Course Content
Master in International Finance
Benefit from the high level of customization offered by our MIF course. Select your Track according to your academic background (“Business Track” for BBA and Finance Graduates vs “Accelerated Track” for graduates in Engineering, Sciences, Maths, Economics…). Choose your Concentration and numerous electives according to your career goals (Capital Markets or Corporate Finance).
Evren Ors
Our program aims to fulfill two objectives within a short period of time: lay the necessary foundations for any career in finance and provide in-depth knowledge in each student’s field of specialization.We achieve this goal by leveraging the specific knowledge and experience students have acquired before joining HEC Paris, with students beginning their academic journey during a 7-week sequence, tailored to each student’s academic background.
- Business track students: take courses that build on the skills that they have learned through their previous studies. These students have taken coursework focused in financial accounting, corporate finance, financial markets, derivatives and statistics within an international business school or university. Students that select the Business Track often have internship experience in banking or consulting.
- Accelerated track students: begin by taking courses designed to make use of their strong quantitative skills while simultaneously building a strong foundation in finance. These students have an educational background more focused in a highly quantitative field (maths, physics, engineering, econometrics...) and wish to switch their field to finance. They may or may not have taken courses in finance, and they may or may not have internship experience in banking or consulting.
In addition, we also see profiles from students with a humanities background (neither business nor quantitative academic background) who have studied subjects that differ from those listed above. These students may or may not have internship experience in banking or consulting and wish to switch their field to finance. Students with this academic and professional background should also choose the Accelerated Track for their initial Track choice.
Business track and accelerated track students have access to the same pool of electives in the Spring term and have the same career opportunities at the end of the program. In particular, they both have access to either a specialization in Corporate Finance or a specialization in Capital Markets (Fall term).
By the end of this program you will:
- have an in-depth knowledge of asset management profession, the myriad of financial contracts that are created, structured, priced, and traded in various financial markets, the state-of-the-art portfolio management methods used by various types of asset managers including hedge funds;
- have an in-depth knowledge of the investment banking professions from sales to structuring, from IPOs to M&As, also in detail functioning of PE to VC funds;
- not only understand the drivers of the asymmetric-information and incentives-driven problems encountered in the financial services industry but also how they interact with the financial regulation that is imposed to mitigate them;
- learn the actual tools used to evaluate the financial performance of corporations, assess the risk-return trade-off involved in financial investment decisions, calculate value-added by corporate financial transactions and learn how investment bankers come up with their recommendations for them;
- learned the latest developments at the cross-roads of information technologies (AI, Big Data, Blockchains) and their applications in the finance such as cryptocurrencies
- Quizzes, exercices
- Case studies
- Business games and role-playing games
- Action projects
- Professional immersions
- A master's thesis (research paper)
While the first semester is dedicated to Core and Advanced Core Courses, the second semester allows students to choose from more than 40 electives: concentration electives related to their chosen specialization, as well as free electives.
Students are required to choose one of the following specializations as part of their application to the Master in International Finance:
- Corporate Finance specialization: designed for students interested in careers in M&A, private equity, consulting, large multinational companies, etc.;
- Capital Markets specialization: ideal for students interested in careers in trading, structuring, market analysis, but also wealth and asset management.
Seats are limited within each specialization. Therefore, students may not be able to change their selection once admitted.
Students are strongly advised to select the specialization that best aligns with their future goals and career path the moment they begin their application to the program.
