Course Content
MSc Strategic Management
The program offers you a perfect balance of theory and practice. Elective courses, Certificates and numerous academic opportunities throughout the program allow you to customize the curriculum to your needs and aspirations.

Laurence Lehmann-Ortega
Program Structure

Course Portfolio
The HEC Paris MSc Strategic Management is an exciting intellectual challenge building upon the specific knowledge and experience that our academic team brings to the program, but also upon the students’ qualities. The program is very intense and demanding and is comprised of mandatory core courses, workshops with firms, a Business Project, but also elective courses and a master thesis which allow students to tailor their curriculum according to their interests and career goals.
- Fundamentals of Business and Corporate Strategy
- Strategic Financial Decisions
- Strategic problem Solving
- Strategic Analysis of Nagociation Games
- Thinking Strategically : Applied Game Theory for Business
The MSc Strategic Management also provides students with the following mandatory activities:
- Professional workshops with firms
- 3-day business simulation (GlobStrat)
- Research and writing tools for thesis
- Concrete advice on how to Integrate Consulting Firms and Master Case Cracking. This lecture, conducted by a professional expert, aims at bringing to the students an overview of the consulting recruitment process, and at giving them directions on how to prepare for it: pre-interview preparation steps, method to train for case cracking analysis and preparation for the interviews.
Globstrat is a 2-day business simulation in which teams of 5 participants are in charge of managing virtual companies that compete in international markets. Teams have to make multiple strategic decisions in different areas, e.g. product portfolio, pricing, advertising, marketing, internationa expansion and innovation.
Students can either choose 8 electives or 3 electives combined with the Business Project.
- Data and Analytics in Operations
- Data and Analyics to Drive Impact
- Business Plan Workshop
- Innovative Business Models for Sustainability
- Designing and Managing Processes for Competitive Advantage
- Company Digital Transformation : Key Evolutions and Revolutions to come
- Energy Strategies
- Digital, IoT and AI : Reshaping the CEO’s Agenda
- Impact investing and Social Finance
- Issues in Services Offshoring Strategy
- Managing Public-Priavte Partnerships : Strategic and Organizational Issues
- Private Equity Strategies
- Odyssey 3.14 : (Re)-invent your Business Model
- Shaping Strategies in a Digital World
- Values Based Strategy
- Successful Strategy Mobilization
- Etc.
Most of these electives are taught by firms and thus, rely heavily on practical knowledge from real-life experience.
HEC provides students with online and on-campus upgrading courses in the following fields:
- Strategy
- Finance / Accounting
- Marketing.
Students have the opportunity to go on study trip during the program with company visits and networking events.
Students must write a master thesis to graduate from the program. The objective of the master thesis is to explore how cutting-edge research is being implemented in the daily practice of strategy in a highly competitive environment. More than 100 topics are offered to students.
The professional experience requirement is satisfied when the student completes a professional experience of at least 4 months in fields related to their coursework at HEC Paris. It is, however, important to stress that this professional experience may not be an internship per se.
Our policy at HEC Paris is that the best type of internship is a full-time job! We strongly encourage our students to look for permanent hiring as soon as the academic year starts.
As an international business school, HEC Paris welcomes students from all over the world. Almost one hundred nationalities live on the campus. It's a fantastic opportunity to discover other cultures and to share exceptional moments, and it's important that students can communicate as much as they wish.
HEC Paris Learning Center of Languages aims at helping students to learn or strengthen any language they would like, providing a wide range of I.T. and print resources.
Students do not need to speak French to enroll in the program as all core courses and most electives are offered in English. However, some knowledge of French can be useful to enjoy the full HEC experience, become professionally bicultural and optimize networking with French students and alumni. This is why HEC Paris offers optional French language classes.
Prior to their studies, students may also register for a two week French language course (TEF certificate – all levels) in August. This is an exceptional opportunity to learn French before joining the Campus (extra fees are applicable).
Certificates
Sponsored by a company, Certificates are a set of interdisciplinary courses corresponding to approximately 100 contact hours as well as business projects and other types of field work related to a given sector. Each student selected (in the 1st semester) for a certificate will be awarded an additional HEC certificate if he/she validates all the requirements of the course.