Accounting - Pathways
The BSc Hons Accounting (Pathways) is an innovative suite of subject pathways that offer you the opportunity to progress your studies within various fast growing areas of professional services. You will be able to graduate with one of the following awards: BSc Hons Accounting or BSc Hons Accounting (Forensics) or BSc Hons Accounting (Financial Economics) or BSc Hons Accounting (Management).
| Award Name | Degree - Honours Bachelor at UK Level 6 |
|---|---|
| NFQ Classification | |
| Awarding Body | Ulster University |
| NFQ Level |
| Award Name | NFQ Classification | Awarding Body | NFQ Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| Degree - Honours Bachelor at UK Level 6 | Ulster University |
Duration
Classes are timetabled per semester for full-time students:
Three years full-time – BSc Hons
Four years full-time – BSc Hons with DPP / DIAS
Full-time attendance is up to four days per week with 12-16 teaching hours per week, depending on level.
Each year has a different amount of time allocated to the modules being studied. Normally students are in class for 3 or 4 days per week. On top of this you would be expected to spend approximately 10 additional hours of independent study time per module per week.
Taking all modules into account this would equate to 40 hours per week over a semester.
Entry Requirements
Irish Leaving Certificate
120 UCAS tariff points to include a minimum of five subjects (four of which must be at Higher Level). The overall profile must include English at minimum grade H6 at Higher Level or grade O4 at Ordinary Level plus Mathematics at minimum H5 at Higher level or grade O3 at Ordinary Level.
OR
112 UCAS tariff points to include a minimum of five subjects (four of which must be at Higher Level). The overall profile must include English at minimum grade H6 at Higher Level or grade O4 at Ordinary Level. This course also requires you to achieve H3 in one of Mathematics, Economics, Physics or Accounting. If Mathematics is not passed at H3, you will be required to achieve a minimum H5 at Higher Level or O3 if studied at Ordinary Level in addition to one of the subjects above.
Careers / Further progression
Graduate employers
Graduates from this course are now working for:
• Accounting practice
• Banking
• Charities and not for profit organisations
• Commercial enterprise
• Financial services
• Government bodies and agencies
Job roles
With this degree you could become:
• Accountant
• Auditor
• Business analyst
• Forensic accountant
• Fund accountant
• Management consultant
• Tax advisor
Career options
There is a considerable demand for those with accounting knowledge in business, industry and the public service. This suite of pathways provides you with an excellent basis for pursuing a professional qualification with one of the accountancy bodies and/or if you want to expand your knowledge in other allied areas of business.
As a graduate, you may take up a position as an Accounting Practitioner providing audit, accountancy, forensic services and taxation services to a variety of businesses and individuals. You can avail of many accounting and finance roles in any type of business e.g. Financial or Management Accountant in a large commercial enterprise or within central or local Government; a Taxation Specialist; a Management Consultant or an Educationalist.
You may, depending on classification obtained, be permitted to go on to further study at postgraduate level. On successful completion of your programme, it may be possible to progress to a Postgraduate Diploma / Masters in Advanced Accounting or Masters in Strategic Accounting.
Further information
Start date: September 2024
Deadlines for on-time applications
2024 entry application deadlines
For courses starting in 2024 (and for deferred applications), your application should be with us at UCAS by one of these dates – depending on what courses you apply for. If your completed application – including all your personal details and your academic reference – is submitted by the deadline, it is guaranteed to be considered.
16 October 2023 for 2024 entry at 18:00 (UK time) – any course at the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, or for most courses in medicine, veterinary medicine/science, and dentistry. You can add choices with a different deadline later, but don’t forget you can only have five choices in total.
31 January 2024 for 2024 entry at 18:00 (UK time) – for the majority of courses.
Some course providers require additional admissions tests to be taken alongside the UCAS application, and these may have a deadline. Find out more about these tests at https://www.ucas.com/undergraduate/applying-university/admissions-tests
Check course information in the search tool to see which deadline applies to you at the application weblink below.
Apply as soon as possible: Student funding arrangements mean that as offers are made and places fill up, some courses may only have vacancies for students from certain locations. It’s therefore really important that you apply for your chosen courses by the appropriate deadlines mentioned above, as not all courses will have places for all students.
All applications received after 30 June are entered into Clearing - find out more about Clearing at https://www.ucas.com/undergraduate/clearing-and-results-day/what-clearing
Overview
An innovative suite of subject pathways that offer you excellent employment opportunities within the growing professional service areas.
Summary
The BSc Hons Accounting (Pathways) is an innovative suite of subject pathways that offer you the opportunity to progress your studies within various fast growing areas of professional services. You will be able to graduate with one of the following awards: BSc Hons Accounting or BSc Hons Accounting (Forensics) or BSc Hons Accounting (Financial Economics) or BSc Hons Accounting (Management).
