Master of Finance

The Master of Finance is a master's degree awarded by universities or graduate schools preparing students for careers in finance. The degree is often titled Master in Finance (M.Fin., MiF, MFin), or Master of Science in Finance (MSF in North America, and MSc in Finance in the UK and Europe). In the U.S. and Canada the program may be positioned as a professional degree. Particularly in Australia, the degree may be offered as a Master of Applied Finance (MAppFin). In some cases, the degree is offered as a Master of Management in Finance (MMF). More specifically focused and titled degrees are also offered. MSF and M.Fin / MSc programs differ as to career preparation and hence degree focus — with the former centered on financial management and investment management, and the latter on more technical roles (although, see below for further discussion as to this distinction). Both degree types, though, emphasize quantitative topics, and may also offer some non-quantitative elective coursework, such as corporate governance, business ethics and business strategy. Programs generally require one to two years of study, and are often offered as a non-thesis degree. The MSF program, typically, prepares graduates for careers in corporate finance, investment banking and investment management. The core curriculum is thus focused on managerial finance, corporate finance and investment analysis. These topics are usually preceded by more fundamental coursework in economics, (managerial) accounting, and "quantitative methods" (usually time value of money and business statistics). In many programs, these fundamental topics are a prerequisite for admission or assumed as known, and if part of the curriculum, students with appropriate background may be exempt from these. The program usually concludes with coursework in advanced topics — where several areas are integrated or applied — such as portfolio management, financial modeling, mergers and acquisitions, real options, and lately Fintech; managerial economics and various quantitative finance topics may also be offered as advanced courses.