Finance courses mapped to the CFA syllabus, preparation timetabled every week, and each exam taken straight after the courses that cover it.
*Subject to clearing each preceding level and CFA Institute's exam calendar and eligibility rules.
*Fund size is indicative, based on existing Masters' Union programmes.
Seats are offered round by round, so earlier applicants are considered first. Any bachelor's degree; no finance background needed.
A full MBA built for students who have already made one important decision: they want to build their career in finance and intend to seriously pursue the CFA Program.
Investment banking, private markets, equity research, asset management, wealth management, credit, corporate finance or a CFO's office.
Finance is the focus, but you also study strategy, marketing, operations, leadership and decision-making.
Probably not for you if you want a general MBA and have not yet decided whether finance is where you want to build your career.
CFA Institute says candidates typically take three to four years to complete the three levels. Many prepare alongside a full-time job or an unrelated academic timetable. Here, the MBA calendar itself is planned around CFA preparation and the intended exam windows.
The advantage isn't that the CFA Program becomes easier. It is that you are no longer trying to fit it around an unrelated timetable.
Source: CFA Institute, on the typical three-to-four-year time to complete the three levels.
Masters' Union's MBA cohorts have placed into investment banking, markets, venture capital and corporate finance every year since 2020. The MBA in Finance brings that employer network to a cohort built for finance from day one.
CFA Institute's 2025 study of more than 100 firms across India's finance and investment industry found that employers value candidates who combine management education with deep finance capability.
That is what this programme is designed around: management education, CFA preparation, applied finance and the ability to communicate an investment view.
Source: CFA Institute, Mapping India's Finance Workforce, 2025 (Kantar, 100+ firms).
Masters' Union MBA cohorts, 2020–25. Placement reports audited by B2K Analytics (formerly Brickworks), auditor for IIM Ahmedabad's placement report. Alumni growth figures are self-reported.
A dedicated finance placements team works with this cohort from Term 3, alongside the Finance Career Lab: role-specific preparation, employer days by specialisation, and introductions across the banks, funds and investment firms above. More than 85 VC investors and the heads of several banks visited campus in 2024.
Placement support is extended to students who clear all three CFA levels during the programme and hold a CGPA of 7.5 or above. Role, employer and level depend on prior experience, interview performance and employer requirements.
Figures and employers are from Masters' Union's PGP in Technology & Business Management cohorts. The MBA in Finance is a new programme; its own outcomes will be published once its first cohort graduates.
Resident PhDs from the IIMs, fund managers and bankers from Fidelity, Fyers, Ambit, Kotak and Houlihan Lokey, and visiting faculty from MIT, Stanford and Purdue.
36 faculty and practitioners · 11 CFA charterholders and fund managers · academics from the IIMs, MIT, Stanford and Purdue.
Faculty and practitioners teach across Masters' Union programmes; the final list for the founding cohort may vary. Titles are as stated on their public profiles in October 2026.
For a student entering without a CFA level completed, this is the programme's planned first-attempt pathway: one level every two terms. Select your starting point.
Future exam windows are based on CFA Institute's current exam cadence and remain subject to its published calendar, registration deadlines and eligibility requirements. Level I topic names and weights follow CFA Institute's 2027 curriculum.
CFA Institute determines exam eligibility, registration deadlines and available re-attempt windows.
CFA exams are demanding, and no university can guarantee a pass. What the programme controls is the preparation around them: curriculum alignment, dedicated study time, charterholder-led support, mock exams, study groups and a timetable built around the intended exam windows.
CFA Institute recommends about 300 hours of total preparation per level, so expect independent study on top of the structured hours.
We build the structure. You still have to clear the exam.
Practical Skills Modules are planned for too. CFA Institute requires at least one module at each level before it releases your exam result; the timetable reserves time for it at every level.
Practical Skills Module options and requirements are set by CFA Institute and may change by exam year. Preparation-hour guidance: CFA Institute.
Each week, MBA courses, applied finance and CFA preparation work on the same concepts.
Finance courses cover accounting, economics, valuation, securities, portfolio management, corporate finance and other CFA-relevant areas, alongside the MBA management core.
Apply the same concepts through fund research, portfolio work, Bloomberg, company coverage, deal projects, credit analysis and client assignments.
Problem classes, revision, study groups and full-length mock exams, timetabled around the intended CFA exam pathway.
About 60% finance and applied work, 40% management, with the CFA exam windows as the spine. Terms 1 and 2 are shared with the PGP TBM cohort on the same campus, with the finance and CFA strands running for MBA students. Select a term for its courses, applied work, CFA milestone and main deliverable.
Course titles are indicative.
In Term 2, choose one listed company and follow it until graduation. Build the model, make the call, update your assumptions after results and keep a record of every time the facts force you to change your mind.
Build the model, value the company and set your first investment view.
Update estimates after quarterly results and explain every material change.
Write a formal recommendation and defend it before an investment committee.
Track results, management commentary, industry developments and valuation.
Present the full record: what you expected, what happened, where you were wrong and what you changed.
A two-year body of analytical work you can discuss with an employer.
A finance interview rarely ends with "Which chapter did you study?" It moves quickly to "What do you think, and why?"
