Finance (Sino-Foreign Joint Training Program)

Finance (Sino-Foreign Joint Training Program)

I. Program Objectives

This program responds to the strategic needs of economic development in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. It cultivates interdisciplinary senior professionals who are well developed morally, intellectually, physically, aesthetically and in labour, have a global perspective, systematically master the basic theories and methods of finance as well as professional skills in international financial practice, and possess digital financial technology application, financial analysis and risk control capabilities, together with financial and legal literacy, an entrepreneurial spirit and practical abilities. Graduates may work in international financial business, financial business innovation, investment decision-making and risk management at banks, securities firms, insurance companies and other financial institutions, as well as government departments, enterprises and public institutions.

The program objectives are further specified as follows:

Objective 1: Political literacy and professional ethics. Establish socialist core values, develop ethical decision-making capacity in the financial industry, cultivate honest, self-disciplined professional character and a sense of social responsibility, put national interests first in financial innovation, and build sound physical and mental qualities together with the ability to withstand pressure.

Objective 2: Interdisciplinary knowledge structure and industry trend analysis. Build a knowledge system integrating finance theory with multidisciplinary technologies, master the operating patterns of financial markets and the business logic of institutions, develop professional capacity to assess digital transformation trends, and establish an analytical framework for tracking industry frontiers.

Objective 3: Digital financial technology innovation and entrepreneurial practice. Drawing on university-enterprise collaborative platforms, integrate big data, blockchain and artificial intelligence technologies to develop intelligent risk control models and design digital financial solutions, and achieve financial product innovation and trading strategy development through entrepreneurial practice, thereby advancing regional industrial upgrading and digital transformation.

Objective 4: Financial analysis, risk management and legal compliance. Apply financial analysis tools and financial modeling techniques to build enterprise valuation and investment decision support systems, establish compliance management frameworks, and achieve systematic data security and risk prevention and control.

Objective 5: International perspective and regional service capacity. Master international financial rules and multilingual communication mechanisms, integrate local practice, and promote RMB internationalization and the linkage of regional financial markets, cultivating professionals able to meet the open financial needs of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

II. Graduation Requirements

In line with the above objectives, graduates of this program are required to meet the following graduation requirements covering qualities, knowledge and abilities:

1. Requirement 1: Moral cultivation and professional ethics. Practice socialist core values, uphold the ethical norms of the financial industry, maintain honest, self-disciplined and dedicated professional conduct and a strong sense of social responsibility, safeguard national and public interests in financial innovation, and maintain physical health and psychological resilience to adapt to high-intensity working environments.

2. Requirement 2: Financial theory and industry insight. Systematically master core finance theories, be familiar with the operating mechanisms of financial markets and product characteristics, understand the business logic of financial institutions, and possess professional insight to track industry frontiers and assess development trends, with particular attention to how digital transformation reshapes the financial ecosystem.

3. Requirement 3: Interdisciplinary technology integration and innovation. Integrate economics, mathematics, information technology and other disciplines, skilfully use big data, blockchain and artificial intelligence to build intelligent risk control models and digital financial solutions, advance the digital transformation of international business scenarios and serve regional industrial upgrading needs.

4. Requirement 4: Innovation and entrepreneurship through university-enterprise collaboration. Through jointly developed courses and practical projects, develop innovative thinking in financial business and the ability to develop digital financial products and trading strategies; complete entrepreneurial practice or project implementation under the guidance of corporate mentors, create cross-domain value and adapt to the dynamic development of the financial industry.

5. Requirement 5: Financial analysis and value-based decision support. Accurately interpret financial statements, use financial analysis and modeling tools to support investment decisions, strengthen enterprise valuation and market trend forecasting, and facilitate corporate financing and industrial upgrading.

