Applying to ESCP’s Master in Finance: selection, CV and letter

Among the finance programmes offered by the French business schools, ESCP's has a feature that changes how you should prepare your application: it runs across several European campuses, part of it is taught in English, and it includes an interview with the academic direction and industry professionals. This guide details what the school asks for, how to build a CV and a letter that hold up, and what to do if the answer is not the one you hoped for.

⚠️ Warning: admission requirements, the calendar and fees change from one year to the next, and the name of the programme itself has changed over time. Everything below draws on the official ESCP pages listed at the end of the article, consulted in October 2026. Check them before submitting anything: they are the reference.

What the programme offers and who it is for

On the school's website, the programme people look for under the name "Master in Finance" is presented as the Master of Science (MSc) in Finance. If you come across older articles or forums talking about a "Master in Finance" with different conditions, keep in mind that they may describe an earlier version of the programme. This is the case for some test requirements, which we come back to below.

According to the programme page, it is a five-year-level (master's) course that lasts about fifteen months full time, or two years for candidates with a shorter background. The first block takes place in Paris, the second in London. Teaching is in English and French, with a "Global Track" taught entirely in English. After a common core of courses, you choose a specialisation: investment banking, financial markets or the global track.

Two elements structure the programme's calendar and weigh on the application:

An internship of at least four months, which is part of the curriculum and not a mere extra;
A research thesis, written in the style of an academic article, supervised by an ESCP professor and defended before a jury.

Who is it for? The page asks for a bachelor-level degree of at least 180 ECTS credits and demonstrated English proficiency. Candidates with fewer than 240 credits are directed to the two-year route, with a first year of foundation courses. In other words, a bachelor's student, a first-year master's student, an engineering school graduate or a university profile can apply, provided they can justify the choice of finance.

If you are still hesitating between a master's and another route, our article on the CFA and FRM certifications helps you understand what a certification brings in addition to, or instead of, a degree.

Selection criteria and profile of admitted students

ESCP does not publish a scoring grid. What we know comes from the programme page and from an article on the school's official masters blog about application best practices. Several points are certain, and a few reasonable deductions need to be presented as such.

What the school states

A bachelor-level degree of at least 180 ECTS credits.
English proficiency shown by a recent test (TOEFL, TOEIC listening and reading, or IELTS), taken within the last two years. The page gives no minimum score: do not invent one and do not rely on those of other schools.
Two recommendation letters, "strongly recommended" without being compulsory. This nuance matters: not providing them is allowed, but an application containing two solid ones stands out.
An interview for candidates deemed eligible, with the academic director and industry professionals.

What about the GMAT?

This is the question that comes up most often, and the answer has changed. An older article on ESCP's masters blog, from 2021, stated that a management test was required for this programme. A more recent article, from January 2026, says on the contrary that no GMAT or equivalent is needed to apply to the masters, except for the Master in Management. The MSc in Finance page lists no management test among the documents. In practice: do not take a GMAT "just in case" on the strength of an old forum, but reread the list of documents in your application portal before deciding. If a score is ever requested, you will see it there.

What can reasonably be deduced

Without claiming to know the internal weightings, the two-step process is telling. The written file (degrees, transcripts, CV, English, recommendations) serves to check that you are eligible and that your background is coherent. The interview then separates the eligible profiles. Your file must therefore prepare the interview: everything you write in it, you must be able to explain out loud.

The same principles apply to other schools, by the way. If you are comparing several applications, our guide to applying to the ESSEC Master in Finance shows a different procedure (compulsory management test, no announced interview): the point is to see that two schools are not prepared for in the same way.

Building an academic CV that fits

The programme page asks for a CV among the documents, without setting a length. The article on the official masters blog is more precise, for all of the school's masters: a CV in English of two pages at most, with the exact months and years at which each experience started and ended, the nature of each (full time, part time, freelance, with weekly hours for part-time work), relevant short courses, language levels and interests. Follow these instructions to the letter, and if the platform shows others when you apply, follow the platform's.

A structure that goes to the point

Header: name, email, phone, city, LinkedIn profile if you have polished it.
Education first: degrees obtained and in progress, institution, dates, honours or ranking if documented, relevant courses (corporate finance, econometrics, probability, accounting, programming).
Professional experience: internships, work-study placements, assignments, with precise dates and concrete results.
Projects and extracurricular: finance society, investment club, case competitions, modelling projects.
Skills, languages and interests: tools (Excel, Python, SQL, market databases), languages with the test that backs them up, and sincere interests.

Showing quantitative skills without listing them

Rather than "Advanced Excel", write what you did: "Built a three-statement model for a listed retailer and compared three scenarios on margins and capex". Rather than "Python", name the project: "Backtested a simple momentum strategy on equity indices using Python". Only mention real work and be ready to go into detail orally, since the interview is precisely about what you wrote.

One point specific to this programme: the curriculum includes an internship and a thesis. The school's reviewers therefore also look at whether you have already done research or a long, structured piece of work. A bachelor's thesis, a research project or an in-depth case study deserves a line, with the topic and the method.

Formatting mistakes to avoid

Vague dates ("2023") when the school asks for precise months.
A CV in French when the programme is taught in English.
Tasks listed without results: "Participated in financial analysis" tells nothing.
A format that changes from one block to the next (dates, capitals, punctuation), which looks sloppy for a future finance professional.

