Master of Finance [M.Fin]

at Cambridge Judge Business School

Core Finance courses

Economic Foundations of Finance

This course covers the foundations of financial economics and introduces the theoretical underpinnings of modern finance. While the course is largely self-contained, basic familiarity with finance, microeconomics and statistics will be useful.
 

The treatment will be somewhat rigorous, but concepts will be carefully developed and illustrated with graphical analysis and practical examples.
 

Although the course will focus on the theoretical foundations of finance, practical relevance and applications will be highlighted throughout the lectures and the computer lab sessions.
 

Equity Valuation

This course is about how to value the equity of a public company. It is part of the preparation for the Equity Research Project but has wider application, as the principles are used in M&A and private equity.
 

We will look at the theory and practice of discounted cash flow and multiples analysis. The emphasis is on practice, with theory being used only to establish the logical underpinnings of the techniques.
 

Financial Institutions and Markets

This course covers the main types of financial institutions and markets, from money and the control of it by central banks, to short and long-term debt instruments, equity markets, investment banking, investment management. It omits derivatives, which are covered elsewhere in the MFin syllabus. The goal is to give students an understanding of how the financial system arises from the underlying customer needs of finance. We also explore the macroeconomic context in which money and finance arises. We examine the main types of financial institutions that provide and use these products. We also look at the influence of climate change on the financial system.
 

Financial Reporting and Analysis

Knowledge of accounting is essential for understanding the financial performance of any organisation. The main objective of this course is to help students become informed users of financial statements.
 

The course will first focus on building a foundation of knowledge for understanding accounting measurement and reporting.
 

Introduction to Derivatives

An introduction to the most widely used financial derivatives, their mechanics, pricing, risks and uses.
 

The course covers the foundations of options pricing and introduces students to the key concepts of valuation of the main categories of derivatives and their use in hedging.
 

The course book is John Hull’s Options, Futures and Other Derivatives, but the formal mathematics is kept to a minimum.
 

Principles of Finance

This module is an introductory course in corporate finance. The objective of the course is to provide you with the conceptual framework necessary to appreciate and understand the problems facing the financial manager of an operating business. The course is devoted to the two basic financial problems that all companies face: (1) On what should funds be spent (i.e., investment decisions)? and (2) From where should funds be obtained (i.e., financing decisions)?
 

Econometrics

The application of statistics to economic problems is called econometrics. This course gives students an introduction to the main uses of econometrics relevant to finance, particularly regression analysis.
 

Students apply theory to actual data using specialised software. This module enables students to understand and use linear regression and associated statistical techniques to estimate causal relationships from observational data. The objective is to develop practical competence in applying regression analysis and related techniques to quantify relationships and test conjectures in a variety of contexts that are relevant to Finance.
 

Fundamentals of Credit

This course gives you a solid grounding in the analytical techniques (both qualitative and quantitative) for assessing counterparty credits as well as a range of credit instruments.
 

An advanced understanding of cash flow analysis, assessing liquidity risk and other key warning signs of corporate distress will also be covered by way of modelling exercises. The course will cover the role of the credit rating agencies, credit derivatives and other credit risk mitigation tools.

International Fees:

£64,250

The Cambridge MFin programme was ranked second in the world by the Financial Times 2021 Master of Finance rankings.
 

The strength of our career outcomes has been a key contributing factor to our position in the rankings:

• Our careers service ranks first among post-experience master of finance courses globally
• Average salary increase of 69%
• Average salary of $138,368(USD)
• 82% employed within three months
• 88% of alumni say they fulfilled their goals or reasons for doing a masters