General Information

Request Information

Admissions Information

Admissions Requirements

To expedite the processing of your application follow these instructions carefully. All information must be received for an application to be considered complete.

All applicants should add email.arizona.edu, eller.arizona.edu and grad.arizona.edu ;to their authorized email sites to avoid important mail regarding the application to be tagged as junk mail.

Requirements

1. You must meet the minimum entrance requirements to apply for the one-year Master's in Finance program.

• A B.S. or B.A. degree in a business-related field (finance, accounting, economics, etc.). Applicants are welcome from other fields, though additional coursework may be required in the summer prior to the program start.
• 4 year bachelor's degree program; or, 3 year bachelor's degree program plus 1-2 year master's diploma program with degree awarded
• Minimum GPA: 3.00 (in the 4-year degree or the last 60 units of the bachelor's degree program)
• No work experience is required, nor does it affect the application decision.
• GMAT (or GRE) results required (preferred score of 600 or better)
  * GMAT/GRE requirement waived for Fall 2021 admission
• TOEFL required for international students if education has been in a non-English speaking country (preferred iBT score of 98 or better)
  OR, Minimum IELTS (overall band score): 7.0; Minimum IELTS (individual section score): 6.0
• Complete online application packet with materials as detailed below

Prerequisite Requirements

Students without extensive finance or accounting (senior-level) coursework may be required to take perquisite coursework in the summer prior to starting the MSF program. Online modules offered through the University of Arizona Outreach College and taught by a Finance Department faculty member may be recommended or required. Details of possible prerequisite requirements are available here.

Application package requirements are detailed on the department website at https://eller.arizona.edu/programs/masters/finance/admissions.

Apply to the UA Graduate College

• Apply Online
• Application Fee (paid with application)

Full instructions and requirements are included in the online application.

Online Application Package Requirements

• Affidavit of Domicile (Arizona residents complete with application)
• Proof of Financial Resources (international students)
• Resume
• Statement of Purpose
• 2 Letters of Reference: Names and contact information
• Transcripts from all colleges/universities, except UA
• GMAT (or GRE) results (School Code 4832) * Requirement waived for Fall 2021 admission
• TOEFL (international students only; School Code 4832)

Submitting Official Transcripts

In addition to completing this online application, you are required to send Official Transcripts from all institutions (except UA).

Transcripts may be submitted online by oby e-transcript process to transcripts@email.arizona.edu.

Alternatively, hard copy physical transcripts may be sent directly to the Finance Department at:

• Master's in Finance Program
• Department of Finance
• The University of Arizona
• McClelland Hall, Room 315R
• 1130 E. Helen Street
• Tucson , AZ 85721-0108

 

Standardized Tests

Required tests:

• GMAT preferred (with score of 600 or better preferred), GRE General accepted
  * GMAT/GRE Requirement waived for Fall 2021 admission
• TOEFL preferred (with score of 98 or better), IELTS accepted

 

Funding Opportunities

The Department of Finance is provided a modest amount of set-aside scholarship funds each August by the Eller College of Management for MSF students. All incoming MSF students are eligible for fall semester set-aside scholarships.  Awards are based on undergraduate academic performance and merits based on students' application packages.

The department does not have funds for assistantships nor tuition waivers for MSF students.

More details are available at https://eller.arizona.edu/programs/masters/finance/roi.

 

 

Admissions Deadlines

First Round Applications:

• Fall: October 15

First Round Applications:

• Fall: December 1

Third Round Deadline - All Applicants:

• Fall: February 1

Fourth Round Deadline - As Seats Available:

• Fall: April 15

Final Application Round Deadline - International Students:

• Fall: June 1

Final Application Round Deadline - U.S./Permanent Resident Students:

• Fall: July 1

 

International Conditional Admission

International applicants will not be considered for conditional admission by this program.

Other Information

The GRE Institution Code for The University of Arizona is 4832

Completion Requirements

Minimum Credit Units

36 

Core Coursework Requirements

The Master of Science in Finance (MSF) program requires 36 credit hours of approved 500-level finance coursework, 24 credit hours within a specific track of study as described below. There are now two program length options of study available to students.
 

