Finance and Risk Management, MS
Introduction
In our MS Finance and Risk Management program, you’ll gain insight into the economics and finance behind modern business and add critical quantitative skills to your resume. The master of science degree provides the necessary depth and specialized expertise to meet the needs of businesses for financial managers, investment analysts, and other finance specialists.
The program emphasizes a familiarity with the institutions in our financial system, an understanding of financial markets and instruments, and the analytical skills and tools necessary to make informed decisions about investment and financing.
The program is suited to students from a wide variety of undergraduate backgrounds and is particularly appropriate to students with strong technical and analytical backgrounds. Admission standards for the MS finance and risk management program are unique to the program. Therefore, admission to other graduate business programs does not guarantee admission into the MS finance and risk management program.
With a hands-on degree, you’ll have the opportunity to dive deep into special topics like behavioral and political finance and international corporate governance. With five specialization options, you can also choose to tailor your degree to focus on commodities, risk management and insurance, economics, financial analysis, or general finance. The MS in finance and risk management offers flexibility with on-campus and online courses but can be completed fully online.
You may choose one of the following specializations as a part of your degree. Each specialization requires 12 hours of coursework.
- General Finance
- Commodities
- Economics
- Financial Analysis and Management
- Risk Management and Insurance
Prerequisites
Prerequisites: BUSN 6550 Analyzing and Interpreting Accounting Information or the equivalent of a financial accounting course taken within the last ten years with a "B-" grade or higher. Students are also expected to be knowledgeable in spreadsheet software.
Requirements
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Finance and Risk Management Core | ||
| FNCE 6290 | Quantitative Methods for Finance | 3 |
| BUSN 6620 | Applied Economics for Managers | 3 |
| BUSN 6640 | Financial Management | 3 |
| FNCE 6330 | Investment Management Analysis | 3 |
| FNCE 6382 | Survey of Financial Derivatives | 3 |
| RISK 6909 | Corporate Risk Management | 3 |
| Specializations | ||
| Select one of the following: | 12 | |
| Total Hours | 30 | |
Specializations
Commodities
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Required Courses | ||
| CMDT 6802 | Foundations of Commodities | 3 |
| Select 3 of the following: | 9 | |
| Commodity Trading | ||
| Commodity Supply Chain Management | ||
| Commodities Hedging | ||
| Commodity Data Analysis | ||
| Practical Enterprise Risk Management | ||
| Strategic Risk Management | ||
| Global Risk Management | ||
| Principles of Risk Management & Insurance | ||
| Corporate Risk Management | ||
| Total Hours | 12 | |
Economics
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Core | ||
| BUSN 6640 | Financial Management | 3 |
| FNCE 6330 | Investment Management Analysis | 3 |
| FNCE 6382 | Survey of Financial Derivatives | 3 |
| Electives | ||
| Select any two FNCE/RISK/CMDT courses numbered 6000 or higher 1 | 6 | |
| Economics Core | ||
| ECON 5073 | Microeconomic Theory | 3 |
| ECON 5083 | Macroeconomic Theory | 3 |
| ECON 5803 | Mathematical Economics | 3 |
| ECON 5813 | Econometrics I | 3 |
| Quantitative Elective | ||
| Select one of the following: | 3 | |
| Econometrics II | ||
| Advanced Mathematical Economics | ||
| Game Theory | ||
| Probabilistic Modeling | ||
| Total Hours | 30 | |
- 1
excluding FNCE 6290 Quantitative Methods for Finance and FNCE 6300 Macroeconomics and Financial Markets
The Economics Specialization is a stand alone program which requires 30 credit hours
Finance
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Required Courses | ||
| Select at least 3 courses with FNCE/CMDT/RISK prefix, numbered 6000 or higher. | 9 | |
| Electives | ||
| Select one of the following: | 3 | |
FNCE/CMDT/RISK course numbered 6000 or higher | ||
| Fundamentals of Federal Income Tax | ||
| Financial Statement Analysis | ||
| Entrepreneurial Financial Management | ||
| Econometrics I | ||
| Econometrics II | ||
| Probabilistic Modeling | ||
| Game Theory | ||
| Total Hours | 12 | |
Financial Analysis and Investment Management
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Select three or four courses of the following: | 9-12 | |
| Financial Decisions and Policies | ||
| Management of Financial Institutions | ||
| International Corporate Governance | ||
| Mergers and Acquisitions | ||
| Short-Term Financial Management | ||
| Emerging Market Finance | ||
| Financial Modeling | ||
| Blockchain, Crypto Investing and Trading Strategy | ||
| Total Hours | 9-12 | |
If 3 courses are completed from the list above, select 1 course from the list below:
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| ACCT 6140 | Fundamentals of Federal Income Tax | 3 |
| ACCT 6340 | Financial Statement Analysis | 3 |
| CMDT 6582 | Commodity Supply Chain Management | 3 |
| CMDT 6682 | Commodities Hedging | 3 |
| CMDT 6802 | Foundations of Commodities | 3 |
| ENTP 6824 | Entrepreneurial Financial Management | 3 |
| MATH 5390 | Game Theory | 3 |
| RISK 6129 | Practical Enterprise Risk Management | 3 |
| RISK 6509 | Global Risk Management | 3 |
| RISK 6809 | Principles of Risk Management & Insurance | 3 |
| RISK 6909 | Corporate Risk Management | 3 |
| CMDT 6782 | Commodity Data Analysis | 3 |
Risk Management and Insurance (RMI)
The specialization in Risk Management and Insurance is designed for students who are interested in pursuing or advancing a career in areas of risk management or the insurance industry. 50% of this industry is retiring in the next 5 to 10 years, leaving a huge need for new talent. The pervasive reality of risk affects all individuals and organizations. Specialized knowledge and understanding of risk increase students’ marketability and potential for success across a wide range of industries.
Every Fall and Spring semester, the RMI Program awards about $25,000 in scholarships. Students may apply for RMI Scholarships when they enroll in a RISK course.
Students with the RMI Specialization can also take advantage of the unique opportunities offered by the RMI Program and our industry partners.
More about careers in risk management can be found here.
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| RMI Core | ||
| RISK 6129 | Practical Enterprise Risk Management | 3 |
| RISK 6309 | Strategic Risk Management | 3 |
| RISK 6809 | Principles of Risk Management & Insurance | 3 |
| Select 1 of the following | 3 | |
| Cyber Risk Management | ||
| Global Risk Management | ||
| Life and Health Insurance | ||
| Commodity Supply Chain Management | ||
| Foundations of Commodities | ||
| Econometrics II | ||
| Entrepreneurial Financial Management | ||
| Management of Financial Institutions | ||
| Mergers and Acquisitions | ||
| Financial Modeling | ||
| Total Hours | 12 | |
There may be additional prerequisite courses for the ECON and/or MATH selections. Please check with those departments or the graduate advisors.
Total 30 credit hours