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Master of Science in Finance

The Master of Science in Finance program is a 33-hour program that can usually be completed within 2 years. The program offers the most in depth exploration of Finance and related topics of any of the Master's programs offered at the University of Memphis. Prominent features of the program are the wide range of Finance electives, evening classes that are convenient to students working in the Memphis area, and small class sizes.

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Overview of the M.S. Program

The Master of Science (MS) programs give students more emphasis in the specialty area than traditional MBA programs. Fogelman MS Finance graduates work on several goals such as: (1) acquiring theoretical and practical financial knowledge and skills consistent with 21st century organizational needs and financial industry careers; (2) learning about academic opportunities for future success in financial certification exams or a terminal degree in Finance; and (3) becoming well-rounded professionals consistent with the needs in a wide variety of working situations.

The MS Finance program assumes a pre-qualification in Calculus. Students entering with a bachelor's degree in Business or Engineering are usually able to enter the program without further study.

Applying to the MS Finance Program

Prospective students applying to the MS Finance program should submit an online application and pay the relevant application fee ($35 for domestic students and $60 for international students). They should also send transcripts of their undergraduate work and test scores on either the GRE or GMAT to the Graduate Admissions Office. Once applications are complete, the Graduate Admissions Office forwards them to the Graduate Programs Office and the FIR department for review. For US students, the Fall application deadline is July 1. The Spring application deadline is December 1.

Well-qualified undergraduate students who are in their final year of the BBA program in the Fogelman College may benefit from the Accelerated BBA/MS Finance program. Interested students must make an appointment with the MS Finance program coordinator prior to registering for their final semester of undergraduate work. These students must hold an undergraduate GPA of 3.25 or above. Once accepted in the accelerated program, students may register for up to 9 hours of graduate courses that may count for both undergraduate and graduate credit. As a result, students would be able to earn the MS Finance degree with only 24 hours beyond the BBA degree. Another benefit of the accelerated program is that prospective graduate students can avoid the GRE/GMAT requirement.

The college requires an evaluation of transcripts by WES for students who are applying for a graduate degree program in the Fogelman College who earned their last degree at a university outside of the USA.

Program Objectives and Admission

Program Objectives

Program objectives are: (1) an understanding of the general context of business in society and a foundation knowledge of the essential business functions; (2) acquisition of an advanced level of knowledge of a specialized business discipline; (3) ability to make significant professional contributions within a functional area of business; and (4) ability to compete effectively for professional positions in the private or public sectors.

Program Admission

Applicants to all MS programs in the Fogelman College must have the following:

  1. An undergraduate degree from an accredited college or institution;
  2. Application for admission and appropriate fee;
  3. Official transcript from each college or university attended;
  4. Satisfactory performance on undergraduate coursework and a satisfactory score on the Graduate Management Admissions test or the Graduate Record Examination GRE;
  5. International applicants must submit an acceptable TOEFL score.

Qualified candidates may enter these programs at the beginning of any semester.

The Graduate Non-Degree classification allows individuals who have not yet decided to pursue a graduate degree or who have professional development needs to enroll in MS courses (a maximum of 9 credit hours). To remain enrolled as a Graduate Non-Degree student, individuals must maintain a minimum GPA of 3.0. Students should note that the 9-hour maximum is more stringent than the University Graduate School policy.

Program Requirements

Prerequisite of MATH 1830 or its equivalent

GRE or GMAT score required

Students with the necessary pre-qualifications may have the prerequisite waived by the program coordinator.

Each candidate must complete a minimum of 33 semester hours of approved graduate courses

The 33 graduate credits include a minimum of 18 hours in the concentration (21 if a thesis is written; students electing to write a thesis should familiarize themselves with the Thesis/Dissertation Preparation Guide before starting to write). At least 24 semester hours must earned in courses at the 7000 level or higher.

