Global central banking and financial regulation qualifications

Professional development for people working in central banking, finance and financial regulation

Overview

We offer this modular postgraduate programme in collaboration with Warwick Business School, part of the University of Warwick. It offers you part-time, flexible online development to support your career.

Our modular format and flexible starting dates allow you to study at your own pace. 

You’ll learn about the theory and practice of traditional areas of monetary policy and financial regulation. And you’ll explore the new challenges faced by central banks, like how to support financial innovation while maintaining monetary and financial stability.

You’ll join professionals from across the world and gain insight into real-world issues and industry best practice.

Four qualification levels and three start dates 

Choose the qualification level best suited to you:

  • Postgraduate Award (one 17-week module)  
  • Postgraduate Certificate (three 17-week modules)
  • Postgraduate Diploma (six modules)
  • MSc (six modules and a dissertation) 

Choose when to start your course:

  • February
  • June
  • October 

  • Explore the role of money, banks and other financial institutions in a modern economy.

    From discovering the fragilities in fractional reserve banking to the role of the central bank, and the weaknesses caused by the shadow banking sector.

    Throughout this module, you will also explore the causes of historic bank failures and systemic crises, and you will explore the payment system and how fintech can be used in the banking system.

    Next course:
    Monday 2 February to Friday 29 May 2026

    Alternative date:
    Monday 1 February to Friday 28 May 2027

  • We will look at how to build an ethical leadership capacity in critical areas of banking, and in particular financial conduct. 

    You will explore what ethics in business are, and should be, by first taking an economic approach and exploring how incentives and industrial structure may alter the propensity to malpractice.

    You will study ethical leadership from all angles; academic, through practice and via peer learning, as well as exploring financial conduct, covering the regulatory rules and the enforcement tools available if ethics are poor.

    Next course:
    Monday 29 September 2025 to Monday 2 February 2026

    Alternative date:
    Monday 28 September 2026 to Monday 1 February 2027

  • We will cover the fundamental concepts of international finance, emphasising the operation of the spot and derivative securities in international markets as well as the financial architecture of exchanges and the promise of FinTech. 

    You will consider the management of foreign exchange risk for multinationals and study financial instruments as well as regulatory aspects. 

    Covering international banking and the stability of the global financial system, you will explore risk categories such as market or credit risk and discover the necessary tools required to manage those risks.

    Next course:
    Monday 2 February to Friday 29 May 2026

    Alternative date:
    Monday 1 February to Friday 28 May 2027

  • Investigate the analytical and empirical tools from macroeconomics and econometrics to understand the role of monetary policy and how monetary policy is implemented. This module emphasises the interaction between the financial system and the macro economy; and critiques post Global Financial Crisis policy responses.

    You will cover topics including Optimal Inflation targeting; Quantitative Easing; the credit cycle; global financial imbalances; and unconventional monetary policy making in practice. Through these topics, you will learn the use of basic econometric tools for monetary policy such as the linear regression.

    Next course:
    Monday 1 June to Friday 25 September 2026

    Alternative date:
    Monday 31 May to Friday 24 September 2027

  • Study the rationale behind financial regulation and supervision, such as what are the market failures, how regulators are addressing these challenges, and which tools are being used.

    Your learning will be structured around critical, policy relevant questions in financial regulation, which have seen scholarly study, such as:

    • the benefits of narrow banking
    • the threat of competition to financial stability
    • managing the tension between deposit insurance and moral hazard
    • too-big-to-fail
    • remuneration and incentives
    • resolution challenges.

    Next course:
    Monday 1 June to Friday 25 September 2026

    Alternative date:
    Monday 31 May to Friday 24 September 2027

  • Explore and discover why central banks have different mandates, objectives, governance and operating procedures. You will gain an understanding of the scope of possible policy choices across the broad range of central bank activities.

    You will learn to draw comparisons between the US, Europe, Japan and EMEs (including fixed exchange rate regimes), and case studies on how central bank operations – to support both monetary and financial stability – evolved during the Great Financial Crisis. You will also cover how central banks have responded during the early phase of the Covid-19 pandemic. 

    We will also touch on all of a central bank’s typical roles including monetary policy; financial stability; balance sheet and reserves management; market operations; banknotes; lender of last resort, supervision and regulation; and other regulatory issues such as market conduct, payments, resolution and digital currencies.

