Finance is at the core of navigating the complexities of South Africa’s evolving economy and global financial markets. The Discipline of Finance equips students with the analytical and strategic skills necessary to navigate the complexities of South Africa’s evolving economy and global financial markets.
Characterised by emerging industries, financial inclusion initiatives, and regulatory shifts, finance studies at UKZN offer a dynamic blend of quantitative methods and applied theory designed to address challenges that are relevant to their future careers. Our students are encouraged to work with industry-relevant databases, econometric software, and the Microsoft Office suite throughout their studies to develop these important graduate skills.
As South Africa continues to advance its banking, entrepreneurial, and corporate sectors, finance graduates are prepared to drive sustainable economic growth, foster innovation, and contribute to financial solutions that support both private enterprises and public-sector development.
From an undergraduate to postgraduate level, finance students extensively engage with topics such as:
The department offers a variety of specialised programmes designed to prepare students for careers in finance.
Students pursuing finance as a major subject are encouraged to pursue the Bachelor of Business Science degree, with a finance or Investment Science major. Alternatively, students may register for a Bachelor of Commerce degree with a Finance major.
Students can apply for the Bachelor of Commerce Honours degree in Finance. This highly sought after 4th year/ Honours programme has a smaller cohort of top students.
Research focused master’s in finance are supported through supervision by our excellent team of academics.
The finance discipline also hosts post-doctoral candidates wanting to focus on research and related activities following their PhD studies.
The Finance Discipline is research active, with our academics regularly publishing their work in top academic journals, both domestically and internationally. Students at all levels are encouraged to convert their research into journal form, with several of our past Honours students having successfully published their Honours dissertations. Our academic staff are regular attendees at the Southern African Finance Association’s conference and other domestic conferences related to the fields of Finance and Economics and also present their work at a variety of international conferences. Our research covers a wide range of topics related to the field of finance and applied econometrics, including on market behaviour, portfolio and asset management, firm performance, and environmental, social and governance (ESG).
