The length of the program will vary depending upon the academic background of the applicant. If a prospective student has an adequate background in finance, economics, and statistics they will satisfy the program pre-requisites. Otherwise, they will be required to do some preliminary academic preparation.

Any student who has previously taken a pre-requisite and earned a grade of B or higher will automatically be exempted from the requirement.

Incoming students who are not able to waive all the pre-requisites courses will need to enroll in up to 12 credit hours during the pre-term. Some or all of these classes may be available on-line or on campus during the summer. Up to 9 hours (6 hours for students in the Real Estate focus) of pre-term classes may be used as electives in the program. Therefore, the program only requires more than 30 hours for students needing to take the entire slate of pre-term courses (i.e., for students without a business degree).

Assuming that a business major has earned satisfactory grades in all the pre-requisite courses, the length of the program is as follows:

The precise number of pre-term credit hours required depends upon how many courses can be waived by the director of the MS-Finance program.

Can I earn the MS-Finance degree as a part-time student?

Yes.  Of course, the pace at which part-time students will progress towards their degree will vary with their individual situations. 

The program is designed to be completed in 2 semesters for full-time students, but part-time students will take approximately 2 years.  By taking an average of 6 hours per semester a part-time student can finish the program in 5 semesters.  If classes are taken during the summer as well, a part-time student could begin during the Fall semester and finish during the second Spring semester (about 20 months). 

Students who have not satisfied the pre-requisites or take fewer hours per semester will take longer.