Accounting and Finance - Master's Programme (One Year)

In this intensive one-year programme you will be a part of a diverse and international group of students. You will gain the knowledge needed to bridge the practical, core skills you learned in your Bachelor’s programme to more extensive skills and theoretical knowledge useful in tackling contemporary challenges.

You choose to specialise in Corporate Finance or Accounting and Management Control. These disciplines sit at the crossroads of business strategy, operational processes, and information management, all of which are vital for ensuring that decisions align with corporate and strategic goals. The Corporate Finance specialisation provides you the opportunity to improve your abilities to value and assess the creditworthiness of companies, analyse mergers and acquisitions and other corporate restructurings, and design financial strategies. The Accounting and Management Control specialisation gives you the knowledge needed to evaluate business, financial, and sustainability performance, understand business models, and assess strategic opportunities and risks. Both specialisations offer you the opportunity to integrate sustainability considerations, enhance your understanding of the role of co-intelligence in contemporary decision-making, and develop your teamwork skills – capabilities crucial for leading successfully in international and multidisciplinary team environment.

International Master Class

Students with exceptional study results during the first semester at this programme, may compete for seats at the International Master Class programme. The International Master Class is a highly competitive opportunity to go on an exchange semester after finishing your Master’s studies. 

The programme is organised into two different tracks. When applying for the programme, you also select which track you are specialising in. The tracks share courses to some extent.

Corporate Finance Track

Designed for students with an interest in corporate financial decision making, corporate valuation, financing, restructuring and corporate risk.

Corporate Finance

Accounting and Management Control Track

Designed for students with an interest in managerial accounting, strategic investment decisions, enterprise risk management and financial communication.

Accounting and Management Control

During the programme, you will learn both classical and contemporary theories, gaining practical knowledge through an extensive use of challenging team-based assignments and cases that focus on relevant issues faced by organisations. You will have the chance to deepen your analytical competence, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills, as well as to enhance your ability to work in diverse groups. You will be expected to engage in a significant amount of independent study and preparation to succeed. The programme assesses student performance based on a combination of case studies, group projects, written exams, oral exams, and a comprehensive research project. These varied assessment methods enable students to leverage their individual strengths, whether in writing, oral communication, individual assessment, or teamwork.

There is a broad and extensive labour market for graduates of the programme. The Corporate Finance specialisation provides you with a strong foundation for corporate finance roles in financial management. In addition, you will be able to apply, with confidence, for advisory or financial analyst roles in investment banking, corporate transaction and financing advisory services, or financial business consulting, credit analysis, and buy-side or sell-side research roles.

The Accounting and Management Control specialisation gives you the knowledge and skills to work in leadership roles in financial management and control, such as a CFO, controller and business partnering roles in financial management. This specialisation prepares you also for positions in risk advisory, management consulting, and business development.

The specialisation is also of interest for certified or chartered accountants working with auditing.

Graduates of the Master’s programme Accounting and Finance programme have obtained positions at the following firms, companies, and organisations: Moody’s, Deutsche Bank, McKinsey, Royal Bank of Scotland, BNP Paribas, KPMG, Accenture, Deloitte, Goldman Sachs, EY, J.P. Morgan, European Central Bank, and in doctoral programmes at various universities.

Prerequisites

Programme-specific requirements An undergraduate degree (BA/BSc) with at least 90 credits in business administration, which must include a course in corporate finance/financial management and a course in financial accounting. English course 6 (advanced proficiency). Specialisation in Corporate Finance In addition to the programme-specific admission requirements, the specialisation in Corporate Finance requires 15 credits in corporate finance/finance/financial management and a course in econometrics or statistics. The specialisation in Corporate Finance expects participants to hold previous knowledge in corporate finance equivalent to the advanced undergraduate level. You should, for example, be familiar with basic concepts such as net present value (NPV), discounted cash flow (DCF), and weighted average cost of capital (WACC), but also with basic theories such as trade-off theory, information asymmetry, and agency theory. Participants are also expected to hold basic knowledge of statistics, including central statistical concepts such as mean, standard deviation, variance, covariance, correlation, and ordinary least squares. In addition, participants are expected to be able to read and understand financial statements, including the consolidated statements of financial position, profit or loss, changes in equity, and cash flows, and to calculate and interpret profitability, profit margin, asset turnover, and growth. Specialisation in Accounting and Management Control In addition to the programme-specific admission requirements, the specialisation in Accounting and Management Control requires 15 credits in financial accounting or management accounting. The specialisation in Accounting and Management Control expects participants to be able to read and understand financial statements, including the consolidated statements of financial position, profit or loss, changes in equity, and cash flows, and to calculate and interpret profitability, profit margin, asset turnover, and growth. Furthermore we expect you to be familiar with basic management accounting concepts like opportunity cost, fixed and variable cost, and net present value. Finally, we expect you to have basic knowledge about different management control tools, like budgets, multidimensional performance measures, and responsibility centers.

Selection criteria

Selection will be based on academic merits from previous university studies and a Statement of Purpose in which applicants state their reasons for applying to the programme and describe their specialised interests in the topical themes in management accounting and corporate finance covered by the programme. The Statement of Purpose should also contain a self-assessment of the applicant’s prior knowledge of corporate finance, financial accounting, financial management, and management accounting.

Tuition fees for non-EU/EEA citizens

Citizens of countries outside:

• The European Union (EU)
• The European Economic Area (EEA) and
• Switzerland

are required to pay tuition fees. You pay an instalment of the tuition fee in advance of each
semester.

Tuition fees, payments and exemptions

Full programme/course tuition fee: SEK 150,000
First payment: SEK 75,000

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Note that you may also need to pay an application fee, or provide proof of exemption.

Application fee

No tuition fees for citizens of the EU, EEA and Switzerland

There are no tuition fees for citizens of the European Union (EU), the European Economic Area (EEA) and Switzerland.

Lund University Global Scholarship Programme

The Lund University Global Scholarship programme is a merit-based and selective scholarship targeted at top academic students from countries outside the EU/EEA.

Lund University Global Scholarship

African Research Universities Alliance (ARUA) Scholarship

Within the framework of the Lund University Global Scholarship programme, the University also offers the African Research Universities Alliance (ARUA) Scholarship targeted at top academic students from selected African research universities. 

ARUA Scholarship

Swedish Institute Scholarship: Global professionals

The Swedish Institute offers scholarships to international students from certain countries who are applying for select Master's programmes in Sweden. 

Scholarship information on the Swedish Institute website 

Country-specific scholarships and funding options

Lund University has agreements with scholarship organisations and funding bodies in different countries, which may allow applicants to apply for funding or scholarships in their home countries for their studies at Lund University. Most agreements are intended for Master’s applicants, although certain opportunities may also be available to Bachelor’s students.

Country-specific scholarships

External scholarships

In addition to scholarships offered by Lund University or through its partner agreements, there are external opportunities. On the page below, you’ll find examples of organisations that may provide financial support for international students from specific countries. 

External scholarships