To see how to organise education, experience and skills legibly, our corporate finance CV example gives a template. It is written in French for recruitment: adapt it into English and an academic version rather than copying it. And for the general logic of an application document, see the academic CV for an admission file 🔗.

💡 Learn more: if your experience section lacks material, read how to get a finance internship as a student.

Writing the motivation letter and succeeding at the interview

The letter: one page, in English

The programme page does not list a motivation letter among the documents, whereas the article on the official masters blog recommends one, in English, on one page, to "connect the dots between your past and your future". It should answer three questions: why this master's, why ESCP, and what you bring. Check in your application portal whether it is requested for this programme; if it is optional, it remains a good way to make the file readable, especially for an unusual profile.

A simple plan:

The career project (three to four sentences): the target job, for example investment banking, markets or corporate finance, and why.
The link with your background: two or three precise elements, drawn from your courses, internships or projects, that make this project credible.
The choice of programme: what you understood about the course, for example the move from Paris to London, the chosen specialisation, the internship and the thesis. Cite verifiable elements from the official page, not the school's reputation.
The contribution: what you bring to a cohort, such as a scientific profile joining finance or international experience.

If a sentence could appear unchanged in another candidate's letter, replace it with a fact.

The interview

The programme page states that eligible candidates are invited to a personal interview with the academic director and industry professionals. The exact format, length and questions are not published: do not believe forum accounts that describe a precise run of events, they may be out of date. Prepare three things instead:

Your background in two minutes, coherently, with the reason for moving into finance if your training is not in it.
Every line of your CV, including the tools, projects and any figures.
Basic market awareness: a recent deal or trend you can comment on, without reciting a course.

To practise technical and behavioural questions, our guide to preparing an investment banking interview is a good starting point, even though the context is not exactly the same.

Calendar and application documents

The calendar

At the time of writing, the programme page presents four admission sessions spread between the start of the year and the middle of the following year, each with an application deadline and a results date, and states that applications open in the autumn. We deliberately do not reproduce the exact dates: they change every year, and an outdated date can cost an application. Check the table on the official page 🔗 and plan backwards from the session you are aiming for:

the English test, taken early enough to be retaken, and recent at the time of submission;
the recommendation requests, several weeks ahead;
the transcripts and the proof of degree or enrolment;
the CV, the letter if any, and at least one outside proofread.

A rule of common sense: aim for a session early enough to keep a margin. Later sessions offer a second chance, but funding, housing and internship choices depend on the answer.

The documents to provide

According to the official page, the online file includes:

a copy of the bachelor's or master's diploma, or a certificate of enrolment for current studies;
the transcript of your last two years of university;
a copy of your passport or ID;
a CV;
a recent English test result;
an ID photo in JPEG format;
two recommendation letters, strongly recommended.

A non-refundable application fee is charged, with reductions and waivers in some cases; the amounts are on the page and may change, so check them on the day you apply. Tuition fees are also given on the page, with possible support (partial waivers on social or excellence criteria, bank loans). Read that part before applying: the cost of a programme like this is prepared like the application.

📊 Worth noting: the page also mentions paid internships during the programme. They do not replace funding, but they are part of the equation to build starting now.

Common mistakes and plan B

The mistakes that cost the most

Relying on outdated conditions. An old article requires a management test, the current page lists none: what counts is the official page of the day.
An English test that is too old. A result more than two years old is not accepted.
Last-minute recommendations. A rushed referee writes a generic text. Yours should be precise.
A file that does not hold together. A "markets" project with only audit internships, unexplained, gives an impression of scattering.
Neglecting the interview because the file is good. It comes after eligibility and serves to separate candidates.
Submitting only one application. Apply to several programmes whose calendars overlap.

A plan B built right now

A negative answer does not close the door to finance careers. Prepare in parallel:

Other finance master's programmes, in France or abroad, with compatible calendars;
A new session of the same programme, if the school still opens one, with an improved file on the weak point identified (English, experience, recommendations);
An internship or work-study placement that strengthens your profile for next year: see how to get a finance internship;
A certification such as the CFA, which can be prepared alongside your studies (see our CFA and FRM comparison);
Another programme at the same or a neighbouring school, for example through parallel admission if you are aiming for a business school after two or three years of higher education: see our guide to the CV for parallel admission to ESCP 🔗, which concerns another programme with its own rules.

In every case, keep the same standard: a clear CV, a precise letter, evidence. A good file serves several applications.

Ready to create your finance CV? Our editor handles the layout for you and produces a PDF that recruiters' screening software (ATS) reads correctly, since it discards badly structured documents before a human sees them: Create my CV for free.

Sources

ESCP Business School, official MSc in Finance page 🔗: programme, campuses, admission requirements, documents, interview, calendar and fees, consulted in October 2026.
ESCP Business School, "Best Practices for an ESCP Master's Programme Application" 🔗: advice on the CV, the motivation letter and tests, January 2026.

📚 Related articles to succeed in your application:

🎓 Academic CV for an admission file
📄 Corporate finance CV example
🏆 Finance certifications: CFA and FRM
💼 Getting a finance internship as a student
🎤 Preparing an investment banking interview