Why Study Finance at UZH

Finance helps shape how companies grow, how risks are managed, and how capital is allocated where it is needed most. Studying finance at the Department of Finance combines solid foundations with quantitative methods, research-led teaching, innovative learning formats, and a wide range of connections to practice.

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 subject.

At Bachelor's level, Finance can be studied as a major or a minor. The major provides comprehensive coverage and quantitative depth, while practice-oriented seminars enable you to apply your knowledge to real-word problems. The minor provides the core foundations of finance and can be combined with another discipline.

As a comprehensive university, UZH offers many opportunities to tailor your studies to your interests. 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).
At Master's level, you study Finance as a major and also choose a minor in Accounting and Corporate Finance, Investment Management, or Sustainable Finance. This allows you to align your studies with your interests and career goals - from asset pricing, corporate finance, and financial intermediation to financial reporting, portfolio management, and sustainable financial markets.

The study programs cover a broad range of interconnected subject areas:

• Asset Pricing and Investment Management
• Corporate Finance
• Financial Intermediation, particularly Banking and Insurance
• Quantitative Finance and Data Analysis
• Real Estate Finance
• Sustainable Finance

These subjects are complemented by content on digital technologies, sustainability, and current economic developments. You learn how financial markets respond to technological, social, and environmental change.

Teaching at the department combines in-depth subject knowledge with current issues in financial practice. Depending on your study program and course, you work with case studies, simulations (game-based learning), data-driven projects, and selected educational games. Podcasts, OLAT-supported learning resources, and interactive live quizzes, chatbots, and gamified learning formats with KlickerUZH support independent study, help you check your understanding, and enable you to apply concepts in practice. The Teaching Center develops innovative teaching concepts and modern teaching formats to support these activities.

Finance professionals need more than technical expertise. They must analyze information and evidence, work with data, use digital tools responsibly, communicate clearly, collaborate effectively, and make informed decisions under uncertainty. These future skills complement your subject knowledge and prepare you for the demands of a changing world of work.

The Bachelor's program is therefore guided by the Finance Professional Competence Framework. It combines subject-specific and transferable competencies and shows which skills you develop throughout your studies. The six roles - Finance Expert, Scholar, Digital Skills, Innovator, Manager, and Communicator - help connect the different modules and learning activities.

Zurich is Switzerland's most important financial center and an internationally significant hub for banking, insurance, asset management, fintech, and professional financial services. Proximity to banks, insurance companies, consultancies, and other employers creates opportunities for part-time jobs, internships, and initial professional experience during your studies.

These close connections also shape teaching: guest lectures by practitioners and company-supervised seminars bring current questions and perspectives from the financial industry into the classroom. You gain early insights into professional life and test your knowledge against real-world challenges.

A Bachelor's degree in Finance qualifies you both for direct entry into professional life and for further study at Master's level. 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, risk management, and regulation.

Potential roles include Financial Analyst, Risk Manager, Portfolio Manager, and Financial Consultant. Transferable skills are just as important as subject knowledge: the ability to analyze evidence, work with data, communicate clearly, and use digital technologies effectively also prepares you for emerging career fields.

After your Bachelor's degree, you can continue your studies at Master's level. A Master's degree also opens the door to demanding specialist and management roles and a doctorate at the department. Services including UZH Career Services and the DF Community support you in exploring your options and starting your career.