About Finance, MSc - at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
What determines stock prices? What’s the best way to finance a particular company? And how can the financial markets and financial regulations help a society as a whole to prosper?
This top-ranked Finance Master’s programme, which is offered on-site, explores these questions through real-life business cases, many of which are led by people who work in the financial industry themselves. You’ll look at the macro-level of financial economics: how financial markets help maximise economic growth. You’ll also look at the inner workings of financial markets and corporations – and how financial regulation is the bridge between these two sides.
STRUCTURE OF THE PROGRAMME
The Finance Master’s programme builds on a set of core courses that focus on the main areas of finance: asset pricing, corporate finance and institutional finance. After that, you can specialize in one of the learning lines. You’ll also pick up valuable financial methodologies, quantitative skills, research skills and preparation for the job market.
The programme has been a top ranked programme according to the National Student Survey (NSE) for several years. With approximately 150 students it is small enough to maintain close contact with your classmates and the teachers, but large enough to ensure a good selection of electives. On top of that, one third of the programme’s professors also work in the financial industry themselves. All other courses offer at least two guest lectures from industry professionals and use cases from the industry.
You’ll take four core courses:
- Asset Pricing – Learn what drives stock prices by competing against each other as portfolio managers. You’ll directly apply your knowledge of asset pricing by investing in (virtual) stocks to generate the most money – may the best team win!
- Advanced Corporate Finance – You’ll work with case studies from Harvard Business to assess how real-life companies should finance their activities in the most optimal way for their situation.
- Financial Markets and Institutions – Based on interviews with practitioners, the course will teach you about financial infrastructure: how financial institutions are linked and what their various responsibilities are.
- Empirical Finance – You’ll study financial econometrics and statistical methodologies, and you’ll test the validity of economic theories. You’ll directly apply your newly acquired knowledge in the interactive PC labs. The best preparation for your thesis.
You’ll take at least two electives, each of which relates to one of the learning lines:
- Investments – You can take electives in Derivatives, Institutional investments, and Quantitative Financial Risk Management, or Credit and Complexity.
- Corporate Finance – Think of courses like Corporate Valuation, Behavioural Finance, or Bank Management
- Institutional Finance – choose from Economics of Payment Systems, Macro and International Finance and Bank Management.
- Real Estate Finance – You’ll get the opportunity to further specialize in the real estate sector. We offer electives on Real Estate Finance and Investments, Real Estate Economics, and Urban Economic Challenges.
Learn more about Finance, MSc - at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
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