Master of Science in Business Economics (Corporate Finance )
The Business Economics programme is aimed at students with an interest in the business scene. It prepares them for the active and flexible fulfilment of a wide range of responsibilities in the financial, industrial, trade and service sectors in which companies and social profit organisations operate.
This program is accredited by AACSB International – The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. AACSB is a global nonprofit association whose accreditation processes are ISO 9001:2015 certified.
What
In the Business Economics programme students become acquainted with almost every functional aspect of the business world: how and why a company is established, how it is financed, how it organises itself administratively, how it produces goods and services, how it markets and sells those goods and services, how it deals with personnel and how the company’s management co-ordinates and steers all those activities. The emphasis is on the inside of the business. The Master’s programme offers three disciplines that allow you to tailor your curriculum according to your own interests, and become an expert in one of the three functional fields.
In the Corporate Finance main subject, we develop your understanding of the core financial dimensions of a company and prepare you to become a specialist in financial management. This specialist main subject will provide you with a detailed understanding of financial statements and how to use them for financial decision-making. We will develop your ability to value companies and manage financial risks. The main subject delves deeper into advanced corporate finance topics, such as financial modelling, banking, mergers & acquisitions, and addresses more recent developments, including crowdfunding, green finance, and FinTech. The focus is not only on established companies but also the on the financing of entrepreneurial ventures; how do professional investors (such as venture capitalists) screen new ventures, how do they value ventures, and how are “term sheets” negotiated? Throughout the course units, you will have numerous opportunities to analyse important case studies in small groups. A Corporate Finance in Practice course unit will prepare you further for a job in corporate finance and bring you into contact with finance professionals. The curriculum also covers research methods related to the field of corporate finance. The research methods toolbox will allow you to develop answers to new problems, which also have important implications for practice and policy-making. A dedicated team of professors and support staff, with experience in teaching as well as professional practice at national and international business schools, policy-making institutions and/or businesses, will guide you.
For whom
The admission requirements may vary. Depending on your prior education, you can either enrol directly or there may be additional requirements.
Structure
The Master’s programme has a modular structure that differs from the traditional semester system. Course units are organised into six-week modular blocks. Each block consists of only two course units, allowing students to engage with the material in a more focused and in-depth manner.
The teaching methods are challenging and varied, including case studies, group assignments, discussion panels, lectures, business games, and more. At the end of each modular block, students take examinations for the two course units. In addition, the blocks include interim assessments and (group) assignments. As a result, there are no examination periods in January or June. You can take up an internship as an elective course during the months January, Easter break or June.
In the second term, you will follow a practical course unit related to your specialisation, providing you with direct exposure to the professional field. The programme also offers sufficient time to work on your Master’s dissertation, which is a key component of the degree. The dissertation demonstrates your ability to independently apply acquired knowledge to a specific problem.
Students who wish to combine a Master’s degree with a teaching qualification may opt for the Master’s Programme in Teaching (in Dutch: Educatieve master) instead of the programme described above. Please note that the Master’s Programme in Teaching is taught in Dutch. www.ugent.be/educatievemaster.
Finally, it is possible to participate in a double degree programme with Georg-August-Universität Göttingen or the University Clermont Auvergne. In a double degree programme, students obtain a degree from both the home university and the host university.
Labour Market
The primary career destination for graduates in Business Economics is the business sector. Alumni can be found in a wide range of positions across companies and non-profit organisations. Most graduates start their careers in the specialisation they selected during the Master’s programme, although this often evolves over time.
Some graduates take on increasing responsibilities within their original field, progressing to roles such as marketing manager or financial director, and eventually advancing to positions such as Chief Marketing Officer (CMO), Chief Financial Officer (CFO), or even Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Others broaden their careers by moving into different functional areas or by being promoted to general management positions. The broad orientation of the programme facilitates such career mobility.
A substantial number of graduates pursue careers in economic professions, such as accountant, corporate consultant, tax advisor, or marketing consultant. These professions can be practised either as an employee or as a self-employed professional. Finally, Business Economics graduates are also employed in banks, insurance companies, government agencies, and organisations closely affiliated with the public sector.
Some examples of jobs for graduates in Business Economics:
- auditor
- accountmanager
- digital marketeer
- credit control officer
- executive director
- business advisor
- marketing & communication officer
- project finance consultant
- M&A analyst
- treasury analyst
- financial controller
- business consultant
- senior accountant
- ...
