Earn the finance skills companies want—and need

As a Kelley MS in Finance (MSF) student, you will gain critical expertise in finance while developing your business and professional skills.

You will be uniquely qualified to help companies navigate the increasingly complex financial environment in which they operate.

The Kelley MS in Finance curriculum prepares you to:

  • Craft and execute innovative financial strategies and solutions for their organizations
  • Provide financial acumen, insight, and discipline to business managers and clients
  • Effectively participate in global financial markets

Program duration

Students can complete the full-time, in-residence Kelley MS in Finance program in 10, 11 ,or 18 months, depending on if they are required to take the Business Foundations Boot Camp in June or choose to do an internship.

  • Students who have an undergraduate business major or minor may be able to complete the program in 10 months.
  • Students who have a nonbusiness major or minor or those on F-1 visas, please complete the pre-application advising form to meet with MSF admissions staff and determine if Business Foundations is required. Business Foundations provides a one-month review of business topics, such as finance, accounting, marketing, operations, strategic management, and quantitative methods.
  • Students with little or no work experience may want to have an internship experience before seeking their post-graduate, full-time position. These students, working with Graduate Career Services, interview for summer internship opportunities and return to Bloomington to complete their degree the following fall.

Professional skills and flexibility

The Kelley MS in Finance program is distinguished by the attention it pays to career development and intensive financial training. In addition to continual programmed engagement with Graduate Career Services, the program includes a course in professional development, a practicum course that intensifies practical financial sophistication, and a capstone project-consulting course.

The program also offers tremendous flexibility to cater to students' diverse career interests. Almost half the program consists of finance electives, allowing the student to design a bespoke curriculum aimed at corporate finance careers or financial market careers.

Firm foundation

These electives are built on a solid foundation delivered through two core experiences. The summer Finance Core A is a concentrated immersion in basic financial economics and introduces students to the foundational principles of finance, including the concepts of complete markets, no-arbitrage pricing, and market efficiency while also covering key topics in accounting, modeling, corporate valuation and professional development. The seven-week Finance Core B continues this foundational development with courses in accounting, asset pricing, spreadsheet modeling, and corporate finance valuation.

Note that variations on the plan of study may occur based on individual needs.

Summer (June)

Credit HoursBusiness Boot Camp Component

6.0

BUS-X545 Business Foundations*

*If required (talk to your counselor)

 

Summer (July)

Credit HoursFinance Core A Component

3.0

BUS-F513 Financial Economics

1.5

BUS-F516 Corporate Finance & Valuation

1.5

BUS-X505 Leadership & Professional Development

 

Fall

Credit HoursFinance Core B Component

1.5

BUS-F520 Asset Valuation and Strategy

1.5

BUS-F540 The Firm in the Capital Markets

1.5

BUS-A506 Financial Reporting and Analysis I

1.5

BUS-A507 Financial Reporting and Analysis II (taken in the second 7 weeks) 

1.5

BUS-K507 Introduction to Spreadsheet Modeling

1.5

BUS-F579 MSF Practicum I

3.0

Choose 2 electives (taken in the second 7 weeks)

 

Spring

Credit HoursCapstone and Directed Electives Component

1.5

Capstone Project Course: BUS-F579 MSF Practicum II

12.0

Choose 8 electives (4 in the first 7 weeks; 4 in the second 7 weeks)

 

Total credit hours

  • 31.5 without business boot camp
  • 37.5 with business boot camp

All fall and spring courses are 1.5 credits each and run over seven weeks.

Students who choose the summer internship option withhold 3 or more credit hours for the subsequent fall. 

MS in Finance students can tailor their elective choices to fulfill their diverse career dreams. Two required courses support all career paths: BUS-F520 Asset Valuation and Strategy and BUS-F540 The Firm in the Capital Markets.

Students can design their program to succeed in such career paths as: 

  • Corporate finance
  • Financial institutions
  • Investment banking
  • Investment management
  • Real estate 

Electives that may be particularly relevant for each path are suggested below. However, students are not required to declare a track and are not required to take all the electives named as appropriate for a track. Students may choose the electives that interest them to create a personalized curriculum. Click on each course to find out more about content and prerequisites.  

Are you interested in a corporate finance career? Below are elective options to consider. 

Are you interested in a career with a financial institution? Below are elective options to consider. 

  • BUS-F507 Short-Term Financial Management
  • BUS-F508 Real Options in Capital Budgeting
  • BUS-F517 Venture Capital & Entrepreneurial Finance
  • BUS-F525 Corporate Financial Risk Management
  • BUS-F528 Fixed Income Investments
  • BUS-F541 Spreadsheet Modeling for Finance
  • BUS-R510 Real Estate Investment

Are you interested in an investment banking career? Below are elective options to consider. 

Are you interested in an investment management career? Below are elective options to consider. 

Are you interested in a real estate career? Below are elective options to consider. 

Students may also choose from the following non-finance business school courses to fulfill their elective credit hours:

  • BUS-A545 Introduction to Financial Statements Analysis and Valuation
  • BUS-A546 Advanced Financial Statements Analysis and Valuation
  • BUS-A547 Strategic Tax Planning
  • BUS-A564 Detecting Earnings Management
  • BUS-A576 Strategic Cost Management
  • BUS-F579 Topic: Finance & Society
  • BUS-F579 Topic: Personal Finance (can’t count towards graduation)
  • BUS-F509 Financial Analysis for Corporate Decisions
  • BUS-F515 Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition
  • BUS-F536 Financial Data Analytics
  • BUS-F550 Reese Fund
  • BUS-F560 Value Fund 
  • BUS-G570 Thinking Strategically: Game Theory and Business Strategy
  • BUS-G572 Predictive Analytics for Business Strategy I
  • BUS-G574 The Federal Reserve System: Policy and Practice
  • BUS-G579 Predictive Analytics for Business Strategy II
  • BUS-G593 International Monetary Systems and Hedging
  • BUS-K513 Predictive Analytics/Data Mining
  • BUS-K529 Cloud-Based Analytics
  • BUS-S519 Business Applications of Machine Learning
  • BUS-S523 Enterprise Data Management
  • BUS-S536 Business Analytics Programming
  • BUS-S552 Artificial Intelligence in Business  

The concentration in fintech prepares students for a variety of career and entrepreneurial opportunities driven by new technologies such as machine learning and artificial intelligence. Combined with the foundation courses, the fintech concentration provides the skills graduates need to enter this innovative and evolving industry. Students who complete the fintech concentration will have this noted on their transcripts.

Required courses

Elective courses

Select 6.0 credits from the following options:

  • BUS-F536 Financial Data Analytics
  • BUS-F579 Quantitative Finance
  • BUS-K513 Predictive Analytics and Data Mining
  • BUS-S536 Business Analytics Programming
  • BUS-S552 Artificial Intelligence in Business

Become a Chartered Fintech Professional (CFtP)

The MS in Finance Program is accredited by the Global Fintech Institute, an association of fintech professionals that administers the Chartered Fintech Professional program. Students who complete an approved set of electives earn an exemption from the first two exams required to earn the CFtP.