Corporate Finance MSc
Key information
Duration: 12 months
Attendance mode: Full-time
Location: Bunhill Row
Start of programme: September 2025
Application deadline: Rolling applications
Entry year: Showing course information for 2025
Boost your career prospects by specialising in one of the biggest, most popular areas of finance
Overview
Corporate Finance MSc Who is it for?
You don’t need experience in finance or accounting to join this course – just a keen interest in finance, and a desire to work in the finance industry. You will have studied or have evidence of skills in quantitative methods or finance. Most of our students have the equivalent of a UK upper second degree.
You’re ambitious, with your sights set on a career in corporate finance, as a finance professional for an investment bank, in a consulting firm, or in a corporation as a finance manager. And you’re ready to build networks with your classmates – top students from around the world – as well as the senior industry contacts you’ll meet through lectures and events.
Course objectives
This Master’s course in Corporate Finance is one of our most popular degrees. You’ll be taking your next step towards a successful career in the finance, consultancy or corporate sectors. In a wide-ranging, practical and up-to-date programme you’ll explore the big issues in corporate finance today including:
- how investors make decisions
- company valuations and profitability analysis
- IPOs, mergers and acquisitions
- private equity & venture capital
- risk management.
You can work on new skills, including programming Python to data visualisation, develop a deep understanding of the current concerns in corporate finance, apply your knowledge with a general research project and expand it with electives including international options. Learn in highly interactive lectures from staff with many years of practical experience and from guest lecturers from industry.
Teaching staff
Other module leaders include:
Dr Ivana Raonic
Dr Ivana Raonic on Financial Reporting: “The aim of this course is to equip students with critical understanding of the principles and practices of accounting, characteristics and limitations of accounting data. Students will learn how to prepare and interpret financial statements, to apply and comment on accounting policies and to use accounting information to assess financial performance of the business.”
Professor Ana Maria Fuertes
Professor Ana Maria Fuertes on Data Analysis for Finance: “This module is designed to give you knowledge of quantitative methods that can be effectively used to analyse financial data. Although some theory is needed to understand the methods, the emphasis is on a hands-on approach to provide you/students with practical skills.”
Dr Dirk Nitzsche
Dr Dirk Nitzsche on Financial Markets and Securities: “an introduction to different financial instrument as well as the they theoretical concepts used in finance. The emphasis in the module is very much on the practical applications of those theoretical concepts and issues such as should we really invest in the optimum weights or what can we expect from the stock market in the long term are being discussed.”
Dr Francisco Urzua
Dr Francisco Urzua on Advanced Corporate Finance: “This course provides students with an in-depth knowledge of corporate finance, complemented with cases and discussions of real life examples.”
Accreditation details
CIMA
CIMA is the world’s leading, and largest, professional body of management accountants.
Students successfully completing the MSc in Corporate Finance will be awarded exemptions from the following modules:
- BA3: Fundamentals of Financial Accounting
- F2: Advanced Financial Reporting
- F3: Financial Strategy.
ACCA
ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) is the global body for professional accountants.
Students successfully completing the MSc in Corporate Finance will be awarded exemptions from the following modules:
Knowledge
- F1: Accountant in Business
- F2: Management Accounting
- F3: Financial Accounting.
Skills
- F4 Corporate and Business Law (CL)
- F5 Performance Management (PM)
- F6 Taxation (TX)
- F7 Financial Reporting (FR)
- F9 Financial Management (FM)
CFA Program Partner
The CFA Institute, the global association of investment professionals, recognises the rigour and the relevance of the MSc in Corporate Finance and has awarded this course partner status. CFA Program Partner status is awarded to a select number of universities around the world whose degree courses incorporate at least 70% of the CFA Program Candidate Body of Knowledge. The CFA Program is the essential qualification for those wishing to pursue a career in the finance sector and the CFA Institute recognises the MSc in Corporate Finance as strong preparation for their professional exams.
Each year a number of CFA scholarships are available to Bayes students, offering financial assistance with the CFA exam registration fees.
Course content
On the Corporate Finance MSc, you will:
- Study at a world-renowned faculty, learning from staff actively engaged in research and advisory roles
- Gain exemptions from CIMA and ACCA exams while learning on a degree that’s a Chartered Financial Analyst Institute (CFA) Partner Programme
- Build international experience on electives in locations such as New York, Spain, Italy and Portugal, or add an extra year’s study at LUISS or Bocconi business schools in Italy
- Develop skills that meet your ambitions with a wide choice of term 3 electives
- Learn from senior finance professionals and business leaders based close by in London’s Square Mile in guest lectures and seminars, and connect with them at networking events.
Course structure
Programme content is subject to change. We regularly review our module offering and amend to keep up to date and relevant.
Induction weeks
All of our MSc courses start with two compulsory induction weeks which include relevant refresher courses, an introduction to the careers services and the annual careers fair.