6. Requirement 6: Compliance management and risk prevention and control. Master financial regulatory policies, laws and regulations, ensure business compliance through legal application and risk control techniques, build a risk prevention and control system covering data security, and adapt to the open financial market needs of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

7. Requirement 7: Application of international financial rules and cross-cultural business capability. Be proficient in international financial rules and practices, possess multilingual communication skills and a global perspective, skilfully conduct international financial product design, compliant operations and cross-cultural collaboration, and promote RMB internationalization and the linkage of regional financial markets.

8. Requirement 8: Regional financial service capability. Integrate local practice in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, design financial service solutions that meet regional industrial needs, promote deep integration of finance and the real economy, and support high-quality regional economic development.

9. Requirement 9: Design of digital financial solutions. Based on digital technology innovation, develop intelligent solutions covering the entire financial business process, achieve digital upgrading of financial products, service models and operational management, and improve financial service efficiency and user experience.

III. Matrix of Program Objectives and Graduation Requirements

Note: The relationship between graduation requirements and program objectives is indicated by H (high), M (medium) and L (weak). Support strength refers to how closely a graduation requirement is linked to a program objective: H covers at least 80%, M at least 50% and L at least 30%.

IV. Core Courses

Microeconomics (English-taught); Macroeconomics (English-taught); Management (English-taught); Statistics (English-taught); Finance (English-taught); Accounting (English-taught); Global Marketing Management (English-taught); Consumer Behavior (English-taught); Financial Econometrics; Financial Engineering; Corporate Finance (English-taught)

V. Standard Duration of Study

The standard duration of study is 5 years (3 years at Guangdong University of Finance and Economics and 2 years at the University of Western Australia); our university operates a flexible 3-7 year system.

VI. Degree Awarded

Bachelor of Economics from Guangdong University of Finance and Economics and Master of Commerce from the University of Western Australia

VII. Curriculum Structure and Credit Proportions

The program consists of three modules: general education courses, discipline foundation courses and major courses. Courses are divided into compulsory and elective categories, with compulsory courses including general education compulsory courses, discipline foundation courses and major compulsory courses, and electives including general education electives and major electives. The program requires a total of 145 credits, of which 132 credits are compulsory (91.03%), 13 credits are elective (8.97%), and 29.875 credits are for practical teaching (20.60%).

VIII. Course Requirements

(1) Students majoring in this program must complete 145 credits at Guangdong University of Finance and Economics (excluding co-curricularcredits): 59 credits of general education compulsory courses, 5 credits of general education electives, 38 credits of discipline foundation courses, 35 credits of major compulsory courses and 8 credits of major electives. In addition, except for students from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, 2 co-curriculartranscript credits must be earned each academic year for the actual number of years studied at our university (rounded down); details are set out in the Implementation Measures for the Co-curricularTranscript System of Guangdong University of Finance and Economics (Yue Cai Da [2026] No. 75). Under the National Student Physical Health Standard of the Ministry of Education, students must pass the physical health test to graduate. As required by higher authorities, students must complete military training before graduation (except international students, students from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, and students upgrading from junior college to undergraduate programs).

(2) During their studies at the University of Western Australia, students must complete all 96 credits required for the master's degree in finance awarded by that university.

(3) To obtain the bachelor's degree from Guangdong University of Finance and Economics, students must ultimately earn 155 credits at that university, of which 10 credits are converted from 14 credits earned for courses taken at the University of Western Australia under its teaching plan. Credit conversion formula: 1 UWA credit = 0.75 GDUFE credits.

[Note] The admission requirements of the University of Western Australia are: three academic years of study at the Guangzhou campus of Guangdong University of Finance and Economics with completion of the prescribed courses and credits; an average score of at least 70 (on a 100-point scale) in the first three years at Guangdong University of Finance and Economics; and no failed subjects before enrolling in major courses at the University of Western Australia. In addition, students must obtain an IELTS overall score of at least 6.5 with no band below 6.0 in listening, speaking, reading and writing; those who do not meet this language requirement may take an academic English bridging course at the UWA English Language Centre.