Curriculum: Master of Science in Finance

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Home > Academic Programs > Master of Science in Finance > Curriculum

CURRICULUM

Our courses feature the quantitative rigor of financial engineering degree programs combined with the broader business context you need to understand the economic underpinnings of financial calculations.

The MS/Finance curriculum requires a minimum of 33 graduate-level credit hours. For students who need all of the foundation courses, the degree requires a total of 39 credit hours. You may enroll immediately after completing an undergraduate degree or after a period of work experience. A minimum grade point average of 3.0 in all graduate course work is required to remain in good academic standing.

As an MS/Finance student, you’ll take a portion of your course work along with finance-oriented MBA students. These courses include:

Investment Theory
Data Analysis for Investments
Advanced Corporate Finance
Fixed-Income Securities
Mergers & Acquisitions
Options & Futures
Derivative Securities

In addition, we’ve developed several new courses specifically designed to give our MS/Finance students a more quantitative foundation. These courses include:

Mathematical Foundations for Finance
Stochastic Foundations for Finance
Mathematical Finance
Numerical Methods & Optimization in Finance
Advanced Fixed Income and Credit Risk Modeling
Fixed Income Derivatives
Data Analysis, Forecasting and Risk Analysis

Transfer of Credit
Olin Business School will accept up to nine credits of course work taken at another AACSB accredited institution, if the grades you earned are "B" or better, and the Academic Review Committee judges the courses to be equivalent to Olin MBA classes in quality and content. Submit the course syllabus and transcript to your business advisor. The review process usually takes at least two weeks to complete.

Foundations Courses (may be waived): Summer Term (August)
FIN 510 — Introduction to Finance (2.0) ACCT 560 — Introduction to Accounting (2.0) ACCT 562 — Intermediate Accounting (2.0)
Total Summer Credits = 6.0
Late August
FIN 500J — Mathematical Foundations for Finance (2.0)
Fall Semester (September — December)
Fall A	Fall B
FIN 524 — Options & Futures (1.5) FIN 532 — Investment Theory (1.5) ACCT 503 — Business Analysis Using Financial Statements (1.5) FIN 527— Financial Markets (1.5) MGT 537— Invest in Your Career (0.0) FIN 538 — Stochastic Foundations for Finance (1.5)	FIN 524B — Derivative Securities (1.5) FIN 532B — Data Analysis for Investments (1.5) ACCT 503B — Adv Business Analysis Using Financial Statements (1.5) FIN 539 — Mathematical Finance (2.0)
MEC 537 — Data Analysis, Forecasting and Risk Analysis (3.0)
Total Fall Credits = 17.0
Spring Semester (January — May)
Spring A	Spring B
FIN 525 — Fixed Income Securities (1.5) FIN 534 — Advanced Corporate Finance (1.5)	FIN 523B — Mergers & Acquisitions (1.5) FIN 534B — Advanced Corporate Finance II (1.5) FIN 551— Advanced Credit Risk Modeling (2.0)
FIN 528 — Investment Praxis (3.0) FIN 537— Advanced Derivative Securities (3.0)
Total Spring Credits = 14.0
Total Program Credits = 33.0
Final Fall Semester (September — December)
FIN 550 — Numerical Methods & Optimization (1.5) FIN 552 — Advanced Fixed Income Derivatives (1.5) FIN 500I — Advanced Corporate Finance III (1.5) FIN 500K — Finance Consulting Seminar (1.5)
Total Additional Credits = 6.0
Total Program Credits for 17-Month Option = 39.0

The above outlines the MS/Finance curriculum in the two-semester format. Students enrolling in the program have the option to complete it in two semesters or to extend the program over a period of three semesters. Students choosing the three-semester format will be required to complete all of the same course work illustrated for the two-semester format and an additional six credit hours of course work, which would be completed during the final semester of study.

Course Descriptions for the MS/Finance Program
FIN 538 Stochastic Foundations for Finance	The primary focus is on stochastic processes and stochastic calculus theory. Topics to be covered include general probability theory; Brownian motion and diffusion processes; martingales; stochastic calculus including Ito's lemma; and jump processes. Applications of these tools will appear in follow-up courses.
FIN 539 Mathematical Finance	This course focuses on continuous-time derivative pricing and optimal security trading. Students will learn how to derive partial differential equations and pricing formulas for various derivative securities, including options with stochastic volatility, options with jump diffusion and American-style options. Students will also learn how to solve optimal portfolio selection problems with or without portfolio constraints through both the Hamilton-Jacob-Bellman equation approach and the martingale approach.
FIN 550 Numerical Methods & Optimization in Finance	This course develops numerical methods and optimization techniques to solve financial problems. The course covers a variety of numerical methods and optimization techniques for both linear and nonlinear problems. The optimization methods covered include: linear and nonlinear optimization, integer programming, stochastic programming, dynamic optimization, and robust optimization. The numerical methods will primarily concentrate on finite difference schemes for partial differential equations as frequently encountered in financial applications.
FIN 551 Advanced Fixed Income and Credit Risk Modeling	The focus of the course is on the modeling of fixed-income securities. We will examine the behavior of the yield curve and discuss what this suggests for hedging liabilities. We will cover models of the term structure and of various types of fixed-income derivatives including caps, floors and swap options. We will also introduce credit-risk modeling, credit-default swaps and collateralized debt obligations.
FIN 552 Fixed- Income Derivatives	This course builds on the materials developed in FIN 537, Advanced Derivative Securities. Here we will cover market-model pricing of LIBOR caps and floors, swap-market model pricing of swaptions, Hull-White and Heath-Jarrow-and-Morton models, and the LIBOR market model for pricing swap derivatives via Monte Carlo techniques. We will also consider how to use these models to price various types of exotic interest rate derivatives commonly seen in practice.
FIN 500I	This course builds on the sequence of corporate finance courses (FIN 534 and FIN 534B) in two important ways. First, it will extend the theoretical underpinnings of valuation developed in ACF I and ACF II. Hence, the course title of "Frontiers of Valuation". As an example, we will extend the corporate finance valuation framework for both projects and firms to include Monte Carlo simulations. Second, the course will seek to apply these skills to a wide variety of corporate finance applications not currently covered in other finance electives. In particular, the course will cover the following topics: (i) measuring financial performance within a firm, (ii) implementing a shareholder-based performance and compensation system, (iii) using Monte Carlo simulations in both project appraisal and firm valuation, (iv) Leveraged Buyouts, (v) the restructuring of financially-distressed firms, and (vi) cross-border project and firm valuation. Ultimately, a student who successfully completes the course sequence of Advanced Corporate Finance I, II and III should possess the set of cutting-edge skills necessary for a highly successful career in Investment Banking or Corporate Financial Management. Prerequisites: FIN 5203, FIN 534, and FIN 534B.
FIN 500K	Students returning from summer internship and research project experiences will conduct academic research in the areas of their summer experiences and will write papers on research topics as appropriate, under the direction of the supervising faculty member. In addition, students will be required to make presentations about their work experiences and research findings to their classmates. The timing of the course will Fall A in the second fall semester for MS/Finance students in the 17-month version of the program. Prerequisites: Completion of the first year of the MSF program. Other students may apply to participate with the permission of the instructor.

A description of the required courses for the Master of Science degree in Finance can be viewed or downloaded at http://apps.olin.wustl.edu/msfin/adm/msfincourses.pdf. (*PDF 36k).

A complete list of all other graduate level courses can be found at http://apps.olin.wustl.edu/mba/srv/pdf/mbadescrip.pdf. (*PDF 95k)

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