MSF to debut redesigned program with fewer credits, more customization this fall

Starting this fall, students who enroll in The School of Business’ Master of Science in Finance (MSF) will benefit from a redesigned curriculum with fewer credits and more customization options to prepare them for careers in finance.

What won’t change: whether you are seeking a career change, career advancement or exploring career options in finance, you’ll still graduate with analytical skills, effective communication skills and the necessary vision to apply financial analysis skills in a wide variety of business situations.

Julie Hackett, MSF program director, said changes were made to better meet the needs of our students and industry. The Portland metro region is fast becoming a FinTech hub. The Portland metro region is fast becoming a FinTech hub. With the Portland Business Alliance reporting that there are more than 6,000 financial technology start-ups in the region, MSF graduates will be in demand. Finance interns and full-time employees are also in demand as the wealth management/advisory sector continues to grow.

Fewer credits, more flexibility 

The number of credits for the MSF program has been reduced from 49 to 45. With this comes a shift from a 45 required + 4 elective credit model to a 29 required + 16 elective credit model. 

This provides students with more customization for their MSF degree in several career interest areas: corporate finance; investing which includes portfolio management, wealth management and advisory, and impact investing; Blockchain; and real estate finance.

Better course offerings

New courses have been added and others have been dropped or restructured to better align with student and industry needs.

New courses include:

• FIN 575 Impact Ventures (6 credits total), which gives students hands-on experience with Impact Investing by working with regional entrepreneurs and investors to evaluate and fund early stage companies.
• FIN 578 Emerging Topics: FinTech (2 credits), exploring how financial technology trends and innovation are shaping the future of financial services, corporate finance, and investing. Students will attend weekly seminars where they will network with practitioners, ask questions, and learn how new technologies, regulations, and market forces are disrupting finance and what career opportunities are emerging.
• FIN 579 Case Competitions (2 credits), where student teams act as consultants and solve a real-world finance problem in mergers and acquisitions, investment banking, financial advisory, and private equity.
• FIN 577 Derivatives & Financial Market Securities (2 credits), exploring the financial markets and traded securities in the context of current market actions and past events.

Take a look at the new core curriculum:

Course	Credits
FIN 531 Financial Institutions	2
FIN 551 Financial Management for Financial Analysts	4
FIN 552 Investments	4
FIN 553 Valuation Modeling	2
FIN 565 Corporate Financial Strategies	2
FIN 578 Emerging Topics: FinTech	2
ACTG 550 Advanced Financial Reporting	4
ACTG 553 Financial Statement Analysis	4
BA 522 Communications for Leaders	1
BTA 519 Managerial Analytics	2
MGMT 511 Foundations of Strategy	2

For electives, you can choose 16 credits from the list below or opt to complete either the Business Blockchain Graduate Certificate or the Real Estate Investment and Finance Graduate Certificate.

Course	Credits
FIN 555 Quantitative Finance Methods	4
FIN 577 Derivatives and Financial Market Securities	2
FIN 579 Case Competitions	2
FIN 504 CO-OP/Internship	2
FIN 575 Impact Ventures	6
FIN 573 Portfolio Management	4
FIN 574 Portfolio Assessment	2
MGMT 533 Alliances and Acquisitions	4
MGMT 514 Integrated Strategy	2
GSCM 575 Intro to Machine Learning	4

Students may take courses on a full-time or part-time schedule, completing their degree in either one or two years. 

The MSF program is accepting admissions through Aug. 15.