Finance (M.S.)

Admissions

Admissions into the Master of Science in Finance program is contingent upon admissions to the Wayne State University Graduate School.  In addition, applicants must meet the following requirements:

  1. Baccalaureate degree in business administration, a discipline area of business administration such as accounting or finance, or in a quantitative field such as mathematics, economics, physics, engineering, statistics or the sciences from a regionally accredited institution
  2. Minimum GMAT score of 550; or minimum GRE score of 155 on Quantitative Reasoning and 154 on Verbal Reasoning
  3. Overall undergraduate grade point average (GPA) of 2.75, with 3.0 major grade point average (GPA) on a 4.0 scale
  4. Three letters of recommendation from professors or employers

On-campus or telephone interviews may be required.

Application

A completed application for Graduate Admissions, the application fee, and an official transcript from each college or university attended are required before a student can be considered for admissions to graduate status.

Course Requirements

The M.S.F. program requires a total of 30 credit hours.  Up to six transfer credits from previous equivalent graduate coursework can be applied to the degree if those credits have not been counted toward another degree, are from an AACSB accredited institution, are equivalent substitutes, have a B grade or better and are not older than 6 years.

Students can pursue the M.S.F. full time or part time.  Students must complete the program within six years.

A minimum cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 or greater is required for graduation.  A maximum of two courses in which a C grade has been received may be used to meet graduation requirements, provided this is offset by sufficient A grades to maintain the required 3.0 GPA.

The M.S.F. curriculum will provide the student with a solid foundation for the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) level one exam and will prepare them for a variety of financial roles.  There are three phases of course work required:

  • Foundation
  • Core
  • Electives

Foundation Requirements

Before progressing to the core courses of the program, students should possess a solid foundation in finance and accounting as comprised by the following set of courses:

BA 6000Introduction to Accounting and Financial Reporting2
BA 6005Basics of Financial Management2
BA 7000Managerial Accounting3

The graduate level foundation courses (BA - Business Administration) cited above are open only to students who have been formally admitted into a graduate program at Wayne State University.  Analogous courses offered at the undergraduate level (as determined by the admissions evaluation process) may be taken to satisfy foundation requirements PRIOR to graduate admissions.  However, once a student has been formally admitted to the M.S.F. program, no graduate credit will be allowed for subsequent registration in undergraduate courses.

If the applicant's business administration, finance or accounting degree is from a college or university located outside of the United States, some or all of the foundation requirements may not be waived because U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (US GAAP) may not have been studied.

Core Requirements

Five core courses form the backbone of the M.S.F. program, providing general analytical methods and technical tools that can be applied to a variety of sub-specialties in finance. With the exception of FIN 7220, the finance core courses shown below will be taken in the first semester, after which students may customize their program through electives according to their long-term goals and specific areas of interest.

FIN 7015Managerial Economics and Quantitative Methods3
BA 7020Corporate Financial Management3
FIN 7000Applied Financial Analysis3
FIN 7220Advanced Managerial Finance3
FIN 7230Investment Policies3

Electives

Students may take elective courses before finishing all the core courses as long as prerequisites such as BA 7020, FIN 7220 and FIN 7230 are completed.  After taking the 15 credit finance core, students can choose from a variety of elective courses to develop expertise in their areas of interest.  Students may also opt to take an elective outside the program, such as in economics, with permission from the department chair.

An innovation feature of the M.S.F. is the ability for students to tailor the program to their individual needs and interests.  Students may select courses that focus on corporate finance or investments or both.

Corporate Finance Courses

The curriculum includes a study of asset, liability and capital structure management, with emphasis on valuation capital budgeting techniques; risk evaluation; working capital management, and methods of short-term, intermediate and long-term financing.

Students may take any five of the following elective courses if interested in the corporate finance area:

FIN 7090Money and Capital Markets3
FIN 7229Corporate Valuation: Techniques, Models and Strategic Applications3
FIN 7280Entrepreneurial Finance and Venture Capital3
FIN 7777Corporate Financial Consulting3
FIN 7290Topics in Finance3

Investment Courses

These courses focus on skills necessary in the financial services industry (such as banking, investment banking, consulting, or the financial service function of major corporations).  Skill set involves analysis of investments, constructing investment portfolios, and advising clients on investment selection and portfolio strategy.

Students may take any five of the following elective courses if interested in the investments area:

FIN 7330Fixed Income Securities3
FIN 7340Futures and Options3
FIN 7870International Finance3
FIN 7990Portfolio Management/Student Managed Investment Fund (SMIF)3
FIN 7290Topics in Finance3

Other Finance Electives

FIN 7890Internship in Finance3
FIN 7995Directed Study1-3