Welcome to the MedLibrary.org Wikipedia Supplement on Master of Science in Finance -- Please Click to Return to Front Page

Master of Finance (abbreviated M.Fin.) is a Master's degree designed to prepare graduates for careers in financial analysis, investment management and corporate finance. The M.Fin. is generally a one-year, non-thesis degree, and is often positioned as a professional degree.

Structure

In the typical M.Fin., the core curriculum is focused on investment analysis, corporate finance and financial management / managerial accounting. These core topics are preceded by more fundamental coursework in economics, accounting, and quantitative methods (time value of money and introductory statistics)—if these are not a prerequisite for admission, or assumed as known; students with appropriate background may be exempt from (several of) these. The M.Fin. usually concludes with advanced topics—where several areas are integrated or applied—such as portfolio management, financial modeling, mergers and acquisitions and real options. In general, M.Fin. programs emphasize quantitative topics, although may also offer some non-quantitative elective coursework, such as corporate governance, business ethics and business strategy.

The M.Fin. curriculum may also include financial economics and financial risk management as advanced topics (and sometimes managerial economics and quantitative finance / computational finance). Here, the exposure will likely be limited to the generalist level; these areas are usually studied as disciplines in their own right, via specialized degrees in economics and applied mathematics. These branches of economics are usually taught to strengthen the theoretical underpin of the degree—however, since the emphasis on M.Fin. programs is application, they are not developed. The computational topics, although practical, are too technical for a generalist M.Fin.—see comparison below.

Programs usually require a bachelor's degree prior to admission, but many do not require that the undergraduate major be in finance, economics, or even general business; the usual requirement is a sufficient level of numeracy—often including some exposure to calculus and / or probability. Some programmes may require work experience (sometimes at the managerial level), particularly if the candidate lacks a relevant undergraduate degree.

Comparison with other qualifications

Although there is much overlap with an M.B.A., the M.Fin. provides a broader and deeper exposure to finance, but more limited exposure to general management topics. Thus, an M.Fin. focuses on finance and financial markets, while an M.B.A., by contrast, is more diverse, covering general aspects of business not dealt with in the M.Fin.—such as human resource management and operations management. Note that an M.B.A. without a specialization in finance will not have covered many of the topics dealt with in the M.Fin. (breadth), and—often even where there is specialization—those areas that are covered may be in less depth. (Some M.B.A. candidates will "dual major" with an M.B.A./M.Fin., or later pursue an M.Fin. degree, to gain specialized finance knowledge; some universities also offer this combination as a joint degree.)

Some M.Fin. programs overlap with degrees in financial engineering, computational finance and mathematical finance (see Master of Quantitative Finance). Note, however, that the treatment of any common topics—usually financial modeling and risk management—will differ as to level of detail and approach. The M.Fin. aims to produce finance generalists, whereas these programs aim to train "quants" (i.e specialists in derivatives, fixed income, alternative financial instruments and risk analysis). Their curricula are therefore weighted toward stochastic calculus, numerical methods and simulation techniques, while at the same time, their coverage of corporate finance, accounting, equity valuation and portfolio management is only at a high level (if at all). Entrance requirements to these degrees are similarly more mathematical than those for the M.Fin.

The Chartered Financial Analyst (C.F.A.) certification is sometimes compared to a Master's in Finance, and in fact, several universities have embedded a significant percentage of the C.F.A. Program "Candidate Body of Knowledge" into their degree programs. In general though, the C.F.A. program is focused on portfolio management and financial analysis, and provides more depth in these areas than the standard M.Fin., whereas for other areas of finance the C.F.A. coverage is in less depth. A further distinction is that many M.Fin. topics entail training in advanced techniques such as financial modeling—while training, per se, cannot be included in the C.F.A. program. Similar comments apply to other certifications such as the Certified International Investment Analyst (C.I.I.A.); the so-called "Indian C.F.A." is, in fact, a Master's degree.

External links

• Finance Programs at U.S. Universities
• Finance Programs outside U.S., alternate list
• Programs with a focus on Quantitative Finance / Financial Engineering: by region; Alphabetic
• Degree programs based on the CFA Candidate "Body of Knowledge"
• Finance Courses on the Web

This article relating to education is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

Wikipedia content modification information:

• This page was last modified on 24 November 2008, at 12:24.

Wikipedia Authorship and Review

Wikipedia content provided here is not reviewed directly by MedLibrary.org. Wikipedia content is authored by an open community of volunteers and is not produced by or in any way affiliated with MedLibrary.org.

Wikipedia Usage Guidelines

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article on "Master of Science in Finance".

The URL for this specific entry is:

• http://medlibrary.org/medwiki/Master_of_Science_in_Finance

All Wikipedia text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License. (See Copyrights for details). Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.