HEC Paris Mif Curriculum

Core Courses

The HEC Paris MiF program offers students comprehensive training in their chosen subject while laying the groundwork for a career in finance. The program has two tracks—the Business Track and the Accelerated Track—to accommodate students with various academic backgrounds and professional aspirations.

Students on the business track enroll in classes that enhance the abilities they have already acquired. These students have completed coursework in an international business school or university with a focus on financial accounting,  financial markets, corporate finance, derivatives, and statistics. Students who choose the business track frequently get banking or consultancy internship experience.

Students on the accelerated route start by enrolling in courses that will use their strong quantitative abilities while establishing a solid financial foundation. These students change their area to finance but have academic backgrounds that are more heavily weighted toward highly quantitative subjects (math, physics, engineering, econometrics, etc.).

In the Spring term, Business Track and Accelerated Track students have equal access to the same range of electives and post-program employment prospects. Students can opt to focus on Corporate Finance or Capital Markets in the Fall semester. Each specialty has a limited number of seats available. Thus, students are urged to choose it carefully before applying because adjustments may not be feasible once accepted.

The program is structured into Core Courses, Advanced Core Courses, Concentration Electives, and Free Electives. Students can select from more than 40 elective courses in the second semester after completing the core and advanced core courses in the first semester.

 Courses:

• Behavioral and Sustainable Finance: Examines how behavioral psychology and finance interact, with a particular emphasis on sustainable financial practices.
• Corporate Valuation: Offers a thorough understanding of the valuation methods applied in investment banking and corporate finance.
• Securities Market: This section discusses how securities markets operate and function, including trading processes and market effectiveness.
• Financial Statement Analysis: Shows students how to examine financial statements to evaluate businesses’ performance and financial health.
• Introduction to Finance: Introduces the time value of money and the trade-off between risk and reward in finance.
• Corporate Finance: This section of the course covers various topics related to corporate finance, including capital budgeting, capital structure, and dividend policy.
• Financial Accounting and Reporting: Emphasizes financial accounting concepts and procedures, such as creating and evaluating financial statements.
• International Macroeconomics: Examines macroeconomic elements that impact international finance, such as trade flows and currency rates.
• Asset Management: Gives an overview of investing tactics and portfolio management strategies.
• Economics of Financial Regulation: Assesses the financial regulation’s economic effects and implications.
• Develops critical soft skills for leadership, teamwork, and effective communication in the context of finance. 4Soft Skills Seminar.
• Ethics Seminar: Examines moral problems and conundrums in the financial sector.
• Statistics and Probability Refresher: Updates students’ understanding of probability theory and financial statistical techniques.
• Empirical Methods in Finance: Introduces data analysis and econometric modeling as empirical research techniques used in finance.

Advanced Core Courses:

1. Securities Markets: Deepens understanding of the securities markets by concentrating on cutting-edge subjects and current developments.
2. International Finance: This course covers more complex ideas in international finance, such as managing exchange rate risk and managing capital flows internationally.
3. Course Specialization in Capital Markets:
   1. Financial engineering investigates the creation and use of sophisticated financial instruments.
   2. Quantitative Asset Management: This topic focuses on the concepts and techniques used in quantitative asset management.

1. Courses for Corporate Finance Specialization:
   1. Corporate Restructuring: Examines the strategies and processes involved in corporate restructuring, such as mergers and acquisitions.
   2. Derivatives: This section discusses derivative securities and how they can be used to manage risk and make financial decisions.

Electives

Apart from the mandatory core courses, students are offered various elective courses to select from, which helps them focus on a specific field of their interest. The elective courses offered under HEC Paris Mif are segregated into Concentration and Free Electives. Let’s take a closer look at it.

Concentration Electives

Students may select electives from a variety of specialization-related concentration areas. Examples include:

Corporate Finance and Investment Policy:

• Advanced Financial Accounting: This course examines cutting-edge financial reporting and accounting issues.
• Financing Decisions of Firms: discusses various financing options for business organizations.
• Financial Solutions for Corporates: Focuses on financial strategies and tools for corporate customers.
• Equity Capital Markets: Examines how equity capital markets operate and what they do.
• Entrepreneurial Finance: Addresses financing and investment decisions in entrepreneurial ventures.