Term 1
Compulsory modules:
Corporate Finance and Valuation
- 15 credits
- 3 hours per week in lectures
- 12 hours per week self directed study
The aim of this course is to introduce you to the field of corporate finance.
This is achieved by familiarising you with the core theoretical principles, and equipping you with the basic and most commonly used practical finance tools.
The material covered in this course is crucial for professional work in the area of corporate finance as well as for further study of more advanced or specialised corporate finance-related courses. It is relevant for financial officers, economists, investment bankers, analysts, and other decision makers.
The course is designed around several overarching principles such as the time value of money, market efficiency, and the goal of value maximisation.
The teaching material puts significant emphasis on relevant theories and their practical applications, and is informed by the pertinent academic research and examples from the corporate world from around the globe.
Financial Markets and Securities
- 15 credits
- 3 hours per week in lectures
- 12 hours per week self directed study
The aim of this course is to equip students with critical understanding of the principles and practices of accounting, characteristics and limitations of accounting data.
Students will learn how to prepare and interpret financial statements, to apply and comment on accounting policies and to use accounting information to assess financial performance of the business.The course will make it possible for you to:
- Prepare and interpret financial statements
- Comment on accounting policies and discuss their implications for the financial performance of the business
- Use accounting information to assess the financial situation of a company.
Data Analysis for Finance
- 15 credits
- 3 hours per week in lectures
- 12 hours per week self directed study
This module is designed to give you knowledge of quantitative methods that can be effectively used to analyse financial data. Although some theory is needed to understand the methods, the emphasis is on a hands-on approach to provide you/students with practical skills.
The module puts emphasis on the foundations of hypothesis testing and estimation of econometric models that can be used for prediction and pricing.
Financial Reporting.
- 15 credits
- 3 hours per week in lectures
- 12 hours per week self directed study
The course will make it possible for you to:
The module gives you an understanding of the principles and practices of accounting, the characteristics and limitations of accounting data.
You will be able:
- to prepare and interpret financial statements
- to comment on accounting policies and to discuss its implication for the financial performance of the business
- to use accounting information to assess the financial situation of a company.
Term 2
Compulsory modules:
Advanced Corporate Finance
- 15 credits
- 3 hours per week in lectures
- 12 hours per week self directed study
The aim of this course is to develop an understanding of modern corporate finance so that the corporate manager, the investment banker and the financial analyst will have the conceptual foundations for making informed corporate assessments of key financial decisions.
This course provides students with an in-depth knowledge of corporate finance, complemented with cases and discussions of real life examples.
Corporate Risk Management
- 15 credits
- 3 hours per week in lectures
- 12 hours per week self directed study
The module will make it possible for you to acquire an understanding of the principal objectives and constraints of corporate risk management.
The aim of this module is to provide you with an understanding of the multinational corporation, the global risk management markets and the use of derivatives and other hedges to mitigate risk exposures.
Financial Statement Analysis
- 15 credits
- 3 hours per week in lectures
- 12 hours per week self directed study
The ability to understand and analyse financial statement information is a key skill in a wide range of business activities, from managing a corporation to investing in securities.
This module leverages many materials from bulge bracket and boutique investment banks to showcase how various techniques covered in the module are used by professionals from the Wall Street, providing students with hands-on experience in analysing and interpreting financial information disclosed by firms listed on major stock exchanges.
Topics in Mergers and Acquisitions.
- 15 credits
- 3 hours per week in lectures
- 12 hours per week self directed study
Students will learn how companies use M&A transactions to implement their strategic plans and how such transactions are structured and analysed.
Emphasis is given to applied financial analysis, case studies are used throughout the module and lectures are complemented by guest presentations given by M&A practitioners.
Term 3
You may choose from these two options in your final term.
- Five elective modules plus Career Management Skills and Research Methods
- Three elective modules plus a General Research Project.
General Research Project
This module will help you integrate your learning across a range of skills and in particular to enable you to demonstrate the results of your learning through the development of a final project. You may choose to complete more traditional academic desk research, complete a business plan or carry out a consultancy project and any reasonable proposal is acceptable providing that it is agreed with the project supervisor and the course director
Career Management Skills and Research Methods
Supporting your wider learning and career success through the development of key transferrable skills and attributes that you will use both in your programme and across your career. In particular: research and analysis, career planning and employability skills development, and sustainable working.
Develop a grounding in research methods, targeted to your particular degree requirements. You will be able to use these skills to support your learning, substantiate your arguments and make assessments about the nature of the evidence you are using.
Career and employability skills development, delivered in a highly targeted and applied format throughout the year, will help you develop your aspirations, take a planned and efficient approach to your job search and / or entrepreneurial plans, and help you create a strong base from which to manage your career in the longer term. The content of this module will also help you understand how to apply your learning in the wider context of your career.
Electives offered in 2023
- Advanced Company Valuation
- Corporate Restructuring
- Ethics, Society and the Finance Sector
- Hedge Funds
- Intro to Python
- Private Equity Investment
- Technical Analysis and Trading Systems
- VBA with Application for Finance.
