Hi Guys,

I was wondering if anyone had any thoughts on Renmin University Master in Finance (taught solely in English). I'm about a graduate with a MSc in Management from a good business school in the UK and will be working in Investment Banking operations post graduation. Come from a sociology background, want a theoretical background in Finance, international experience and I have some strong links to China, and Beijing in particular (Long term partner from China).

I would also be open to any suggestions on other institutions. It has to be a top tier institution however because I want to stay in China post graduation (rankings seem very important in China). I'm a native English speaker and aiming for at least 720 on GMAT.

All the best

Others will have a better answer than this for me, but I looked in LinkedIn and found 513 people in operations roles in China, working in financial services, investments and banking. Renmin is not one of the top ten schools. If you are looking for brand recognition then the top schools are:
- Tsinghua University
- Shanghai Jiao Tong
- Fudan University
- Peking University.

However, I am skeptical about the employment prospects for masters graduates of English-speaking programmes in mainland China. Many discussions on this board have convinced me that English-languages programme have nowhere near the standing and acceptance of the Chinese programmes (and, of course, the networking is very different). Their main value is for people who want to work outside China, trading in to it. Furthermore, without really fluent Mandarin it seems hard to see how you could progress easily, unless you were happy to limit yourself to the opportunities which your partner/partner's family opened up for you. In that case, you would be better off investing a year studying full-time to learn more Mandarin and expand your personal network - maybe at Tsinghua http://is.tsinghua.edu.cn/EN/chinese/introduction.html or Peking universities http://hanyu.pku.edu.cn/EnIndex.aspx . Your British MSc may be respected more than an English-speaking MSc from a Chinese university.

You will find many more opportunities in Hong Kong with HSBC and with US and European investment banks. My recommendation is that you do your MSc there and work for a few years while learning Mandarin and expanding your network so you can move closer to Beijing.

Hi Duncan

I really appreciate your frank and direct response and your pessimism mirrors research from other sources.
Few things to do from here:

1) I have personal contact of Chinese native in senior position in HR of a F500, so her insight should be interesting.

2) Partner?s parents are actually ex bankers themselves so opportunity to tap their network for advice.

3) Speak with Alumni of the programs that I?m looking at. Typically what I?m finding is that the Universities are not transparent at all and their online content is disorganised, brief and unprofessional.

As I said ideally I would be interested in exploring option post-graduation in China although long-term I want to be in the City.

I?m actually not looking to stay within Operations, with corporate finance being my ideal destination. I have not followed the traditional internship route and extreme career focus that this sector demands from ungrads in the UK. In other words, I?m slightly behind my peers. I?m looking for a Finance master to build and consolidate strong quant skills.

The language programs you mention look an interesting option. Whilst in reality they are a good cash cow for the Universities, it allows me to enter the country with a far lower capital expenditure and I can gauge were I fit in the local economy. Other schools I had been looking into were:

Jiao Tong
Xiamen
Peking University (Shenzen campus) ? although I?m dubious about this option. Do you have any opinions of the HSBC Business School? Information online is scarce to say the least.

Top tier Hong Kong institutions are slightly out of my price range for 2013 (as I?m saving money from my up and coming job to fund this), although long-term ROI would negate this.

Thanks for your help.

The HSCB school is interesting, but (as far as I can see) it's open only to people from greater China.

I think you have to save/or borrow and go to Hong Kong or Singapore (at least they speak Mandarin there): no Chinese programme would be taken very seriously in the City.

PS Do look at Singapore's lower fees for people who agree to stay there after graduation for a few years.

I heard lots many good things about Shanghai University of Finance and Economics in China. You can check out the programs there and again you will find lots of job opportunities in Shanghai.

Seems like you have some tough decisions ahead of you Obbor. Based on the info you've given, I would say definitely start doing things like connecting with alumni, where possible and speaking with career services even before you decide on particular school. If your aim is to switch to corporate finance then you need to be sure that the school's programme can help you achieve this. SAIF for one provides access to finance institutions. Just have a look at the people who have given talks at their school this year alone. Where are you based? I know that SAIF will be touring with QS Tour this fall, visiting India, Vietnam, Thailand and the US. Attending such a tour will allow you meet some people who can help with your questions too.

The HSCB school is interesting, but (as far as I can see) it's open only to people from greater China.

I know that SAIF will be touring with QS Tour this fall, visiting India, Vietnam, Thailand and the US. Attending such a tour will allow you meet some people who can help with your questions too.