Candidates must pass a written or oral comprehensive examination

Finance Concentration:

Six courses (18 semester hours) must come from any list for any of the concentrations below, with at least three (9 semester hours) at the 7000 level or higher.

Real Estate
 
  • FIR 6310 - Real Estate Law (Real Estate)
  • FIR 6320 - Real Estate Finance (Real Estate)
  • FIR 6330 - Principles of Property Management (Real Estate)
  • FIR 6340 - Real Estate Appraisal (Real Estate)
  • FIR 6350 - Real Estate Investment (Real Estate)
  • FIR 7301 - Contemp Rles Thry/Prac (Real Estate)
  • FIR 7302 - Rl Estate Dvlpmt & Sustainblty (Real Estate)
  • FIR 7310 - Sustainable Real Estate (Real Estate)
  • FIR 7320 - Financing Real Est Trans (Real Estate)
  • FIR 7350 - Real Est Invest Analys (Real Estate)
Banking/Trading/Fintech
 
  • FIR 6710 - Commercial Banking (Banking)
  • FIR 6720 - Mgmt Financl Institutions (Banking)
  • FIR 7724 - Micro-Structure Theory (Trading)
  • FIR 7725 - Eqty Mkts:Trad/Struct (Fintech, Big Data AI, Trading, SAS)
  • FIR 7840 - Quantitative Finan App (Fintech, Big Data AI, Python)
CFP national exam (* Please see below for more information on CFP required classes)
 
  • FIR 6011 - Retirement and Estate Planning (CFP national exam required; Financial Planning)
  • FIR 6610 - Cases Managerial Fin (Corporate Finance; CFP national exam Capstone; Financial Planning)
  • FIR 6620 - Cases in Financial Planning (CFP national exam Capstone; Financial Planning; Corporate Finance)
  • FIR 6870 - Risk Management (CFP national exam required; Financial Planning)
  • FIR 6810 - Prop & Lbility Insur (CFP national exam)
  • FIR 6820 - Life & Health Insurance (CFP national exam)
  • FIR 7155 - Global Financial Mgmt (Core course, Corporate Finance, CFA exam, CFP exam)
  • FIR 7173 - Financial Analys/Certification (CFA exam; Financial Analysis, CFP exam)
  • FIR 7410 - Invst Thry Portfol Mgmt (CFA Exam; Financial Analysis; Bloomberg Certificate, CFP exam)
CFA exam
 
  • FIR 6331 - Stock Portfolio Mgmt (TVA Real Money Portfolio, CFA exam; Financial Analysis)
  • FIR 6721 – Fixed Income and Derivative (CFA exam; Financial Analysis; Memphis Fixed Income Industry)
  • FIR 6730 - Financial Analysis/Certification (CFA exam; Financial Analysis)
  • FIR 7155 - Global Financial Mgmt (Core course, Corporate Finance, CFA exam)
  • FIR 7173 - Financial Analys/Certification (CFA exam; Financial Analysis)
  • FIR 7410 - Invst Thry Portfol Mgmt (CFA Exam; Financial Analysis; Bloomberg Certificate)
  • FIR 7721 - Financial Derivatives (CFA exam; Memphis Fixed Income Industry)
  • FIR 6770 - Security Analysis/Port Mgmt (Not offered frequently; TVA Real Money Portfolio, CFA exam)
  • FIR 6550 - International Finance (International; Corporate Finance; CFA exam)
  • FIR 7911 - Internship in FIR (Financial Analysis; Financial Planning; Corporate Finance)
  • FIR 7810 - Adv Financial Mgmt (Corporate Finance)
Other
 