Business Restructuring:

• Mergers & Acquisitions: examines mergers and acquisitions’ strategic and financial aspects.
• LBO Structuring and Modeling in Practice: emphasizes on leveraged buyouts and related financial modeling techniques.
• Real Options: Offers real options analysis for valuing and managing strategic investment opportunities.
• Private Equity: This section discusses the fundamentals and methods of private equity investing.
• Value/Distressed Investing: Evaluates value investing strategies and opportunities in distressed companies.

Corporate Strategy:

• Financial Institutions & Corporate Strategy: Examines how financial institutions and corporate strategy interact.
• Topics in Valuation: Includes advanced valuation techniques and applications.

• Behavioral Strategy: Assesses the role of psychology and behavioral factors in strategic decision-making.
• Financial Dimensions of Strategic Decisions: Concentrates on the financial aspects of strategic decision-making.
• Strategy for International Expansion: Explores methods for companies expanding into international markets.

Engineering in Finance:

• Exotic Products and Structuring: Covers the structuring of sophisticated financial products.
• Stochastic Processes: presents stochastic processes and their applications in finance.
• Modeling Methodologies for Financial Engineering: This section focuses on methods for quantitative modeling in financial engineering.
• FX Derivatives Trading: Covers foreign exchange derivatives and trading strategies.
• Origination of Structured Products: This topic addresses developing and structuring sophisticated financial products.

Analytics and Science

• Introduction to Data Science Applications to Management: Examines the application of data science to commercial decision-making.
• Data Analysis in Finance: Addresses statistical and computational methods for analyzing financial data.
• Technology Regulation in the Financial Sector: Considers the regulatory challenges and implications of technology in finance.
• Economic Value of Data: Investigates data’s economic value and implications in business and finance.
• Blockchain: Introduces the basics of blockchain technology and its applications in finance.

Free Electives

In addition to the concentration electives, students in the Master in Finance program can choose from various free electives. These electives allow students to tailor their academic experience further and delve into specific areas of interest in finance. Here are some examples of the additional free electives available:

• Credit Risk & Turnaround of Distressed Companies: Focuses on analyzing and managing credit risk in financial institutions and strategies for turning around distressed companies.
• Energy and Finance: Explores the intersection of energy markets and finance, including topics such as energy trading, project finance in the energy sector, and renewable energy investments.
• Financial Modeling: Provides advanced training in financial modeling techniques used in investment analysis, valuation, and risk assessment.
• Infrastructure and Real Assets: Covers the financial aspects of infrastructure and real asset investments, including project finance, public-private partnerships, and infrastructure asset management.
• Real Estate Foundations: Introduces the fundamentals of real estate finance, including property valuation, investment analysis, and real estate portfolio management.
• Numerical Analysis: Focuses on numerical methods and computational techniques used in finance, including Monte Carlo simulation, finite difference methods, and optimization algorithms.
• Quantitative Asset Management: Expands on quantitative techniques and models used in asset management, such as factor models, portfolio optimization, and risk management.
• Financial Dimension of Strategic Decisions: Examines the financial considerations and implications of strategic decision-making in organizations, including investment decisions, capital structure choices, and mergers and acquisitions.
• Financing Decisions of the Firms: Explores different aspects of corporate financing decisions, including debt versus equity financing, capital structure theories, and financial distress.
• Post-Merger Integration: Focuses on the challenges and strategies involved in integrating companies after a merger or acquisition, including cultural integration, synergies realization, and post-merger performance evaluation.
• Startup Valuation and Financing: Covers the valuation methods and financing options specific to startup companies, including venture capital funding, angel investments, and initial public offerings (IPOs).
• Microeconomics of Crisis Economies: Examines the microeconomic factors and policy responses during economic crises, including financial crises, recessions, and sovereign debt crises.
• Energy Markets: Explores the structure and dynamics of energy markets, including electricity markets, oil and gas markets, and the impact of regulation and policy on energy pricing.
• Sustainable & Responsible Investment: Focuses on sustainable investing practices and integrating environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors into investment decision-making.
• Alternative Investments: Covers various alternative investment strategies, such as hedge funds, private equity, venture capital, and commodities, and their role in portfolio diversification.

HEC Paris Mif Specializations

HEC Paris provides two specializations as part of its Master in International Finance (MiF) program: Corporate Finance specialization and Capital Markets specialization.

