Admission to the Master in Finance

To determine if you are eligible to apply for our 2-year program, please review the admission criteria below. If you meet the eligibility requirements, follow these steps to complete your application.

Students holding at minimum one of the following degrees can apply to the Master in Finance:

To apply for admission in Year 1, applicants must hold either:

• A 3-year Bachelor’s degree (equivalent to 180 ECTS credits)
• An ECTS credit equivalence attestation with at least 180 ECTS credits obtained in a State-recognized Master's degree

To apply for admission in Year 2, applicants must hold either:

• A 4-year Bachelor's degree (equivalent to 240 ECTS credits)
• Have validated the first year of a State-recognized Master Degree
• An ECTS credit equivalence attestation with at least 240 ECTS credits obtained in a State-recognized Master's degree

You can apply while being enrolled in the last year of the degree that makes you eligible for this program.

For applicants in Year 2: Please note that if the commission board finds that your background is strong but not complete enough in some mandatory contents of the program, we may ask you to complete the program in 2 years (Y1+Y2) instead in order to build up your strengths and to ensure your success.

Create an account or go to your dashboard to start your application file.

Applications for the 2025-2026 academic year are open from October 1, 2024 to June 2025 (subject to availability).

Mandatory documents - all the documents provided need to be in English or French (except passport and identity card):

• A resume / CV
• A copy of an official and valid identity card or passport
• A certified copy of all degrees obtained in a higher education institution (in English or French)
• A proof of enrollment certificate for applicants currently enrolled in higher education
• A certified copy of your transcripts from the first year of your undergraduate education until now
• An official management aptitude test score of under 5 years: GMAT, GMAT Online, GMAT focus edition, GRE, GRE test at Home, CAT test, TAGE-MAGE (Discover the dates of the TAGE MAGE exam sessions : France : 2024 and 2025 International : 2024/2025)
• An official and valid English proficiency test: TOEFL, TOEIC, IELTS, Cambridge

Expected English level

A good level of English is paramount to succeed in the program. We recommend that students apply only if they have a level of English equivalent to the C1 level.
C1 corresponds to a level of experienced user (autonomous level). This means that you can understand long, demanding texts and grasp implicit meanings. Express yourself spontaneously and fluently without much searching for words.

Optional documents:

• Recommendation letters (professionnal or academic)
• A letter of motivation

emlyon business school uses a selection process which is in line with today's digital landscape and the practices of major international companies in their search for new talents.

Once your online application file is complete and checked by the Admissions team, you will be invited to take the digital tests. You will find some key information below:

• The digital tests must be done on a computer with a working webcam and a stable Wi-Fi connection.
• You will answer several questions orally which will be recorded with your webcam.
• You must take the test alone, in a quiet environment, without any technical, human, or AI aids.
  
• Test can only be taken once

Find out more about the content of the emlyon business school Master in Finance digital test:

The online test lasts about one hour. It will be entirely in English.

The test will be comprised of:

• Motivation questions in video format - you will have a limited time to read the question and to answer. These questions will be centered around your motivation and reasons for entering the program.
• Motivation questions in written format - you will have a limited time to read the question and to answer. These questions will be centered around your specific interest in the specialization of your program and your understanding of the current challenges of its industry.
• Professional immersion messenger app - The goal of this test is to measure your problem-solving skills in a company setting. You will be given information of a fictitious company and your role in it. Colleagues contact you via messenger app and ask you questions with multiple choice answers on several issues.
• Professional immersion interactive meetings – In this test, you will be part of an interactive meeting, for example a meeting as a manager with one of your team members. You will be asked questions with multiple choice answers. Depending on your choice of answers, the scenario of this interactive meeting will change.

The admissions jury will then make their decision regarding your admission based both your application file and your digital test results.

If you experience technical issues during the test, please note that there is a dedicated tech support in place. Send an email to supporttech.admission@em-lyon.com and our tech team will help you.

• You can apply for multiple programs at the same time, but you can only do so once per year.
• You cannot apply for Year 1 and Year 2 at the same time for the same program.

The acceptance rate for MSc in Finance (former format of the Master in Finance) for the 2024 intake was 37.3% (admitted students on applicants).

The application fee for the 2025 intake is €120, payable directly by credit card through the online application system.

• Students with a French CROUS scholarship are exempted from the application fee if they provide the “Notification d ’attribution definitive de bourse” final notice of allocation of this grant for the current academic year.
• High Level Athletes are also exempted of the application fee if they provide a sport resume validated by the director of the Sports department. If this is your case, please contact Mr.ROMEZY: romezy@em-lyon.com.

The admissions decision is confirmed by an official Admissions committee. Please be advised that the Admissions committee holds the exclusive rights regarding the final decision and that its decisions cannot be appealed.

Following the Admissions Committee, four decisions are possible:

• Admitted
• Non admitted
• Non admitted requalified: The Admissions Committee has declared that the application does not meet the requirements for an admission in Year 2 but offers an admission in Year 1 of the program
• Waitlisted: When a program is at capacity, the Admissions committee is unable to make an admissions offer but can propose a place on a waitlist. The waitlist does not guarantee a place in the program

An email is sent to applicants as soon as the admissions results are available on the makersboard.

You will then have 10 calendar days after receiving your admissions results to confirm your admission by completing your enrollment form and paying the non-refundable enrollment deposit of €4,500.

The Disability Unit can provide customized support in strict compliance with confidentiality, and can:

• Take into account your specific needs and make sure that your years at emlyon business school go as smoothly as possible, and that you are integrated to the student life
• Provide specific arrangements and resolve your access issues via the implementation of an individualized pedagogical follow-up
• Act as the interface with all other school departments
• Guide you through your administrative and pedagogical procedures
• In case we are unable to provide the specific arrangements you may need, we can follow through with external partners to find solutions to level out your disability

You will find the welcome guide and all the information on how we welcome and support our students and participants with disabilities here

Download the Welcome Guide Disability

Our team is available at the following email address: handicap@em-lyon.com