The program and pedagogy are driven by recruiters expectations that lead you to master major skills:

• Strategic analysis skills : beyond models, technical skills, tools, technologies and hardwork you will need to master, you need to understand the big picture and be able to interact with different teams and activities
• Financial engineering & modelization know how (including disruptions in legaltech and complex environments)
• Develop added value in valuation and analysis to face complexity and transformations
• Soft skills to work on project, in teams and globally with multicultural differences in order to avoid silos that are enemy and limitations to organizations efficiency and agility

elearning

Before you arrive on campus and start your courses, you will have access to elearning material and emlyon business school online resources. Depending on your profile and background, you will be able to catch up or review at your own rhythm the basics required to start the MSc in Finance.

Yearlong during your 10 months courses just before your professional experience and thesis and until you graduate, you will benefit from career booster and networking actions in order to prepare your employability (and validate your professional project with ECTS).

Courses are available in English or French and you can choose according to your preference.

Fundamentals – PART 1 first semester on Lyon-Ecully campus

• Business model and corporate finance
• Financial maths & statistics
• Digital items
• Introduction to data analytics
• Ethics (rules, practices, controlling, governance and consequences)
• Languages (to master/improve english level, develop French if you like ; applied to professional environment)

Fundamentals – PART 2 first semester on Lyon-Ecully campus

• Macro economy
• Options and other derivatives
• Portfolio management
• Introduction to CS – CS1 : VBA and Python
• CSR
• Languages
• Optional : AMF & CFA certifications
• Business story telling & report design
• Teambuilding & team process

The first learning trip (in Casablanca or Shanghai depending on your choice) will take place in January.

Semester 2 

From January, you start your specialization (265 hours = 44 ECTS).

• Investment Banking & Corporate Finance on Lyon-Ecully campus

This specialization will lead you to work in banks, financial institutions or companies in different professional environments: Mergers &Acquisitions, capital investment or management.
Four key knowledge areas shape the training to equip you with a scientific, technical, economic and financial culture linked to practical applications:  corporate financial strategy, appropriate valuation techniques and tools, financial securities and their valuation, relevant techniques and topics related to investment banking operations.
The specialization is available  in French only, so if you choose it, you will need to improve your French language level. An alternative with similar professional outcomes is to select Innovation Finance specialization offered fully in English (read below). A learning trip in New York city will provide you with additional insights.

• Equity & debt capital market on Lyon-Ecully campus

This specialization has some courses in common with the previous one but will prepare you to the specifics of market finance. The specialization is offered in English. A learning trip in London city will provide you with additional insights. Courses cover:

• Financial market accounting
• Strategic analysis
• Corporate valuation
• Financial communication / investors relations

• Innovation finance on Lyon Ecully campus

This specialization has some courses in common with the previous ones as well  but will prepare you mostly for venture capital, capital development and management.
The specialization is offered in English. A learning trip in Boston will provide you with additional insights. Courses cover:

• Advanced accounting
• Forecasting methods
• Financial diagnosis
• Business modelling / audit, impact analysis

• Quantitative Finance & Data analytics on Paris campus

The objective is to train top level specialists, able to participate and navigate in a sector characterized by a constant change within a continuous innovation process. While the finance industry seeks to meet the needs of today’s globalized modern economies, it has also to face a considerable increase in the general level of risk. In order to conduct activities in this particularly complex and changing environment, formalized methods based on more and more sophisticated mathematical models have become essential during the last decade. They are today used on a daily basis by most financial institutions and, for example, lie behind the decision making tools that are effective in trading rooms of banks and big companies. In the context of the aftermath of the last systemic crisis, they will also be needed to strengthen the risk management systems.

The specialization is offered in English. A learning trip in New York city will provide you with additional insights.

Semester 3

From July after the end of your courses you have to validate a minimum 4-month (up to 6 months) professional experience related to your specialization, and produce a master thesis to submit before December.

This in company mission (generally an internship) is a great opportunity to put your academic knowledge to the test, and acquire tangible experience to prepare your employability. The school will give you all the support and tools you need to find your targeted job.

The MSc in Finance program prepares for a variety of finance jobs and positions will vary depending on your choice of specialization.

Professionnal thesis

This thesis is an analytical work on a topic related to the professional experience gained during your MSc in Finance. This is a great opportunity for you to research a subject which has the potential to contribute powerfully to your personal and professional development.

An integral part of the thesis is the presentation of your work in front of an official jury. This presentation is a good stepping-stone to market yourself as it obliges you to showcase the skills you have acquired throughout the program and practice.

A few examples of thems managed by students in the recent past:

• Pricing synthetic CDO tranches
• ETF versus Mutual Funds: concepts of performances, liquidity & risks
• Validation of the convertible bonds pricing models
• The influence of international commodity price on equity market: a comparison between China an America

Program contributors

The courses are taught by professors from emlyon business school and from other top higher education establishments as well as by professionals from the world of finance. What all these trainers have in common is their high technical level as demonstrated by their numerous publications in international reviews or their senior positions in the corporate world. The MSc in Finance benefits from research and expertise by:

•  CEFRA - Centre for Financial Risk Analysis, managed by Olivier Le Courtois
•  Research Centre for Entrepreneurial Finance (ReCEntFin), managed by Alexander Groh