Is a Professional Placement Compulsory in the Corporate Finance Specialisation?
Professional experience is one of the most important components of an MSc in Finance. It transforms theoretical knowledge into practical skills, accelerates career development and enables students to test their professional ambitions in real-world conditions. In the MSc in Corporate Finance at EDC Paris Business School, this practical experience is fully integrated into the curriculum and forms a compulsory part of the programme.
Nature and Duration of the Placement or Professional Assignment
The programme includes a compulsory professional experience, delivered in one of two formats depending on the study pathway chosen by the student.
Students enrolled on the full-time programme complete scheduled work placements throughout the academic year. These corporate finance placements enable students to apply the knowledge acquired in class—such as financial analysis, reporting and treasury management—in real business environments across a variety of industries.
For students following the work-study route, professional immersion is embedded throughout the programme. The alternating schedule of three weeks in a company followed by one week of classes replaces the traditional placement model with continuous workplace experience, allowing students to take on increasing levels of responsibility as the programme progresses.
The curriculum officially includes a Professional Experience & Report module, which formalises this practical component and makes it an assessed academic deliverable. Professional experience is therefore not an optional addition—it is at the heart of the MSc in Corporate Finance learning experience.
Learning Objectives of the Professional Experience
The practical skills developed during the placement directly reflect the programme's technical teaching. While working in a professional environment, students are expected to apply a range of specialist competencies, including:
- Applied financial analysis: carrying out financial diagnostics using real business data, developing valuation models and analysing company performance in an operational context.
- Treasury management: contributing to cash flow forecasting, liquidity monitoring and the day-to-day management of banking relationships.
- Financial reporting: preparing dashboards and management reports for senior leadership teams using professional tools taught on the programme, including Power BI.
- Participation in corporate projects: contributing to cross-functional assignments such as financial closing processes, internal audits and finance transformation projects, helping students develop versatility and adaptability.
In addition to technical expertise, practical workplace learning develops behavioural skills that cannot be fully replicated in the classroom, including prioritisation, communication with demanding stakeholders, professional conduct and the ability to take initiative in a fast-paced environment.
Supervision and Assessment of the Placement
The MSc placement is delivered within a structured framework and with ongoing support. EDC Paris Business School provides comprehensive guidance throughout the professional experience.
From an administrative perspective, a formal placement agreement is signed between the School, the host organisation and the student. This agreement sets out the responsibilities assigned to the student, the duration of the placement, the intended learning outcomes and the supervision arrangements with the workplace mentor.
From an academic perspective, students are required to produce a Professional Experience Report, an official assessment component of the programme. This report is evaluated against clearly defined criteria, including the quality of analysis, critical reflection on the assignments undertaken, links with the MSc curriculum and the student's ability to evaluate their own professional development.
The assessment of the professional assignment forms part of the programme's overall evaluation process, alongside the final dissertation. During the oral defence, presented before a panel of academics and, in some cases, industry professionals, students demonstrate the professional maturity gained through their workplace experience and highlight the practical skills they have developed.
This structured supervision ensures that every student gains maximum value from their professional experience, within an academic framework that gives purpose to each assignment and integrates it into a coherent learning journey.
The compulsory placement within the MSc in Corporate Finance is a powerful driver of employability. It enables graduates to enter the job market with practical experience, an emerging professional network and the confidence to discuss real business projects with recruiters. To learn more about the professional experience requirements at EDC Paris Business School and discover how workplace immersion fits into the programme timetable, consult the full programme information on the EDC Paris Business School website or speak directly with an admissions adviser.