Quality Assurance
At Ghent University, we strive to educate people who dare to think about the challenges of tomorrow. For that purpose, we provide education that is embedded in six strategic objectives: Think Broadly, Keep Researching, Cultivate Talent, Contribute, Extend Horizons, Opt for Quality.
Ghent University continuously focuses on quality assurance and quality culture. The Ghent University's quality assurance system offers information on each study programme’s unique selling points, and on its strengths and weaknesses with regard to quality assurance.
More information:
Unique Selling Points
- Multiperspectivism: as a student you are trained to become a critical professional who can work both individually and in a team. We teach our students the necessary skills to work creatively and solve problems.
- Talent development: your talents as a student are further developed on the basis of 5 learning pathways: 1a. Basic Economics and 1b. Business Economics, 2. Research Methodology, 3. Innovation and Entrepreneurship, 4. Communication, 5. Multiperspectivism and Sustainability. The Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees offer ample options, both in terms of main subject and in terms of elective courses.
- Knowledge creation: our study programme pays great attention to a step-by-step build-up of knowledge that is contained in the learning pathways. You are constantly encouraged and challenged to engage in critical self-reflection. Our graduates are highly versatile yet also sufficiently specialized. As such, their opportunities in the labour market are endless.
- Curriculum: to optimize your learning effects, the Master’s programme is modular and subject-oriented. In addition, there is room for ‘in practice’ course units, in which you learn to put the acquired concepts and theories into practice. Work placements with specific business applications, though elective, are an explicit part of the teaching options, while opportunities for an international experience have been improved through an exchange with partner universities.
- Integration of theory and practice: over the various study years, our programme integrates a gradual transition from lectures to interactive teaching methods. Our ‘in practice’ course units, elective work placements and group work, and the involvement of guest speakers from the field make up an optimal career preparation. We aim to provide students with a thorough theoretical and analytical foundation that enables them to tackle actual problems and cases in the field.
Strengths
- Focus on research competencies: the Business Economics programme is strongly research-based. This is evident in the ‘Research’ learning pathway and the Master’s dissertation. We focus strongly on research-based Master’s dissertations. This research focus gives our students a solid theoretical and analytical foundation, which enables them to tackle any type of problem in the field, regardless of its nature or origin.
- Our study programme boasts a dedicated team of lecturers from various disciplines, who combine their passion for teaching with conducting research, and a belief in added value through research. As active contributors to the international research community, they integrate new insights into the programme, thus keeping it up to date.
- External perspective: we are intensifying our contacts and co-operation with companies, alumni, trade unions, standard setters and other stakeholders by means of, among other things, the ‘in practice’ course units, work placements, and alumni and guest speaker contributions.
- Smooth transition to professional life: our graduates’ entry into a broad labour market is strong, with high employment rates (in positions suited to the diploma level).
- Assessment: our students appreciate that they are well informed about the form and content of assessments so that they clearly know what to expect while studying.
Challenges
- Transparent and efficient Master’s dissertation policy: by focusing on supervision during the preparation and realization of the Master’s dissertation we strive for premium-quality end products. This ranges from providing clear and appropriate information about dissertation topics to focusing on extra coaching when drafting the Master’s dissertation. This allows students to think critically and experience the coaching as valuable, as well learn to apply their theoretical knowledge. To realize this intensified supervision, we plan to expand our professioral staff and arrange for better coordination among.
- Involvement of the professional field: our connection with stakeholders and the professional field greatly improved in the context of the external perspective. We focused on collaboration with guest speakers from the business world, on inviting motivated and critical alumni into the Programme Committee, encouraging work placement assignments in, and in collaboration with companies, etc. We are aware that we have not yet fully realized “embedding the external perspective”. Involvement of, and integration of feedback by, the professional field in the study programme needs further strengthening. In addition, the recent establishment of the FEB Academy of Lifelong Learning will allow us to strengthen the ties with external stakeholders and alumni in a sustainable and result-yielding way.
Accreditation
This study programme is accredited by the Accreditation Organisation of the Netherlands and Flanders (Dutch: NVAO). Accreditation was extended following the positive outcome of the institutional review in 2022. Programme quality was validated by a quality review, i.e. a screening of the Education Monitor by the Education Quality Board. The Quality Assurance Resolution (in Dutch) can be found here.
This program is accredited by AACSB International – The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. AACSB is a global nonprofit association whose accreditation processes are ISO 9001:2015 certified.
This information was last updated on 01/02/2023.
In case of questions or suggestions with regard to the publicly available information, please contact the study programme.