Strategic Corporate Finance

We train strong, marketable financiers with a broad outlook and the ability to make the right decisions at any level.

Developments in today's world show how important it is to understand the structure and the interconnectedness of financial markets, and the incentives of the players in them. They also reveal how important it is to make the right investments and financial decisions in both the financial and real sectors.

The SCF helps to make sense of this. In addition to corporate finance, our students study macroeconomics and econometrics, microeconomics and asset pricing, venture capital and value-based management, and behavioural finance. They learn how to program and work with analytical databases.

A mix of theory and practice from top professors

The programme is built on a synthesis of up-to-date theoretical knowledge and useful practical skills of finance professionals to give students the most comprehensive education and broadest career prospects. 

Advanced courses in macroeconomics, corporate finance, microeconomics, theory of finance, risk management and corporate governance are taught by professors who hold PhDs and doctoral degrees.

Practice-oriented courses, such as business valuation, M&A, financial modelling, accounting and venture capital, are taught by practitioners from Kept, B1,Business Solutions and Technologies, consultancies and financiers with extensive experience working in emerging market environments.

Soft and hard skills balance is one of the SCF advantages highly appreciated by our Alumni.

Academic Mobility Programmes

Students can study semester abroad in a partner university. Our partner universities include Shanghai University, Almaty Management University, University of Padua, University of Bologna, Università Cattolica Del Sacro Cuore and others.

Research

The educational process is closely intertwined with the work of the Corporate Finance Center at the HSE University. Students conduct research and can try to publish an article in the Journal of Corporate Finance Research.

Networking and Professional Community

For two years, you will join a cosmopolitan academic community where the professionalism of financiers meets open-mindedness. Students expand their professional networks by interacting with top professionals in the field, including programme alumni.

More than once, alumni have hired our students, thanks to the skills and level of expertise they gain in the programme.

The SCF programme offers 4 tracks:

Behavioral Finance & Corporate Governance (Research track) 
The track will be interesting to those who would like to be engaged in scientific and research activities at the University. This track focuses on the role of personality and behavioral patterns in finance. For students who already have a good understanding of classical finance and want to get a broader view of decision-making mechanisms in business and investments. 

Asset Pricing (Research track)
The Asset Pricing track focuses on finance research and is for students who are interested also in an academic and scientific career, studying financial markets and instruments, asset-pricing models, investment strategies and alternative investments. Here you will study not only the pricing of exchange assets, but also new tools such as cryptocurrency for example.

Corporate Decisions (General track) 
The track Corporate Decisions will form the main theoretical base. This track is for students who are interested in all types of financial decisions in corporations: financing, investment, payout policy, cost of capital and others. The track is useful for those who are building a career in corporations, private equity and venture capital, and investment banks.

Mergers and Acquisitions (General Track) 
This track is devoted to M&A deals and introduces you to a spectrum of interesting research and practical questions. This track will be useful for those who are building a career in corporations, consulting firms, investment banks.

The SCF programme includes:

1. The professional module (Major) consists of all the main disciplines of the programme. The Major module consists of a general economic block (Macroeconomics, Microeconomics for Financial Economists, Econometrics) and specialized financial courses. The list of specialized courses is huge, below is its core:
- Advanced Corporate Finance
- Business Valuation
- Theory of Finance
- Corporate Risk Management
- Corporate Governance
- Mergers and Acquisitions
- Behavioral Finance
- Asset Management
- International Finance.
2. The ‘Magolego’ module– a block of additional disciplines from the set of open optional courses. This block gives a student an opportunity to gain additional competencies that allow him/her to personalize an individual study plan upon a student’s request.

3. The ‘Practice’ module provides for the implementation of projects within the framework of research project seminars (in the 1st and 2nd year), master’s thesis preparation (in the 2nd year).
4. The ‘Key seminars’ module consists of a mentor's seminar, a methodological research seminar and a seminar for preparing for master’s thesis defense. The module aims to design the student's personal learning outcomes and to provide students with insights into best practices and/or research related to the topics of a learning path.
5. The ‘Final State Certification’ module provides for master’s thesis defense.

Some examples of companies where programme alumni have found employment:

• IB: Sberbank CIB, VTB Capital, Alfa-Bank, Gazprombank, FC Uralsib, Renaissance Capital, etc. 
• Consulting: Kearney, Yakov&Partners, Accenture, Bain, Oliver Wyman, Roland Berger, Monitor Group
• Asset Management: diverse hedge, mutual and private equity funds.
• Business Valuation: B1, Kept, Business Solutions and Technologies
• Real sector: Gazprom, LUKOIL, Norilsk Nickel, VimpelCom, RUSAL, SUAL, Wimm-Bill-Dann, Rusnano, Fortum, etc.

You have two options to enrol in the SCF programme:

• Participate in Open Doors: Russian Scholarship Project.
• Participate in the portfolio competition (following steps on the international admission page).

Study strategic corporate finance in a rigorous, dynamic environment alongside motivated students and expert professionals in the capital of Russia. Apply today!