  • FIR 7070 - Financial Conc/Business (Not offered frequently)
  • FIR 7160 - Executive Financial Mgmt
  • FIR 7170 - Multinational Financial Mgmt
  • FIR 7171 - Intl Financial Markets
  • FIR 7648 - Entrepreneurial Finance
  • FIR 7710 - Sem Investment Thry (Academic Research; CFA exam; Financial Analysis)
  • FIR 7910 - Problems In Fir
  • FIR 7996 – Thesis
  • FIR 8170 - Intl Financial Mgmt (Academic Research)
  • FIR 8410 - Invst Thry Portfol Mgmt (Academic Research; CFA exam; Financial Analysis)
  • FIR 8710 - Sem Investment Thry (Academic Research; CFA exam; Financial Analysis)
  • FIR 8721 - Financial Derivatives (Academic Research; CFA exam; Financial Analysis)
  • FIR 8724 - Microstructure Theory (Academic Research; Trading)
  • FIR 8725 - Financial Mkts: Trad/Struct (Academic Research; Fintech; Trading)
  • FIR 8810 - Adv Financial Mgmt (Academic Research; Corporate Finance)
  • FIR 8820 - Thry/Prac Finan Mgmt (Academic Research; Corporate Finance)
  • FIR 8840 - Quantitative Finan App (Academic Research; Fintech)
  • FIR 8850 - Seminar In Finance (Academic Research)
  • FIR 8910 - Problems In Finance (Academic Research)

Electives:

The remaining 5 or less courses (15 semester hours) may be chosen from graduate courses offered by other departments in the Fogelman College. Upon approval of an advisor, a graduate course can be taken from colleges other than the Fogelman College. Between concentration requirements and electives, no more than 3 courses (9 semester hours) may be taken at the 6000 level.

Courses taken as part of the MS in Finance Program can also be counted toward the Professional Real Estate Certificate, Financial Analyst Certificate or the Financial Planning Certificate.

Comprehensive Exam

During the last semester of study, each student must pass a written or oral comprehensive exam.

Internships

Students in the MS Finance program may obtain up to 3 hours of academic credit for finance-related internships. In order to get 3 hours of credit for FIR 7911, they must work a minimum of 150 hours in the internship and work with a faculty member to show evidence of their accomplishments in the internship. A major advantage of studying in the Memphis area is the wide variety of employers who are able to offer work and internship opportunities for students.

The Professional Development Center (PDC) located in the Fogelman College offers a wide variety of support services to students who need assistance finding internships and career opportunities in the areas of finance and business. Students turn to the PDC for help in improving their resumes, strategies to enhance their interviewing and networking skills, and seminars to learn how to be successful in the corporate world. Finance students benefit from the professional development series Futures in Finance aimed specifically at students seeking a career in Finance.

Experiential Learning

MS Finance students seeking further practical learning in the investments area may benefit from participating in the CFA Institute Research Challenge and the TVA Investment Challenge. In the CFA Institute Research Challenge, selected students compete against students from other universities to show evidence of superior ability in analyzing a single company. In the TVA Investment Challenge, students invest actual money held by the Tennessee Valley Authority with the goal of earning a higher return than teams from other regional universities.

In both competitions, University of Memphis students have at their disposal the resources of the Cook Analytics and Trading Lab, which is located on the ground floor of the Fogelman Classroom Building. This new facility greatly enhances students' abilities to conduct financial research and to acquire cutting-edge research skills that employers seek.

* Classes students must take to meet the CFP Board Approved Educational Program and qualify to sit for the exam.
  • FIR 7155
  • FIR 6870
  • FIR 7410
  • FIR 6011
  • FIR 6620 OR 6610
  • ACCT 3510 must be taken - outside of FIR department

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Further Information and Application Submission

Prospective students can submit an application here, request more information by sending an email to msbafir@memphis.edu or by contacting:

Jameshia Jamison
Graduate Admissions Counselor
Email | 901.678.3685

Dr. Allen Carrior, Masters Program Advisor Masters Program Advisor
Dr. Allen Carrion
Email | 901.678.5930
 
 
 

Dr. Allison Potter, Masters Program Advisor Masters Program Advisor
Dr. Allison Potter
Email | 901.678.5925