The Brandeis IBS Master of Science in Finance (MSF) is an innovative part-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. Credit for up to two courses may be transferred in from another graduate institution.
Program of Study
The MSF allows you to begin your studies in the summer, fall, or spring semester. Courses are offered in the evenings, Monday through Thursday, 6:30 - 9:30 pm.
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.
You can complete the MSF program at your own pace. For part-time students, working at the normal rate of two courses per semester, it takes 18-20 months to finish. An example of a course sequence lasting 18 months is provided below. Note that this is an illustration only; there are several different sequences in which students can take the required and elective courses, depending on their background, interests and schedule.
Requirements
The MSF program requires 10 courses made up from 5 core courses, 3 Financial courses (for a general concentration in Finance) and 2 electives. Students may also choose from two areas of concentration: International Investments and Business Finance. Concentrations in either International Investments or Business Finance require 4 concentration courses and one elective. This demonstrates both the focus and strength of the MSF program. We also are 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.
General Course Offerings
Below is a list of when core and Finance elective courses at IBS are typically offered by semester. Please remember that these lists are subject to change. Enrolled students should consult the current student's page for detailed information on current degree requirements, course schedules and the course syllabus. While we list only the Finance courses here, MSF students are welcome to take any course that IBS offers to fulfill their elective requirement (up to 8 credits). Please refer to the complete course listings for each semester to see the complete schedule of all course offerings.
Summer
Core:
- FIN 201a - Financial Theory
- FIN 202a - International Corporate Finance
Electives:
- FIN 233f - Relative Values of Securities
- FIN 216f - Financial Statement Analysis
- FIN 255a - World Financial Centers
- FIN 261a - Fixed Income
Fall
Core:
- FIN 201a - Financial Theory
- FIN 202a - International Corporate Finance
- ECON 201a - Global Economic Environment
- ECON 210f - Foundations of Statistics & Econometrics I
- FIN 212a - Accounting and Financial Analysis
- FIN 217f - Financial Modeling I
Electives:
- FIN 213a - Intermediate FInancial Accounting
- FIN 214a - Managerial Accounting
- FIN 216f - Financial Statement Analysis
- FIN 223f - Project Finance
- FIN 225f - Real Estate Finance
- FIN 230a - Trading & Exchanges: Focus on Foreign Exchange
- FIN 231f - Private Equity
- FIN 234f - Corporate Financial Decision Making
- FIN 237f - Security Analysis
- FIN 242f - Credit Risk Analysis
- FIN 246a - Applied Corporate Finance
- FIN 261a - Fixed Income
- FIN 263a - International Portfolio Management
- FIN 270a - Options and Derivatives
- FIN 279a - Applied Risk Management
- FIN 285a - Computer Simulation and Risk
Spring
Core:
- ECON 210f - Foundations of Statistics & Econometrics I
- FIN 202a - International Corporate Finance
- FIN 212a - Accounting and Financial Analysis
- FIN 217f - Financial Modeling I
- Electives:
-
- FIN 213a - Intermediate Financial Accounting
- FIN 214a - Managerial Accounting
- FIN 216f - Financial Statement Analysis
- FIN 218f - Financial Modeling II
- FIN 231f - Private Equity
- FIN 232a - Mergers and Acquisitions
- FIN 233f - Relative Value of Securities
- FIN 235a - Investing in Energy
- FIN 236f - Technical Analysis
- FIN 241f - Financial Planning & Control
- FIN242f - Credit Risk Analysis I
- FIN 254f - Financial Manias & Crisis
- FIN 261a - Fixed Income Securities
- FIN 263a - International Portfolio Management
- FIN 270a - Options and Derivatives
- FIN 271a - Options and Derivatives II
- FIN 271a - Applied Risk Management
- Enrolled students should consult the Current Students page for detailed information on current degree requirements.
Specialization in Finance
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:
