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MSc Corporate Finance

Develop specialist knowledge for a future in corporate finance

Year of entry: 2023 (September)

Length

1 year full-time

Start date

September 2023 (semester dates)

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Global employers highly value advanced analytical skills in finance and economics.

Our Corporate Finance (MSc) provides the solid foundations required for building a future in corporate finance. 

Our suite of finance Masters programmes are uniquely multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary. They bring together expertise from the School for Business and Society, the Department of Mathematics, and the Department of Economics and Related Studies.

Discover our refocused syllabus introducing contemporary tools, methods and approaches to tackle applied, professional and academic challenges in finance.

We will encourage you to both question traditional concepts and techniques and adopt an analytical and robust approach to decision-making.

Learn more about the study of finance at York.

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Course content

Taught by leading experts, you'll complete modules to the value of 180 credits. This includes a combination of taught modules - five core and one optional - and an individual research project.

You’ll develop knowledge of corporate finance from theoretical, applied and professional perspectives, with a robust grounding in the quantitative tools and techniques essential for modern financial management. Our globally positioned syllabus will consider topics important now and beyond.

Modules

Core modules

Option modules

You will also study one option module. Examples may include:

The options available to you will be confirmed later in the year. For further information please get in touch.

Our modules may change to reflect the latest academic thinking and expertise of our staff.

Research project

You'll complete a piece of independent research of up to 8,000 words, carried out over three months of the summer. It will offer you the chance to examine a topic in depth and to develop your academic research skills.

The York approach

Every course at York is built on a distinctive set of learning outcomes. These will give you a clear understanding of what you will be able to accomplish at the end of the course and help you explain what you can offer employers. Our academics identify the knowledge, skills, and experiences you'll need upon graduation and then design the course to get you there.

Students who complete this course will be able to:

  • Display a systematic and critical understanding of the behaviour and operations of the finance function in major non-financial organisations, the environments in which they operate, and the role they play in the wider economic system
  • Apply the main techniques used by corporate finance and investment managers, and display a critical awareness of their relevance for the operations of a range of non-financial organisations including multinational corporations, potential problems, and issues within the application of those techniques in practice, and how investors ensure that corporate managers act on their behalf (corporate governance)
  • Analyse and interpret corporate financial statements for the purposes of equity, corporate bond, and overall corporate valuation
  • Appraise and evaluate the major theories underlying the study of corporate finance, be able to describe the assumptions and mathematics methods behind these theories and communicate clearly to academic and managerial audiences the advantages and limitations of applying these theories to specific practical contexts
  • Solve complex corporate finance problems by locating, downloading and cleaning the most appropriate financial and related data, and applying the most relevant statistical and computational techniques to these data to address the problem at hand
  • Explain how sustainable and ethical corporate behaviour can co-exist with maximising shareholder wealth, and display a critical understanding of how such a balanced management approach can be implemented
  • Produce well-reasoned written and oral communications based on analytical reasoning and supported, where necessary, by data-based evidence, and display other personal transferable skills including: the ability to work positively within a group; act inclusively within a diverse academic community; reflect on personal strengths and weaknesses; identify areas for growth in their own knowledge and practice by engaging in continuing professional development
  • Formulate a corporate finance or related project proposal; identify the relevant academic and practitioner literature that best inform the project; identify and obtain the most appropriate data and methodologies for undertaking the project; independently carry out the project efficiently and to deadline; and effectively communicate results in a way that will persuade both expert and non-expert audiences.

Fees and funding

Annual tuition fees for 2023/24

Study modeUK (home)International and EU
Full-time (1 year) £14,990£29,950

Students on a Student Visa (formerly Tier 4 Visa) are not currently permitted to study part-time at York.

Fees information

UK (home) or international fees? The level of fee that you will be asked to pay depends on whether you're classed as a UK (home) or international student. Check your fee status.

Find out more information about tuition fees and how to pay them.

Funding information

Discover your funding options to help with tuition fees and living costs.

We'll confirm more funding opportunities for students joining us in 2023/24 throughout the year.

If you've successfully completed an undergraduate degree at York you could be eligible for a 10% Masters fee discount.

Funding opportunities

Living costs

You can use our living costs guide to help plan your budget. It covers additional costs that are not included in your tuition fee such as expenses for accommodation and study materials.

Teaching and assessment

You’ll work with world‐leading academics who’ll challenge you to think independently and excel in all that you do. Our approach to teaching will provide you with the knowledge, opportunities, and support you need to grow and succeed in a global workplace.

Teaching format

This Masters combines a variety of different teaching methods, including:

  • lectures
  • seminars
  • problem-solving classes
  • practical computer-based sessions.

A member of the teaching staff will act as your supervisor throughout the degree, to help guide your studies and monitor progress.

The department also has a vibrant research community. You’ll be able to attend seminars and research workshops in which staff and invited speakers discuss their research.

Teaching location

You'll be based in the School for Business and Society on Campus West. Most of your teaching will take place in Alcuin College and elsewhere on Campus West.

You'll gain access to our schools' and departments' shared resources and financial databases, including:

  • Amplify Bootcamp
  • Reuters Refinitiv Workspace, including Datastream
  • Centre for Research in Security Prices (CRiSP)
  • Compustat (North America)
  • China Stock Market & Accounting Research Database (CSMAR)
  • 2iQ Global Insider Transaction Data
  • Bank Focus

About our campus

Our beautiful green campus offers a student-friendly setting in which to live and study, within easy reach of the action in the city centre. It's easy to get around campus - everything is within walking or pedalling distance, or you can always use the fast and frequent bus service.

Assessment and feedback

Formal types of assessment in this course include:

  • Independent research project
  • Exams
  • Group project
  • Seminar presentation
  • Essays

As you study modules you’ll take part in assessments that do not contribute to your final mark, instead giving useful feedback on your progress and understanding.

Careers and skills

This course will help you acquire or develop the analytical skills in economics and finance you need for a successful career in a finance function within a private sector organisation, in venture capital, or as a corporate finance specialist for an investment bank or management consulting firm.

Career opportunities

  • Audit associate
  • Business analyst
  • Banker
  • Economist
  • Financial adviser
  • Teacher in higher education

Transferable skills

You'll develop a range of transferable skills during the course, including:

  • Independent working
  • Time management and people skills
  • Communicating research
  • Performing statistical analysis
  • Analytical and technical research skills.

Entry requirements

Typical offer
Undergraduate degree 2:1 in an undergraduate degree containing quantitative element modules such as economics, mathematics, statistics, engineering, physics. No requirement for prior knowledge of finance, economics, management or related subjects.
Other qualifications and experience If you do not meet our advertised entry requirements, we may consider your application if you have a minimum of three years of relevant senior managerial-level working experience or a relevant professional qualification such as the CFA Level 1 or the ACCA
Other international qualifications Equivalent qualifications from your country

English language

If English isn't your first language you may need to provide evidence of your English language ability. We accept the following qualifications:

Minimum requirement
IELTS (Academic and Indicator) 6.5, minimum 6.5 in Writing and 6.0 in all other components
C1 Advanced and C2 Proficiency 176, minimum 176 in Writing and 169 in all other components
Duolingo 120, minimum 120 in production and 105 in all other components
LanguageCert SELT B2 with 33/50 in each component
LanguageCert International ESOL B2 Communicator: Pass with 39/50 in writing and no less than 33/50 in all other components
PTE Academic/PTE Academic Online 61, minimum 61 in Writing and 55 in all other components
TOEFL 87, minimum 23 in Writing and 21 in all other components
Trinity ISE III Merit in all components

For more information see our postgraduate English language requirements.

If you've not met our English language requirements

You may be eligible for one of our pre-sessional English language courses. These courses will provide you with the level of English needed to meet the conditions of your offer.

The length of course you need to take depends on your current English language test scores and how much you need to improve to reach our English language requirements.

After you've accepted your offer to study at York, we'll confirm which pre-sessional course you should apply to via You@York.

Applying

You can apply and send all your documentation electronically through our online system. You don’t need to complete your application all at once: you can start it, save it and finish it later.

Apply for this course

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