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Postgraduate Study

The MPhil in Finance and Economics is a one-year master's degree that runs from early October to late June with a preparatory course during September. It is an intensive course combining advanced study and research, tailored for people with one year or less of work experience who intend to go on to work for the industry. It places particular emphasis on economic coverage of financial themes, beginning from the institutional background, moving on to careful consideration of how observed institutions should be modelled, and ending by relating existing models to data and discussing how these models should be improved when they do not fit the data.

Learning Outcomes

On completion of the MPhil degree students should have:

  • acquired advanced technical training in microeconomics and econometrics;
  • acquired a solid grounding in the principles and practice of financial markets and developed an understanding of the tools necessary to make good financial decisions.
  • begun to acquire independent research skills and experience of putting them into practice;
  • acquired experience in preparing written work to a strict timetable; and
  • acquired sufficient knowledge and understanding of advanced economics to proceed to a career as a professional economist in industry or to a research degree.

Continuing

Students who wish to continue to a PhD would need to meet standard admissions criteria and apply in the usual way. However, please note that this course is intended for students who wish to obtain a master’s qualification before leaving academic economics and is not primarily designed for students who wish to continue to the PhD programme.


Open Days

The University hosts and attends fairs and events throughout the year, in the UK and across the world. We also offer online events to help you explore your options:

  • Discover Cambridge: Master’s and PhD study webinars - these Spring events provide practical information about applying for postgraduate study.

  • Postgraduate Virtual Open Days - taking place in November each year, the Open Days focus on subject and course information.

For more information about upcoming events visit our events pages.

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Key Information


9 months full-time

Study Mode : Taught

Master of Philosophy

Faculty of Economics

Course - related enquiries

Application - related enquiries

Course on Department Website

Dates and deadlines:

Michaelmas 2026

Applications open
Sept. 3, 2025
Application deadline
Nov. 18, 2025
Course Starts
Oct. 1, 2026

Some courses can close early. See the Deadlines page for guidance on when to apply.

Course Funding Deadline
Dec. 2, 2025
Gates Cambridge US round only
Oct. 15, 2025

These deadlines apply to applications for courses starting in Michaelmas , Lent and Easter .


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