The relaunch of our MiF programme

by Kate Forman, Programme Director, Masters in Finance

If you’re already doing well at work it can be a big decision to take on study amidst your busy professional life. Our Masters in Finance degree is designed for people exactly like you: a finance professional looking to build the knowledge and skills to support both your immediate and long-term career advancement.

We have recently completed a wide-reaching programme review, listening to students, alumni, recruiters and faculty to ensure that our programme is the absolute best it can be. We’re now launching some really exciting new initiatives and I’m delighted to be able to share a flavour of those here. You can find more information here and on the website.

There’s no question that London Business School has a great reputation in finance, and that’s probably why you’re reading this! Our MiF is consistently ranked the best of its kind by the Financial Times and we have a large Finance and Accounting faculty focussed on leading research and engaging teaching. Throughout the MiF you will meet and hear from them through a series of core classes, a very wide and varied set of elective courses of your choosing and through exclusive events.

Alongside this we use our network to bring in active professionals who run our Practitioner Courses. Here you explore key finance topics and professional areas in more depth with the people out there leading the way in those fields. You can complete as many of these courses as you like throughout the programme, and beyond as alumni. We’re also introducing a new course, The Business of Finance, to ensure you hear from these individuals at an early point in the programme when you’re planning your own aims and direction.

A true differentiator of the LBS MiF is our extensive set of activities designed to directly support your professional development. I am constantly hearing about the volatile and uncertain nature of the world we live in today and the MiF will help you develop the skills and knowledge that allow you to navigate this landscape for the duration of your career. We’ve added even more options to support you in this next year and I’m especially excited about our new technical skills workshops in Python and R. You won’t graduate from LBS as a computer scientist, that’s not our intention, but in an age and profession where an understanding of big data and its implications is becoming ever more important, our aim is that you graduate from LBS able to navigate this sphere with confidence and authority.

So often I hear from students that the LBS campus is so vibrant that they wish they could stretch time in order to do it all! Time is an important consideration when choosing a masters degree and this is why we have made the programme even more flexible. In addition, we’re ensuring you can even return after graduation to enjoy some opportunities at a later date.

The full-time programme can be completed in either 10 months or 16 months, with the latter option giving you time to undertake a professional internship over the summer or to spend your final term on exchange at one of our partner institutions across the world. We will soon be adding even more schools to that exchange list so you can build your international network further.

Most part-time students spend 22 months completing the programme, but we have now introduced the opportunity to fast-track and complete in 18 months if this suits you better. The part-time programme includes absolutely all of the options and activities available in the full-time programme, just at a different pace to take account of your professional commitments.

You’re not committed to your route or completion date until you want to be, we let you plan this as you go along to ensure you’re getting a tailored experience that works for and evolves with you.

One of my favourite new activities is our Global Immersion Elective. This is an optional week-long trip to Boston and New York where we visit a series of asset management and banking companies in the USA. You will hear about the issues and opportunities these companies are grappling with and consider yours and their response. It’s a highlight of the programme.

All of these activities are tied together by one important theme – you, the students. One of the best parts of my job as Programme Director is seeing the firm friendships and professional connections our students form with each other. You will be sitting in classrooms with a network of ambitious, motivated finance professionals and you will learn as much from them as from the teachers. I always love seeing how many former MiF students come back to our events. Leaving LBS doesn’t mean leaving at all – there is a whole series of activities that MiF alumni regularly return to and I am really excited that next year we’re going to be adding a scheme that allows alumni to return to take additional electives after their programme.

If you are a finance professional looking to advance your career I urge you to talk to our team to discuss how the MiF can support your career. I look forward to meeting many of you in August … and for years to come after that!