Hi Monkeys, decision time is on the horizon. Really interested in finance with a focus on sustainability and impact finance. For roles sell side and buy side roles with focus in areas such as power and utilities, renewable energy, industrials and technology. As well as a profile with ACCA and big 4 experience which would be better LSE MSc in accounting and finance or Imperial msc Finance and Accounting. Got an offer from LSE but waiting for feedback from Imperial. Any insights would be appreciated, particularly from those who experienced either program.
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Based on the most helpful WSO content, here's a breakdown to help you decide:
LSE MSc in Accounting and Finance: - Reputation: LSE has a slightly stronger reputation in London and significantly stronger recognition abroad. This could be advantageous if you plan to relocate internationally in the future. - Course Structure: While not their flagship program, the electives allow you to tailor the course to be similar to their MSc Finance program, with a focus on accounting. However, the modules are taught in the Accounting department, which may lean more academic. - Networking: LSE's alumni network is vast, especially in finance, which could be beneficial for sell-side and buy-side roles.
Imperial MSc Finance and Accounting: - Practical Focus: Imperial's program is known for being more practical and career-oriented. It offers optional modules like VBA/Python, which are highly relevant for technical roles in finance. - Sustainability and Impact Finance: Imperial's emphasis on practical skills and its focus on innovation might align well with your interest in sustainability and impact finance. - Placement: Graduates from Imperial's program have been noted to do well professionally, particularly in London.
Key Considerations for Your Profile: - With ACCA and Big 4 experience, both programs will complement your background. However, if you're looking for a more technical and practical approach, Imperial might be a better fit. - If global recognition and a broader alumni network are priorities, LSE could be the stronger choice.
Ultimately, if you receive an offer from Imperial, weigh the practical focus of their program against LSE's global reputation and networking opportunities. Both are excellent options for your career goals in finance with a focus on sustainability and impact.
Sources: Imperial MSc Finance and Accounting vs LSE MSc Accounting and Finance, https://www.wallstreetoasis.com/forum/school/uk-master-in-finance-advice?customgpt=1, Imperial MSc Finance and Accounting vs. ESCP MiM vs. IE MIF, https://www.wallstreetoasis.com/forum/school/admitted-to-imperial-college-business-school-msc-finance-and-lse-msc-finance-for-2019?customgpt=1, Imperial MSc Finance and Accounting vs MSc Finance
First congrats! Both are very good options for London IB/PE, specially if you have prior work experience. As a UK grad, didn’t have the chance to do a Master’s and rebrand myself but would have gone for Imperial, better global recognition and less competition from undergrads (ICL undergrads are more into Quant/S&T/HF). Ultimately you want to maximise your chances to land a Summer internship I guess. Just my two cents.
Idk what the other guy is smoking but the answer here is very easily LSE.
You're not competing with anyone on quant with an A+F degree, ICL or not.
You misunderstood his point.
At LSE, you’re competing with the majority of undergrads aiming for IB roles.
At Imperial, more people are aiming for quant/markets roles so there’s less competition for IB
Surely you would be competing against all other students in the UK regardless of which uni you are in...?
I appreciate that LSE has a greater reputation in the business/finance world. Still, my thoughts on Imperial are given the direction the world is headed particularly with sustainability and technology as key focus areas. It is a STEM-focused institution, and I think it has a lot of growth potential also given the fact that the business school has many combined classes networking and collaboration may be more open. Additionally, I think the array of clubs, societies, and diversity of backgrounds will be good for perspective. What are your thoughts on this? Also, what do you mean by not competing with anyone for quant?
I did LSE A&F, agree with the previous point that they are so many LSE students looking for internship/jobs that you easily get lost in the mass when it comes to recruiting unless you have stelar experiences. Had a strong CV with experiences in both M&A & PE and couldn't land a single interview for summers let alone FT. Need to say it was quite a terrible year for recruitiing though and that all of the female got at least 1 AC at BB/EB if you are lucky enough to be part of this category.
Regarding your special focus on Sustainability, I took the course and unfortunately I just cannot recommand it despite the professors being brilliant, the course itself is lacking actual thinking. This was quite frustrating as I expected it to be more group project/research oriented rather than learning academically. Part of the explanation is that they cover public equity and then private equity while I think it should really be 2 different courses given the depth of what can be said and done in the field.
On the positive side, LSE is incredible for the student life you get and especially the student unions (BIG, PE, VC, Green Finance, etc.) with top speakers and office visits.
LSE A&F have the merits of having mostly non-finance bro class although this can comes as negative if you are a die-hard for prestige -which I assume is not the case given your interest in ESG. Program directors are actually taking inputs about how to make the master better and I have heard they already implemented some of the feedback we gave them. The program is not intense so unless you are a library rat obsessed about getting a distinction you'll get plenty of time to go around, meet people etc.
Can't comment on Imperial much but I think summer recruiting would be at least slightly better given less internal competition.
Have a deep look in the course selection available, LSE is quite flexible on taking classes outside of the normal scope of your master upon request
Interesting point but will speak on my perspective a little bit.
LSE A&F is terrible at getting SA offers but this mainly because the vast majority of SA programmes are for penultimate years and these firms know that A) the A&F course is only 1 year, and B) nobody doing the A&F MSc is going to be doing another year in education, so C) they know you are definitely not penultimate year and therefore will favour penultimate years.
With that said, I've seen pretty much most profiles from LSE's A&F get off-cycle roles pretty late on in the cycle, which basically makes up for the lack of traction for SA roles.
A big thing swinging for Imperial's course is that you can technically extend your 1-year course by a term, making you a penultimate year student and therefore actually able to recruit for SA roles (very similar to the LBS structure in this respect). No idea on placement comparisons but I would assume because of this you are more likely to break into a top SA because you can theoretically say you are a penultimate year student.
Thanks for that insight I was not aware of that.
I want to understand the implications of LSE A&F being “terrible” at getting SA offers and why banks would favour penultimate years.
As off-cycle roles are pretty late on in the cycle, would you know the difference in experience for SA versus off-cycle roles? My research tells me that off-cycle interns stay with the team for much longer(Which seems good), but how are intern events, hr events, training, bonuses etc compared to starting as an SA?
Are off cycles seen and treated as b-tier because they mostly didn’t get a return at a previous summer internship? Or are experiences the same or better? Also any thoughts or insights on direct VC, PE and HF recruiting from LSE?
Is the placement good is recent years for both MSc programmes in LSE / IC?
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