The No. 1 Master’s in Finance Program in the World Is in France

If you want to earn a master’s degree in finance from the school the Financial Times ranked No. 1 in the world, you’ll be heading to France to study at EDHEC Business School, where 100 countries are represented among its students and faculty.

And yes, the program is taught in English.

Starting about 20 years ago, the dean at EDHEC made strategic choices to position the school to be an international leader—from providing superior research to the business community to recruiting the best finance professors from Europe and the U.S.

Ninety-five percent of students receiving this degree are employed three months after graduation. No wonder. EDHEC ensures specific training, including in soft skills and job hunt skills, like writing a résumé and cover letter. Emmanuel Métais, named dean this past spring, employs a strategy of disrupting and revolutionizing the current model of financial research and changing the way students learn on campus. In addition to finance, the school has excellent programs in technology, entrepreneurship, innovation, and coding.

Business Is Global

I recently met with Métais to learn more.

“We have joint programs with American, Asian, and European universities,” Métais told me, stressing the degree’s international focus. EDHEC has 139 partnerships with other universities across 39 countries, including MIT and Berkeley.

Although the photos on its website don’t include great numbers of black students, EDHEC values diversity:

“Because effectiveness in business is borne out of being unique, EDHEC places great importance on diversity and a combination of cultures, profiles, practices, and disciplines in its teaching and operations,” its site ways.

In addition to developing the fundamental financial skills necessary to become a high level financial professional, such as understanding the principles of the financial system (markets and institutions, including fintech); carrying out research in financial markets using standard econometric analysis and software; and mastering the principles and practice of finance and developing an understanding of the tools necessary to make sound financial decisions—as well as advanced skills, students get international exposure—priceless in today’s global business climate.

To learn more about EDHEC, including the advanced competencies of its five specializations (Finance; Corporate Finance and Banking; International Accounting and Finance; Financial Markets; Risk in Finance), visit its website.