The Corporate Finance specialization is designed for students aspiring to pursue careers in mergers and acquisitions, private equity, consulting, and large multinational companies. Students specializing in this field have the abilities and information to manage business finances and make strategic financial decisions efficiently. Fundamental courses in this specialization include the following:

• Corporate Investment & Financing Policy: This course explores the principles and strategies behind corporate investment and financing decisions. Capital budgeting, project appraisal, financial risk management, and capital structure choices are some topics that might be covered.
• Advanced Financial Accounting: Students gain a deeper understanding of advanced financial accounting concepts and practices. Financial statement analysis, accounting for complex financial transactions, and international accounting standards are just a few subjects covered in this course.
• Financing Decisions of Firms: This course focuses on various sources of financing available to corporations, including debt and equity financing. Initial public offers (IPOs), investment banking, financial markets, and alternative financing techniques are all taught to students.
• Equity Capital Markets: The operation and procedures of equity capital markets are covered in depth in this course. Students learn to issue equity securities, manage shareholder relations, and carry out initial public offerings (IPOs).
• Entrepreneurial Finance: This course explores the financial aspects of entrepreneurial ventures. Students gain knowledge of startup funding, venture capital, angel investing, and the particular financial difficulties entrepreneurs face.
• Corporate Restructuring: This course examines the strategies and processes involved in corporate restructuring, such as consolidations and acquisitions, divestitures, and corporate reorganizations. Students learn about post-merger integration, legal and regulatory issues, and valuation methodologies.

The Capital Markets specialization is designed for students interested in careers related to trading, structuring, market analysis, wealth management, and asset management. The operation, dynamics, and tools of financial markets are the main topics of this specialty. This specialization’s core classes include:

• Securities Markets: This course provides an in-depth understanding of the structure and operations of securities markets. Market efficiency, market microstructure, trading methods, and regulatory frameworks are covered in class.
• Financial Engineering: Students explore designing and implementing complex financial instruments and derivatives. Options, futures, swaps, and structured products are just a few subjects covered in this course. Students gain knowledge of risk management and portfolio optimization approaches used in financial engineering.
• Quantitative Asset Management: This course focuses on quantitative techniques and models used in asset management. Factor models, portfolio optimization, risk management, and performance evaluation are all taught to students. The asset management industry’s practical applications are blended with theoretical underpinnings in this course.
• Derivatives: This course explores derivative securities and how they can be used to manage risk and make financial decisions. Options, futures, forwards, and swaps are taught to students. Pricing models, hedging tactics, and the function of derivatives in capital markets are some of the subjects covered in the course.

HEC Paris Double Degrees

In collaboration with its esteemed partner universities, HEC Paris offers several dual degree programs that provide students the chance to achieve two degrees while gaining a worldwide perspective on business education. Let’s look at a few of the dual degree choices HEC Paris offers:

Registered MiF students from Tsinghua SEM and HEC Paris may attend the partner institution for one year as part of the Dual Degree MiF Program. Students graduate with two degrees from each institution, dependent on the acceptance of their credits. HEC Paris students pursuing a double degree with Tsinghua SEM enroll at Tsinghua for two full years. They finish 24 credits in their second year, including directional and elective courses in the fall, Mandarin and Chinese culture classes in the winter, and courses in both directions. Students must also submit a thesis proposal by the end of the spring semester. Students complete a 40-week full-time continuous internship during their third year, contributing to Tsinghua’s internship requirements. Students from HEC Paris finish a thesis at both universities.

HEC Paris students pursuing a double degree with the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIMA) undertake the second year of the curriculum, focusing on elective courses. Students at HEC Paris can choose from various electives, including independent study courses, exchange programs, intense field courses, and in-class courses with project components. These electives include a range of topics, including business policy, entrepreneurship and innovation, money and accounting, marketing, organizational behavior, and more. With a total credit requirement for the second year ranging from 15.50 to 18.50, students can customize their education to fit their interests and professional aspirations.

Additionally, HEC Paris works with other prestigious universities, such as ESADE, NUS Business School, St. Gallen, Bocconi, and TUM, giving students more chances for intellectual and cultural exchange.

These dual degree programs at HEC Paris allow students to learn from top universities worldwide, expand their horizons, and experience life abroad.