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Nov 04, 2025
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2025-2026 Graduate Catalog
Finance, M.S.
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 Return to: Programs of Study (A-Z)
Minimum number of credits required to complete the program: 32
Minimum cumulative GPA required: 3.0
School: Girard School of Business
Learn more about the program
The M.S. in Finance (MSF) provides a pathway for students who wish to acquire the skill sets necessary to pursue and advance in a career in a variety of financial areas, across a broad scope of organizations, ranging from large investment companies to banks and brokerage firms and corporations of all sizes. It is open to those with finance, business or non-business undergraduate degrees. Students will learn how to analyze different investment options, will prepare financial models, will be exposed to different trends in the finance industry, and will learn a variety of finance concepts that will cross different financial services industries, treasury and finance departments. No prerequisites are necessary to enter the program.
The degree incorporates a powerful combination of financial, analytical and strategic analysis skills and integrates different finance related certifications such as Bloomberg, Factset and Morning Star. The curriculum is updated regularly to align with best practices in the finance industry and includes content related to the CFA examination for those pursuing the credential.
Courses in the program are offered 100% online or hybrid/hyflex.
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Curriculum for Students with an Undergraduate Finance or Business Degree
The MSF for students with a finance undergraduate degree (or a business degree with a full finance concentration) is composed of 16 credits of core finance courses, 4 credits of finance electives and 12 credits of open electives for a total of 32 credits. Required Core Courses
Complete the following required courses: Finance Electives
Complete 4 credits of coursework at the FIN 5000 level or higher, not including the core courses or FIN 5100 - Essentials of Finance. If interested in pursuing the MBA program upon completion of the MS in Finance, must exclude FIN 5420 - Trends in Finance & FinTech unless planning to complete a concentration in FinTech. Elective Course Requirements
Complete 8 credits of open business electives from the following areas: -
Any ACC 5000 level course or higher excluding ACC 5050 - Foundations of Accounting Credits: 4
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Any BAI 5000 level course or higher excluding BAI 5100 - Frameworks for Business Analytics Credits: 4
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Any FIN 5000 level course or higher
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Excluding: FIN 5050 - Essentials of Finance Credits: 4
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Excluding: FIN 5420 - Trends in Finance & FinTech Credits: 4
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Unless planning to pursue a concentration in FinTech
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Any MGT 5000 level course or higher
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Excluding: MGT 5120 - Supply Chain & Operations Management Credits: 2 and MGT 5360 - Leading Teams in a Dynamic Environment Credits: 2
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Any MKT 5000 level course or higher
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Excluding: MKT 5320 - Digital Marketing Implementation & Optimization Credits: 2
- DSE 5001 - Introduction to Data Science and Statistics Credits: 4
- DSE 5002 - SQL and Python Programming Credits: 4
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Any additional DSE 5000 level course or higher (which requires DSE 5001 and DSE 5002 as a prerequisite)
Curriculum for Students Without an Undergraduate Finance or Business Degree
The MSF, for students with a non-finance or non-business undergraduate degree, is composed of 24 credits of core courses and 8 credits of elective courses for a total of 32 credits. Required Core Courses
Complete the following required courses: Elective Requirements
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Any ACC 5000 level course or higher -
Any BAI 5000 level course or higher -
Any FIN 5000 level course or higher -
Any MGT 5000 level course or higher -
Any MKT 5000 level course or higher Concentrations
Students pursuing the MSF degree can earn a concentration by completing 12 credits in specialized areas. Common concentrations include: FinTech and Data Science. FinTech This concentration focuses on the intersection of finance and innovative technology. This area of study equips students with the skills and knowledge needed to understand, develop and manage technology-driven financial services and products. Students in this concentration typically explore how emerging technologies are disrupting traditional financial institutions, reshaping customer experiences and creating new business models. The curriculum blends elements of finance, business and data analytics preparing graduates for careers in startups, investment firms, tech companies and financial institutions adapting to digital transformation. To earn the concentration choose 12 credits from the following list of courses: -
MGT 5480 - AI & Cybersecurity for Business Credits: 4 -
BAI 5150 - Strategic Decision Making using Business Analytics Credits: 4 -
FIN 5420 - Trends in Finance & FinTech Credits: 4 -
DSE 5001 - Introduction to Statistical Analysis Credits: 4 -
DSE 5002 - R & Python Programming Credits: 4 Data Science This concentration provides students with the tools and techniques to extract meaningful insights from complex and large-scale data. It combines knowledge from statistics and domain-specific applications to solve real-world problems through data-driven decision-making. This concentration prepares students to collect, clean, analyze and interpret data across a wide range of industries. Emphasis is placed on both theoretical understanding and hands-on experience with real-world datasets and tools. To earn the concentration choose 12 credits from the following list of courses: -
DSE 5001 - Introduction to Statistical Analysis Credits: 4 -
DSE 5002 - R & Python Programming Credits: 4 -
DSE 6111 - Predictive Modeling Credits: 4 -
DSE 6210 - Big Data SQL no SQL Credits: 4 -
DSE 6220 - Big Data Hadoop & Spark Credits: 4 |
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