Finance, M.S.

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Students who wish to become professionals in the financial planning or financial and wealth management related fields will find the online MS in Finance degree to be one that enables them to develop both the personal and professional skills needed to enjoy a productive career. This program builds on the 18-credits of the Certified Financial Planner (CFP) certificate program. Students already enrolled in the CFP program may complete additional 12-credits from graduate coursework to complete the M.S. in Finance degree.

The objectives of the Master of Science in Finance are:

To provide students with an advanced understanding of the field and sub-topics of finance, and
To provide students with professional skills that will enable them to enjoy productive and rewarding careers in the financial planning and financial and wealth management fields.

Program Specific Degree Requirements

The program consists of a minimum of 30 semester credit hours of graduate coursework. Students must complete coursework in the CFP certificate program and elective business and/or non-business courses as approved by program director. Eighty percent of the student’s total coursework must consist of 5000-level courses; the remaining 20 percent may be 4000-level finance or non-finance courses (approximately 6 total credit hours). Non-finance courses should be selected in consultation with the student’s graduate adviser. Non-finance courses at the 4000-level may be taken during the senior year of undergraduate study and applied to the master’s program, but they must be reserved for graduate credit and approved by the graduate program director prior to the first day of such classes. Courses reserved for graduate credit may not be counted towards the undergraduate degree requirements. Approved reservation of courses for graduate credit does not guarantee admission to the graduate program.

MS Finance Curriculum

Students must take these 6 core finance courses (18 credit hours):
FIN 5070 - Tax Planning for Financial Planners Credits: 3
FIN 5310 - Advanced Investment Analysis Credits: 3
FIN 5720 - Insurance and Retirement Planning Credits: 3
FIN 5750 - Fundamentals of Financial Planning Credits: 3
FIN 5780 - Estate Planning Credits: 3
FIN 5800 - CFP Capstone Credits: 3

Required Finance Electives

Students will be required to take 12 credits of elective courses. All electives must be approved by the program director.

Additional Information

The student must complete the required coursework with a minimum GPA of 3.000 on a 4.000 scale.

Any student falling below a cumulative GPA of 3.000 is automatically placed on probation for the following semester and must raise their GPA to 3.000 to avoid suspension. If a 3.000 GPA is not attained in the subsequent semester, the student will be suspended from the MS Finance program and the University of Wyoming.

Students must maintain good academic standing at the program and university level and receive no lettr grade of D or F. If a letter grade of D or F is received, the student may be immediately dismissed from the program.