To meetthe increasing demand for professionals in international financialmanagement boosted by China’s accession into the WTO and to sharpenChina’s competitive edge in the world financial market, theShanghai Institute of Foreign Trade (SIFT) and Douglas College ofBritish Columbia, Canada, launched a joint bachelor’s degreeprogram in Financial Markets and Investment Management in 1998.Officially approved by the Shanghai Municipal Education Committee,the joint teaching program enrolled the first class of 83 studentsin the fall of 1998.

Thejoint program offers courses designed for training professionals inthe global financial market and international banking industry.Among the compulsory courses, twenty are taught in English and arein line with the curricula adopted by some of the best businessschools in the world. Carefully selected original textbooks writtenin English are introduced to the program and textbooks are updatedevery three years to keep up with the latesttrend.

Thehigh quality of the students ensures the success of the program.Students are selected from a pool of applicants with high scores inthe national university entrance exam and English exam. The programlimits its annual enrollment within 130 students. Students arerequired to complete 30 credits of English language courses and 146credits of compulsory and elective courses. Students of the firstsix classes were presented with the Bachelor Degree in Economicsand Management by SIFT and Diploma of Financial Markets andInvestment Management by Douglas College. Starting from 2008,students have also been presented with the Bachelor Degree inBusiness Administration, Financial Services and Administration byDouglas College.