The MSc International Financial Management programme offers an opportunity for graduates from a diverse range of undergraduate disciplines to specialise at postgraduate level in international financial management. The programme allows graduates from non-finance disciplines (including sciences, mathematics, engineering, humanities and social sciences) to obtain the requisite knowledge and education to allow them to transfer to a career in finance or related professions. The programme is ideal for those students who seek a career in multinational business, accounting and finance-related business, retail banking, financial markets and many other areas where financial expertise is needed. Graduates of the programme may also go on to consulting careers or further academic study at advanced level.

You will acquire a wide range of skills relating to the analysis of business problems from a financial perspective, along with the ability to understand contemporary developments in international business, the accounting and finance industry, international financial markets and the global banking system. You will also acquire an ability to interpret, understand and apply data and information published in the financial statements of publicly-listed corporations, and to utilise financial data in decision-making.

Founded in 2013 as the exclusive business school of Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University, International Business School Suzhou offers a unique blend of Western and Chinese academic practices. It is the youngest business school ever to earn Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business accreditation and has accreditation from the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants, CPA Australia and the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales.

Located in Suzhou, Jiangsu, near Shanghai, one of China’s the fastest-growing commercial centres, IBSS seeks to become an international leader in business education and research. It is perfectly placed to support your talent development and research needs.

Creative interaction and collaboration with international and domestic businesses, coupled with solid academic grounding, underpins the IBSS learning and teaching environment. This prepares Chinese students for international business and international students for doing business in or with China.

Graduates of this programme will effectively have converted their non-financial undergraduate education into masters-level knowledge of international financial management. This will make graduates of the programme attractive recruitment prospects for the finance departments of both Chinese and international corporations, as well as in financial consultancies, banks, and accounting and auditing firms, especially when working in an international context. The programme will also be a useful starting point for non-finance graduates who wish to sit examinations leading to the professional qualifications of the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Institute, Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA), Association of International Accountants (AIA), or similar qualifications (though this would require additional training and the passing of professional examinations).

This programme aims to equip you with:

• the intellectual skills and theoretical understanding appropriate to the study of accounting and finance
• a strong practical ability to solve real-world financial issues faced by firms, especially those arising from the international dimension
• skills in dealing with complex financial data and in using it to make decisions and recommendations that add value to an organisation
• the ability to perform research into financial issues facing firms and to make recommendations based on that research.

Minimum Entry Requirements

UK

Upper second class (2:1) honours

China

• 1st tier universities: 75 percent or above
• 2nd tier universities: 80 percent or above

Note: Chinese applicants are not required to take the MoE postgraduate entrance exam.

North America

3.0 Cumulative GPA (out of 4) or 3.2 Cumulative GPA in the final two years of your undergraduate programme

Other Regions

Equivalent academic qualifications

Academic Background

Applicants should be numerate and have some background knowledge and understanding in quantitative methods and statistics. Generally, applicants with a bachelor’s degree (UK 2:1 or equivalent) in science, technology, engineering or mathematics, and applicants from Tier 1 Chinese universities, will be considered to have sufficient skills in quantitative methods and statistics for the programme. Applicants from other disciplines will need to demonstrate numeracy skills and ability to undertake mathematical work, which may include being assessed through interview and/or a numerical aptitude test. Students who cannot demonstrate suitable numeracy skills will not be accepted into the programme.

English Language Requirements

If English is not your native language or if you have not studied in English at degree level, you will need to provide evidence of your English proficiency. You should normally possess one of the following qualifications:

• IELTS: 6.5 (minimum of 5.5 in all sections)
• TOEFL iBT: 90 (minimum of 21 in any skill)

In exceptional circumstances, individual cases will be considered on their own merits. You may be required to attend interviews or tests to further demonstrate your English proficiency.

If you miss the English language requirements by 0.5-1.0 of an IELTS band, or a similar number for other English language exams, you can be admitted to the programme after successful completion of our four- or six-week intensive English presessional course.

You can also apply to take the XJTLU English language test in lieu of an IELTS/TOEFL or equivalent. Based on the score, students may be admitted or may be required to take and successfully complete the four- or six-week intensive English presessional course.

Additionally, students may be required to complete English language courses on a pass/fail basis as part of the additional learning activity requirement during their studies at XJTLU.

Core Modules

• International business
• Accounting and financial management
• Corporate financial management
• International corporate financial management
• International financial accounting and reporting
• International financial management dissertation

Elective modules

• Econometrics
• Quantitative methods for finance
• Money and banking
• Business planning – financial modelling
• Advanced quantitative methods for international financial management
• Topics in contemporary accounting and finance
• International finance and economics

Additional learning activities

The completion of additional learning activities is required to complete your masters degree. Normally, required ALA hours will be distributed evenly across each semester, amounting to 200 hours per semester. Part-time programmes will normally require 100 to 150 hours per semester.

Additional learning activities offered include:

• Introduction to research methods I and II
• Personal and employability skills
• Operations modelling and simulation
• Postgraduate English
• Chinese language
• Graduate teaching assistantship
• Graduate research assistantship
• Independent study with an IBSS tutor
• Participation in IBSS research seminar series
• Writing and presentation of scholarly research paper
• Thomson One certificate achievement
• EIKON certificate achievement
• DataStream certificate achievement
• Professional software skills
• Volunteer work for university and business school projects and events
• In-company project
• Field trip/company visit
• Career development activities
• Graduate work placement
• International corporate governance
• Stochastic methods for finance I and II
• Time series analytics
• Asset pricing analytics
• Empirical data analytics