Course Content

The Master in International Finance (henceforth MIF) program aims to provide an in-depth knowledge of finance in general while allowing students to highly specialize in the areas of Capital Markets or Corporate Finance through rigorous coursework. In parallel, we take great care to provide our students with the foundations necessary for a highly successful career in finance through workshops given early in the academic year. Moreover, MIF students are required to write a research paper, obtain one of the ten HEC Paris Certificates on offer, and acquire professional experience through a four-month long internship. 

The MIF program’s content amounts to 120 European Credit Transfer System credit hours that are obtained through coursework (65 ECTS) that takes place between September and April, a certificate (15 ECTS) that’s attended during May, a research paper (20 ECTS) written during the academic year, and professional experience (20 ECTS) in the form of an internship (or full-time employement) starting in June or July. MIF also provides many online and in-person workshops, including the week-long London Study Trip during which our students visit a large number of financial institutions and have the opportunity to meet our program’s alumni who follow highly successful careers in the City. Throughout the academic year, HEC Talents provide job-search related career services to our students.

MIF’s coursework is spread over four 7-week-long half-semesters and additionally involve a series of online and in-person workshops:

In September, prior to the start of classes, in-coming students are offered a series in-person/face-to-face workshops on our campus explaining in detail the different aspects of finance jobs, how to navigate the job market, how to optimize CVs and cover letters for internship applications, how to improve your interviews. The highlight of the pre-coursework preparation is the London Study Trip when all the MIF cohort visits the City of London and its myriad of financial institutions. Students also participate in online workshops offered by Hi! Paris that cover the basic principles of data science through fun projects that are done in small groups but do not necessarily require programming skills. An online introductory Python programming course is also offered (in line with the M1-year curriculum at HEC Paris and the finance industry standards).

During the Fall 1 term (that runs from September to October) MIF students take their Core Courses via the Accelerated Track or the Business Track:

The Accelerated Track (AT) is designed for students who have studied economics, econometrics, engineering, mathematics, or other areas of basic or applied sciences at a top university but who don’t have the necessary background in finance and financial accounting. Students who follow the AT take longer classes in corporate finance, securities markets, and financial accounting that bring them to the intermediate level in these subjects so that they can successfully follow the MIF curriculum. They also take an Empirical Methods in Finance class designed for students with an economics or scientific background. 

The Business Track (BT) is designed for students who obtained a management degree prior to joining the MIF, and already have had the introductory coursework in finance and financial accounting. BT students take intermediate level classes in corporate finance, securities markets, financial statement analysis, and international finance. They also take an Empirical Methods in Finance class designed for students with a business degree. 

The fact that students follow their core courses through the Accelerated or Business Track has no bearing or any limiting consequence for what follows in the MIF program or regarding the career opportunities thereafter.

During the Fall 2 term that takes place during November-December, MIF students take their Specialization in either Capital Markets or Corporate Finance, depending on the choice that they had expressed in their application (which is binding and cannot be changed ex post). While we highly recommend consistency between the specialization and the Concentration to be followed in the Spring term, following the Capital Markets or Corporate Finance Specialization in Fall 2 does not restrict a student’s choice set in the Spring 1 and 2 terms. 

During the Spring 1 term, all students have to take two Advanced Core Courses (Economics of Financial Regulation and Behavioral and Sustainable Finance) and are enrolled in the Research Paper Workshop and the Ethics Seminar. They also attend their four Concentration classes as well as take their five elective courses (among 25+ on offer) over the Spring 1 and 2 terms. The Research Papers are written by pairs of students and need to be submitted by the end of May, and defended in the second half of June.

During the month of May the MIF students attend one of the ten HEC Paris Certificates on offer. They fulfill their professional experience requirement through four-months long internship or full-time position in the finance industry or in consulting.