Finance

The Master of Finance (M.Fin.) program offered by the School of Graduate Professionals at Penn State Great Valley is a graduate degree program designed for intensive and focused study in finance. As part of the School's Managment Division, the program is included under the specialized professional accreditation received from the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business International (AACSB). Students enroll in the program as a cohort and proceed through courses together in a prescirbed sequence. Classes are taught in a schedule convenient for working professionals who have demanding time commitments. The time required to complete the program is fifteen months.

The program provides an advanced and specialized graduate education in finance for individuals with career interests as finance professionals in financial management, or investment management. The curriculum reflects a balanced combination of advanced financial theory and practical business applications. Major emerging concepts and practices in the finance field are introduced and discussed throughout the program. The program is designed to help graduates to become proficient in technical and analytical skills in finance and to develop expertise in financial problem solving and financial decision-making preparing them to advance their finance careers in organizations such as investment and commercial banking firms, mutual funds, other financial firms, non-financial businesses, consulting firms, government agencies and non-profit organizations. In addition, students will find a substantial number of courses in the M.Fin. program to be helpful in preparing for tests required for various professional certifications in finance, such as the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA).

Admission Requirements

Applicants apply for admission to the program via the Graduate School application for admission. Requirements listed here are in addition to Graduate Council policies listed under GCAC-300 General Admissions Standards.

The language of instruction at Penn State is English. English proficiency test scores (TOEFL/IELTS) may be required for international applicants. See GCAC-305 Admission Requirements for International Students for more information.

Applicants should:

1. Have a 3.0 or better (on a 4.0 scale) junior/senior grade-point average.
2. Submit a completed online application.
3. Submit a GMAT or GRE score. Applicants holding an M.B.A., J.D., Ph.D., C.P.A., or C.F.A. or doctoral degree are not required to submit standardized test scores.
4. Submit a statement of intent or career path objective (one page).
5. Submit two confidential evaluation form letters.
6. Submit official transcripts from all post-secondary institutions attended.
   International applicants must submit official university records (transcripts/marksheets and diploma if date conferred does not appear on transcripts/marksheets), with attested English translations if the record is not in English.Notarized copies are not sufficient.
7. Submit a current resume.
8. Submit a visa application document if they are in the U.S. on a student or work visa.
9. Complete an admissions interview (by telephone or in person).

Admission decisions are based on the quality of the applicant's credentials and an interview in relation to those of other applicants who meet the requirements for admission outlined above.

Application Filing Dates: Applications to the Penn State Great Valley's Master of Finance program are reviewed on a rolling basis. New students are admitted to a cohort and begin their studies in early January.

Pre-Program Requirements

Applicants are expected to have a working knowledge of a spreadsheet program financial management, statistics and microeconomics. These pre-program requirements may be satisfied with academic work prior to matriculation in the M.Fin. program through college-level course credits in the following areas:

1. Financial Management/Corporate Finance: Topics include time value of money, basic theories of bond and stock valuation, capital budgeting, capital asset pricing model, market efficiency, and capital structure
2. Introductory Business Statistics: Topics include: probability theory, sampling, inference, quality assurance, regression, forecasting, and simulation
3. Microeconomics: Topics include: allocation of resources and distribution of income with in various market structures

The professor-in-charge of the Master of Finance program will examine academic transcripts of each applicant to determine if and how pre-program requirements are met. If a requirement is not met, the deficiency must be corrected through earned credit. Credits earned to remediate deficiencies cannot be applied towards requirements for the M.Fin. degree.

Degree Requirements

Master of Finance (M.Fin.)

Requirements listed here are in addition to Graduate Council policies listed under GCAC-700 Professional Degree Requirements.

Thirty (30) credits are required to complete the M.Fin. degree. The course work includes:

• six required core courses (18 credit hours) which provide a body of knowledge in finance;
• three elective courses (9 credit hours) designed to help students develop additional expertise in corporate finance or investments;
• and a capstone course (3 credit hours) which provides a culminating experience for students.

Students may enroll in the Master of Finance program at the Great Valley Campus, taking courses in a face-to-face and blended format. Or students may enroll in the online Master of Finance program. A one-week residency at Great Valley is required as part of the online progam.

Student Aid

Graduate assistantships available to students in this program and other forms of student aid are described in the Tuition & Funding section of The Graduate School’s website. Students on graduate assistantships must adhere to the course load limits set by The Graduate School.

There are a limited number of scholarships, fellowships, and graduate assistantships available. For more information on these, contact the Financial Aid Office at Penn State Great Valley via email or visit the website.

Courses

Graduate courses carry numbers from 500 to 699 and 800 to 899. Advanced undergraduate courses numbered between 400 and 499 may be used to meet some graduate degree requirements when taken by graduate students. Courses below the 400 level may not. A graduate student may register for or audit these courses in order to make up deficiencies or to fill in gaps in previous education but not to meet requirements for an advanced degree.

Learning Outcomes

• Learning Goal 1: The students will demonstrate enhanced analytical and critical thinking skills.They will be able to:
  • Apply quantitative and analytical knowledge to financial analysis
  • Identify financial risk exposure and manage financial risks with appropriate financial derivative instruments
• Learning Goal 2: The students will understand the impact of global influences on financial decision-making. They will be able to:
  • Demonstrate a knowledge of global financial and foreign exchange markets, and their impact on multinational enterprises
• Learning Goal 3: The students will be effective financial decision makers. They will be able to:
  • Recognize and resolve ethical issues in financial decision making
• Learning Goal 4: The students will be effective communicators in finance. They will be able to:
  • Make an effective presentation of analytical results
  • Prepare a written report on financial issues

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