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).

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.

The required courses provide a quantitative and analytical foundation in finance. They include:

CORE COURSES:

• ACCTG 512 Financial Accounting Theory and Reporting Problems
• BUSAD 525 Quantitative Methods in Finance
• BUSAD 526 Current Issues in Corporate Finance
• FIN 505 Multinational Managerial Finance
• FIN 508 Analysis of Financial Markets
• FIN 513 Speculative Markets

The required capstone course, BUSAD 585 Research in Security Valuation, provides a culminating experience for students to develop their analytical ability, their synthesis of material, and their ability to identify strategies that enhance value creation, building upon their knowledge acquired from the core courses.

The electives allow students to focus in a selected field of finance such as corporate financial management or investment management. The exact elective courses to be offered for a cohort will be determined by the professor-in-charge based on polls taken from each cohort class and on consultation with the faculty who are teaching elective courses.

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.

International applicants must take and submit scores for the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) or the IELTS (International English Language Testing System), with the exceptions noted below. The minimum acceptable score for the TOEFL is 550 for the paper-based test, 213 for the computer-based test, or a total score of 80 with a 19 on the speaking section for the internet-based test. Applicants with iBT speaking scores between 15 and 18 may be considered for provisional admission, which requires an institutional test of English proficiency upon first enrollment and, if necessary, remedial course work. The minimum composite score for the IELTS is 6.5.

International applicants are exempt from the TOEFL/IELTS requirement who have received a baccalaureate or a graduate degree from a college/university./institution in any of the following:Australia, Belize, British Caribbean and British West Indies, Canada (except Quebec), England, Guyana, Republic of Ireland, Liberia, New Zealand, Northern Ireland, Scotland, the United States, and Wales. For admission to the Graduate School, U.S. applicants must have received, from a regionally accredited institution, a bachelor's degree with requirements substantially equivalent to those at Penn State. (Penn State is accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools.) International applicants must have a tertiary (postsecondary) degree that is deemed comparable to a four-year U.S. bachelor's degree to apply for admission. This degree must be from an officially recognized degree-granting institution in the country in which it operates. 

Applicants should:

1. Have a 3.0 or better (on a 4.0 scale) junior/senior grade-poiont average.
2. Submit a completed online application.
3. Submit a GMAT or GRE score. Applicants holding an MBA, JD, Ph.D., CPA, or CFA 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 two 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.

Scholarships

Assistantships

The most common form of graduate support, teaching and research assistantships, include a stipend, tuition remission, and a subsidy for medical insurance. Recipients are assigned to a faculty adviser who supervises the experience. Graduate assistants support undergraduate instruction or undertake research projects. A specified time commitment of 10-30 hours per week is required depending on the unit (a half-time/20 hour per week commitment is typical). Appointments are available only to graduate students who are registered for courses and enrolled in degree programs.

Fellowships

Fellowships are highly prestigious financial support packages that typically include a stipend, tuition remission, and a subsidy for medical insurance. They derive from University or outside awards. Unlike assistantships, they do not have a required work commitment; they are duty-free. Recipients must be enrolled in degree programs and be registered full time. Fellowship recipients are not permitted to accept employment without obtaining approval from the unit and/or agency supporting the fellowship.

Traineeships

Training grants are derived from agencies outside the University and are intended to support specific student learning experiences in core curricular areas and research methods. Institutional awards, typically under the direction of a faculty principal investigator, afford funding to support selected students with stipends, tuition grants-in-aid, and often include a subsidy for medical insurance.