Master in Strategy & Consulting

This specialization is part of the Master in Innovation degree (DSMI)

Unlock Your Strategic Potential with the Master in Strategy & Consulting In today’s fast-paced and ever-changing business world, the ability to think strategically and lead transformational change is not just an asset—it’s a necessity. The Master in Strategy & Consulting (SCO) specialization is designed to meet this growing demand, equipping you with the academic expertise and hands-on skills to thrive in high-impact strategic roles. This program responds to the increasing need for visionary leaders capable of navigating complex challenges, designing responsible strategies, and driving long-term success for their organizations.

Become a Leader with a Strategic Mindset Our goal is to develop future business leaders who don’t just think strategically—they act strategically. Through a balance of strategy formulation and execution, combined with a focus on both analytical and transformational skills, the specialization empowers graduates to excel in diverse, high-level strategic positions across industries.

A Unique Learning Experience: Theory Meets Practice Built on the foundations of science and experience, the program blends cutting-edge academic knowledge with real-world insights. You’ll learn from renowned professors at emlyon business school, while gaining valuable practical experience through collaborations with industry leaders and C-level executives. This dual approach ensures that our graduates are not only equipped with the latest strategic theories but also ready to apply them in real-world scenarios.

Prepare for Success. Lead the Future. The Master in Strategy & Consulting (SCO) specialization gives you the tools to become a transformative leader, ready to tackle the challenges of the modern business landscape. Join us to sharpen your strategic thinking and drive your career to new heights.

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Academic and experiential elements

The program is built over two years with a unique pedagogical design:

Common courses with the other specializations of the Master in Innovation over the two years: the core courses or the signature courses
A solid specialization logic from the first year
A strong international exposure with an international seminar and one international term per year, enabling you to explore global industries through the prism of your specialization
Emphasis on “learning by doing” with cross-field projects with partner companies and the opportunity of doing an internship or a professional experience from the end of the first year

Year 1 - First semester

📅 September to January
📍 Paris

Experiential elements:

Innovation business game
Inspiring talks

Core courses:

Intermediate finance
Marketing for value creation
Statistics for business

Specialization courses:

Designing a strategy
Introduction to research methodology
Mastering Consulting tools
Business Intelligence
Communicating Strategy

Year 1 - Second semester

📅 January to March
📍 Paris

Experiential elements:

Strategy due diligence

Core courses:

Strategyzing complexity
Operations & Decisions
Sustainability introduction for future business leaders

Specialization courses:

Consulting Industry
Doing business abroad
Consulting skills development
Strategy Due diligence

2-month international term

📅 March to May
📍 Abroad

This is an opportunity for you to discover another culture and have courses in a prestigious university outside of France. You will be confronted to a new international business environment where you will learn more about Project Management and complete your technological acculturation.

Optional professional experience

📅 May to beginning of September
📍 France or international

The 3-to-4 months professional experience (optional at the end of the first year) is an excellent opportunity to put your academic knowledge to the test and gain practical experience in the sector of your choice.

Year 2 -Third semester

📅 October to January
📍 Paris

Experiential elements:

Career service
Designing a Strategy

Signature courses:

Innovation & Transforming business
Research methodology

Specialization courses:

The Strategist
Organizational Design
Designing a Strategy
Strategizing and Modelling
Consulting and Ethics
Strategic Project
Practicing Consulting : design a proposition
Consulting for Sustainable Future

Year 2 - Fourth semester

📅 January to March
📍 Paris

Experiential elements:

Career services
International Seminar

Signature courses:

Governance, ethics & Sustainability thinking

Specialization courses:

Practicing Consulting : implement a strategy
Leading Transformation
International Consulting Project

🌍 International Seminar in Europe:
The international seminar takes place over one week. It is a unique opportunity to engage in insightful conferences and connect with numerous companies. It offers a firsthand understanding of how the economic landscape influences business strategies, while also immersing you in the local culture.

Master thesis

The Master thesis is an analytical work on a topic related to the industry and to the professional experience gained during your internship. This is a great opportunity for you to research a subject which is not only of particular interest, but which has the potential to contribute powerfully to your personal and professional development.

2-month international term

📅 March to May
📍 Abroad

Compulsory professional experience - 4 to 6 months

📅 May to December
📍 France or international

The 4 to 6-month compulsory professional experience is a great opportunity to put your academic knowledge to the test and acquire tangible experience within the industry. The school will give you all the support and tools you need to find the right internship for you.

Welcome to the Master in Strategy & Consulting at emlyon business school!

We are proud to be in charge of this program that aims to train students to become strategists. Given the increasing complexity of the business, political and societal worlds, it is important to train people with a strategic mindset to work for the best strategy consultancies, but also to work on strategy projects that take place within companies, governmental agencies, or NGOs.

Based on our belief that strategy is the art of conducting relevant and effective actions in complex situations, we founded this program on the two pillars of strategy: science and experience. On the one hand, the Master in Strategy & Consulting aims at teaching the cutting-edge knowledge of strategy. For that purpose, we rely on the best professors from emlyon business school.. On the other hand, the Master in Strategy & Consulting sticks to the real world of practices and practitioners to avoid false ideas and misleading methods. Partners and C-level executives who have a long-lived experience of strategy projects intervene in the program and students also have the opportunity to work on practical transformation projects conducted in partnership with organizations.

During the program, our students follow a 4-step learning process: they first learn and apply the strategy diagnosis which represents the "bread and butter" of strategy consultants. Then, they are confronted with the implementation of strategy projects which constitutes the core of the strategist job. Afterwards, they gain an international awareness thanks to an International term and an International Seminar, and learn how to think globally before finally applying this strategy knowledge during their internship.

Thanks to this pedagogy, our ambition for the Master in Strategy & Consulting is to build a global Master specialized in strategy, embracing both sides of formulation and execution. In other words, we aim to train future business leaders to think and act as strategists.

Professor Patrick Besson, PhD HDR / Professor of Strategic Leadership, Program Director

Associate Professor Guillaume Carton, PhD / Associate Professor of Strategy, Program Director

Dedicated software for strategy & consulting

Master in Strategy & Consulting students benefit from the premium version of think-cell, #1 PowerPoint software in consulting. They save 70% of their working time on charts and learn to master data visualization techniques to land their dream job in top-consulting firms and companies.

Assessment

Assessment methods may include case studies, presentations, mock exercises, tests, etc.

The graduation rate for students of the previous MSc in Strategy and Consulting for the 2021-2022 academic year was 83.3% (100% of students taking the exam have graduated).