The Diploma for Graduates (DipGrad) can be used for many purposes, and in some cases, effectively provides an additional major. It requires you to do at least seven papers, of which at least four are at 300-level or above. The programme is designed for graduates and may be completed by full-time candidates in one year or by part-time candidates over more than one year. A DipGrad is a great way to retrain or to update existing qualifications. Many students also find it a convenient way to continue learning and that it is a useful bridge to postgraduate study. Finance is a modern and fascinating discipline dealing with money, markets and valuation, that is relevant to all aspects of business and personal and professional planning. Professionals in finance are involved with a myriad of issues in investments, planning and risk. The subject is often confused with accounting. However, while both deal with money and value, accounting is concerned with systems of control, and recording and reporting the results of historical transactions. By contrast finance is concerned with the relationship between investor expectations about the future and current market values. By focusing on markets the subject can also be confused with economics. However economics deals with broad issues of resource allocation, whereas finance focuses more narrowly on how markets value risk and the implications for investment, financial planning, shareholder wealth and corporate governance. Two recent trends have fuelled the value of finance as a mature, globally recognised profession and underpin its relevance for the 21st century. The first is the world-wide move to deregulation and the opening of markets which has coincided with an almost universal appreciation of the importance of capital and investment for growth and prosperity. The second is the rush of theoretical developments in the discipline which has provided the tools to manage risk and return. The impact has been extreme. There are few businesses today that are not acutely aware of the significance of markets and financial planning for their viability. Papers Required Approved papers from those prescribed at 300-level for the major subject or endorsement requirements for the subject concerned and/or from those available at a higher level in the subject concerned. Of the 72 points required above 200-level for the programme, a minimum of 54 points shall be from papers for the subject concerned, but papers worth up to 72 points may be required for certain subjects. Other papers at 100- and/or 200-level in the subject concerned may also be required in some cases as a condition of endorsement.