicts between various stakeholders within the company.
In addition, general skills are included in the areas relating to organisation and management, economics and information technologies.  Those working in the areas of finance and accounting should be capable of identifying (through analysis and research) the economic environment in which companies are active. The identification of opportunities and risks in the sector of activity in which the company operates include both specific aspects of company, and the sector of activity in which it carries out its activities. The general subjects of corporate economics and economics will assist in providing these skills.

In turn, graduate students should be sufficiently competent to describe and understand the legal framework as well as analysing the impact of changes in the regulation. Complementary legal training is concerned in particular with transmitting  values of equal opportunities and gender equality within the scope of labour law. Students will also need to gain marketing skills which will enable them to anticipate changes in markets, in general and financial markets, in particular addressing the needs of clients, their employees and markets.  Finally, technology significantly influences the way in which organisations operate. A finance and accounting professional needs to understand and appreciate the effects of technology in the business environment and how to use it to increase organisational skills and ensure increased efficacy of the financial planning decisions made.

Financial and accounting professionals are required to successfully manage a wide range of projects throughout their career. As a result, they should know how to carry out their work in a professional manner, making use of the technical knowledge acquired. These skills are not acquired through any particular course or subject but are developed over the course of the programme, however especially in the final year through work placements and their final dissertation. Particularly important among these basic skills is the ability to obtain and process information, in order to analyse and study in a critical manner, identifying and resolving unstructured problems unfamiliar areas. They should also be able to develop sufficient flexibility to enable them to approach the decision making process in a positive way, adjusting their perspectives as new information becomes available. They should also develop oral and written skills in order to defend and detail their arguments. Special emphasis will be placed on oral presentation during the degree course, which will permit development of skills in communicating ideas and defending arguments.

The qualification will promote attitudes which will help students to develop their ability to use the knowledge and skills that they have acquired. In this regard the following are particularly important.

• A critical and constructive attitude which will in particular, encourage flexibility.
• Students will work mainly in groups and therefore we consider that it is essential for them to keep an open mind in respect of other perspectives and opinions, while at the same time retaining the ability to adequately defend their own points of view.
• Enthusiasm for learning, which is a particularly important attitude in professions subject to constant innovation and change.
• The skills acquired by students will be evaluated through a system which balances and groups together various assessment activities. These assessments both permit and require students to demonstrate that they have understood the conceptual and applied aspects of finance and accounting and they have also acquired cognitive skills and abilities which are not directly linked to any specific subjects (communication skills for example). This is achieved through a combination of activities, resolving cases and doing exercises, oral presentation, teamwork etc. with theory and practical examinations in a continuous assessment procedure.

Schedules and calendars

Schedule in bachelor's degree

Academic calendar

Exams calendar (first semester)

Exams calendar (second semester)

Exams calendar (recovery tests)

Schedules and calendars

Schedule in bachelor's degree

Academic calendar

Exams calendar (first semester)

Exams calendar (second semester)

Exams calendar (recovery tests)