MSc Finance (part-time)

The MSc Finance (part-time) programme provides a unique opportunity to pursue a graduate degree at a world-leading institution alongside a full-time career. The programme attracts working professionals who either already hold, or aspire to hold, high-powered careers in finance and wish to acquire a more in-depth and academically rigorous knowledge of the subject.

As the LSE's longest running Executive Master's degree, the programme is specifically tailored to meet the requirements of part-time students in employment with regard to: academic content, structure and timing of teaching, and the academic, pastoral and careers support provided for students throughout the programme.

The academic structure and content in this programme is almost identical to the full-time MSc Finance programme, the primary difference being that teaching is delivered during evening sessions.

Being only a short journey from the City and Canary Wharf, LSE is ideally located for professionals to commute to and from the office for lectures, to study with their classmates or attend events and public lectures.

GMAT/GRE

GRE or GMAT isn't required, but is recommended for applicants whose quantitative skills aren't demonstrated by their undergraduate studies or work experience, or who don't have the equivalent of a UK first class degree (see GRE and GMAT for further information and exceptions)

Find out more about GRE/GMAT

Before the course teaching begins, students will attend a series of five pre-sessional classes in September. These classes cover the revision of and introduction to core quantitative mathematics, statistics and accounting, ensuring all students are able to tackle the material in the first term’s core courses.

The foundation of the programme is built in the first year when you'll study two full-unit compulsory courses. These courses must be passed in order to progress to the second year.

In the second year, students deepen their knowledge by taking four optional half-unit courses. Elective topics include financial systems, risk management, portfolio management methods, advanced derivatives and structured financial products, fixed income, advanced corporate finance, and applied financial valuation.

You can choose from a range of evening courses and a limited number of daytime courses. You're strongly encouraged to choose from the dedicated evening courses as these have been especially designed to cater to the needs of working students.

You may have coursework assignments or presentations, either individual or group work. This varies between courses. You'll also be required to submit a 6,000 word structured project for at least one of your courses. Final exam style assessments take place in the summer.

Teaching will be delivered in Autumn and Winter Terms. Revision sessions take place in the Spring Term to help prepare students for exams. Some courses will have optional Saturday sessions.

You're expected to attend five pre-sessional classes in September before class teaching resumes.

You choose optional courses to the value of two units from the lists below.

The Department of Finance is one of the largest and most highly respected finance groups in the UK and Europe.

With a longstanding reputation for excellence in both teaching and research, we offer various undergraduate, postgraduate and executive programmes.

Our research and teaching span the full range of financial sub-fields, including:

• corporate finance
• asset pricing theory
• risk management
• empirical analysis of capital markets
• behavioural finance
• portfolio analysis
• derivatives pricing
• microstructure
• financial econometrics.

We're also closely associated with two leading research groups at LSE – the Financial Markets Group and Systemic Risk Centre, which host seminars, conferences and public lectures by renowned academics and practitioners.

Our research is regularly published in leading academic journals globally. Faculty members work closely with national and international institutions, such as the Bank of England and the World Bank, informing policy at the highest levels.

The department was ranked the top place to study finance in the Good University Guide 2024.

Learn more about our programmes and research.

Department of Finance

We welcome applications from all suitably qualified prospective students and want to recruit students with the very best academic merit, potential and motivation, irrespective of their background.

We carefully consider each application on an individual basis, taking into account all the information presented on your application form, including your:

• academic achievement
• additional test scores
• two references - we request one academic and one professional reference. If you're unable to produce either an academic or professional reference, we'll accept two of the same kind.
• CV
• statement of academic purpose.

See further information on supporting documents

Contact us

If you have any questions about the academic programme or admissions process, please contact the Department of Finance Admissions team at finance.admissionsenquiries@lse.ac.uk.

Application Deadlines:

Round 1: 06/02/2025
Round 2: 17/04/2025
Round 3: 19/06/2025
Round 4: 07/08/2025

Applications for this programme are considered on a rolling basis, meaning the programme will close once it becomes full. We encourage you to apply early to avoid disappointment. Details on how to apply.

Year 1 (2025/26):

Home students: £24,250

Year 2 (2026/27):

Home students: £24,250

Year 1 (2025/26):

Overseas students: £24,250

Year 2 (2026/27):

Overseas students: £24,250

Formative work

This is coursework that does not count directly towards your final grade. For the majority of courses, you'll be set weekly problem sets which you should complete before the following week’s class, where the teacher will work through solutions and answer questions. This provides you with an idea of how well you understand the material throughout the year. An indication of the formative coursework and summative assessment for each course can be found in the relevant course guide.

Summative work

This is coursework that counts directly towards your final grade. All of the dedicated courses on the MSc Finance programme contain a summative coursework element.

Different courses set different types of summative work. However, students should expect two or more pieces of work to be submitted over an eleven week term. Some courses require weekly submission of problem sets which all make up a small percentage of the final grade.

The vast majority of MSc Finance (part-time) students are already working in finance related roles at the time of joining the programme. As such, each individual’s future direction upon graduation depends on their own aspirations and career experience. Previous graduates of the programme have gone on to take on new roles within the sector or change their trajectory entirely from a non-finance related role.

Whatever your reason for pursuing the programme, whether to help fast-track your professional development, change trajectory, or simply gain more knowledge in relation to your current role, the programme aims to equip you with the knowledge and skills to succeed in, and enhance, your career.

Further information on graduate destinations for this programme

Please note: this programme is not intended as suitable preparation for the PhD Finance at LSE (if you're interested in PhD study, please see MSc Finance and Economics).