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Master's Programme in Finance
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Curriculum 2024–2026
About the programme
Degree level learning goals
MSc degree studies consist of programme studies and elective studies. In some programmes, there is also a compulsory minor. The scope of the modules varies between programmes.
In addition to the goals stated in (794/2004) 7 § the aim of the Master of Science degree in Economics and Business Administration is to provide students with
- a comprehensive understanding of the area of specialisation, including its potential to address environmental, economic and social sustainability challenges;
- the ability to identify and analyse sustainability challenges and business opportunities and creatively develop solutions;
- the ability to independently retrieve, assess, apply and create knowledge in the field of business and economics;
- the ability to reflect on the ethical foundations and implications of business decision-making for different stakeholders and to act accordingly; and
- the ability to communicate effectively and to foster diversity, equity and inclusiveness in organisations.
Programme level learning objectives
The programme offers students a thorough understanding of the models and theories of corporate financing and investment decisions, as well as skills necessary to apply these ideas independently and analytically. Graduates of the programme will know the features of the capital markets and have the skills to apply financial tools in a number of situations both in strategic decision making of the firm (e.g. mergers and acquisitions) and in day-to-day management (e.g. portfolio and risk management). They are able to analyse corporate risk factors quantitatively and evaluate the value of e.g. derivative instruments using sophisticated techniques. The Master’s Programme in Finance prepares students for a world in which financial services are global, a significant part of the economy, and in constant change. The programme helps students adapt to a financial environment which is increasingly aware of system-wide risks, conflicts of interest, and regulatory challenges.
The students have a further opportunity to tailor their degree by specializing in one of two areas of concentration, corporate finance or asset management.
In the corporate finance area, students focus on questions such as analysing and choosing investment projects, mergers and acquisitions, agency theory, investment banking and obtaining funds from the primary markets, and capital structure and dividend decisions. The corporate finance area prepares students for entry-level positions in investment or commercial banking, management consulting, or the finance and corporate planning functions of industrial firms.
In the asset management area, students focus on issues such as the behaviour and determinants of security prices, their implications on portfolio management, behavioural finance and investor psychology, sustainable investments, venture capital, risk management, as well as pricing of options, futures, and other derivatives. The asset management area prepares students for entry-level positions in investment management and strategy, venture capital, private equity, data analytics, and risk management.
The general management skills the programme aims to foster include analytical, teamwork, and problem solving skills. The student will also have the opportunity to consider challenging issues in sustainability and to develop international business communications skills at an advanced level.
Recommended timing of programme studies:
1st year: Core courses and elective studies
2nd year: Capstone course, Master's thesis and Thesis Seminar. Students are expected to enroll to a thesis seminar group in the beginning of the 2nd year of the programme.
Degree structure
Total
120
ECTS
84-88
ECTS
32-36
ECTS
*including master's thesis 30 ECTS
Programme studies 84–88 ECTS
Code: BIZ210
Scope: 84–88 ECTS
Programme Director: Associate Professor Petri Jylhä
| Course code | Course name | ECTS | Period |
|---|---|---|---|
| 28E99905 | Master’s Thesis Seminar | 6 | I-II, III-V |
| FIN.thes | Master’s Thesis | 30 | I-II, III-V |
| BIZ.matr | Maturity Test | 0 | I-II, III-V |
Choose at least one of the following |
|||
| 28E33000 | Capstone: Mergers and Acquisitions for Finance 1, 2 | 6 | II |
| 28E35700 | Capstone: Alternative Investments 1, 2 | 6 | III |
Choose at least 42 ECTS of the following coursesCourses are grouped under recommended paths (Corporate Finance, Asset Management, other optional courses), but you may mix them freely. |
|||
| Corporate Finance | |||
| FIN-E0312 | Behavioral Finance and Applications 4 | 6 | I |
| 28E29000 | Advanced Corporate Finance | 6 | I |
| FIN-E0309 | Entrepreneurial Finance | 6 | IV* |
| 28E35300 | Mergers and Acquisitions 3 | 6 | II |
| FIN-E0310 | Advances in Financial Technology | 6 | V |
| FIN-E0315 | Sustainable Finance | 6 | II |
| FIN-E0314 | Ownership and Governance | 6 | III |
