Sarah Saby came to Bath to study MSc Economics and Finance, graduating in 2025. Now back home in Maharashtra, India, she talked to us about her reasons for choosing the course, the experience she gained on the consultancy project, and life in the city as an international student.

Specialising with a finance master’s

I completed my undergraduate degree in economics at MIT World Peace University in Pune, India, and also did a market research internship in 2024. After those experiences, it felt natural to do a master’s.

Bath was the right fit for me, mainly because it gave me the option of doing a consultancy project to work with a company. I’d studied a lot of financial modules during my undergrad, so I wanted to advance those skills too and not miss out by doing only economics or finance as a degree.

For me, it was either Bath or London. I really wanted to have a more student-oriented experience, so I ended up choosing Bath as it’s a lot less fast-paced but still lively. My cohort was fairly small and very international. Everyone was friendly too, which meant it didn’t feel overwhelming.

There were lots of things to do on campus and in the city, and I found all the support that I needed and never felt out of place. Bath is full of little shops and I’d spent lots of time café hopping with my friends.

Course highlights: gaining practical experience

Some of my favourite units were investment banking, financial econometrics, as well as the Python course in my second semester. The latter was especially engaging and taught me a lot – I ended up using Python a fair bit in my consultancy project, so I felt prepared to take on the work.

I did my project remotely with Oxquant, which is a consulting company based in Oxford. As part of my work, I looked at how AI frameworks – machine readable factor – can make processes more efficient when overseeing sustainable finance and non-standardised biodiversity regulations. That meant conducting a comprehensive literature review and using AI-driven tools that can help us automate compliance monitoring without manual coding. My work at Oxquant aims to directly address SDG 15, and now I’m looking at everything I do through a sustainability lens!

The whole experience was very informative for me because I hadn’t done any consultancy work before. Doing it in sustainability and analysing how we can make economics goals align with sustainable development was eye-opening for me as it’s very important in the world right now.

Moving on after graduation

I have just moved back to India after finishing my degree. Having done my consultancy project in sustainability, I really think it’s an area I’d like I focus on in my career.

The course helped me narrow down my interests: I can now look for jobs in sustainable finance with the confidence that I have the skills to work in that sector.

My master’s also had a global outlook so I can apply that foundational knowledge in my home country and not just the UK.

My advice for future students:

I would say, you really need to do your research. Make sure the course and the units are what you’re looking for, so you know what you’re getting into and what areas might be more challenging. A year is a really short time, so it can all be a bit of a blur!

The first semester is very foundational, of course, and builds on your undergrad. But in the second semester, you're getting more options to specialise with electives. So, make sure you know what you’re interested in, and you’ll have a great time at Bath, both in and outside the classroom!