This suite of pathways offers you high quality teaching in subject areas such as forensic accounting, financial services and management consulting. The team involved have well established links with the accounting professional bodies, key graduate employers, public sector bodies and local industry.
In addition to their academic qualifications many of the staff delivering the programme are also professionally qualified accountants with a wide range of professional and commercial experience.
About
This programme has been designed to broaden your opportunities in accounting and utilise our high level employer links to ensure you get excellent employment opportunities.
All our pathways in Accounting give you maximum professional exemptions from many of the professional accounting bodies.
You can specialise in the area of accounting through either the BSc Hons Accounting or BSc Hons Accounting (Forensics) - both of these pathways are highly sought after by employers and following your programme, you will be employment-ready in these fields.
You could decide to maintain a focus on accounting and explore other areas such as financial economics or management through the BSc Hons Accounting (Financial Economics) or BSc Hons Accounting (Management ) - both pathways offering a highly sought after skills-set in the economic, public sector, finance or managerial environment.
Structure: All modules in each pathway of the BSc Hons Accounting (Pathways) are compulsory. The structure of the suite of pathways is such that you can delay choice between these four programmes until the second-year of study in the BSc Hons Accounting (Pathways). This flexibility provides you with the opportunity to experience subject areas, before making a choice between maintaining your specialism in accounting or broadening your interest to financial economics/management.
Modules
Here is a guide to the subjects studied on this course.
Courses are continually reviewed to take advantage of new teaching approaches and developments in research, industry and the professions. Please be aware that modules may change for your year of entry. The exact modules available and their order may vary depending on course updates, staff availability, timetabling and student demand. Please contact the course team for the most up to date module list.
Year 1
Introductory Accounting
Principles of Financial Accounting
Principles of Management Accounting
Academic, Professional and Managerial Awareness
Information Skills for Business
Business and the Economy
Year 2
Financial Accounting
Management Accounting
Skills for Work
Managing and Developing People
Applied Analytics for Business
Money and the Economy
Digital Analytics Skills
Year 3
Personal and Business Finance
Risk Management
Audit and Assurance
Corporate Financial Reporting
Taxation
Law for Accountants
Diploma in Professional Practice
International Academic Studies
Year 4
Advanced Management Accounting
Governance, Risk and Ethics
Advanced Financial Management
Strategic Business Planning
Forensic Accounting
Cybercrime and Forensic Technology
Leadership and Change
Economic Policy
Money, Banking and Financial Development
International Finance
Assessment methods vary and are defined explicitly in each module. Assessment can be a combination of examination and coursework but may also be only one of these methods. Assessment is designed to assess your achievement of the module’s stated learning outcomes. You can expect to receive timely feedback on all coursework assessments. This feedback may be issued individually and/or issued to the group and you will be encouraged to act on this feedback for your own development.
Coursework can take many forms, for example: essay, report, seminar paper, test, presentation, dissertation, design, artefacts, portfolio, journal, group work. The precise form and combination of assessment will depend on the course you apply for and the module. Details will be made available in advance through induction, the course handbook, the module specification, the assessment timetable and the assessment brief. The details are subject to change from year to year for quality or enhancement reasons. You will be consulted about any significant changes.
Normally, a module will have 4 learning outcomes, and no more than 2 items of assessment. An item of assessment can comprise more than one task. The notional workload and the equivalence across types of assessment is standardised. The module pass mark for undergraduate courses is 40%. The module pass mark for postgraduate courses is 50%.
Professional recognition
Chartered Accountants Ireland
Accredited by Chartered Accountants Ireland for the purpose of exemption from some professional exams.
Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA)
Accredited by the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) for the purpose of exemptions from some professional examinations.
Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA)
Accredited by the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) for the purpose of exemption from some professional examinations through the Accredited degree accelerated route.
Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW)
Accredited by the Institute of Chartered Accountants England and Wales (ICAEW) for the purpose of exemption from some professional examinations.
Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA)
Accredited by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) for the purpose of exemption from some professional examinations.
Work placement / study abroad
After successful completion of your second year on the programme, you will have the option of a paid placement year in a range of local and international locations. This will provide a link between the subjects you have studied and their application in a 'real world' setting.
Satisfactory completion of the placement year will lead to the award of the Diploma in Professional Practice. You also have the option to study abroad for a year; satisfactory completion of a study abroad year will lead to the award of the Diploma in International Academic Studies.
Through our excellent links with businesses and accounting employers, there are also opportunities for you to avail of short-term placements over the summer months.
Ulster University,
2-24 York Street,
Belfast
BT15 1AP
T: 02870 123 456