Specialising within the Master of Applied Finance or Graduate Diploma of Applied Finance allows you to deepen your technical capability, enhance your professional profile and align your studies with your career objectives. Kaplan Professional offers four distinct specialisations; Project Management, Business Intelligence, Investment Analysis and Corporate Finance. Each is designed to reflect areas of high demand in the financial services sector.
To be awarded a specialisation, you must complete the designated three elective subjects for your chosen discipline as part of your postgraduate qualification. This achievement is formally recognised on both your academic transcript and testamur.
For those not pursuing a full Applied Finance qualification, Kaplan Professional also offers verified digital badges in the Project Management and Business Intelligence disciplines, which can be earned upon completion of the relevant subject sets and used to demonstrate your capability publicly.
Business Intelligence
Business intelligence focuses on underpinning data analytic concepts and techniques to harness the power of data to apply data-driven decisions and solve problems creatively. The subjects offered in this specialisation enables students to gain knowledge, skills, and techniques to solve problems creatively by integrating design thinking with analytics capability. Students will also learn to investigate how insights from quantitative and qualitative data analysis, and meaningful data visualisation can inform better decision-making.
This specialisation may be relevant to any professionals in the finance industry looking to develop skills to understand data for better decision-making driving improvements and work with multidisciplinary teams.
This specialisation may be relevant to the following roles:
- Associate
- Corporate Finance Adviser
- Corporate Finance Relationship Manager
- Risk Manager
- Operations Manager
- Operational Research Analyst
- Market Researcher
- Compliance Officer
Download our specialisation table to find out which subjects you need to complete for each specialisation.
Earn this digital badge by successfully completing the three Business Intelligence subjects. Whether you’re working towards a postgraduate qualification or completing them as a standalone discipline, this badge offers professional recognition of your business intelligence capabilities.
Please note: You will not be formally recognised as a Business Intelligence, Applied Finance specialist unless you complete either the Graduate Diploma or Master of Applied Finance.
Find out more about digital badges here.
Project Management
Project management explores how projects align with a company’s strategic goals and how to manage the cyclical stages of a project from idea generation until project completion achieving all project goals within the given constraints. The subjects offered in this specialisation enable students to learn about what tools are needed at different stages in a project’s lifecycle and develop skills to assess the viability of the project, identify and plan for potential risks and organise adequate financing. Students will also learn how to tackle problems related to task allocations and managing resources to ensure projects are delivered on time and within budget.
This specialisation may be relevant to any professionals in the finance industry looking to develop project management skills. Some roles include but are not limited to:
- Adviser
- Financial Manager
- Financial Controller
- Operations Manager
- Compliance Manager
- Analysts
- Strategists
Download our specialisation table to find out which subjects you need to complete for each specialisation.
Earn this digital badge by successfully completing the three Project Management subjects. Whether you’re working towards a postgraduate qualification or completing them as a standalone discipline, this badge offers professional recognition of your project management capabilities.
Please note: You will not be formally recognised as a Project Management, Applied Finance specialist unless you complete either the Graduate Diploma or Master of Applied Finance.
Find out more about digital badges here.
Corporate Finance
Corporate Finance is an area of finance dealing with the financial decisions corporations make and the tools and analysis used to make these decisions. The primary goal of corporate finance is to maximise corporate value while reducing the firm’s financial risks. The subjects offered in this specialisation provide students with an opportunity to gain skills and techniques in financial analysis and valuation across a variety of areas.
This specialisation may be relevant to corporate finance roles including:
- Associate
- Analyst
- Corporate Finance Adviser
- Corporate Finance Researcher
- Corporate Finance Relationship Manager.
Download our specialisation table to find out which subjects you need to complete for each specialisation.
Investment Analysis
Investment analysis is the process of evaluating potential investment options (e.g. shares, bonds, real estate) to meet the specified investment goals of investors. The subjects offered in this specialisation provide students with an opportunity to learn quantitative and qualitative methodologies, formulate investment opinions, provide investment management services and undertake processes including elements of financial analysis, asset allocation, stock selection, and implement and provide ongoing monitoring of investments. They will be able to gain specific skills to analyse a broad range of investment options evaluating the profitability and risk of an investment.
This specialisation may be relevant to investment analysis roles including:
- Investment Analyst
- Investment Consultant
- Portfolio Manager
- Operations Manager
- Compliance Officer
- Investment Risk Manager
- Property Portfolio Manager
- Strategist
Download our specialisation table to find out which subjects you need to complete for each specialisation.
How many subjects do I need to complete?
Download our specialisation table to find out which subjects you need to complete for each specialisation.
| Qualification | Core Subjects | Specialisation | Electives |
|---|---|---|---|
| Master of Applied Finance | 4 core subjects (FIN101, FIN103, FIN201 and KAP001) | 3 elective subjects from the specialisation of your choice | Any 5 further electives |
| Graduate Diploma of Applied Finance | 2 core subjects (FIN101 and FIN103) | 3 elective subjects from the specialisation of your choice | Any 3 further electives |
Download specialisation table
Download our specialisation table to find out which subjects you need to complete for each specialisation.
Specialisation table effective from Study Period 4 2025
Specialisation table effective up to Study Period 3 2025