Bachelor of Arts in Finance

At the Department of Finance at the University of Zurich, you study Finance as a dedicated Bachelor's major, rather than as a specialization within another field of study. The Bachelor's program combines innovative, practice-oriented teaching with strong academic expertise and is shaped by the research conducted by the department's approximately 20 professorships.

The Bachelor's program in Finance at UZH provides a rigorous academic and quantitative education, while developing analytical thinking and the ability to make responsible decisions.

You explore how companies, financial institutions, and financial markets work and how financial decisions are made.

Finance helps determine how companies finance growth, how risks are managed, and how capital is allocated where it is needed most. During your studies, you learn how companies make investment and financing decisions, how banks and insurance companies connect savers and borrowers, how financial assets are valued and managed, and how psychological, technological, and sustainability-related factors influence financial markets.

You do not need any prior knowledge of finance. You are expected to have a solid foundation in mathematics from upper secondary school and a willingness to engage with quantitative methods and data analysis.

You benefit from a high level of expertise, innovative teaching formats, and early insights into professional practice.

The standard program takes six semesters and leads to the Bachelor of Arts UZH in Business and Economics. Within this degree, Finance can be studied as a major or a minor:

• Major in Finance: 150 ECTS credits, combined with a minor worth 30 ECTS credits
• Minor in Finance: 30 ECTS credits, which can be combined with majors across UZH
• Finance minor for students from other UZH faculties: 30 or 60 ECTS credits, depending on the permitted combination

The UZH Course Catalogue lists the major-minor combinations currently available. Under the current program regulations, the Finance major can be combined with minors within the faculty, including General Business and Economics, Business Administration, Economics, Artificial Intelligence, Human-Centered Computing, Informatics, or Information Systems, as well as compatible minors from other UZH faculties (such as Biology, Ethics and Society, Geography, History, Society, Physics, Political Science, Law, Environmental Sciences, and many others). The Finance minor can also be combined with various majors across UZH.

The program is taught primarily in German.

In your first year, known as the assessment level, you build a common foundation in business administration, economics, finance, informatics, mathematics, and statistics. These foundations prepare you for subsequent finance modules and help you analyze economic relationships both conceptually and quantitatively.

Studying finance requires a solid foundation in mathematics and statistics. To refresh these skills before you begin, you can attend UZH's preparatory mathematics course. You will learn all the other concepts and methods required for your studies throughout the Bachelor's program and apply them in your courses.

Developing Your Expertise in Finance
At the advanced level, you deepen your knowledge in areas including banking and insurance, corporate finance, derivatives, and investment management. The program addresses concrete questions from the world of finance:

• How do you invest wisely?
• Why do investors behave like sheep?
• Does sustainable investing also pay off financially?
• What is a company really worth, and who decides?
• What will the bank of the future look like?
• How does a bank decide who can afford to buy a home?

You also explore financial markets and instruments, quantitative methods, and risk management. Elective modules, seminars, a minor, and your Bachelor's thesis allow you to tailor your studies and develop a profile that matches your interests and career goals.

The Major in Finance comprises a total of 150 ECTS credits. The program structure includes:

The official faculty regulations and the UZH Course Catalogue are authoritative for the current module structure and available combinations. The department publishes a recommended semester plan for the Finance major.

Under certain conditions, selected Master's modules can be taken in advance during your Bachelor's studies. The applicable rules and eligibility criteria are available on the faculty's study pages.

Your Bachelor's studies are about more than preparing for exams. You build subject knowledge and apply it in a variety of teaching and learning formats. These include presentations, group work, case studies, simulations, board games, data-driven projects, and interactive seminars.

Podcasts, OLAT-supported learning resources, interactive live quizzes, chatbots, and gamified learning formats with KlickerUZH, as well as game-based learning, support independent study. You can check your understanding, ask questions during class, receive immediate feedback, and apply concepts in practice. The Teaching Center develops innovative teaching concepts and modern teaching formats to support these activities.

Proximity to Zurich's financial center gives you early opportunities to connect with banks, insurance companies, consulting firms, regulatory authorities, fintech companies, and other employers. Guest lectures, practice-oriented seminars, Bachelor's thesis topics, and student jobs bring current professional issues into your studies. You apply your knowledge to real-world questions, gain practical experience, and make initial contacts for your future career while you are still studying.

DF Community Careers gives you access to current jobs, internships, and events from the Department of Finance and selected partners. The platform is aimed at students, graduates, and doctoral students.

