The Brandeis IBS Master of Science in Finance (MSF) is an innovative full-time program designed to help financial professionals advance their careers through comprehensive training in global financial markets, financial theory, analysis, and strategy. Leveraging our core strength in international finance and economics, the MSF directly targets the expertise required in today's global financial environment. It develops:

• a conceptual framework for understanding financial decisions and global capital markets, based on the core disciplines of investments, corporate finance, economics, accounting, and quantitative methods.
• advanced expertise in specialized areas such as options and derivatives, fixed income securities, portfolio management, and corporate financial operations.
• an ability to apply skills to "real world" problems in financial markets and operations.

Explore the range of our offerings in our course listing.

Program of Study
The MSF allows you to begin your studies in the summer, fall, or spring semester.

An especially popular course among MSF students is a summer course; Fin 255a, World Financial Center. This course is offered in an intensive one-week format in a major financial capital abroad. In the past this has taken place in London, Tokyo, Paris, Frankfurt, Prague, and Turkey.

Requirements

The MSF program requires 10 courses made up from 5 core courses, 3 concentration courses and 2 electives. The Concentration areas are: International Investments and Business Finance. The Concentration areas are: International Investments and Business Finance. This demonstrates both the focus and strength of the MSF program. We also aware of the demands of the market and the needs of a student body that may be more interested in general business finance skills over the next couple of years. The MSF structure described here applies to all students currently enrolled in the program. 

Illustrative MSF Course Schedule

Students should begin their MSF program by completing as many of the 5 required core courses as possible.  

Typical Program for a Full-Time MSF student beginning in the fall: 

• Econ 201a - Global Economic Environment
• Fin 201a - Financial Theory
• Fin 212a - Accounting and Financial Analysis
• Econ 202a - International Corporate Finance
• Econ 210f - Foundations of Statistics & Econometrics I

• Fin 202a - International Corporate Finance (if not taken in fall)
• Econ 217f - Financial Modeling I
• Choose 2 concentration/elective courses (10 credits)

Summer

• Choose 2 (8 credits) concentration/elective courses

Concentrations

1. International Investments Concentration

Students planning to pursue a concentration in International Investments must take Fixed Income & Securities* (Fin 261a) and at least one of the following classes (and at least two other courses from electives listed below) for a total of 16 credits:

• Fixed Income (Fin 261a) *Required for International Investment concentration
• Options and Derivatives (FIN 270a)
• Trading and Exchanges: Focus on Foreign Exchange (FIN 230a)
• International Portfolio Management (FIN 263a)

Additional electives for International Investment Concentration (must take two)

• Country Risk Analysis (ECON 232f)
• Relative Value of Securities (FIN 233f)
• Private Equity (FIN 231f)
• Financial Risk Management (FIN 280a)
• Computer Simulation and Risk (FIN 285a)
• Technical Analysis (FIN 236f)
• Security Analysis (FIN 237f)
• Options and Derivatives II (FIN 271a)
• Applied Risk Management (FIN 279a)

2. Business Finance

Students planning to pursue a concentration in Business Finance are required to take at least 2 (8 credits) of the following classes (and at least 2 other courses from electives listed below) for a total of 16 credits:

• Managerial Accounting (FIN 214a)
• Financial Statement Analysis (FIN 216f)
• Intermediate Financial Accounting (FIN 213a)
• International Financial Management (FIN 203f)

Additional electives for Business Finance Concentration (must take two)

• Applied Corporate Finance (FIN 246a)
• Credit Risk Analysis (FIN 246a)
• Financial Planning and Control (FIN 242f)
• Mergers and Acquisitions (FIN 232a)
• Project Finance (FIN 223f)
• Corporate Financial Decision Making (FIN 234f)
• Commercial Bankruptcy: Debtor/Creditor Relationships in the U.S. (FIN 247f)

3. General Concentration in Finance

Students who are not planning to focus on a concentration are required to take at least two of the following classes (8 credits) as part of their Finance degree program and at least one other fiance elective course (12 credits total):

• Fixed Income (FIN 261a)
• Options & Derivatives (FIN 270a)
• Managerial Accounting (FIN 214a)
• Financial Statement Analysis (FIN 216f)
• Intermediate Financial Accounting (FIN 213a)
• Trading & Exchanges: Focus on Foreign Exchange (FIN 230a)
• International Portfolio Management (FIN 263a)
• International Financial Management (FIN 203f)

Specializations in Finance 

• Asset Management
• Corporate Finance
• Risk Management
• Real Estate 
• The Finance Specializations are structured to include both quantitative and qualitative coursework, and integrates finance knowledge with business skills and a solid understanding of the underlying economic principles. These finance specializations are intended to help students structure their finance course selections to best match their academic and career interests in:

• Enrolled students should consult the Current Students website for detailed information on current degree requirements and course schedules.