Peking University PHBS Masters Programs Guide 2026

PHBS Masters Programs Overview

Peking University HSBC Business School (PHBS), established in 2004 as part of Peking University’s Shenzhen Graduate School, has rapidly grown into one of China’s most internationally oriented business schools. Named after its corporate partner HSBC, PHBS offers three masters programs specifically designed for international students — Master of Finance, Master of Economics, and Master of Management — all taught entirely in English.

What distinguishes PHBS from conventional Chinese business schools is its dual-campus model. In addition to its main campus in Shenzhen’s University Town, PHBS opened a UK campus in Boar’s Hill, Oxfordshire in 2018 — just three miles south of Oxford City. This cross-border structure allows students in the Finance and Management programs to spend their first year studying in England before completing their second year in Shenzhen, gaining deep exposure to both Western and Chinese academic traditions, business practices, and cultural contexts.

The school’s faculty of over 71 internationally educated members — many holding PhDs from leading global universities — brings diverse academic perspectives to a curriculum explicitly designed to provide a Chinese focus within a global framework. This positioning is particularly valuable for international students who want to understand how business operates in China, the world’s second-largest economy, while building analytical skills that transfer across markets. Unlike programs that merely add a China module to an otherwise Western curriculum, PHBS integrates Chinese business dynamics throughout every course, creating graduates who can navigate the complexities of the Chinese market with genuine fluency. Students interested in other Peking University offerings might also explore the Peking University Guanghua MBA program.

Master of Finance: Curriculum and CFA Alignment

The PHBS Master of Finance is the school’s flagship program for students pursuing careers in banking, investment management, consulting, and financial research. The two-year full-time curriculum combines rigorous quantitative training with practical market knowledge, all delivered through the lens of China’s dynamic financial landscape.

Core courses include Financial Markets, Financial Economics, and Applied Econometrics, providing the analytical foundation that finance professionals need. The program also features Financial Markets and Investments in China, a specialized course that examines the unique characteristics of Chinese capital markets — including the dual-listed A-share and H-share structures, regulatory frameworks, the role of state-owned enterprises in financial markets, and the rapid evolution of fintech and digital payments. General and Business Chinese courses complement the technical curriculum, building language skills essential for professional effectiveness in China.

A particularly important credential for the Master of Finance is its recognition by the CFA Institute University Affiliation Program. This recognition confirms that the program’s curriculum covers a substantial portion of the CFA Program Candidate Body of Knowledge and emphasizes the CFA Institute’s Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Conduct. For students planning to pursue the Chartered Financial Analyst designation — widely regarded as the gold standard in investment management — this alignment means that their coursework directly prepares them for the CFA examinations, creating an efficient pathway from academic study to professional certification.

The program culminates in a final thesis that allows students to conduct original research on topics at the intersection of global finance and Chinese markets. This thesis requirement develops the analytical rigor and independent thinking that distinguish strong finance professionals from those who simply apply formulaic approaches to complex market situations.

Master of Economics: Advanced Research Training

The Master of Economics at PHBS takes a more theoretically rigorous approach, preparing students for careers as economists in business, government, central banks, international organizations, and academia. The curriculum builds deep expertise in economic analysis, modeling, and policy evaluation, with particular attention to the economic forces shaping China’s development and its integration into the global economy.

Core courses include Advanced Macroeconomics, Advanced Microeconomics, and Applied Econometrics — the methodological pillars that any economist must master. The advanced prefix is deliberate: these courses assume undergraduate-level economics knowledge and push students toward the frontier of economic thinking, incorporating recent developments in behavioral economics, institutional analysis, and computational methods.

The program’s research environment is anchored by world-class faculty leadership. Nobel Prize in Economics laureate Professor Thomas Sargent joined PHBS to head the Sargent Institute of Quantitative Economics and Finance, bringing the intellectual gravitas and research standards of the highest caliber. Professor Fan He, a renowned Chinese economist, leads the Research Institute of Marine Silk Road, focusing on China’s Belt and Road Initiative — one of the most consequential economic policy programs in modern history. Access to researchers of this stature provides students with mentorship and intellectual stimulation that few masters programs anywhere can match.

Notably, the PHBS Master of Economics has earned EFMD EPAS accreditation, a programme-level quality mark that evaluates curriculum design, faculty quality, internationalization, and student outcomes. This accreditation provides external validation that the program meets European standards of academic excellence while maintaining its distinctive Chinese orientation.

Master of Management: Cross-Disciplinary Leadership

The Master of Management program at PHBS takes a broader approach than the specialized Finance and Economics tracks, equipping students with the strategic, operational, and analytical skills needed to lead organizations across diverse industries and geographies. The program is explicitly designed for students who want to develop as global management leaders, whether in established multinational corporations or entrepreneurial ventures.