Illustrative programme output. Companies anonymised; figures are examples, not historical student results.
| FY26E | FY27E | FY28E | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | 41,208 | 45,741 | 50,772 |
| EBITDA margin | 16.0% | 16.5% | 17.0% |
| Free cash flow | 3,912 | 4,566 | 5,240 |
| Net debt / EBITDA | 1.4x | 1.1x | 0.8x |
Balance sheet balances; cash flow reconciles to net debt.
| Investment thesis | Share gain in a consolidating market |
| Variant perception | Margins underestimated by consensus |
| Valuation | DCF + 16x FY29E EPS |
| Catalysts | Two quarters of capacity additions |
| Downside case | −18% if pricing slips |
| Position size | 3% of fund · review in 2 quarters |
From Term 2, you work as an analyst on the programme's student-managed fund. Research does not end with a classroom grade; recommendations move through an investment process.
Stipended analyst role from Term 2; investment committee member from Term 5.
Trades remain subject to the fund's governance, risk controls and investment committee approval.
Build and manage a portfolio against a defined benchmark. Performance matters, but so do the quality of your process and the risk you take to get it.
Work with realistic client profiles and design portfolios around different return objectives, liquidity needs, risk tolerances and life goals: discovery, goals and constraints, an Investment Policy Statement, asset allocation, product recommendations, trade-offs and review.
Output: client investment plan, portfolio recommendation and review presentation.
Terms 4–6*Fund size is indicative, based on existing Masters' Union programmes.
After Year 1, you complete an 8–10 week summer internship, intended to turn classroom knowledge and CFA preparation into workplace experience.
Target categories include investment banking, asset and wealth management, equity research, private markets, credit, fintech and financial services, and corporate finance.
Internship opportunities depend on candidate profile, employer selection and availability.
You choose a specialisation at the end of Year 1. It sets your Year 2 courses, deal project and work samples.
Swipe for all three →Exact role, level and employer depend on prior experience, recruiting performance and employer requirements. CFA Institute currently offers three Level III pathways: Portfolio Management, Private Markets and Private Wealth.
Your first finance modelling test should not happen in an actual recruitment process.
We look for analytical ability, curiosity about business and a serious reason for choosing finance. Prior CFA preparation or formal finance coursework is not required. Open to graduates of any discipline, with the bachelor's degree completed by June 2027.
Complete your academic, professional and personal profile.
Masters' Union's online admissions test. Format and details are shared with applicants after they apply.
Prepare a short investment view on a listed company of your choice and discuss it with faculty and practitioners. We look at how you think, what evidence you use and how you respond when your assumptions are challenged. Applicants without a finance background receive guidance on the format in advance.
Receive your admission, scholarship or waitlist outcome.
One programme, two ways to pay for the CFA exams. Choose when you accept your offer.
You register for the CFA exams and buy any study materials yourself.
We register you for each exam and pay CFA Institute directly.
Fees are indicative for the founding cohort until published in the fee schedule. The CFA bundle is priced in US dollars because CFA Institute and Kaplan Schweser charge in dollars; it is billed in rupees at the exchange rate on the day each payment falls due, and we confirm the rupee amount with you before every payment.
It is a full-time MBA in Finance. CFA preparation is built into the academic calendar, but the programme also includes management courses, applied finance work, a summer internship, specialisation and finance recruiting support. The CFA exams and designation are administered independently by CFA Institute.
The programme is designed to make this possible on the first-attempt pathway. A student entering at Level I who clears each preceding level on schedule can follow the planned Level I → Level II → Level III pathway during the 24-month MBA. Future exam windows remain subject to CFA Institute's published calendar, registration deadlines and eligibility rules.
Your MBA progression is unaffected. Because CFA levels are completed in order, a re-attempt can shift your later CFA timeline. We help you recalibrate your preparation around the next eligible CFA Institute exam window and continue CFA preparation support for up to 12 months after graduation. Re-attempt registration fees are not included in the programme fee.
With the CFA bundle, yes. The bundle covers first-attempt exam registration fees for Levels I, II and III when you become eligible to register for each level, plus Kaplan Schweser Premium study material. It is priced at US$7,000 and billed in rupees at the exchange rate on each payment date; we confirm the amount with you before every payment. Without the bundle, you register and pay CFA Institute directly. Re-attempt fees are not included in either option.
Not for a fee. From February 2027, CFA Institute no longer offers a paid deferral, so once you are registered, plan to sit that window. Any exception is decided by CFA Institute under its current policy.
Yes. The programme begins with the foundations of financial statements, quantitative analysis and markets. Admissions assesses analytical thinking and motivation for finance, not prior CFA preparation.
Yes, in Year 1. Terms 1 and 2 are shared with the PGP in Technology & Business Management cohort on the DLF Cyberpark campus, which you share with the PGP TBM and MBA cohorts throughout. Your finance courses, CFA preparation and applied finance work run for MBA in Finance students.
Not automatically. Passing all three exams completes the exam component. CFA Institute also requires at least 4,000 hours of qualifying professional work experience over a minimum of 36 months, professional references and approved membership before the designation may be used. The student-managed fund involves investment-analysis work, but CFA Institute alone decides what qualifies.
Round 1 closes on 27 November 2026. Seats in the founding cohort of 50 are offered round by round, so earlier applicants are considered first and interview slots fill as the round progresses. The programme starts in June 2027.
Yes, subject to the programme's academic eligibility requirements and CFA Institute's candidate eligibility rules. Under CFA Institute's current rules, students may register for Level I within 23 months of their expected graduation date. Your bachelor's degree must be completed by June 2027.
Not currently. Masters' Union intends to apply to the CFA Institute University Affiliation Program, subject to programme eligibility and CFA Institute's independent review. No affiliation or endorsement should be inferred unless CFA Institute formally grants that status.
Apply with the Apply Now button at any point on this page. Questions about eligibility or your CFA starting point? Write to admissions@mastersunion.org.
Photo: Masters' Union convocation.
