In an age of fast-changing and sometimes uncertain trends in business education, financial training is proving extremely resilient.
Global demand for masters in finance (MiF) degree courses increased slightly in 2018, although the picture differed between regions. Applications were up at most European schools running the programmes, thanks to an increase in international applications, while those to US institutions were down due to declining international interest, mirroring trends for MBAs.
Unlike the MBA market, however — where even highly ranked schools such as Iowa’s Tippie College of Business have stopped courses because of falling demand — no one in business education is questioning whether the MiF degree has a future. This is due to factors including clear career paths for graduates. Another boost comes from schools adapting MiF courses to attract more diverse students in terms of age, gender and the subjects they have studied in the past.