The MSc in Finance is offered by the Swiss Finance Institute and the Faculty of Economics at the University of Lugano (Università della Svizzera italiana, USI) Switzerland. This full-time study programme comprises 120 ECTS spread over 4 semesters (usual duration 2 years) and is entirely offered in English.

Finance is the area of economics that studies investment decisions. These decisions are fundamental to the well-being of firms and individuals. The Master Programme in Finance aims to provide in-depth knowledge of professional practice in financial markets. A good knowledge of financial theory and quantitative methods is developed in the first part of the programme, whereas in the second part, these notions are applied to the analysis of financial practice, including new trends.

Obiettivi
Finance is the area of economics that studies investment decisions. These decisions are fundamental to the well-being of firms and individuals. Investment outcomes are affected by randomness. Investment decisions involve trade-offs between risk and expected return.

Destinatari
The formal requirement for admission to the Master’s degree in Finance is the completion of a Bachelor’s degree granted by a recognised university in Economics or related disciplines. Candidates are required to be adequately prepared in the fields of economics and basic quantitative subjects.
Applicants are encouraged (compulsory for applicants with a Bachelor obtained in extra EU country) to provide GRE/GMAT scores in support of their application.
The number of seats is limited.
Candidates with a Bachelor’s degree of a recognised University of Applied Sciences may be admitted with 30-60 additional ECTS to be earned during or before the beginning of the programme, with Bachelor or Master courses according to a study program defined by the scientific director. Admissions will be treated on a case by case basis.
The Master in Finance is taught entirely in English. Applicants whose first degree was not taught in English, are required to at least have earned a B2 certificate according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages or an equivalent level of another proficiency certificate – e.g. TOEFL, IELTS.
Whilst it is an important requisite to be fluent in English, you do not need to know or learn Italian in order to successfully participate in the proposed study programme.
As Lugano is located in the Italian-speaking part of Switzerland, students might be interested in acquiring the basics in Italian, in order to be able to get around in everyday life.
The University of Lugano offers an Italian language study programme organized in various modules. All its non Italian-speaking students, researchers and professors are invited to participate free of charge

Sbocchi occupazionali
Questo programma prepara figure professionali interessate a carriere nei diversi settori della finanza, quali: Asset Management, Private Banking, Investment Banking, Commercial Banking and Corporate Finance.

Contenuti
Il Master di Finanza mira a fornire delle conoscenze approfondite sui mercati finanziari. Nella prima parte del programma si sviluppa la conoscenza della teoria finanziaria e dei metodi quantitativi. Queste conoscenze vengono poi applicate nell´analisi della pratica finanziaria, incluse le nuove tendenze.
The Master programme stretches over two years (120 ECTS) and is structured to allow the students to personalise their study curricula according to their individual interests and educational backgrounds. It includes four semesters of lectures and seminars, and an internship. Typically, in the first semester students attend the foundation courses in order to acquire the basics of finance, accounting and statistics. The second and third semesters are dedicated to core courses and electives. The final thesis should show the candidate’s ability to integrate acquired knowledge in the advanced scientific analysis of a topic in finance.
The Master programme includes four semesters of lectures and seminars and an internship. A thorough understanding of risk is necessary to the good management of financial assets. Therefore the first semester is dedicated to the economic and statistical foundations of financial markets and the quantitative disciplines necessary to model them. This knowledge is then applied to the analysis of financial instruments and their markets in the core courses of the second and third semesters. Because the programme is based on rigorous quantitative methods, students are required to take the core courses before they can chose electives. The final thesis should then show the candidate’s ability to integrate acquired knowledge in the scientific analysis of quantitative finance problems.
The Swiss Finance Institute at the University of Lugano coordinates the Master in Finance. The Swiss Finance Institute is an initiative sponsored by the Swiss Bankers Association with the purpose of achieving international excellence in banking and finance education and research at Swiss universities. The Institute is highly committed to banking and finance education in Ticino and Switzerland. The importance of the financial area for the Swiss economy strengthens the mission of the Institute to train the people required to meet the challenges of globalisation and the increasing competition in financial markets.

Sem. I Foundation Courses

• Probability I
• Probability II
• Advanced Statistics
• Accounting
• Capital Markets
• Corporate Finance

Sem. II Core Courses

• Financial Modelling
• Financial Econometrics
• Derivatives
• Financial Statement Analysis
• Financial Intermediation
• Introductory Corporate Governance

Sem. III Electives

• Advanced Corporate Governance
• Financial engineering
• Financial Instruments
• Fixed Income
• Advanced Derivatives
• Global Investment Research
• Introduction to Institutions and Economics of Pensions and Aging
• Pension Economics and Finance
• Corporate Social Responsibility

Sem. IV Electives

• Corporate Banking
• Restructuring Firms and Industries
• Structured Products
• Advanced Business Valuation
• Advanced Corporate Finance
• Private Banking
• Risk Management
• The International Fiscal System
• The Law and Practice of International Capital Markets
• Topics in Continous-Time Finance
• Internship (mandatory)
• Thesis
• Field Project (optional).

Note

Durata The academic year runs from September until June. Courses are held from September until December and from February until the end of May. The academic year also includes 3 exam sessions (January, June and September). Costo Tuition fees for the Master's degrees amount to CHF 4,000 per semester. Applicants whose official residence was in Switzerland (including Liechtenstein and Campione d'Italia) at the time of the final high school exam (Maturità) pay a reduced semester fee of CHF 2,000. Tuition fees are payable at the beginning of each term, by the deadline indicated on the invoice; fee payment is an essential condition for matriculating or renewing one's enrolment. Borse di studio e finanziamenti The Foundation for the Lugano Faculties of USI will award a total of 60 one-off study grants of the amount of 4'000 CHF each. The merit based grants are given to first year students admitted to a USI Master program starting in September. Other study grants are available. For more details, please, visit the following link: http://www.usi.ch/en/formazione-borse_studio.htm