At no other time in history has changes in world financial markets been more revolutionary and swift. Today’s complex globalized economy means that in order to succeed, professionals in the finance industry must possess agile expertise and deep technical knowledge.
With that in mind, the ESSEC Master in Finance was created as a highly selective and intensive program. It was designed to offer high-quality training to high-potential students pursuing a career in corporate finance, financial markets, fintech, asset and portfolio management, and risk management.
Ranked number one in Asia and fifth worldwide for Best Master in Finance by the Financial Times, ESSEC’s Master in Finance is career-oriented and internationally focused. The 15-month, full-time program is conducted in France and Singapore, providing a gateway to European and Asian markets.
“It’s a highly advanced course,” affirmed Dr. Peng Xu, the program’s Associate Academic Director. “Not only must students fulfil the course requirements, they must also complete a successful internship in order to graduate. In that sense, there is a more professional aspect to it. It’s very intensive, but efficient. Within the 15 months, they learn a deep range of topics.”
Recognised by the French Higher Education and Research Ministry as a Master Degree and a Chartered Financial Analyst program partner, ESSEC’s Master in Finance offers specialised tracks in Corporate Finance, Financial Markets and Fintech & Analytics. These are taught by academic faculty and industry experts, who practice a learning-by-doing approach.
“When students take a class, they don’t just attend a lecture. They are given opportunities to work on models and data to come up with their own conclusions,” added Prof Xu. They are also taken on two study trips to banks in the world’s financial centres such as New York, Hong Kong and London.
Additionally, students receive career training in networking, writing resumes effectively, and how to succeed in job interviews. ESSEC’s career services team follows students throughout the duration of their course, helping them with negotiation skills and conducting mock interviews.
Learning to stay ahead
One student who has benefited from ESSEC’s Master in Finance is Alexandre Ollivier. The 23-year-old engineering graduate signed up for the program to facilitate a career switch to banking. “I like that the course is very up to date, with things like coding skills embedded into financial courses, which can be applied to real-life situations,” he said.
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The results speak for themselves: 22 percent of the program’s 2018 intake secured summer internships with prestigious banks, while the track record remains at 100 percent employability within six months of graduation. Some of the top recruiters of ESSEC’s graduates include Barclay’s, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, and UBS.
Alexandre earned an internship in Goldman Sachs’ securities division in Hong Kong. His cohort mate, 28-year-old Wang Dan, secured an internship at OCBC in its institutional sales department and is now employed by BNP Paribas China.
Dan said, “ESSEC definitely gave me the leg up with getting the jobs I wanted. Whenever you go for an interview, you need to show that you are prepared with first-hand information about the industry. Talks from professors who work in the industry help provide such insights so that we can answer the tough questions, which demonstrates our deep understanding to the interviewer and that we’ve done our research.”
“The best thing about ESSEC’s Master in Finance is that although you choose a specific track at the start, you can also choose elective courses. I chose corporate finance as my track and took elective courses on international finance and corporate treasury. Before the course, I only had a broad view of the finance industry — these courses really helped me decide which aspect of banking I wanted to work in.”
With the number of students per class kept small and from a diverse range of cultures and nationalities, both Dan and Alexandre said camaraderie among their classmates came naturally. “Everyone helped each other out. It was like being part of a family,” said Alexandre.
Dan added, “Everyone worked hard and motivated one another to look for good opportunities. In fact, I came to know about my internship opportunity through one of our school’s group chats.”
“It’s definitely an intensive program so you have to choose your electives well to suit your capabilities. But we all go through it together. It’s tough, but very rewarding.”
Interested in this program?
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