TAUGHT POSTGRADUATE PROGRAMMES

TAUGHT POSTGRADUATE PROGRAMMES

 

The Postgraduate taught degree programmes shall normally consists of prescribed lectures, practical and assignments, a dissertation and written examinations. Minimum requirement is a Bachelor’s Honours Degree in the relevant field with at least a 2.2-degree class.

The Faculty offers Master’s Degree programmes in the following fields of study:

 

• Master of Science Degree in Accounting and Finance

This programme is designed to enhance and develop the knowledge and skills of accounting in public practice, industry and academia. The degree encompasses studies at an advanced level in finance and managerial accounting, auditing, corporate and international finance and investments.  Students completing the programme would have studied all the necessary prerequisite courses to apply for associate membership of key Zimbabwean accounting professional bodies such as Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators of Zimbabwe, ACCA, CIMA and CFA.

• Master of Science Degree in Banking and Financial Services

This programme is designed to solve complex banking, investment and financial economics problems creatively and innovatively.  The programme also includes conducting systematic investigations using appropriate investment and financial analysis methods, skills and tools including modern technologies. 

• Master of Science Degree in Finance and Investment

The programme enables students to learn about the qualitative and quantitative techniques used to evaluate financial decisions; understand and interpret market reactions to geopolitical events such as oil price shocks and financial crises. Most importantly, it enables students to develop skills in the analysis of: corporate financial decisions, behavioural biases, financial statements, derivatives, investment portfolios, investment, risk and economic data. In addition, the programme also gives students the opportunity to study much of the CFA course syllabus as well as prepare for challenging opportunities in the local and global arena.

• Master of Science Degree in Fiscal Studies

This programme is a multidisciplinary field which will encompass three areas of study – public finance/revenue management, customs management and taxes management. Revenue mobilisation and management in the 21st century is becoming complex and challenging.  This calls for governments to adopt a more professional approach in managing fiscal issues. The programme provides a comprehensive understanding of issues relating to fiscal activities of the government and quasi-governments on a comparative basis. The programme takes a strategic focus to the management of public finances and revenues and addresses challenges posed by regional integration and globalisation.

• Master of Science Degree in Financial Engineering

This programme is a multidisciplinary field which will encompass three areas of study – finance, computer science and mathematics and statistics. It also accommodates the typical engineer-entrepreneur who wishes to gain insights into finance, investment and management of corporate risks, given the dynamic nature of the global environment. The programme is an intensive degree with a bias towards the development and management of strategic financial products. It is a typical quantitative finance discipline, which makes extensive use of computational approaches to the design and evaluation of financial claims. The programme integrates essential topics in finance, applied mathematics, statistics and computing. It seeks to blend the technical mathematical capabilities essential to financial engineering with financial management and leadership capabilities for effective and responsible risk management.

 

• Master of Science Degree in Risk Management and Insurance

The programme is aimed at imparting comprehensive knowledge and skills on the risk management and insurance science to the people either employed in this industry at various levels of responsibility, to those intending to carve a career in this field but lack the requisite tertiary level training. Candidates will be taught advanced risk management and insurance principles and the program has a natural base in the study of those disciplines that are generally accepted as contributing to the various activities of an all-round risk management and insurance practitioner. Specifically, it aims to blend practical work experience with the theoretical aspects underpinning the risk management and insurance science.

• Master of Science Degree in Strategic Marketing

The programme is tailored to provide marketing professionals with the necessary groundwork required within the marketing field, including the latest standards that represent best practices in the industry.  Students will attain an advanced conceptual understanding of the fields of marketing complemented by a wide range of practical applications and case studies.  Also gaining an insight into marketing research methodologies and techniques which extend and support their learning in solving the contemporary issues and problems confronting marketing in the global environment.

• Master of Business Administration Degree (MBA)

This programme intends to equip students with management techniques that aid in planning and controlling in this ever-changing environment whilst exhibiting leadership capacity and teamwork skills for business decision making. Students would also be taught how to apply analytical skills in business analysis, data management and diagnostic problem-solving skills in order to support management decision-making by designing improved techniques and processes in the major MBA disciplines to enhance business performance.

• Master of Business Administration in Strategic Management (BASM)

This programme is aimed at applying key skills and specific knowledge relevant to strategic management by describing the role of strategy in managing complexity and competition whilst identifying key theorists and concepts in strategic management.  The programme also seeks to explain the dynamics of strategic decision making and significance of culture in organisations through critically assessing the concept of strategic management in a manner which reflects changing environments.

• Master of Business Leadership (MBL)

This programme seeks to develop and apply integrative, critical thinking and business leadership skills in the business environment of small and large corporates.  It will also assist students in crafting and implementing business strategies that analyse trends in the business environment through the employment of appropriate analytical models for effective decision making.  Students will be taught how to approach organisational decisions in an ethical, legal and socially responsible manner while leading in dynamic and complex domestic and global organisational environments.  The programme also intends to challenge orthodoxies and re-define existing knowledge, while demonstrating awareness of the nature of knowledge in each management and business discipline which will lead to contribution to the existing body of knowledge in business leadership through research.  It will also demonstrate teamwork and leadership skills in a variety of workgroups using appropriate leadership skills and styles and collaborate with a variety of other people.

• Master of Science Degree in Development Studies

This programme aims to impart on students the technical and analytical skills required in development profession.  Development studies embraces the planning, managing and implementing development activities. Overall, students enrolled in this programme are already development practitioners who want to improve their development capabilities.

• Master of Science Degree in Disaster Management

The programme is aimed at equipping students with expertise in understanding the behaviour of various hazards. Advances in technology have enhanced the quality of understanding of the hazards. Technology competencies have therefore become a necessity in the disaster risk and management

profession. Graduates need knowledge of not only anticipating the behaviour of hazards but also ways of responding to risks caused by the same and emerging hazards. Graduates use their mathematical, statistical and financial skills to solve various hazard induced disaster related risks in the now and future uncertainty. Improving and acquisition of these competences aid the graduates’ capacities for innovation and creativity. As a result, the majority of students enrolled in this programme are already disaster risk management practitioners who want to improve their disaster risk management capabilities.

 

• ENTRY REQUIREMENTS AND MODE OF STUDY
  • These are programme specific and are found under the Special Regulations for the respective programme.
  • Programmes shall be delivered in any of the following modes: block-release, Weekend school or part time sessions and shall include one or more of face-to-face, online and blended learning approaches.
• ASSESSMENT
  • The continuous assessment component shall normally consist of at least two distinct and appropriately weighted pieces of work submitted by the students including assignments, tests, presentations, reports, projects and portfolios.
  • The practical component shall normally consist of at least two separate and appropriately weighted submissions of laboratory/workshop/studio/fieldwork reports, tests, assignments, products, artefacts and portfolios.
  • The overall pass mark in each module and in aggregated part or programme marks shall be 50%.
  • General Regulations of the University concerning pass and fail, proceeding to the next part, carry over modules, repeat, discontinue and withdraw shall apply.
  • In determining the part aggregate, all taught modules shall normally carry an equal weighting of between 15 to 20 credits each, while the final year project report shall carry the weighting of between 80 to 100 credits.
  • For the determination of the overall degree programme aggregate students shall refer to specific departmental regulations.
• AWARD OF THE DEGREE AND CLASSIFICATION
  • Students for each degree programme must satisfy the examiners in all the prescribed modules and in all requirements for the programmes in which they seek to be awarded the degree.
  • For the Master’s degree to be awarded, the minimum number of 320 credits must be satisfied.
  • The classification of the degree programmes shall be as in the General Regulations.