The course of study is designed to provide insight into the following topics:

• the important role of financial intermediaries;
• the management of financial intermediaries and an understanding of the markets in which they participate;
• the valuation of financial assets such as stocks, bonds, derivatives, and other specialized assets, and how they are managed in a portfolio;
• the determination and behavior of interest rates and rates of return on assets; and
• the incentives and determinants of corporate behavior.

The Master of Science in finance is designed to offer advanced applied and theoretical expertise in investments, banking, corporate finance, and/or financial engineering. The financial risk strategy track within this master's program addresses modern techniques for managing financial risk. Students selecting this track will have the opportunity to be trained in state-of-the-art techniques in valuing and using derivative securities, with a particular emphasis on mortgage-backed securities, structured notes, and computer-based solution design within an object-oriented framework.

Successful completion of the master's program in finance provides students with knowledge useful for pursuing careers in investments, financial management, banking, and other financial services. With the appropriate choice of courses, students can apply to transfer many of their master's courses into the doctoral program in finance.