Master in Finance Catolica Porto Business School

Presentation

The MSc in Finance is a highly internationalized program that aims to produce top financial professionals. Created in 2000 and inspired by the Anglo-Saxon model and methods, it was considered an important turning point in terms of innovation in the Portuguese academic community. Drawing on a solid and rigorous theoretical foundation, the MSc in Finance is a professionally-oriented program, developed in close collaboration with the top Portuguese financial institutions.

Taught by a first-class national and international Faculty, the MSc in Finance has been producing highly-skilled financial specialists for more than ten years. These experts now occupy prominent positions in Portuguese firms and financial institutions, as well as in international financial centers such as Madrid, London, and New York.

The drive to ensure that the program has an international scope – by creating professional and academic opportunities at home and abroad – is visible in the recruitment of our members of staff and in the choice of our programs. Our mission is to train and produce highly-qualified students that can hold prominent positions within the financial services sector, either in industry or in service-producing companies, in Portugal and abroad.

Career Impact

The MCs in Finance is suitable for those interested in following a career in finance-related areas. Our experience and the opportunities offered to our former students have shown that it is possible to pursue, from this platform, successful professional and academic careers in Portugal and abroad. The MSc in Finance fosters a high level of cooperation between the University and the business community through the production of applied research work and the establishment of partnerships for internship programs.

Innovation and the growing complexity of markets worldwide have rendered finance-based careers particularly attractive to individuals with a high-level background and good quantitative skills, allowing them to redefine themselves professionally and redirect their careers towards activities within the financial services sector. The MSc in Finance has welcomed students coming from degree programs in exact sciences – Engineering and Mathematics – in addition to those who have completed programs in Economics and Management.

The program is not exclusively focused on academic background and therefore provides an accurate and comprehensive viewpoint substantially anchored in the realities of the corporate sector. This makes it possible to train highly-quality human resources perfectly capable of grasping the complex reality of today’s financial markets. Teaching does not lose sight of the contemporary trend towards globalization and is designed to train and prepare specialized professionals to meet the modern challenges of financial innovation (e.g., structured products), corporate financing (e.g., private equity and project finance), risk management (e.g., credit and business risk analysis) and business governance (e.g., performance assessment and corporate governance).

The MSc in Finance has won a national and international reputation demonstrating the success of the choices made. Many students who have completed their MSc in Finance now hold important positions in several Portuguese institutions and organizations and have access to international career opportunities. New York, Madrid, and London are some of the destinations chosen. A number of other students have decided to pursue an academic career and have taken up research work and continued with their Ph.D. studies in reputed foreign universities.

Structure

Timetable

The Masters in Finance will work with a daytime group and a post-work regime.

The calendar which schedules all classes is announced to the students at the beginning of each semester.

In the case of courses taught by invited professors, a concentration of classes may occur in only a few days, but with a more intensive schedule. In these circumstances classes will be scheduled well in advance, allowing time to take the necessary measures.

In the daytime regime classes are from Monday to Friday from 8:30 to 18:30 and Saturday from 9:00 to 13:00.

In the after-work regime classes are from Monday to Friday, from 19:00 to 22:00, and Saturday from 9:00 to 13:00.

In the case of courses taught by invited professors, a concentration of classes may occur in only a few days, but with a more intensive schedule. In these circumstances classes will be scheduled well in advance, allowing time to take the necessary measures.

Attendance Regimes

The Masters at the Católica Porto Business School has a single, but flexible attendance regime. The curriculum is designed so that the program has a minimum of three semesters (one year and a half). However, for students who wish to obtain a Masters degree while maintaining their professional activity, you can perform the Masters within a maximum of 5 semesters (two and a half years), which allows you to distribute the academic load over an extended thus conciliating the schedules and professional load with the Masters. The beginning and end of semesters are published annually in the academic calendar of the 2nd cycle of the Católica Porto Business School (see Academic Calendar).

Language

English.

Venue

Lectures of the Masters of the Católica Porto Business School take place at Universidade Católica Portuguesa in Porto.