The University of Macau’s (UM) Bachelor of Science (BSc) in Finance programme was recently accepted by the University Recognition Programme of the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Institute, becoming the first from the Asia-Pacific region to gain recognition from the CFA Institute under the University Recognition Programme. 

The CFA Institute is a global organization that aims at promoting the highest ethical standards and professional excellence among investment professionals through professional programmes, publications, seminars, conferences, and other educational activities. Among all the professional credentials offered by the CFA Institute, the CFA charter is the most widely recognized worldwide and is considered to be the standard of investment profession. The CFA Programme equips candidates with fundamental and practical knowledge they need for a wide variety of career choices in the investment profession. To be a CFA charterholder, a candidate has to master the rigorous CFA curriculum, pass all three levels of examinations, and accumulate four years of work experience in investment. Many prominent employers in the financial industry only consider job candidates who have CFA designations or who are candidates in the CFA Programme. Currently, there are more than 100,000 CFA charterholders in more than 130 countries. 

The University Recognition Programme of the CFA Institute encourages universities to incorporate the CFA Programme Candidate Body of Knowledge (CBOK) into their programme curriculums. Acceptance in the programme allows UM, the BSc in Finance program in particular, to demonstrate both internally and among our peers that the BSc in Finance program is aligned with CFA Programme CBOK and meets rigorous, global standards set by the CFA Institute. The CFA Institute will also list the BSc in Finance programme and UM on its official website which is viewed by financial professionals, academics, and CFA charterholders all over the world. This enhances the employment opportunities of graduates from the programme. As a member in the University Recognition Programme, UM can continue to nominate students for the CFA student scholarships through the new CFA Awareness Scholarship programme, which is available to universities and colleges participating in the CFA Programme Partners initiative and University Recognition Programme only.

Besides a member in the University Recognition Programme of the CFA Institute, UM is also a member of the Global Association of Risk Professionals (GARP)'s university chapters.