Master of Science in Risk Management
Southampton, United Kingdom
MSc
DURATION
27 months
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time, Part time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
EARLIEST START DATE
Sep 2027
TUITION FEES
EUR 32,500 *
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
* for EU and international students | £16,400 for UK students
Key Summary
About: The MSc in Risk Management at The University of Southampton covers risk theory and practice across financial and credit risk, decision-making under uncertainty, corporate security, insurance and project risk management. You’ll take optional modules in quantitative methods, finance and corporate security. Teaching is informed by the Centre for Risk Research. The university offers a wide range of merit and competitive scholarships.
Career Outcomes: You’ll be ready for corporate risk manager, risk analyst, project risk manager, business continuity manager, insurance analyst roles in aviation, finance, engineering and consultancy. Industry links include industrial dissertations (example: NATS). Skills include risk assessment capabilities.
This MSc in Risk Management gives you a broad understanding of risk management theory and practice across key topic areas. You'll explore financial and credit risk, decision-making in uncertain environments, corporate security, and insurance, gaining skills to apply project risk management principles across any sector. Rather than narrowing your focus to finance or engineering alone, you'll learn techniques and theory that work in any field.
The course is designed for you if you have professional experience and want to advance risk management practice in your industry, or if you're looking to specialise after your undergraduate degree. You'll study optional modules in areas like quantitative methods, finance, and corporate security, allowing you to personalise your degree around your interests. Your learning is informed by the Centre for Risk Research, the only specialist risk centre in a Russell Group university, which hosts industry seminars and research opportunities. You'll be taught by experienced academics and researchers at the forefront of risk management research, including experts in decision making and project risk.
You study full-time for over 12 months. Semesters 1 and 2 (9 months) are taught through delivery. Semester 1 covers compulsory modules in key risk management principles, processes, and quantitative methods. Semester 2 builds on this with specialist compulsory modules including risk-taking and decision making, project risk management, insurance, and research methods.
You also choose optional modules from areas like financial and credit risk, corporate security, and quantitative risk analysis to personalise your degree.
In the final 3 months, you research and write your dissertation independently under your supervisor's guidance. Compulsory modules include Enterprise Risk Management and Insurance, and Principles of Risk Management. A part-time version is also available over two 9-month taught periods followed by 6 months of dissertation work.
You'll be equipped to apply project risk management principles and techniques across a range of sectors. You'll understand financial and credit risk, decision-making under uncertainty, corporate security, and insurance. You'll be able to work in risk management roles in any industry, applying both quantitative and qualitative risk analysis. Your knowledge of research methods will support further study or research-focused roles. You'll be qualified for professional roles in corporate risk, insurance, project management, and business continuity across diverse sectors.
Named organisation: NATS (air traffic services company), with whom a student completed an industrial dissertation on risk register quality. The program prepares you for careers in corporate risk management, insurance, project risk, business continuity, and risk analysis across sectors including finance, engineering, aviation, and general business.
You're ideal for this program if you have a 2.1 degree in a quantitative subject such as engineering, computer science, economics, or quantitative business/management, with solid knowledge of maths, statistics, calculus, and algebra. You may have some professional experience in risk management or a related field and want to advance your practice, or you may be recent graduate looking to specialise. You're interested in understanding how organisations manage risk across diverse sectors, not just finance, and you want flexibility to explore your own interests through optional modules. You're comfortable with both quantitative analysis and decision-making concepts.
Full-time on-campus delivery over 12 months at Highfield campus. Taught modules delivered in semesters 1 and 2 (9 months) with one-to-one supervisor meetings. Independent dissertation work completed in semester 3 (3 months, summer). Language of instruction: English. Part-time option available with taught study spread over two 9-month periods followed by 6 months dissertation.