Earn the finance skills companies want—and need

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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 start

The appropriate starting point will vary depending on each student’s background, and you should make an appointment with an admissions counselor to find the best starting point for you. Here are the broad principles involved in deciding when a student should begin the program, though there are exceptions depending on an individual’s background and opportunities to gain work experience in the summer leading up to the MSF Program.

If your undergraduate degree is not in business, start in early June with the Business Foundations Boot Camp.

If you have already had introductory exposure to most of the main business disciplines but you do not have an undergraduate finance major with at least a 3.3 GPA in finance courses, start in early July with Core A courses.
US regulations prohibit international students from registering for only part of a semester. If you are an international student who needs exposure to the content in Core A, you must also attend the Business Foundations Boot Camp in June because it is part of the summer term.

If you have an undergraduate finance major with at least a 3.3 GPA in finance courses, you can start in the fall.

Total credit hours

30 without Business Foundations Boot Camp
36 with Business Foundations Boot Camp

All fall and spring courses are seven weeks and 1.5 credit hours each.

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

Program completion

Many students join our program immediately after completing their undergraduate program, though most have had prior internship experience. If you have not worked in a financial role previously, you should consider our 18-month option that allows you to build your resume by doing a summer internship. Students pursuing the 18-month option will work 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.

Design your own MSF journey

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.

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-F526 Derivative Securities
BUS-F528 Fixed Income Investments
BUS-F541 Spreadsheet Modeling for Finance
BUS-F546 Corporate Financial Strategy

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.

BUS-F508 Real Options in Capital Budgeting
BUS-F517 Venture Capital & Entrepreneurial Finance
BUS-F526 Derivative Securities
BUS-F528 Fixed Income Investments
BUS-F529 Equity Markets
BUS-F541 Spreadsheet Modeling for Finance
BUS-F546 Corporate Financial Strategy
BUS-F548 Corporate Governance and Restructuring
BUS-R510 Real Estate Investment
BUS-S536 Business Analytics Programming

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

BUS-F508 Real Options in Capital Budgeting
BUS-F525 Corporate Financial Risk Management
BUS-F526 Derivative Securities
BUS-F528 Fixed Income Investments
BUS-F529 Equity Markets
BUS-F541 Spreadsheet Modeling for Finance
BUS-F546 Corporate Financial Strategy

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

BUS-F508 Real Options in Capital Budgeting
BUS-F526 Derivative Securities
BUS-F528 Fixed Income Investments
BUS-F541 Spreadsheet Modeling for Finance
BUS-F546 Corporate Financial Strategy
BUS-R510 Real Estate Investments

Students may consider a variety of Kelley graduate courses to complement their program of study as electives. Examples of courses that previous students have taken are listed below.

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-F514 Topic: Finance & Society
BUS-F565 Topic: Personal Finance (can’t count towards graduation)
BUS-F509 Financial Analysis for Corporate Decisions
BUS-F515 Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition
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
BUS-W505 Power, Persuasion, Influence, and Negotiation

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.

Required courses

BUS-F534 Fintech Applications in Machine Learning
BUS-F533 Fintech for Managers

Elective courses

Select 6.0 credits from the following options:

BUS-F536 Financial Data Analytics
BUS-F434 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.

Join the next MS in Finance class at Kelley

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Earn the finance skills companies want—and need

Program start

Total credit hours

Program completion

Professional skills and flexibility

Firm foundation

Design your own MSF journey

Corporate finance

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

Financial institutions

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

Investment banking

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

Investment management

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

Real estate

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

Electives

Students may consider a variety of Kelley graduate courses to complement their program of study as electives. Examples of courses that previous students have taken are listed below.

Fintech concentration

Required courses

Elective courses

Become a Chartered Fintech Professional (CFtP)

Join the next MS in Finance class at Kelley

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