This post was originally published on January 24, 2021 and has been updated for relevancy on September 18, 2024.

If you’re entering the world of M&A from another specialty or background, enrolling in an M&A training program or certification course is a great way to get your foot in the door and learn the fundamentals. For those already working in finance, these courses are an excellent option for diving into the specifics of M&A transactions. 

After all, M&A deals are complicated and involve several financial and legal moving parts. A general education in finance cannot cover all of the specific elements; to do that, you need to attend a course or certificate program dedicated to M&A. In this article, we’ll go over the role of education and training in M&A, and then review several high-quality options for M&A-focused courses.

What education do I need to start a career in M&A?

Technically, no specific educational background is required to work in M&A. For instance, you don’t need a bachelor’s degree to get started. However, many investment banks, hedge funds, and venture capital firms do have this prerequisite. 

The most important assets that any M&A practitioner can possess are strong business acumen, an understanding of what drives the businesses and industries in question, and the negotiation skills to convince the other side to buy or sell.

That being said, a good amount of financial and accounting knowledge is important, as anyone who works in M&A spends a lot of time looking through financial documents and projections. On this note, none of the mergers and acquisitions training programs listed below are full degree courses in their own right. Rather, they’re effective pathways for boosting your M&A skillset.

If you’re asking yourself, “What course should I take to start my career in M&A?”, any one of these courses should provide some value. Likewise, if you’re already working in M&A and need a refresher, our list includes a number of several options.

What to look for in a mergers & acquisitions course

Any M&A course or program you attend should take into account your needs and preferences. For instance, you might prefer online study to in-person, or want to focus on case studies rather than financial modeling. Your desired career path also plays a role; if your job aligns more with the legal aspects of M&A versus, say, post-merger integration, you’ll want a course that emphasizes that area of M&A. 

The educational organization and instructor(s) are important as well. Are you looking for a big name, like Harvard Business School, or are you more interested in learning from a specific practitioner? Ultimately, what to look for in an M&A course is entirely up to your schedule, preferences, budget, and career goals. 

What are the benefits of taking M&A courses? 

While M&A training programs and courses often involve significant time and monetary investments, they come with a number of benefits. For one, M&A classes help you build up your skills and expertise, which can lead to promotions, higher-value projects, and personal recognition. If the course comes with a certification, you can use that on your resume as well. 

In addition, many of the courses listed below include excellent networking opportunities. Who knows—you may find your next role or your newest mentor through one of these training programs!

1. M&A Science Academy Unlimited

Course info: M&A Science Academy

Pricing: $150/month (billed annually)

Format: Online

M&A Science Academy offers multiple excellent online courses all focused on mergers and acquisitions. Each module is taught by one of 20+ real M&A professionals with years of industry experience, and the course content reflects an emphasis on real-world practicality rather than academic theory. Every student who registers receives unlimited access to a wealth of workshops and networking events. 

Learners also partake in interactive forums where they can ask their instructors direct questions—something rarely available in postgraduate courses. Workshops are team-oriented and practice-based, with both live and pre-recorded session options.

The courses include modules in the following areas:

• Sourcing/strategy
• Business valuation training
• Due diligence training
• Divestitures
• M&A integration planning
• Agile M&A
• And more!

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2. The London School of Business (LBS) Mergers and Acquisitions Course

Course info: The London School of Business

Cost: £8,500 (approx. $11,500)

Professional certificate: Yes

Format: Online and in-person

Spread over five days, the intensive LBS Mergers and Acquisitions Course is aimed at bringing those who have never worked in M&A before up to speed. Typically, these include financial managers at companies dipping their toes in acquisitions or employees at legal firms working on transactions for the first time.

The course comes with an option to study in London or online, and is held about five times a year. The prestige associated with the LBS brand (and presumably, the cost of the course) give students access to lectures given by some big names in finance, including the head of the transactions department at Deloitte in London.

During this course, students will learn how to:

• Develop a strong acquisitions strategy and finance a deal
• Assess whether a deal fits with your corporate strategy
• Value a company’s worth on it’s own and to your company

3. Institute for Mergers, Acquisitions and Alliances (IMAA) International M&A Expert Program

Course info: IMAA

Cost: $3,000-$5,000

Professional certificate: Yes

Format: Online and in-person

The IMAA has built a solid reputation in M&A, even managing to bring Aswath Damodaran—aka the world-renowned “father of modern valuation”— on board. It offers three separate M&A certifications, all of which can be accessed online or in-person (held over 4-5 days at a location disclosed in advance).

The International M&A Expert Program takes students through the entire process of a deal, from origination to post merger integration (PMI). It takes a more practical perspective than many of the academic courses out there, encouraging students to “look ahead and reason back” in their analysis of a deal, placing particular emphasis on the due diligence and PMI processes.

The course includes modules in areas such as:

• Essentials of M&A
• Due diligence training
• Business valuation training
• Post merger integration planning
• Risk management

4. Corporate Finance Institute M&A Modeling Course

Course info: Corporate Finance Institute

Cost: $200

Professional certificate: Yes

Format: Online

The Corporate Finance Institute (CFI) is all about financial modeling, and its courses on this topic as it relates to M&A are of the highest quality. Teaching is all online and video-based, so students can study on their own timelines.