The curriculum spans Strategic Management, Operations Management, Organizational Behavior, Empirical Business Analysis, and Marketing Management, creating a comprehensive toolkit for business leadership. What distinguishes the PHBS approach is its integration of mathematical and logical thinking alongside traditional management concepts. Rather than treating quantitative methods as a separate academic exercise, the program weaves analytical rigor into every management topic, producing graduates who can both envision strategic direction and validate their decisions with data.

General and Business Chinese courses are included in the Management program as well, reflecting PHBS’s commitment to producing graduates who can function effectively in Chinese business environments. The cross-disciplinary curriculum also includes substantial elective flexibility, allowing students to develop specialized expertise in areas that align with their career ambitions while maintaining the broad perspective that management roles demand.

For international students, the Management program offers a particularly effective entry point into China’s business ecosystem. The combination of strategic frameworks, quantitative skills, Chinese language training, and immersion in Shenzhen’s technology-driven economy prepares graduates to bridge Western and Chinese management practices — a capability increasingly valued by multinational companies operating across both markets. This cross-cultural preparation mirrors what programs at other leading institutions like the SJTU International MBA aim to achieve.

UK-Shenzhen Cross-Border Campus Experience

The most distinctive structural feature of the PHBS masters programs is the UK-Shenzhen cross-border option, available for the Master of Finance and Master of Management. Students who choose this pathway spend their first year at the PHBS UK Campus in Boar’s Hill, Oxfordshire — a location steeped in academic tradition, just three miles from the dreaming spires of Oxford — before relocating to Shenzhen for their second year.

The UK campus opened in 2018, marking Peking University’s first overseas educational presence. The campus is staffed by leading international scholars and provides a learning environment that combines PHBS’s China-focused curriculum with the intellectual atmosphere of one of the world’s great university towns. Students benefit from proximity to Oxford’s vast academic resources, visiting speaker programs, and networking opportunities within the UK’s financial and business communities.

The transition from the UK to Shenzhen in the second year creates a powerful educational contrast. After absorbing Western academic perspectives, research methodologies, and business frameworks in England, students arrive in Shenzhen equipped to engage with Chinese business realities at a much deeper level than would be possible without the comparative baseline. This structured immersion in two very different academic and business cultures produces graduates with genuine cross-cultural fluency — not just theoretical knowledge about cultural differences, but lived experience of operating in both environments.

The cross-border tuition of £12,000 per year (covering both the UK and Shenzhen components) represents extraordinary value for a dual-country educational experience at one of China’s most elite universities. Students interested in other innovative cross-campus programs may also want to explore the Peking University Yenching Academy.

Admission Requirements and Application Process

PHBS maintains a streamlined admissions process that is notably less burdensome than many competing programs. The core requirements apply to both the Shenzhen campus and UK-Shenzhen cross-border programs across all three masters degrees.

Essential admission requirements include:

• Academic qualification: Bachelor’s degree or higher from a recognized institution
• Citizenship: Non-Chinese citizenship with a valid passport
• English proficiency: TOEFL 80+ or IELTS 6.5+ (native English speakers are exempt)

A significant differentiator is that GMAT and GRE scores are not required. While strong standardized test scores can strengthen an application, their absence does not disqualify candidates. This policy removes a major barrier for international applicants who may have graduated from universities in countries where standardized graduate admission tests are not standard practice, or for professionals whose career accomplishments speak louder than test scores.

The application process is straightforward: candidates submit their academic transcripts, English proficiency scores, a personal statement, and any additional supporting materials through the PHBS online portal. The admissions committee evaluates applications holistically, considering academic records, professional experience, language abilities, and the candidate’s potential to contribute to the PHBS learning community.

Tuition, Scholarships, and Financial Planning

PHBS masters programs are among the most affordable options at any internationally accredited business school worldwide. The Shenzhen campus programs cost RMB 60,000 per year (approximately US$8,400), payable in full at the start of each academic year. Over the two-year program, total tuition amounts to RMB 120,000 — a fraction of what comparable programs charge at peer institutions in Hong Kong, Singapore, or the West.

The UK-Shenzhen cross-border programs cost £12,000 per year, covering instruction at both the UK and Shenzhen campuses. At current exchange rates, the total two-year cost of approximately £24,000 (US$30,000) delivers a cross-border educational experience that would typically cost several times more at other institutions offering similar dual-campus models.

PHBS further enhances affordability through school-funded scholarships specifically designed for international students. Qualified applicants with strong academic and professional records can receive half-tuition or full-tuition scholarships, potentially reducing the cost of the Shenzhen program to zero. These scholarships serve PHBS’s strategic goal of enhancing student body diversity, making them genuinely available rather than merely aspirational for well-qualified international candidates.

