Studies & Degrees in Advanced Finance
Advanced Finance Study Programs
Advanced finance is the study of finance beyond the introductory courses of a business or economics degree. It deals with how companies raise and invest money, how financial markets price assets, and how risk is measured and managed. The term is used for specialised finance courses in the final years of a bachelor's degree and, more often, for master's programmes in finance, corporate finance, financial markets or financial engineering.
The subject is quantitative. Students work with financial statements, spreadsheets, statistics and valuation models, and they need to be comfortable with mathematics.
What students learn
Programmes combine three areas. The master's in finance at EAE Business School in Barcelona shows the usual mix; the school describes it as combining technical knowledge of analysis, investment, markets and risk management with management skills.
- Corporate finance: financial analysis and company valuation, cost of capital, mergers and acquisitions, due diligence, treasury and budgeting
- Markets and investments: fixed-income and equity assets, portfolio management and modern portfolio theory
- Quantitative methods and risk: financial engineering, quantitative analysis, binomial and Black-Scholes models, and models of market, operational and country risk
Most programmes let students lean towards one side. The Maestría en Finanzas of the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) has two fields of knowledge: stock-market finance (finanzas bursátiles) and corporate finance. The corporate finance master's at EAE in Madrid offers two specialisations: mergers and acquisitions, and regulatory compliance and internal control.
Qualifications and levels
- Bachelor's degree: finance is taught as a major or as part of a business degree. Tennessee Tech University in the United States lists Finance among the undergraduate majors of its College of Business, together with a Banking Certificate; at graduate level the college offers an MBA and a Master of Accountancy.
- Master's degree: this is the usual level for advanced finance. The EAE master's in finance has 60 ECTS credits, lasts 10 months full-time and is offered in Spanish or English. In Mexico, UNAM teaches finance as a maestría within its postgraduate programme in administration sciences.
- Official and own qualifications in Spain: an official master's degree (máster universitario) has 60, 90 or 120 ECTS credits. A university's own master's is called Máster de Formación Permanente. EAE states that its finance master's in Barcelona gives both: the official Máster Universitario en Dirección de Finanzas from the Universitat de Lleida and a Máster de Formación Permanente en Finanzas. Its corporate finance master's in Madrid, a 12-month hybrid programme, is listed by EAE as its own qualification (Máster de Formación Permanente). Ask each school which diploma a programme gives and what recognition it has.
- Admission: a university degree is required. EAE addresses its programme mainly to graduates in business administration, economics, accounting and finance, or engineering, and to holders of other degrees that included finance or business economics. Its students have two years of work experience on average, and 70% are international.
- Professional certifications: these are separate from degrees. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), certification is not always required for financial analysts but may enhance professional standing.
Where to study advanced finance
SpainExchange lists 10 schools for this subject: 5 in Spain, 2 in the United States and one each in the Netherlands, Mexico and Iraq. In Spain they are in Madrid and Barcelona: IE Business School and UIBS / Madrid Business School in Madrid, and EAE Business School, C3S Business School and ESADE in Barcelona. In the United States the list has Tennessee Tech University in Cookeville and Auburn University at Montgomery, and in Mexico the UNAM.
Programmes in Spain are taught in Spanish, in English or in both, depending on the school; those in the United States are taught in English and the UNAM programme in Spanish. When comparing programmes, look at the balance between corporate finance and markets, the amount of quantitative work, the language, the type of qualification and whether an internship is included.
Careers
Graduates work in banks, investment firms, insurance companies, consultancies and the finance departments of companies. EAE lists chief financial officer, financial analyst, bank branch manager, M&A analyst and controller among the positions its graduates aim for.
The BLS describes financial analysts as people who research and evaluate financial data, forecast trends and prepare recommendations for businesses and investors. In the United States, financial and investment analysts held about 377,200 jobs in 2025. Employment of financial analysts is projected to grow 7 percent from 2025 to 2035, with about 29,500 openings a year. Analysts typically need a bachelor's degree in finance or a related field, and a master's degree in finance or business administration may improve the chances of moving up to portfolio or fund manager. Financial managers typically need a bachelor's degree and five years or more of experience; their employment is projected to grow 10 percent over the same period.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a finance degree to study a master's in finance?
Not always. EAE, for example, also accepts graduates of other degrees that included finance or business economics. Check the entry profile of each school.
How long does a master's in finance take?
About one year in many cases. The EAE master's in finance has 60 ECTS credits and lasts 10 months full-time; its hybrid corporate finance master's lasts 12 months. Official master's degrees in Spain have 60, 90 or 120 ECTS credits.
What is the difference between corporate finance and financial markets?
Corporate finance looks at the company: valuation, funding, mergers and acquisitions, treasury. Financial markets, or stock-market finance, looks at investors: assets, portfolios and risk. Many programmes, such as the UNAM maestría, let students choose one of the two.