Master's Degree Programme in Finance gets a new double degree deal with St. Petersburg
University of Vaasa’s Master’s Degree Programme in Finance has made a new double degree agreement with the Higher School of Economics St. Petersburg. The University of Vaasa has also obtained mobility funding to financially support students and faculty members within this programme.
HSE St. Petersburg is a campus of the National Research University Higher School of Economics, Moscow. HSE has become one of the top Russian public universities in the field of social sciences and management and is listed within top 300 best universities in the world according to QS Global World Ranking.
− Finland and Russia are neighboring countries, and this fact explains the mutual interest to extend cooperation. Convenient connections make easier various academic and business contacts between our countries, says Associate Professor Tatiana Garanina from the School of Accounting and Finance at the University of Vaasa.
Studying in a double degree programme is beneficial and supports students employment.
− The graduates are provided with more opportunities for PhD studies or teacher-researcher positions in both institutions. For many students the experience can be life-changing that will surely influence their personal and professional future, Garanina says.
− The double degree programme allows students to experience diverse learning environments and obtain excellent multicultural competencies and networking skills, adds Programme Manager Vanja Piljak.
Piljak emphasizes that the new double degree agreement with HSE St Petersburg reflects internationally high standards and values of the Master’s Programme in Finance at the University of Vaasa.
− We already have double degree agreements with Master’s Programme in Finance at the triple-accredited IÉSEG School of Management in France and the AACSB-accredited Umeå University in Sweden, Piljak says.
Master’s Degree Programme in Finance at the University on Vaasa has international accreditation awarded by the EPAS programme accreditation and belongs to the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Institute University Affiliation Program.
HSE St. Petersburg has already received the ACCA, CIMA and ICAEW certifications. Master in Finance at HSE St. Petersburg was awarded EPAS accreditation in 2019.
Starting online in fall
According to the agreement, students will first study for one year at their home University and then go to the host University for the second year.
The double degree programme will officially start in the academic year 2020−2021 disregarding the current situation with the COVID-19 pandemic. It means that students will be able to express their interest towards the programme already in summer 2020.
− But due to the situation with the COVID-19 the physical presence won’t be possible in fall and we will start online. We hope that students will be able to go physically to HSE in the spring of 2021, says Garanina.
The mobility programme for the University of Vaasa and HSE St. Petersburg is funded by the Ministry of Education and Culture and the Finnish National Agency for Education. The funding is designed to cover some of the costs of traveling and living abroad and it is available for double degree students and teachers of both universities within the framework of the bilateral agreement.
The double degree programme was designed utilizing the international network and academic expertise of the Master’s Degree Programme in Finance, with the valuable contribution of Associate Professor Tatiana Garanina and international education specialist Anne Ahlqvist, in coordination with the Program Manager Vanja Piljak, Vice-Program Manager Denis Davydov and Dean Helinä Saarela.
More information:
Tatiana Garanina
Associate Professor, School of Accounting and Finance
phone: 029 449 8377
Vanja Piljak
Programme Manager of the Master's Degree Programme in Finance
phone: 029 449 8503
Anne Ahlqvist
International education specialist
phone: 029 449 8132
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