Living costs in Shenzhen are comparable to other major Chinese cities and significantly lower than Hong Kong, Singapore, or Western business school locations. The city offers excellent public transportation, affordable dining, and modern housing options at a fraction of the cost in neighboring Hong Kong, which sits just across the border. For the UK year, Oxfordshire living costs are moderate by UK standards, with university-arranged accommodation available to reduce housing search stress for international students.

Accreditations and Rankings

PHBS holds two important international accreditations that validate the quality of its programs for prospective students and employers worldwide. AACSB International accreditation — held by fewer than 6% of business schools globally — confirms that PHBS meets the highest standards for curriculum design, faculty qualifications, and student learning outcomes. The EFMD EPAS accreditation specifically validates the Master of Economics program, providing programme-level quality assurance recognized across Europe and beyond.

The Master of Finance benefits from additional professional recognition through the CFA Institute University Affiliation Program, which confirms curriculum alignment with the CFA examination body of knowledge. This recognition is particularly valuable for students targeting careers in investment management, where CFA charterholder status is widely considered essential.

In institutional rankings, Peking University — PHBS’s parent university — was ranked 29th in the world by Times Higher Education in 2017 and has continued to climb in subsequent years. As one of China’s two most prestigious universities (alongside Tsinghua University), Peking University’s brand carries extraordinary weight in Chinese business circles, government, and academia. PHBS leverages this institutional prestige while building its own independent reputation for business education excellence.

The school’s faculty strength is demonstrated by its ability to attract scholars of the highest caliber, including Nobel laureate Thomas Sargent and leading Chinese economists. With 71 full-time faculty members holding PhDs from leading international universities, the student-to-faculty ratio supports intensive mentorship and research supervision — critical factors in masters programs where thesis work constitutes a significant portion of the degree requirements.

Career Outcomes and Global Alumni Network

PHBS international alumni have established careers across 33 countries, demonstrating the global portability of the school’s degrees. Graduates work in multinational companies, financial institutions, consulting firms, government agencies, and academic institutions, with a significant number also launching their own businesses — particularly in sectors that bridge Chinese and international markets.

Career pathways vary by program specialization. Master of Finance graduates gravitate toward banking, investment and fund management, consulting, public administration, and academic research. Master of Economics graduates pursue economist roles in the private sector, financial institutions, central banks, national and international organizations, and academia. Master of Management alumni build careers as organizational leaders across a wide range of industries, from technology and manufacturing to professional services and non-profit organizations.

Student testimonials consistently highlight several themes that underscore the program’s career impact. Jaewuan Lim from South Korea, a Master of Economics graduate, praised the diversity of courses that extended beyond pure theory and statistics to include historical, political, and sociological perspectives on economic phenomena. Taurai Muvunza from Zimbabwe, a Master of Finance graduate, noted how challenging coursework deepened his understanding of finance from theory to practical application, leaving him confident about a career in the field. Fabian Tyroller from Germany, a Master of Management graduate, emphasized the outstanding faculty, international environment, and extensive network-building opportunities.

PHBS’s extensive alumni network serves as a powerful professional resource long after graduation. The school actively maintains connections with alumni through events, digital platforms, and regional chapters, ensuring that the relationships formed during the program continue to generate career opportunities, business partnerships, and mentorship throughout graduates’ professional lives.

Shenzhen as a Tech and Finance Hub

Shenzhen’s transformation from a fishing village to one of the world’s most dynamic technology and financial centers is one of the great economic stories of the past four decades. As China’s first Special Economic Zone, established in 1980, Shenzhen pioneered the market reforms that propelled China’s economic rise. Today the city is home to global technology giants including Huawei, Tencent, BYD, and DJI, as well as the Shenzhen Stock Exchange — one of China’s two main equity markets.

For PHBS students, this location delivers extraordinary practical advantages. The concentration of technology companies, venture capital firms, financial institutions, and startups within Shenzhen creates abundant internship, research, and networking opportunities that complement academic studies. The city’s proximity to Hong Kong — accessible by high-speed rail in under 20 minutes — extends the professional network to one of the world’s leading international financial centers, effectively doubling the career ecosystem available to students.

Shenzhen’s reputation as China’s innovation capital is particularly relevant for students in the Master of Finance and Master of Management programs. The city’s startup ecosystem, which produces more patent applications than many entire countries, provides a living laboratory for studying innovation, venture financing, technology management, and rapid-growth business strategies. For economics students, Shenzhen’s role as a policy laboratory for market reforms offers unparalleled research material on the interaction between government policy, market forces, and economic development.

The international character of Shenzhen — with a large expatriate community and increasingly global business orientation — ensures that students experience genuine cosmopolitan living while remaining immersed in China’s business culture. The city’s modern infrastructure, efficient transportation, excellent dining, and vibrant cultural scene make it an attractive place to live for the two-year duration of the program and potentially well beyond graduation.