International electives
- FinTech (taught in Italy)
- Investment Strategy (taught in New York, USA)
- Project Finance and Infrastructure Investment (taught in Madrid, Spain).
More about elective modules at Bayes
Please note that electives are subject to change and availability
Download course specification:
Corporate Finance MSc [PDF]Assessment methods
Term dates
Term dates 2025/26
- Induction: 15th September 2025 - 26th September 2025
- Term one: 29th September 2025 - 12th December 2025
- Term one exams: 5th January 2026 - 16th January 2026
- Term two: 19th January 2026 - 3rd April 2026
- Term two exams: 20th April 2026 - 1st May 2026
- Term three - international electives: 4th May 2026 - 15th May 2026
- Term three: 18th May 2026 - 3rd July 2026
- Term three exams: 6th July 2026 - 17th July 2026
- Resits: 10th August 2026 - 21st August 2026
- Additional resit week - tests only: 24th August 2026 - 28th August 2026.
Timetables
Course timetables are normally available from July and can be accessed from our timetabling pages. These pages also provide timetables for the current academic year, though this information should be viewed as indicative and details may vary from year to year.
Please note that all academic timetables are subject to change.
Fees & funding
UK/Home/International fee
2025 entry
£35,000
Tuition fees are subject to annual change.
Deposit: £2,000 (paid within 1 month of receiving offer and non-refundable unless conditions of offer are not met).
First installment: Half fees less deposit (payable during on-line registration which should be completed at least 5 days before the start of the induction period).
Second installment: Half fees (paid in January following start of course).
Scholarships & bursaries
Scholarships, sponsorships, loans and other funding could support your education at Bayes Business School.
Learn about the cost of living as a Bayes student in London.
View our scholarships and fundingCareers
The MSc in Corporate Finance prepares you for a successful career in the finance industry, consultancy, accounting or a finance department at a global corporation. Recent graduates are now working as associates in wealth management, investment banking analysts, M&A analysts and corporate finance analysts for international banks, corporations and professional services firms.
MSc Corporate Finance students have access to a variety of bespoke careers sessions, including tailored professional development focused on equipping them with deep and meaningful insights into the financial services sector, office visits to financial institutions, and on-campus events featuring companies keen to connect with our students. This allows students to develop strong business awareness and market knowledge, meet alumni now working in target industries, and expand their professional networks.
Recent graduates have secured positions such as:
- Associate Consultant
- Investment Banking Analyst
- M&A Analyst
- Strategic Corporate Finance Analyst.
Dedicated to your success
From the moment you accept your offer, you'll have access to our dedicated Postgraduate Careers Service, tailored to support your career journey.
Our Career Accelerator module, launched over the summer, provides early access to valuable resources, employer insights, and career planning tools to prepare you for the job market.
Our expert Postgraduate Careers Team, made up of experienced recruiters and career coaches offers personalised one-to-one guidance, covering everything from networking and CV building to job offer management and mock interviews.
Whether you’re pursuing a new career path, seeking an entry-level role, or launching your own business, you'll receive support to develop the skills and knowledge needed to succeed.
You'll also benefit from exclusive events such as Careers Fairs, panel discussions, and networking opportunities with industry professionals and alumni, helping you explore career options and make valuable connections.
Workshops led by our Careers Team and industry experts cover essential professional skills, including presentation techniques, personal branding, and assessment centre success, ensuring you stand out in the job market.
Additionally, Bayes Careers Online (BCO) offers career planning tools, guidance leaflets, access to job postings directly from employers and key career events, helping you stay on track with your career goals.
You’ll be supported on your way by our careers team and benefit from the connections we offer with business and industry.
Download our latest MSc Employment Report
Recent employers
Alumni stories
Entry requirements
- A UK upper second class degree or above, or the equivalent from an overseas institution
- Some level of previous study or evidence of skills in finance or quantitative methods is essential
- Work experience is not a requirement of this course.
GMAT
- GMAT is not required for application, but may be requested as a condition of offer at the discretion of the Admissions Panel.
English language requirements
If you have been studying in the UK for the last three years it is unlikely that you will have to take an English language test.
If you have studied in the UK at degree level for less than three years (e.g. 3+1, 2+1, 2+2, etc.) you will be required to provide the results of an approved English language test and possibly resit the test to meet our academic entry requirements.
Full list of approved English language tests/qualifications and minimum requirements.
Apply
Please see our Application Guide for details of the documents you will need to supply as part of your application, and other useful information.
We cannot comment on individual eligibility before you apply. We can only make a decision on your application once it is fully complete, with all requested information received.
Individual Appointments
If you would like to arrange an individual appointment to discuss the application process and be given a tour of the facilities, please complete this form.
Please note - these are subject to availability.
Terms and conditions
Students applying to study at Bayes Business School are subject to City, University of London's terms and conditions.
Student life
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