Structure and contents
The Master programme stretches over two years (120 ECTS) and is structured to allow the students to personalise their study curricula according to their individual interests and educational backgrounds. It includes four semesters of lectures and seminars, and an internship. Typically, in the first semester students attend the foundation courses in order to acquire the basics of finance, accounting and statistics. The second and third semesters are dedicated to core courses and electives. The final thesis should show the candidate's ability to integrate acquired knowledge in the advanced scientific analysis of a topic in banking and finance.
The Swiss Finance Institute at the Università della Svizzera italiana coordinates the Master in Banking and Finance. The Swiss Finance Institute is an initiative sponsored by the Swiss Bankers Association with the purpose of achieving international excellence in banking and finance education and research at Swiss universities. The Institute is highly committed to banking and finance education in Ticino and Switzerland. The importance of the financial area in the Swiss economy strengthens the mission of the Institute to train the people required to meet the challenges of globalisation and the increasing competition in financial markets.
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Goals and contents
The Master in Banking and Finance has been designed to provide graduates with the necessary tools and skills for understanding financial markets and products from a banker's perspective. Lugano being the 3rd financial marketplace in Switzerland provides an ideal venue to offer students with different backgrounds the best possible start for a successful career in banking or finance. The degree provides a background in finance methodology as well as the opportunity to go into more depth in selected topics of banking and finance by choosing electives.
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Study plan 2017-2019
Sem. I
Foundation Courses
Accounting 6 Capital Markets * 6 Corporate Finance * 6 Introduction to Statistics 6 Quantitative Methods in Finance 6 Sem. II
Core Courses
Corporate Banking * 6 Derivatives * 6 Financial Intermediation * 6 Risk Management * 6 Financial Statement Analysis * 3 Introductory Corporate Governance * 3 Sem. IV
Electives
Banking Strategies & Wealth Management 3 Private Banking 6 Advanced Corporate Finance * 6 Numerical Methods * 6 Corporate Social Responsibility
and Socially Responsible Investment3 Law and Practice of International Capital Markets 3 International Fiscal System 3 Trading and Market Microstructure 3 Alternative Investments 3 Introduction to Institutions and Economics
of Pensions and Aging3 Pension Economics and Finance 3 Seminar on Private Banking 3 Blockchains & Digital Currencies 3 Internship (mandatory)
6
Thesis **
18
Field Project **
12
To obtain the SFI accreditation, students must achieve at least half of the overall ECTS from courses marked with an *.
** Master in Banking and Finance students can choose to either do a thesis or participate in a Field Project
The Master degree in Banking & Finance is obtained with a total minimum number of 120 ECTS, including the internship and final thesis.
The following recommendation is valid for students of the Master in Banking and Finance: those who have achieved in the previous study path at least 9 of 180 ECTS with exams in quantitative subjects can follow the sequence of courses of the Master in Finance of the first semester, i.e. replace the courses Introduction to Statistics and Quantitative Methods in Finance (whose notions are taken for granted) with Probability and Finance, Statistics and Financial Econometrics. Students pursuing this variant can advance to the Master in Finance, if they wish, or receive a Master's degree with the additional indication on the transcript of exams Master in Economics major in Banking and Finance with quantitative applications.
Changes in the study plan may occur. In case of discrepancies, or for any legal purpose, the study plan indicated by the Director or the Programme Manager of the Master shall prevail.
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Language
Admission to English-language Master’s programmes at USI requires a good command of English. Applicants whose previous degree was obtained in a language other than English are required to provide an internationally recognized language certificate at the B2+ level as defined by the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR), or an equivalent test result (e.g., TOEFL, IELTS, etc.).
The B2+ level on the CEFR corresponds to the following scores in internationally acknowledged exams:
Score IELTS 6.5 TOEFL Internet-based: 85 Cambridge English First grade B TOEIC Listening & Reading: 860
Speaking: 170
Writing: 170Important:
- The language certificate must be included in the application package: candidates whose Bachelor's was entirely taught in English must upload an official document mentioning the tuition language (e.g., official transcript, diploma supplement, or any other official certificate issued by the university) in the application form.
- We only accept the above English qualifications (IELTS, TOEFL, Cambridge English, TOEIC).
- The certificate must still be valid at the point of the application. We generally cannot accept language test results older than three years as of September 1st.
- Certificates obtained by passing the IELTS Academic Online or TOEFL iBT Home Edition tests may also be submitted for admission to the programme.
Italian
As Lugano is located in the Italian-speaking part of Switzerland, students might be interested in acquiring the basics in Italian.
The Università della Svizzera italiana offers a free of charge Italian language course: further information can be found here.