The series of finance courses taught in the bachelor program has been designed with the goal in mind to educate students in the most important areas within financial economics.
Finance is a field that affects society in many different ways: for example, venture and private equity financing is important to support entrepreneurs in realizing their ideas while the mutual fund and financial advising industry plays a crucial role in supporting all of us in saving for retirement. Given this scope of finance, it is important to provide bachelor students with a solid overview and introduction into finance. At the same point in time, the department of finance at SSE values research and critical thinking very highly and this will also be reflected throughout all our courses.
In the Bachelor program at SSE we give two mandatory courses in finance in the first two years. The first course, Finance I: Investment Management, focuses on capital markets, financial instruments and investment management. The second course, Finance II: Corporate Finance, focuses on issues in corporate finance, such as capital structure, short- and long term financing and mergers and acquisitions.
In the third year we offer a finance specialization with two courses in the 5th semester, one in Corporate Finance and Value Creation (644) and one in Derivatives in Investment Management (643). In these two courses we build on the knowledge acquired during the first two years of study, but go both deeper and wider. Students learn how to apply the finance toolbox to specific real-life situations, how to solve practical problems and how to analyze more complex issues in finance. The courses introduce new theories and methods and use a mixture of pedagogical tools, including the case study technique, to bring finance theory to life.
In the sixth semester we offer two finance electives, addressing either new topics or going deeper in already known areas of knowledge. Course 763, Asset Allocation, introduces students to additional topics in active portfolio management such as investing for retirement purposes. Another elective focuses on Financial Intermediation, course 761. This course explains the institutional setting in the financial intermediation industry, provides student with a comprehensive understanding of its roles and challenges, and illustrates how credit is channeled from savings to investment in the real economy.
The finance courses in the BSc Program at SSE are:
Bachelor Thesis
Students can also write their bachelor thesis in Finance. In the thesis writing course (649), students will first be exposed to standard econometric tools that are essential to do research in finance. Then, they will practice applying economic theory and using these empirical methods to analyze problems in finance and to present the analysis in the form of an academic paper.
Bachelor Program in Retail Management
In the Bachelor program in Retail management, the Department offers one introductory course in finance covering the basics in both corporate finance and investment management.
Further Information and Contact
For more information about prerequisites for the finance specialization, please see:
If you have questions, you can also email Michael Halling at michael.halling@hhs.se.