Master in Finance and Strategy

Master's objectives in Finance and Strategy

The Master's in Finance and Strategy trains young graduates for careers in finance and strategic management of companies. Students prepare for roles as analysts or managers in sectors such as:

• Investment banking
• Investment funds
• Corporate financial services
• Financial markets
• Fintech
• Financial regulation
• Financial audit firms, statutory audit, strategic consulting firms, and the finance or strategic departments of large companies.

The master's program is based on three key principles that summarize its specificities and objectives:

• Multidisciplinary training in management and social sciences with a professional focus, delivered by instructors with practical experience at the highest level and systematically employing case studies.
• Balanced instruction in finance and strategy, equipping students to analyse a situation comprehensively and develop innovative solutions to major contemporary challenges such as energy transition and climate change.
• Progressive learning approach: The first-year courses aim to provide students from different backgrounds with a common multidisciplinary foundation, upon which they acquire advanced expertise in their chosen field during the second year of study.

Master's Programme in Finance and Strategy

The programme is taught in English, with the option of taking some courses in French. It is completed over two years, with an increasing specialisation throughout the programme:

• Business strategy
• Financial analysis
• Impact/sustainable finance (climate finance)
• Banking and financial regulation law
• Financial markets
• Financial mathematics
• Accounting and non-financial standards
• Management control
• Strategic marketing

In the first year, mandatory courses allow students to master essential finance concepts and connect them to the company's development and competitive environment.

Around forty specialized and professional elective courses integrate topics of sustainable strategy and finance, innovation and impact, as well as issues related to data and digital.

Discover the course outline of the first year:

• First year, semester 1, all concentrations
• First year, semester 2, all concentrations

An optional gap year between the first and second year of the Master’s programme gives students the opportunity to gain full-time professional experience and to refine their career plans through two six-month internships completed at different organisations.

During the second year, students choose a specialism and build up an advanced level of expertise in one of two concentrations: “Finance” or “Strategy and Management”. In addition, they can either choose to:

• Spend six months attending courses at Sciences Po, followed by six months completing an final internship;
• Complete a year-long part-time apprenticeship at an organisation, interspersed with part-time study and culminating in the submission of an apprenticeship report.

Finance Concentration

The finance concentration focuses on company valuation methods, as well as instruments and actors in financial markets. It is particularly centred around sustainable and impact finance issues. It prepares students for careers in investment banking and investment funds. Elective courses delve into topics such as fundraising (venture capital), as well as specific themes including climate change, banking regulation, Blockchain, the impact of artificial intelligence on asset managers, and renewable infrastructure financing.

Among the specific courses in the Finance track, you can find, for example:

• Corporate finance
• Financial market 2
• Digital money and finance
• Climate change and finance
• Corporate and structured financing
• Wealth management
• Financial real estate
• Managing sovereign debt
• Advanced M&A (Merger and Acquisition)
• Private Equity, etc.

Discover the pedagogical model of the master mention finance in 2nd year:

• Second year, semester 3, Finance concentration
• Second year, semester 4, Finance concentration
• Second year, semester 3, apprenticeship, Finance concentration
• Second year, semester 4, apprenticeship, Finance concentration

Strategy and Management Concentration

The Strategy and Management track prepares students specifically for careers as consultants in strategy consulting firms, as well as for financial or managerial roles in companies and entrepreneurship.

The core courses in strategy and management are complemented by elective courses that combine theoretical concepts, real-world case studies, and practitioner testimonials. They cover a wide range of topics related to the strategic development of companies, including external growth, financing, risk management, integration of ESG and sustainability criteria, and data and digitalization.

Among the specific courses in the Strategy and Management track, you can find, for example:

• Strategy and management of distressed companies
• Strategic issues and techniques of data
• Sustainable strategies and resilience
• Corporate governance
• Business strategy: from concept to practice
• Practice of strategy consulting: methodology and case studies
• Negotiation and conflict resolution
• Distribution and its new frontiers
• Challenges and transformations in the transportation sector
• Online media: from content to business

Discover the course outlines of the Master's degree in Strategy and Management in the second year:

• Second year: course programme for Semesters 3 and 4, Strategy and Management Concentration
• Second year: course programme for Semester 3,  apprenticeship, Strategy concentration

International Business Concentration

The International Business concentration groups together the four dual degree programmes offered with the Master in Finance and Strategy. Students enrolled in these programmes have the opportunity to gain dual expertise by spending a first year in Paris taking courses for the Master in Finance and Strategy and a second year studying at the partner university abroad: 

• Fundação Getulio Varga-Escola de Administração de Empresas (Brésil)(eng.)
• Università Bocconi (Italie)(eng.)
• University of Pennsylvania (États-Unis)(eng.)
• University of St. Gallen (Suisse)(eng.)

Campus

The Sciences Po Master’s Finance and Strategy is taking place on the Paris campus.

Admissions

Know more about the admission procedures of the Master in Finance and Strategy.

Career opportunities in Finance and Strategy

The Master's degree in Finance and Strategy offers students the ability to pursue a wide variety of sectors and careers, including investment banking, strategy or organisation and management consulting firms, private equity, asset management, insurance, real estate companies, risk management, auditing, financial regulation, strategic or financial leadership roles in large companies, startups or entrepreneurship, etc.

They can pursue a range of professions, including:

• Financial analyst
• Portfolio manager
• Investment banker
• Investment advisor
• Financial auditor
• Internal audit in banks
• Supply chain management
• Product management
• Management controller
• Risk manager
• Statutory auditor
• Actuary
• Tax specialist
• Finance consultant
• Strategy consultant / organizational transformation
• Innovation or strategic marketing project manager
• Entrepreneur

Numerous career events, interview preparation sessions and opportunities for networking with recruiters help to ensure an excellent placement rate for students of the programme. 65% of Master's graduates are offered a job prior to graduating, and 95% are employed within six months of graduation.

The Master in Finance and Strategy also offers students the option of working towards certain professional certificates, which further boost their chances of success in the job market.

Contacts

• Scientific Director: Stéphane Guibaud
• Finance and Finance with Apprendiceship concentrations:
  • Academic advisor: Georges-Emmanuel Rosmade - Phone: +33 (0)1 45 49 76 17
  • Academic assistant: Théo Esperet - Phone: +33 (0)1 45 49 50 29
• Strategy and Management concentration and Dual degrees
  • Academic advisor: Fleur de Marie Guillot - Phone: + 33 (0)1 45 49 50 09
  • Academic assistant: Camille Cherif - Phone: +33 (0)1 45 49 61 79

Email: masterfinancestrategy@sciencespo.fr