Master in Finance: Our Curriculum

September - October

Core Modules:

• Advanced Corporate Finance
  Advanced Corporate Finance integrates principles from accounting, statistics, economics, and various management fields. Throughout the course, you will acquire and learn to apply practical financial tools, grounded by theory, that empower you to make informed decisions, driving your firm's value maximization and ensuring sustained growth. In addition to core financial strategies, this course will delve into areas such as dividends, mergers and acquisitions, executive compensation, and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors.
• Capital Market Theory
  This course is based on the Stochastic Discount Factor (SDF) approach, from which different one period and continuous time capital market models will be derived. Students attending the course should be interested in continuous time finance, stochastic calculus, and mathematical proofs as talks by selected practitioners will shift the rigorous development of financial models into relevant practical applications.
• International Financial Reporting
  This course is designed to familiarize you with today’s world of accounting under International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS)- global accounting standards developed by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB). It is very practical in its nature as in the European Union, all exchange-listed companies are required to prepare their consolidated financial statements in accordance with IFRS.

November - December

Core Module:

• Financial Econometrics
  This course provides a basic treatment of econometric methods, building on a sound understanding of the regression model and least-squares estimation, the OLS model, as well as estimation and inferences in multiple regression analysis. State-of the-art literature will be discussed and theoretical concepts will be applied to real-world data sets taken from finance, accounting and/or economics using the popular Stata software package.

Electives (choose two courses):

• Corporate Governance
• Financial Crime and Organisational Misbehaviour
• International Tax Strategy
• Valuation and M&A
• Venture Capital Finance

January - February

Core Module:

• Economics of Financial Markets and its Institutions
  The course deepens students’ understanding of financial markets and their paramount role within the economy. It first reviews the key economic issues of financial markets, in particular its important role for intertemporal allocation of saving and spending. A particular focus is put on the bond markets and commercial banks’ role in financial intermediation. Secondly, the course focuses on financial crises; in particular, banking, sovereign debt and currency crises. Furthermore, it discusses macroprudential policies which have the aim to safeguard financial stability. The course combines theoretical concepts with empirical content and policy implications.

Electives (choose two courses):

• Accounting for M&A Transactions
• Behavioral and Cultural Finance
• Financial Modeling in Excel/VBA
• Financial Reporting and Capital Markets: Current Challenges
• Financial Technologies
• Internal Accounting Metrics

March - April

Electives (choose three courses):

• Asset Management
• Climate Economics and Green Finance
• Financial Derivatives
• Financial Risk Management
• Financial Statement Analysis and Valuation
• Investment Banking
• Predictive Data Analytics in Finance

The 90-credit track also includes a one-week capstone module.

The capstone is a week-long module abroad where students gain valuable experience in international business ecosystems by attending tailor-made lectures and visiting local companies.

May - July

You will gain valuable work experience and the opportunity to apply theory learned in class through an internship in Germany or abroad. The Career Center supports you in finding an internship position via a broad range of activities such as individual career counseling, workshops, and company presentations.

September - December

The Master in Finance Program also includes a semester abroad at one of WHU's 200 partner universities worldwide. During the semester abroad, you will gain a global perspective and immerse yourself in another culture.

September – January (90 ECTS), January – May (120 ECTS)

The Master thesis concludes your studies, providing you the opportunity to apply the skills and knowledge you have gained throughout the course of the Master Program. While writing your thesis, you will be supervised by a WHU faculty member. You may also write your thesis in collaboration with a company.