Finance, M.S.

Overview

The master of science, finance major program is designed to provide the foundations students will need to adapt and excel in the rapidly changing environment of the finance profession. This major is particularly aimed toward individuals who wish to pursue professional designations in finance, e.g., CFA, CMA, CTP, etc. as well as those who wish to gain up-to-date financial knowledge. The finance faculty at the University of Nevada, Reno are dedicated to presenting students with solid fundamentals, along with cutting edge topics and techniques in investments, portfolio management, working capital management, and real estate investment.

The master of science, finance major program develops strong technical and analytical skills in the area of finance, considerably beyond the introductory level courses presented to undergraduates, and helps students acquire the core conceptual knowledge about the applications of those skills in solving financial business problems and furthering the body of knowledge through ongoing research. Students completing the program receive a well-rounded business education. In addition to graduate finance courses, students are exposed to basic courses in the functional area of business. The program emphasizes the skills needed to succeed in the business community, including teamwork, leadership and the ability to communicate effectively.

The master of science, finance major program, which primarily targets those students with finance, economics, accounting, engineering, and quantitative backgrounds who wish to pursue or advance their careers in finance, is sufficiently flexible to accommodate students with a bachelor degree in any field.

Credit Hour Requirements

The program consists of two choices: Plan A (non-thesis) with 33 credits and Plan B (thesis) with 30 credits.

General Prerequisites

The finance faculty requires each new graduate to satisfy the following program pre-enrollment requirements:

Microcomputer proficiency: Students should be knowledgeable of microcomputer operating systems, word processing, spreadsheet and electronic communication applications (i.e. e-mail, electronic databases and the internet) prior to enrollment in the program.

Proficiency in English: If an international student’s verbal score on the GMAT, TOEFL, or other evaluation measure is below an acceptable level, a student may be required to enroll in English language development classes either prior to enrollment in the program or during the first semester of his/her academic program.

Specific Prerequisites

A bachelor’s degree in business or finance is not required for admission. Students are expected to have completed the following courses within five years of admission to the program:

1. Basic Calculus (equivalent to MATH 176  ); students should be able to understand derivatives, integration, and related mathematical concepts.
2. Statistics of Decision Making (equivalent to BADM 700 ; students should understand the basic notions of sampling theory, nonparametric sample comparison, regression analysis, and hypothesis testing.
3. Financial Reporting and Accounting (equivalent to BADM 710 ); students should understand the structure and formation of accounting statements and should be able to discern financial information from these statements.
4. Intermediate Microeconomics (equivalent to ECON 302  ); students shouldunderstand laws of supply and demand, cost and profit analysis of different types of firms, utility theory and related concepts.
5. Intermediate Macroeconomics (equivalent to ECON 303 ), if Advanced Macroeconomics ECON 703  is taken as an elective; students should understand how the interaction between markets and governments affect the economy’s output, employment, income, interest rate, wage, price, and trade balance levels over time.

Student who have not completed the aforementioned or equivalent courses, must complete equivalent courses (i.e., BADM 700 , BADM 710  , MATH 176 , ECON 302  and ECON 303  ) at the University of Nevada, Reno. Determination of course waivers is made upon approval of a student’s request for a course waiver by the Appeals Committee after the student’s acceptance into the Master of Science, Finance major program.