| FIN-E0316 | Advanced Econometrics for Corporate Finance | 6 | IV |
| Asset management | |||
| FIN-E0311 | Advanced Investments | 6 | I |
| 28E00900 | Fixed Income | 6 | IV |
| 28E34600 | Portfolio Management | 6 | II |
| FIN-E0313 | Advanced Econometrics for Financial Markets | 6 | III |
| Other optional courses | |||
| FIN-E0317 | Designing Experiments in Economics and Finance** | 6 | 24-25: V 25-26: I |
| 28C00450 | Derivatives and Fixed Income 5 | 6 | III |
| 28C00200 | Econometrics for Finance 5 | 6 | I |
| 28E34100 | Project Work 6 | 6 | I-V |
| Alternatively, you may choose max 18 ECTS of the following courses | |||
| TU-E2211 | Financial Risk Management I D | 5-6 | I-II |
| TU-E2221 | Financial Risk Management II D | 5-6 | III-IV |
| 22E00100 | Financial Statement Analysis | 6 | I, IV |
| 22E00500 | Corporate Governance | 6 | V |
| ‐E2614 | ۰ٲäٱ | 6 | III |
|
37C00400 CS-A1111 CS-A1110 |
Programming I or Ohjelmoinnin perusteet Y1 or Ohjelmointi 1 or |
6 5 5 |
III I-II I-II |
| CS-A1121 | Ohjelmoinnin perusteet Y2 | 5 | III-V |
| 30E00400 | Simulation | 6 | I* |
| MS-C2128 | Prediction and Time Series Analysis | 5 | II |
| MS-C2111 | Stochastic Processes | 5 | II |
| MS-E2114 | Investment Science | 5 | I-II |
| BIZ-E0100 | Customized Student Business Project 7 | 6 | I-V |
| 42E00600 | CEMS Business Project 7 | 6 | |
| REC-E3100 | Real Estate Economics 8 | 6 | I |
| REC-E4100 | Real Estate Finance 9 | 6 | IV |
| REC-E3600 | Real Estate Market Analysis 10 | 6 | III |
| 28L30311 | Theoretical Corporate Finance 11 | 6 | III-IV |
| 28L30111 | Theoretical Asset Pricing 11 | 6 | I |
* no teaching 2025-2026
** new course added 12/2024
1 Capstone: Mergers and Acquisitions for Finance course can be replaced with Capstone: Alternative Investments. If a student completes both of these courses, the other one counts as a finance electives course.
2 If a student has not completed B.Sc. degree in Finance specialization area at Aalto University and has not completed B.Sc. Capstone Valuation course or its equivalent, it is recommended to complete 28E35700 Capstone: Alternative Investments as the mandatory Capstone course.
3 If a student has not completed B.Sc. degree in Finance specialization area at Aalto University and has not completed B.Sc. Capstone Valuation course or its equivalent, 28E35300 Mergers and Acquisitions, which treats valuation from first principles can be completed as an elective course instead of Capstone: Mergers and Acquisitions for Finance.
4 Equivalence to old course FIN-E0307 Behavioral and Sustainable Finance. Students who have completed FIN-E0307 Behavioral and Sustainable Finance cannot include the equivalent course FIN-E0312 Behavioral Finance and Applications to their studies.
5 Please note that this course cannot be included in your master's degree if you have already completed the course as part of the Bachelor's Programme in Business, Otaniemi.
6 Must be agreed in advance with Elias Rantapuska.
7 Only one of Project Work, Customized Student Business Project, or CEMS Business Project can be included to the degree. BIZ-E0100 Customized Student Business Project must be agreed in advance with Tommi Vihervaara.
8 A maximum of 7 Finance M.Sc. students will be accepted to the course Real Estate Economics. REC-E3100 Real Estate Economics is the prerequisite for the other Real Estate courses. The courses are organized by the Department of Build Environment.
9 Real Estate Economics and Real Estate Market Analysis are strict prerequisites for this course.
10 Real estate economics is a strict prerequisite for this course.
11 Must be agreed in advance with Mikko Leppämäki, Director of the Graduate School of Finance.**)
The scope of thesis changes: transition period ends July 31, 2028
The transition period to the new degree structure is Aug 1,2026 – July 31, 2028. During the transition period, students who have the right to study in a master's programme, that has started before Aug 1, 2026, can follow the curriculum of the beginning of this study right or any newer one, depending on their choice. As of Aug 1, 2028, all students must follow the curriculum 2026-2028 or a newer one.
During the transition period Aug 1,2026 – July 31, 2028, you can choose which curriculum you follow. The curriculum defines the thesis scope, e.g. studies towards the degree and the thesis must be completed according to the same curriculum.
- If you are uncertain whether to continue following your current curriculum (therefore the scope of the thesis being 30 ECTS) or to transfer to follow the curriculum 2026-2028 (therefore the thesis scope being 20 ECTS), your planning officer will help you. Book a meeting via or send an email to programmes-biz@aalto.fi.
After the transition period has ended, starting Aug 1, 2028, it is not possible to graduate according to 2024-2026 curriculum or an earlier one: if you have not graduated, you must transfer to the new structure and complete all requirements accordingly.
- You will follow the curriculum 2026-2028 or a newer one and therefore the thesis scope is 20 ECTS.