The course is an excellent way to fully understand the financial modeling required in M&A, taking students through each part of the model in detail. A drawback is that there’s no live feedback, and because it’s just modeling, the class is more of an M&A module than a course in itself. That said, this could be a great add-on to some of the other programs on this list.

This M&A training program includes advice on:

• Structuring an effective M&A model
• Setting up the assumptions and drivers of the deal
• Creating a post-transaction balance sheet
• Integrating the acquirer and the target into a pro-forma model

5. CIMA Mergers and Acquisitions Masters Course

Course info: CIMA Mergers and Acquisitions Masters

Cost: £1,300 (approx. $1,750)

Professional certificate: Yes

Format: In-person

CIMA (the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants) is a UK-based body that offers highly-regarded certifications in management accounting. This M&A course assumes some knowledge of financial statements and enrollment generally reflects that, attracting accountants and financial analysts alike.

As one would expect from an organization focused on management accounting, the program puts a particular emphasis on strategy. The course also examines the many pitfalls that befall M&A deals, as well as the importance of negotiation, which (with the exception of the M&A Science course) is largely overlooked elsewhere.

The course includes modules on the following topics:

• Rationale for deals (commercial and financial)
• Acquisitions and disposals
• Due diligence training
• Deal structuring
• Sources of finance and valuation

6. Stanford Business Mergers and Acquisitions Course

Course info: Stanford Business Mergers and Acquisitions

Cost: $13,500

Professional certificate: Yes

Format: In-person

This intensive one-week on-site course is aimed at senior-level executives and entrepreneurs with at least 10 years of experience. The training program features a combination of lectures, case studies, class discussions, hands-on learning, and visits from guest speakers. Extensive networking opportunities come with the class as well. 

The course also offers optional refreshers in finance and accounting for those coming from a non-financial background. The goal of the course is to take students through each phase of a deal in its logical order, from initial interest to close. At the end, students are asked to complete a simulation of a deal, allowing them to put what they learned over the five days into practice. 

This M&A training course includes modules on topics like:

• Negotiation
• Valuation techniques
• M&A tax planning
• Post merger integration

7. Mergers and Acquisitions at Harvard Business School

Course info: Mergers and Acquisitions at Harvard Business School

Cost: $7,500

Professional certificate: Yes

Format: Online

Harvard Business School (HBS) runs executive courses several times a year. Candidates are admitted on a rolling, space-available basis. There is no educational requirement (a novelty for a course given by Harvard), but you will need to have a solid list of professional achievements on your resume.

As one might expect from Harvard Business School, the course is based on case studies, and each student is given all of the relevant course materials in advance. The week features a combination of self-paced work, discussion groups, and virtual networking. The most recent addition to the course is an “M&A in times of Covid-19” module.

The course helps students:

• Build stronger M&A strategies
• Identify the right targets and evaluate companies more effectively
• Negotiate complex, multi-party, multi-issue deals
• Integrate new acquisitions effectively

8. Kellogg School of Business: Creating Value through M&A

Course info: Kellogg School of Business

Cost: $8,250 (online); $10,950 (on campus)

Professional certificate: Yes

Format: Online and in-person

Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Business offers this course twice a year, once online and once at their campus. Like most courses, it takes the student through every aspect of the M&A process, but with an added emphasis on restructuring after the transaction. The course is aimed at mid-level and senior executives with M&A, private equity, and/or capital markets experience.

The course has six components: drivers of acquisition success, developing winning acquisition strategies, financial analysis and valuation, due diligence and negotiation, structuring winning deals, and postmerger integration best practices. At the conclusion of the course, each student will complete a simulated acquisition.

The course helps students:

• Determine the shareholder value of a target company
• Develop new strategies for acquisitions and restructuring
• Develop a high-impact integration plan
• Test post merger assumptions 

9. INSEAD M&As and Corporate Strategy

Course info: INSEAD M&As and Corporate Strategy

Cost: $10,400 (online); $10,000 (in-person)

Professional certificate: Yes

Format: Online and in-person

INSEAD, one of Europe’s premier MBA schools, offers an intensive 5-day course that positions M&A in the context of wider corporate development strategy. Case studies cover transactions in industries like manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, financial services, and IT, and review alliances with other companies in-depth. 

Course content is delivered through a mixture of lectures, interactive case studies, small group projects, and “experience-sharing workshops.” Each student receives a set of frameworks and practical tools before undertaking any coursework. For Americans looking to expand their European contract book, this is the perfect course.

The program enhances students’ ability to:

• Evaluate portfolio options and drive decision making
• Select the right acquisitions
• Capture value in acquisitions
• Manage acquisitions and alliances

10. The M&A Council: On-site Training for M&A Teams

Course info: The M&A Council

Pricing: On demand

Professional certificate: Yes

Format: Online and in-person

The M&A Council is a well-regarded training facility specializing in M&A. Its previous attendees include corporate development officers from some of the biggest names in the mergers and acquisitions industry—a testament to the quality of the course.

Their courses look at all aspects of how M&A affects a company, from HR to IT. This particular program offers an interesting twist on the others on this list in that it is aimed at companies rather than individuals. The two-day courses it offers can be attended by up to 40 people, making it ideal for your corporate development or due diligence teams. The Council also looks at each company in detail to tailor the course content to its specific needs.

If there’s another course you think we should include, please let us know. We wish you luck in your ongoing M&A education.