    Next course:
    Monday 29 September 2025 to Monday 2 February 2026

    Alternative date:
    Monday 28 September 2026 to Monday 1 February 2027

  • The Postgraduate Award in Behavioural Finance explores a variety of issues related to behavioural finance in banking.

    You will develop an understanding of key deviations from rationality that have been documented in behavioural science, and learn how these deviations can affect the economy, and in particular central banks’ analyses across their macroeconomic, macro-prudential; and micro-prudential responsibilities.

    Next course:
    Monday 29 September 2025 to Monday 2 February 2026

    Alternative date:
    Monday 28 September 2026 to Monday 1 February 2027

  • This module covers the foundations of big data and machine learning. 

    You will critically analyse machine learning techniques used to forecast the state of the economy, such as inflation and the risk of recession. You will also discuss the special ethical challenges which arise in banking, including issues related to data privacy associated with machine learning and AI.

    You will learn how to visualise data and how to apply machine learning techniques for regression, classification, and clustering. Through this module, you will gain hands-on experience to acquaint non-specialists with current machine learning techniques, using the R programming language

    Next course:
    Monday 1 June to Monday 28 September 2026

    Alternative date:
    Monday 31 May to Monday 27 September 2027

  • You will be equipped with the knowledge and general research tools to execute a project such as a Master’s dissertation. In your dissertation, you will identify and investigate a current research topic that will help to develop your theoretical and practical understanding.

    Next course:
    Monday 2 February to Friday 1 June 2026

    Alternative date:
    Tuesday 1 June to Monday 27 September 2027

Details on funding and fees
Play Why choose MSc Global Central Banking & Financial Regulation video

Why choose MSc Global Central Banking & Financial Regulation

Play MSc Global Central Banking & Financial Regulation video

Postgraduate Award

To achieve a Postgraduate Award, you can choose a single module to study and gain advanced insight and knowledge in 17-weeks. 

As a guide, you can expect to spend approximately 11 hours studying per week. You will learn through a variety of teaching methods including lectures, guest speaker sessions, video interviews, live webinar sessions and written documents.

This option is perfect for those seeking to build their professional development in a specific area and over a short period of time. 

The cost of a Postgraduate Award in the October 2025 intake is £4,065.

Your Postgraduate Award is worth 20-credits at Master’s level and by successfully completing additional modules you can build up your credits to earn a higher qualification. 

How to apply  

To get more information and find out how to apply visit Warwick Business School’s website.

Postgraduate Certificate and Postgraduate Diploma

To achieve a Postgraduate Certificate you will need to complete three out of the seven online modules. For a Postgraduate Diploma you need to complete six of these modules.  

You then will have the choice of continuing your study and gaining a master’s degree.

How to apply  

To get more information and find out how to apply visit Warwick Business School’s website.

MSc Global Central Banking and Financial Regulation

To gain an MSc Global Central Banking and Financial Regulation you will need to complete six modules and the Research Methods and Dissertation module - see listed above.

This option is perfect for you if you are looking to develop a holistic understanding of central banking and the wider financial environment and develop your career. 

If you enrol for the full master’s qualification, you may be eligible to apply for a bursary.  

The cost of the MSc for October 2025 intake is £32,520.

For more information on study options, fees and bursaries please visit the Warwick Business School MSc Global Central Banking and Financial Regulation page.

How to apply 

To apply for the MSc please visit the application portal.

Bursaries and scholarships

Bursary information

As part of the WBS and Bank of England collaboration to support technical co-operation and to create a constituency for good financial regulation, we are delighted to announce the availability of a number of 50% tuition fee bursary awards to qualifying candidates from central banks/regulatory bodies in developing and emerging markets. The bursary is for the October intake and applicants may apply to any of the qualification levels – the full MSc, or a Postgraduate Award, Certificate or Diploma.

Bursary applications are now closed for the October 2025 intake. If you would like to know more, please contact us at onlinemasters-info@wbs.ac.uk.

“We are excited to be continuing our collaboration with Warwick Business School, and providing a unique opportunity for colleagues around the world to learn from experts in both research and practice.”

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This page was last updated 01 October 2025