MBF Curriculum

The MBF offers high-quality education in Financial Markets, Institutions, Corporate Finance and Quantitative Methods.

HSG_Master_Curriculum_MBF

General Curriculum
The MBF program is structured in such a way as to ensure that students are able to acquire their basic knowledge in the compulsory courses of the first semester. In the second and third semesters, students select core electives and contextual courses according to their individual preferences and thus determine the orientation of their studies themselves. Like this, the MBF curriculum guarantees utmost flexibility and freedom of choice.

The MBF program is a full-time study program, requires 90 ECTS and takes three semesters.

Core studies
The core studies comprise the three compulsory courses, the core electives, including a research seminar and the Master's thesis. Students may design their individual curriculum according to their preferences and choose to focus on corporate finance, risk management & insurance, quantitative methods & data science, banking & the financial economy, financial markets or alternative investments. Students have the possibility to show a specific subject track in the Master's degree in the form of a Diploma Supplement. The prerequisite for this is the completion of at least 12 ECTS and the writing of the Master's thesis in the corresponding subject track.

Alternative Investments	• Asia Compact: Private Equity • Corporate Finance, Banking and Venture Capital	• Energy Finance • Entrepreneurial Finance • Europe Compact: Commodities	• Insurance-Linked Securities • Private Markets • Real Estate Economics • Real Estate Finance	• Real Estate Modelling • Research Seminar Real Estate Finance
Banking & the Financial Economy	• Commercial Banking • Corporate Finance, Banking and Venture Capital • Economics of Central Banking • Ethics of Financial Service	• Europe Compact: Systemic Risk • Financial Institutions • Market Microstructure • Monetary Policy & Financial Markets	• Private Banking and Wealth Management • Regulation of Financial Systems • Research Seminar Financial Economics	• Research Seminar Financial Institutions • Selected Topics in Swiss Public Finance • Sustainable Finance
Corporate Finance	• CFA Institute Research Challenge • Corporate Finance • Corporate Finance, Banking and Venture Capital	• Corporate Valuation • Ethics of Financial Services • Excel-based Financial Modelling	• Fundamental Corporate Valuation for Active Investors • Mergers and Acquisitions • Private Markets	• Research Seminar Corporate Finance • Sustainable Finance
Financial Markets	• Asset Management and Mutual Funds • Asset Pricing • Behavioural Finance • Derivatives	• Derivatives Modelling in Excel VBA • Dynamic Equity Analysis and Security Trading • Ethics of Financial Services • Europe Compact: Quantitative Portfolio Management	• Financial Markets • Financial Modelling Workshop: Asset Allocation • Fixed Income Instruments • International Finance	• Research Seminar Finance • Social Investments and Impact Investing • Stochastic Modeling in Finance and Insurance
Quantitative Methods & Data Science	• Advanced Mathematics and Statistics • Big Data Analytics • Data Handling: Databases • Econometric Methods for Financial Instruments • Financial Econometrics	• Financial Technology • Financial Programming with Matlab • Financial Volatility • Game Theoretic Models for a Digital World • Mathematics	• Machine Learning • Mathematics • Microeconometrics • Multivariate Statistical Analysis • Quantitative Methods • Quantitative Risk Management	• Real Estate Modelling • Smart Data Analytics • Software Engineering for Economists • Statistics • Time Series Econometrics
Risk Management & Insurance	• Asset Liability Management for Insurance Companies • Financial Risk Management	• Insurance Operations • Insurance-Linked Securities • Quantitative Risk Management	• Research Seminar Insurance • Risk Management and Insurance • Stochastic Modeling in Finance and Insurance	• Theory of Risk and Insurance • Value Based Management in Insurance

Contextual studies
The contextual studies are a common feature of all programs at the University of St. Gallen and give students the opportunity to develop themselves intellectually and culturally beyond the scope of their core studies. While students can choose courses that are related to finance, they are also free to take classes from other fields in order to see the bigger picture.