Course Content
Master in 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.
Course Portfolio
The HEC Paris Master in 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.
At the end of this program you will have developed :
- Strong analytical skills
- Complex problem-solving skills
- Critical thinking
- A capacity to create and implement innovative strategic options
- Teamwork and cooperation skills
- Quizzes, exercices
- Case studies
- Business games and role-playing games
- Action projects
- Professional immersions
- A master's thesis (research paper)
- Fundamentals of Business and Corporate Strategy (Summer Online Course)
- Strategic Problem Solving
- Strategic Analysis of Negotiation Games
- Strategic Financial Decisions
- Successful Strategy Mobilization
- Decarbonization Strategies
The Master in Strategic Management also provides students with the following mandatory activities:
- 3-day business simulation
- 2-day simulation on the impact of business decisions on the SDGs
- Research and writing tools for thesis
- Workshops on how to Integrate Consulting Firms and Master Case Cracking. These workshops, conducted by consultants, aim to bring students an overview of the consulting recruitment process and give them directions on how to prepare for it.
In case students require further learning in a subject area to meet the required standards in finance, HEC offers extra courses that take place during the summer. These include cross-knowledge courses on Digital Marketing and Finance, as well as an online Strategy course.
In addition, there are 2 mandatory pre-term courses:
- a face-to-face Accounting class, which takes place on campus on the last week of August
- an online module on the Fundamentals of Business and Corporate Strategy to complete before the program kick-off
General Theme
- Behavioral strategy
- Odyssey 3:24 - (Re)Invent Your Business Model (blended)
Industry-Specific
- Energy Strategies
- Private Equity Strategies (fully online)
- Strategy and Managemnent in Professional Service Firms
CSR and Sustainability
- Impact Investing and Social Finance
- Sustainable Urban Development: Key Strategic and Organizational Challenges
- Values Based Strategy
- Green Accounting and Finance
- Companionship: Starting a Purposeful Career
AI, Data & Digital
- AI: Effects and Applications Across Industries
- Making Digital Transformation Happen
- Data Analytics for Strategy
- Data Science and AI for Strategic Decisions
- Reshaping a Business Strategy and Delivering Massive Impact: The Power of AI
- Technology Strategy: Platforms and AI
- Technology Strategy: Big Data and AI
- A 3-day business simulation on corporate strategy during which teams of 5 participants are in charge of managing virtual companies that compete in international markets. Teams will have to make multiple strategic decisions in different areas, e.g., product portfolio, pricing, advertising, marketing, international expansion and innovation.
- A 2 half-day business simulation to introduce to participants the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) and demonstrate how the actions of organizations (firms, non-profit firms, NGO, governmental and non-governmental organizations etc.) as well as the decisions of individuals can affect the achievement of the UN SDGs.
The optional ten week part-time company project is designed for students to face a company’s real-life, concrete strategic issue. They work hand in hand with companies’ representatives and deliver their recommendations to the firm’s top management, like a real consulting mission.
Leading consulting firms actively participate in the professional workshops throughout the year, usually in their local offices. Consultants present their activities and methodologies as well as supervise case study sessions, for a complete immersion in real-life business. During these sessions you can initiate contacts with professionals and alumni and get insights into their career paths.
Students participate in a study trip during the program,which includes company visits and a networking event with HEC alumni.
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 each year.
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 enrol in the program as all core courses and 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.
Certification
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
HEC Paris is accredited by the “Bienvenue en France” certification, by the Campus France organization and the Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation for the quality of the reception of its international students. We have obtained the highest level of accreditation, recognizing the quality of HEC Paris for reception in all the criteria provided:
- The quality and accessibility of information
- Reception facilities and the integration process within school and life in France
- Academic support and availability of English-speaking staff and the teaching community
- Housing and quality of life on campus
- The quality of post-graduation follow-up and career placement
Your Degree
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