Master’s in Finance

• Discovery Week 

1st Semester (30 ECTS) 

• Mandatory Courses 
• Electives 
• Study Trips 
• Skills Accelerator Modules 
• Career Development Program - Mastering Your Career 
• Mentoring Program 
• Conferences, Meeting with Alumni, Networking Events, Business Forum 
   

2nd Semester (30 ECTS)

• Skills Accelerator Modules 
• Electives
• Study Trips 
• Conferences, Meeting with Alumni, Networking Events, Business Forum 

• Work Project 
• Conferences, Meeting with Alumni, Networking Events, Business Forum 

* Please note that for the academic year of 2023/2024 this information may be subject to changes. 

• Corporate Finance 
• Empirical Methods for Finance 
• Financial Modeling 
• Investments 

*This information may be subject to changes.

Corporate Finance

Designed to help students build up the required analytical and practical tools to pursue a career in Investment banking. Retail banking, private equity, and venture capital or consulting and auditing. 

• Advanced Financial Transactions in M&A
• Applied Corporate Finance
• Auditing
• Banking
• Blue Finance
• Corporate Governance
• Corporate Valuation
• Credit Risk
• Entrepreneurial Finance & Venture Capital
• Finance and the Transition to Net Zero
• Financial Intermediation
• Financial Reporting
• Financial Statement Analysis
• Fintech Ventures
• Impact Investments
• Islamic Finance
• Private Equity
• Private Equity and Financial Restructuring
• Strategic Costing
• Strategic Planning and Control
• Sustainable Finance

Financial Markets

Aims to provide in-depth knowledge for all students seeking a career in Investment banking, Investment management, or portfolio risk management. 

• Asset Management 
• Behavioral Finance
• Blue Finance
• Corporate Valuation 
• Credit Risk
• Derivatives 
• Finance and the Transition to Net Zero 
• Financial Statement Analysis 
• Fixed Income 
• Futures and Options 
• Hedge Funds 
• Investment Philosophies
• Macroeconomics of Financial Markets 
• Nova Students Portfolio
• Risk Management
• Sustainable Finance

*Please take note of the following: 
— Students can qualify for only one area of expertise, but it is not mandatory for students to choose one.  
— Areas of Expertise and respective courses might be subject to change from one academic year to the next.  
— Some courses might not be offered every academic year. 

• Advanced Financial Transactions in M&A
• Algorithmic Governance
• Applied Corporate Finance
• Asset Management
• Auditing
• Banking
• Behavioral Finance
• Blockchain Fundamentals
• Climate Finance
• Computational Thinking and Data Science (includes Applied Statistics) 
• Corporate Governance
• Corporate Valuation
• Credit Risk
• Data Science for Finance
• Data Visualization
• Decentralized Finance
• Derivatives
• Energy and Climate Change
• Entrepreneurial Finance & Venture Capital
• Finance and the Transition to Net Zero
• Financial Crises in History
• Financial Intermediation
• Financial Reporting
• Financial Statement Analysis
• Fintech Ventures
• Fixed Income
• Fundamentals on Environment and Sustainability
• Futures and Options
• Game Theory
• Hedge Funds
• Impact Investments
• Introduction to Machine Learning
• Introduction to Programming
• Investment Philosophies
• Islamic Finance
• Macroeconometrics
• Macroeconomics of Financial Markets
• Marketing Analytics
• Microeconometrics
• Network Analytics
• Nova Students Portfolio
• Personal Finance
• Private Equity
• Real Estate Finance
• Research Methods for Finance
• Risk Management
• Sovereign Advisory
• Strategic Costing
• Strategic Planning and Control
• Sustainability Evaluation of Policies, Plans and Projects
• Sustainable Finance

*Please note that this information may be subject to changes.

The Skills Accelerator is composed by 4 areas and students must complete 1 module in each area, according to their Master’s program. 

• Digital 

Technology for business: concepts, tools, and software. 

• Ethics 

The concept of ethics and its importance in life (personal and professional). Exposure to ethical challenges and practical discussions on how to address them.  

• Market Links 

Activities career and job market related. Organized by the Careers office, student clubs, or faculty. Depending on the module selected, corporate partners and other companies are invited to participate. Competencies you might acquire and/or accelerate: self-awareness, collaboration, teamwork effectiveness, critical thinking and problem-solving, job market knowledge, Alumni networking. 

• Leadership 

Leadership concepts and tips: self-leadership and leading others. 

* Please note that for the academic year of 2023/2024 this information may be subject to changes. 

As part of the degree requirement, students must carry out a work project (thesis) in their final semester. There are three formats available: 

Field Lab 

Students focus on a specific theme or topic of more applied nature to propose solutions to solve an existing local real-world problem in a specific setting (group setting). 

Directed Research Internship 

Students carry out a problem-based issue to help address an identifiable problem in a company setting relevant to the course of study. 

Directed Research* 

Students showcase their knowledge and expertise by investigating a research problem of scientific nature in a relevant area of interest. 

* This format is generally reserved for those intending on pursuing their studies 

Grading is based upon the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS) a grading scale developed to facilitate the understanding and comparison of grades given according to different national systems.  

We did the math for you, and the awarding of ECTS grades per curriculum component breaks down as follows: 

21 ECTS 
in Mandatory Courses 

2 ECTS 
In Mastering Your Career Activities 

35 ECTS 
in Elective Courses (minimum) 

2 ECTS 
in Skills Accelerator Modules

30 ECTS 
in the Work Project 

90 ECTS in total to graduate 

You need a minimum of 90 ECTS to complete your Master’s, but if you need 120 ECTS to proceed with your studies, you can extend your Master’s by one semester with courses (28 ECTS) and modules (2 ECTS). 

Raise your academic profile with the CFA® Institute Research Challenge

Each year, Nova SBE enters the CFA® Institute Research Challenge annual global competition, which provides students with hands-on mentoring and intensive training in financial analysis, report writing, and presentation skills. This truly international challenge receives applications from more than 5000 students from over 1000 universities.

By participating in the CFA® Research Challenge, students have the possibility to use it as a foundation to develop their final Work Project, namely by doing an Equity Research project. ​Teams will be composed of four to five students who will defend the thesis together.

Become one of the leaders of tomorrow with the CMA® certification (Certified Management Accountant).

Nova SBE is part of IMA’s Higher Education Endorsement Program, which is a valuable addition to the Master’s in Finance student’s CV, when looking to pursue a successful career in management accounting and beyond.

IMA’s Higher Education Endorsement Program represents a stamp of excellence to our Master’s in Finance curricular content and gives students the chance to apply for the IMA® Student Leadership Experience Program, which is an exclusive benefit for Endorsed schools.

IMA’s globally-recognized CMA® program is a relevant assessment of advanced accounting and financial management knowledge in areas such as financial planning, analysis, control, and decision support – each of which is increasingly critical in meeting the changing needs of business, and therefore, essential learning for students of accounting and finance.

Each year, Nova SBE, and IMA (Institute of Management Accountants) will make available five scholarships that cover the costs of the CMA® program. To find out more about this scholarship, check this page.