How to apply

All applications are made online, and you need to submit all required supporting documentation. An online payment of £120 will be charged for the submission of your completed application.

You’ll need a strong academic background with at least a high UK 2:1 or equivalent in your Bachelors degree. Any degree subject is potentially eligible. If you studied your undergraduate degree overseas, you can check whether you meet the University’s minimum requirement.

Please note that the University’s minimum requirement equates to a standard 2:1, whereas you’ll need a high 2:1 for admission to the MFin. Therefore, the grades required for the MFin are likely to be higher than the minimum 2:1 equivalent stated on the University’s website. For example, we would require applicants who have studied in the USA to have a minimum GPA of 3.6/4.0.

You should have at least 2 years of graduate work experience in a core finance or finance-related role by the start of the programme. This could be in a bank or financial institution, but could also be in financial accounting or finance-related legal work, or in the financial team for a non-financial company. Ideally, at least one year of this should be in a front office finance role or equivalent.

You should be fluent in English to study the Cambridge MFin. If English is not your first language, you’ll need to take a recognised English proficiency test within 2 years of your programme’s start date. We can accept:

• IELTS – 7.0 with no less than 7.0 in Speaking, Listening and Writing, and 6.5 in Reading
• TOEFL – 100 with no element below 25
• CAE minimum score of Grade A
• CPE – Grade A, B or C, minimum score of 200 with no element below 185.

View our full English language policy

The MFin is open to graduates from a range of disciplines, as long as you have a willingness to reach a high level of maths and statistics.

View our guidance on the level of maths and stats knowledge required.

If you have an advanced maths background and want to tailor your MFin degree to a more quantitative direction, we can offer you some very demanding electives.

Cambridge has several faculty members who are leaders in the areas of mathematical finance, advanced econometrics and computer modelling.

Your MFin covers a lot of ground in a competitive field, so you’ll need to be willing to learn new skills and build on your current competencies in numeracy, problem-solving, reasoning and negotiation. Your fellow students are all experienced finance professionals, so you’ll gain the most from your work together if you have good interpersonal, communication and team skills, with a willingness to get involved and engage with research, workshops and other parts of the student experience.

You’ll need to provide 3 references for your MFin application:

• professional reference from your line manager or supervisor
• peer reference from a team member or colleague
• academic reference

Please provide your referees’ work emails, so we can send them an automated reference request from the application portal. We cannot accept references sent from personal email accounts.

If you are unable to provide a reference from your current supervisor, please contact our Admissions Team (mfin-enquiries@jbs.cam.ac.uk).

If you are unable to provide an academic reference, for example if you graduated some time ago, please provide an explanation in the ‘Additional Information’ section of the application form.

Once you have submitted your application, you will be able to track your references online.

Your MFin application is assessed on all the information you provide. A GMAT or GRE score is not mandatory, but it can be helpful if you’re worried about your academic score meeting the required level, or if your degree is in a non-finance related subject.

If you have mitigating circumstances for not meeting the minimum eligibility requirements and would still like to apply, please contact the admissions office to discuss your case. We reserve the right to request a GMAT or GRE score on the rare occasions where we feel it is necessary.