Top Universities in the World to Study Finance

If you’re looking to move up the ladder into the finance industry, here is a list of the top universities in the world to study Finance. Finance is the specialized study of how an individual or a company manages its funds. It’s one of the most demanding degrees globally. Finance courses offer a wide range of modules, including accounting, investments, and economics. 

Many top-ranked universities, schools, and colleges provide bachelor’s and master’s courses for those who want to settle themselves in the finance sector. 

Specialization

One can study Finance at UG and PG levels. There are also some diploma and certification courses available online and offline. 

Finance degrees usually cover practical and theoretical knowledge, including basic finance skills. Mentioned below are some of the specializations that the students can choose from:

1. Corporate Finance

The field of corporate Finance mainly focuses on financial management and processes within corporations. As part of the course, students are taught how to evaluate the cost of capital, assess corporations’ market value, risk mitigation strategies, and mergers and acquisitions.

2. International Finance

International finance modules include:

• International taxation.
• International financial reporting.
• International trade policies.
• Foreign direct investment.
• International monetary systems.
• International financial markets.

One can also opt to study Finance in developing economies or specific economic systems.

3. Behavioral Finance

Specialization in behavioral Finance mainly focuses on combining social, psychological, and economic models to understand why individuals or groups behave in specific ways. This also makes us understand why people within financial industries make ‘bad’ decisions which unfortunately leads to inefficiencies in the market. 

4. Investment Analysis and Management

 This specialization involves researching and evaluating security or industry to predict its future performance and determine its suitability for a specific investor. 

5. Risk assessments

 Financial risk assessment mainly focuses on identifying the risk level involved in a particular business, prioritizing those risks, developing ways to avoid them, and ensuring that one can take advantage of valuable opportunities.

6. Personal Finance

Personal Finance is the financial management that covers managing your money and saving and investing. It mainly focuses on budgeting, banking, insurance, mortgages, investments, retirement planning, and tax and estate planning.

Career Options

Finance courses offer you a lot of options when it comes to finding a job. Undergraduates or postgraduates can choose to work for an accountancy firm or put their knowledge and skills into management consultancy, risk management, audit, banking, working with local and national governments, or expanding their own businesses. Students from renowned universities in the world who study Finance will find it easy to kick-start their professional journey. 

 The most common profession includes :

• Accountant
• Management accountant
• Auditor

Apart from this, many finance graduates can also pursue a career as:

• Business analyst
• Actuary or economist
• Banker
• Stockbroker
• Payroll manager

Studying Finance at the UG level

There are many universities worldwide that offer UG courses in Finance. Graduates who want to build their career in the sector can opt to major in the subject or look for allied degrees offering Finance as one of the core subjects. Finance as a bachelor’s degree provides a course over a minimum of three years. 

Students willing to have a career in Finance can choose a bachelor’s degree at the UG level, such as BCom (Hons) in Accounts or Economics with finance-related modules. Many finance courses abroad are offered as a BSc or BA program too.

In the UK, undergraduate finance courses are mainly taught for three years, whereas in the United States, Finance is primarily a course for four years at the undergraduate level. 

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Studying Finance at the PG level

Many universities worldwide offer master’s programs in Finance, like MBA in Financial Management, MS in Finance, and International Finance, among others. Most colleges and universities admit students based on previous academic profiles, relevant work experience, and scores on various standardized and language tests, including GMAT, GRE, TOEFL, IELTS, and PTE. 

Source: QS WUR by Subject 2022: Accounting and Finance

Average Salary of Finance Graduates

Salaries of finance graduates are pretty high compared to other professions, and they vary from country to country and according to the specialization chosen. Given below is the average annual salary:

Average Salary of Finance Graduates

Source: Job portals (Payscale, Glassdoor and others)

• The national average salary annually for a Finance Graduate in the United Kingdom is £29,809
• The highest national average salary for a Finance Graduate in the United States is $80k
• Graduates in Accounting and Finance earn approximately 64182 € yearly.
• The annual salary for a Finance Graduate in Canada is CA$163,149 per year.

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upGrad Abroad offers uniquely designed programs that enable students to save money on tuition fees and other expenses. Students enrolling in these programs will be studying a part of their program online and completing the remaining course on-campus. 

Benefits of joining upGrad’s program:

• Quality education at lower prices
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