- Asset management
- Behavioral and sustainable finance
- Corporate finance
- Corporate valuation
- Economics of financial regulation
- Ethics seminar
- Financial accounting and reporting
- Financial modelling
- Financial statement analysis
- Fixed income and money markets
- International finance
- International macroeconomics
- Introduction to finance
- Securities markets
- Capital Markets Specialization Courses
- Empirical methods in finance
- Financial engineering
- Quantitative asset management
- Corporate Finance Specialization Courses
- Corporate restructuring
- Derivatives
- Financial modeling
Corporate strategy
- Behavioral strategy
- Corporate strategy and financial institutions
- Financial dimension of strategic decisions
- Strategies for international expansion
- Topics in valuation
Corporate restructuring
- Corporate finance live: legal and contractual processes
- Corporate finance theory
- LBO structuring and modeling in practice
- Merger and acquisition
- Private equity ecosystem
Corporate investment & financing policy
- Advanced financial accounting
- Advanced venture capital
- Corporate finance theory
- Equity capital markets
- Structured finance, a tool for corporates and investment funds
Data & finance
- Algorithms, data, and trading
- Blockchain
- Data analysis in finance
- Introduction to data science & ai for managers
- Regulation & policy of digital finance
Financial engineering
- Exotic products & structuring
- Foreign exchange derivatives trading
- Modeling techniques for financial engineering
- Origination of structured product
- Stochastic Processes
- Advanced international finance
- Alternative investments
- Bond portfolio management
- Credit risk and turnaround of distressed companies
- Energy and finance
- Energy markets
- Intrastructure and real assets private equity
- Macroeconomics of crisis economies
- Numerical analysis
- Real estate foundations
- Sustainable & responsible investing
At the beginning of September, students have the opportunity to go on a study trip to London. The trip offers students plenty of networking opportunities, conferences and team building exercises. Many networking events are organized with HEC Alumni’s UK branch - one of the largest in the world, with numerous active members working in the City.
The London study trip can include company events with:
- Bank of America - Merrill Lynch
- Barclays
- BNP Paribas
- Blackstone
- Boussard & Gavaudan
- Commerzbank
- Crédit Agricole
- Exane
- Goldman Sachs
- HSBC
- Morgan Stanley
- Société Générale CIB
- Thomson Reuters
- Unicredit...
Master in International Finance students must write a professional thesis and fulfill a professional experience requirement in order to graduate.
The professional thesis must be written while on campus under the supervision of an HEC faculty member. It constitutes an important component of the HEC MIF learning experience. The objective of the thesis is to explore how cutting-edge research is being implemented in the daily practice of finance in a highly competitive environment.
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 all 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.
MIF students are required to speak at least one language other than English at intermediate level upon graduation. Thus students who speak only English and no other language are strongly encouraged to attend either the Preparatory Intensive French Course in August or French Classes offered during the year.
During 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.
Double Degree
This 2-year double degree program was created in Fall 2012 in collaboration with the School of Economics and Management of the premier Chinese university, Tsinghua University.
HEC students who want to join the double degree program need to apply during the spring term of the HEC Paris MIF.
Pre-selection will be made on the basis of academic results in the fall term and final decisions will be made after an interview with Tsinghua SEM Faculty members. Selected students will join the Tsinghua SEM Master in Finance for a second year of study and receive the two degrees: HEC Paris MIF and Tsinghua SEM Master in Finance.
The double degree program with Tsinghua SEM is the opportunity to combine strong academic training in finance offered by leading programs with a unique cross-cultural experience. Fluency in Chinese is not required. All courses can be taken in English. Any current Tsinghua students can apply for the double degree, but all other applicants must not be Chinese passport holders.
Certification
This program is accredited to grant a Master’s degree under European Standards and, by extension, are registered on RNCP (Répertoire national des certifications professionnelles)
The grade of master, or master's degree, is acquired through various diplomas, officially establishes the level of training at bac + 5. It comes after the bachelor's degree (bac + 3) and precedes the doctorate (bac + 8). It is translated into a number of credits (ECTS): a student with a diploma conferring the grade of master has accumulated 300 ECTS (180 during their bachelor's degree and 120 for the master's degree) during his or her higher education studies, allowing him or her to continue on to a doctorate. Degrees were introduced in France to facilitate European mobility of students and the integration of diplomas between European countries
Your Degree
Our degrees are verified by the Verifdiploma, service in France and abroad.
Disability Program for Learners
This program is adapted and open to people with disabilities.
Click here to find out more about the HEC Paris Disability Mission
Contact us : esh@hec.fr