16-month Program Length Option

• This option requires 12 classes of approved 500-level finance coursework within one of the two tracks of study.
• Coursework is normally completed four courses each semester - the first fall semester, spring semester and the second fall semester.
• Students should be eligible to graduate in December, after 16 months of study.

12-Month Program Length Option

• This option requires 10 classes of approved 500-level finance coursework within one of the two tracks of study, plus a 6-unit summer project completed with a teammate.
• The coursework is normally completed five courses each semester - fall and spring.
• The project commences in April and students are expected to work 20 hours per week from the end of spring semester through mid-August when the project results are presented to faculty. Residency in Tucson during the summer is required, along with weekly submission of assignments leading to the final paper and presentation.
• Students should be eligible to graduate in August.

Requirements for All MSF Students

Students are required to complete one of the two tracks of approved curriculum and maintain at least a 3.0 GPA during the program. More information on the requirements of each track is available at https://eller.arizona.edu/programs/masters/finance/program/tracks.

Investment Management Track - Required Courses (All courses are 3 units.)

The Investment Management track is designed for students seeking a career in investment management/capital markets. The following eight classes (24 units) are required in this track:

Course Number  Course Title                                                                    Term Offered
FIN 516             Financial Statement Analysis for Investment Management   Fall           
FIN 521             Investment Analysis                                                         Fall           
FIN 522             Advanced Risk Management and Derivatives                       Fall             
FIN 542             Fixed Income                                                                   Fall              
FIN 514             International Finance                                                       Spring         
FIN 524             Applied Risk Management                                                Spring         
FIN 525             Empirical Finance Methods                                               Spring        
FIN 526             Portfolio Management Theory                                           Spring        

Corporate Finance Track - Required Courses (All courses are 3 units.)

The corporate finance track is designed to familiarize students with the financial decisions made and decision-making tools used by corporate financial managers. The following five classes and three of five electives (totally 24 units) are required in this track:

Required courses in Corporate Finance Track (15 units) --

Course Number  Course Title                         Term Offered 
FIN 512             Advanced Corporate Finance  Fall              
FIN 513             Valuation Modeling                Fall              
FIN 521             Investment Analysis              Fall              
FIN 525             Empirical Finance Methods    Spring          
FIN 532             Corporate Finance Strategy   Spring     

Three of the five following corporate finance electives required in the Corporate Finance track (9 units) --

Course Number  Course Title                                                                    Term Offered
FIN 514             International Finance                                                        Spring
FIN 516             Financial Statement Analysis for Investment Management   Fall   
FIN 536.            New Venture Finance                                                       Fall
FIN 531.            Financial Intermediaries                                                    Spring
FIN 560.            Real Estate Finance                                                         Spring

 

Elective Coursework

For students completing the 12-month program, a minimum of 2 elective courses (6 units) are required.
For students completing the 16-month program, a minimum of 4 elective courses (12 units) are required.

If not required or chosen as part of the specified track above, elective finance master's coursework includes:

FIN 512. Advanced Corporate Finance
FIN 513. Valuation Modeling
FIN 514. International Finance
FIN 516. Financial Statement Anal. for Invstmt Mgmt
FIN 522. Advanced Risk Management & Derivatives
FIN 523A*. Applied Portfolio Management
FIN 523B*. Applied Portfolio Management
FIN 526. Portfolio Management Theory
FIN 531. Financial Intermediaries
FIN 532. Corporate Finance Strategy
FIN 536. New Venture Finance
FIN 542. Fixed Income
FIN 552. Special Topics: Behavioral Finance
 

All courses are 3 units.

Note: Under exceptional circumstances a class in graduate accounting or statistics may be approved. Formal request is required.

 

Additional Requirements

In addition to completing the course requirements of the track chosen above, a master's project of 6 units is required for students choosing the 12-month length of the program.

 

Student Handbook

Please refer to the Graduate Student Handbook for students who are pursuing this program of study.

 

Program StatisticsInformation about these numbers

Program-level Information
Application Acceptance Rate	74.32%
Med. Time-to-degree (years)	1.50
Department-level Information
Enrollment Percent Male	62.5%
Enrollment Percent Female	37.5%
Enrollment Percent International	33.33%
Enrollment Percent URM	16.67%

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