Elective studies 32–36 ECTS
You can choose elective studies to your Master's degree so that the scope of the degree (120 credits) is fulfilled. You can exceed the scope of the degree by one course maximum.
Elective studies can include basic, intermediate or advanced level courses. You can use the module e.g.
- To complete a minor
- To broaden your skills and knowledge via multidisciplinary studies:
- select courses in the field of technology or art
- select courses in other universities via JOO study right NB! Aalto has resigned from the JOO agreement as of January 1, 2026.
- select courses in the European
- Select gender studies via Hilma network or other Aalto networks
- To gain entrepreneurial skills
- To deepen your language and communication skills
- by selecting language and communication courses offered by Aalto Language Centre. They offer also courses in Communication and Social Interaction or Intercultural Communication.
- by selecting courses from the
- To deepen or broaden your skills and knowledge in the field of business
- select additional courses in your degree programme or major
- select courses from other degree progarmmes or majors in the School of Business
- select additional courses in your minor
- complete the Customized Student Business project BIZ-E0100 (read more here) or BIZ-E0110 Non-governmental organization project (read more here)
- To gain work experience and working life skills via an internship (read more at During your studies > Other studies)
- To gain skills in self leadership, finding meaningfulness, and improving study wellbeing via Personal Impact courses
Elective studies completed outside of Aalto University
Elective studies must be on higher education level, primarily part of the degree studies of the organising institution and meet the intended learning goals of the degree completed at the Aalto University School of Business. Higher education institutions also offer studies outside degree education aimed at a wide audience, and the suitability of such studies is assessed by evaluating the correspondence to the learning outcomes of the degree.
Starting from 1 August 2025, the credit transfer process to the electives studies of the degree has changed. Read more about this change in the news article.
Are you planning to take studies outside of Aalto University and include them in the elective studies?
If the course you are taking is worth 1–3 credits and can be completed flexibly online, apply for a permission to include the course in your degree in advance. For other courses, follow the normal credit transfer process.
How to apply for the approval
- In Sisu, add a study draft of the course you wish to take in your study plan
- Write an informal application in which you justify why you want to include said course in your degree. In your justifications, consider the entity of the degree and the skills and knowledge you would acquire.
- Send the application to the Planning Officer of your major or programme. You can find the contact information of the Planning Officers in the Student Guide on your programme’s pages in the section Contact.
- The decision is made by the School of Business’s Vice Dean for Education. The applications are processed approximately once a month.
- If the course is approved, complete it and afterwards, apply for a credit transfer (inclusion) in Sisu via the study draft as per usual.
This procedure is applied only to 1-3 credit courses that can be completed flexibly online outside of Aalto University.
Elective studies cannot overlap with other courses included in the degree.
The scope of the minor varies depending on the minor. Please check each minor's requirements. For a list of all the minors at Aalto University, see Aalto Minors hub.
Please also check your programme's curriculum to see if there are any requirements for the minor in your programme.
A minor included in the Master's degree can be one of the following:
- a module confirmed in the curriculum (a minor study entity offered at the School of Business)
- a module completed in an official exchange programme partner of the School of Business or in another programme meeting the requirements set in the official exchange programme policy of the School of Business
- a module earned at another Aalto University school
- a module earned at another Finnish university e.g. under the agreement on flexible study rights (JOO agreement). NB! Aalto has resigned from the JOO agreement as of January 1, 2026.
Exchange studies is a very popular minor among the students of the School of Business. If you are interested in completing exchange studies as your minor, .
If you have mandatory language studies in your master's degree, they are included in the elective studies module. You have received information about these in the beginning of your studies, if this applies to you. If you are uncertain of whether you need to demonstrate language proficiency in the master's degree, please contact your programme's planning officer to get further information about the matter.
- If you have completed your bachelor's degree in Finland (in Aalto or in another higher education institute), you have fulfilled the compulsory language requirements in the respective degree or received the exemption. You do not need to complete language studies in the master's degree.
- If your language of education is Finnish or Swedish and you have completed your bachelor’s degree outside of Finland, you must demonstrate proficiency in national languages by writing the maturity test in your language of education (Finnish or Swedish) and complete the language proficiency tests in the other national language. Read more about the language of education here. You may also apply for an exemption of demonstrating proficiency in national languages. See also the following bullet.
- If you have completed your bachelor’s degree outside of Finland, you must complete minimum of 3 ECTS in English including both oral and written proficiency. You can choose any course on B2 level or higher. Courses on a sufficient level and including both oral and written proficiency are marked with ‘o’ and ‘w’ in the course name. Students, whose language of education is not Finnish or Swedish, may alternatively complete an elementary course in Finnish or in Swedish. The courses in national languages can be at any level on CEFR scale.
Language studies are included in students’ elective studies and are agreed in the personal study plan (HOPS). Language center offers the language studies.