The Bachelor's program is guided by the Finance Professional Competence Framework. It connects subject-specific and transferable learning throughout the program and provides a reference point for your personal development. The framework is not an assessment tool: you develop the different competencies step by step through courses, seminars, projects, and independent work.

The framework comprises six interconnected areas:

• Finance Expert: You understand financial markets, financial intermediaries, and financial instruments, as well as corporate financial decisions, investment management, quantitative finance, and risk management.
• Scholar: You develop skills in academic research, abstract thinking, data analysis, and evidence-based argumentation.
• Communicator: You learn to present content clearly and communicate different positions and roles in ways that are appropriate for your audience.
• Manager: You strengthen your self-management, time management, and ability to collaborate, as well as your sense of responsibility, resilience, and integrity.
• Innovator: You develop initiative, creativity, critical thinking, a willingness to experiment, and the ability to devise forward-looking solutions.
• Digital Skills: You use digital technologies and artificial intelligence purposefully and responsibly to process information, analyze data, and improve financial processes.

These Future Skills complement your subject knowledge and prepare you to make informed decisions under uncertainty, collaborate with others, and continue developing in a changing world of work.

Seminars put your knowledge into practice. Bachelor seminars give you the opportunity to apply what you have learned in interactive, research-oriented, or practice-oriented settings. You explore current questions, work independently or in groups, and develop your academic research and presentation skills.

Some seminars have limited places and require an application before module booking. A consolidated overview is available on the Bachelor Seminars page. The UZH Course Catalogue provides binding information on language, ECTS credits, dates, assessment, and booking.

As part of your Bachelor's studies, you complete an academic thesis on a finance topic. You develop a research question, review relevant literature and, where appropriate, data, and analyze your findings independently.

The Bachelor's thesis is worth 18 ECTS credits and must be completed within six months, after which it is graded. The period begins when you collect your official thesis assignment on OLAT. The specific components of your thesis and whether a presentation is required depend on your supervisor's requirements.

Topic and Supervision

To apply for a Bachelor's thesis at the Department of Finance, use the DF Thesis Market unless you have already arranged supervision directly. You can either:

• submit your own topic with a research proposal, or

• apply for an advertised topic and include a letter of motivation.

Stay up to date with the topics that interest you by registering for the relevant notifications through the Student DF Community newsletter. You will be notified whenever the department's professors or lecturers advertise new Bachelor's or Master's thesis topics.

Your application requires a CV, a current transcript of records, and, where applicable, a research proposal. You should apply at least one month before your intended start date. Relevant prior knowledge of the subject is required. Full information on choosing a topic, applying, preparing a research proposal, and supervision is available on the Department of Finance's dedicated  theses page.

Once your application is successful, you will be assigned a supervisor and your official thesis assignment will be prepared. A particular topic or supervisor cannot be guaranteed.

Registration and Submission

The subsequent steps, including registration, the binding submission deadline, and digital submission, follow the Dean's Office's OLAT process. Binding information on the completion period, deadlines, registration, the OLAT process, and submission is available on the theses page of the Faculty of Business, Economics and Informatics.

Please also consult the information on graduation  and the faculty's requirements when planning the completion of your degree.

For initial guidance, you can use the AI-powered services askUZH and OEC AI Buddy.
For questions about the Finance program, study planning, or department-specific matters, please contact the department's Student Advisory Services.

You can find contact points for other questions under UZH Student Life and Support.

With a Bachelor's degree in Finance, you can enter professional life directly or continue with a Master's degree in finance or a related field. Graduates work at banks, insurance companies, consulting firms, and the finance departments of industrial companies, as well as in the public sector. Other fields include asset management, financial data, risk management, and regulation.
A recent overview shows where the department's graduates go after completing their degrees. Based on a 2026 graduate survey with 226 participants, it provides insights into different career paths and fields of work.

Potential roles include Financial Analyst, Risk Manager, Portfolio Manager, and Financial Consultant. The subject-specific and transferable competencies you develop during your studies - such as analytical thinking, data literacy, communication, collaboration, and the responsible use of digital technologies - provide an important foundation for entering the job market and developing your career.

On the DF Community Careers page, you will find current entry-level jobs and internships in finance, banking, and business. The platform also keeps you informed about career events and workshops organized by the Department of Finance and selected partners. The newsletter provides regular updates on new opportunities and further ways to connect with practitioners.

UZH Career Services supports you with career planning, applications, and interview preparation. It also shares job opportunities and organizes events with employers.