The MSF faculty at Bentley is always looking for ways to update the finance curriculum to best match the needs of today’s financial careers. To that end, effective Spring 2017, the Bentley Master of Science in Finance will be a two-path degree program.
The first is a 10-course Finance path that is similar to the current degree and can be completed in 9 to 15 months. The new 12-course Quantitative Path, with STEM designation, will have more of a mathematical and capital market focus and can be completed in 15 to 20 months.
The Master of Finance program now joins Bentley’s Technology and Analytics programs (Business Analytics, Marketing Analytics, Human Factors in Information Design and Information Technology) by gaining the STEM designation as part of a U.S. Department of Education initiative designed to improve students’ skills in science, technology, engineering, and math.
This designation also has international implications, in that international students undertaking a STEM degree are eligible for an extended Optional Practical Training (OPT) period. Optional Practical Training (OPT) is temporary employment that is directly related to an F-1 student’s major area of study. Under the prior rules, an F-1 student could be authorized to receive up to a total of 12 months of practical training either before and/or after completion of studies. The STEM designation allows international students to gain valuable work experience by staying in the United States longer — with the ability to extend training period by 24 months to stay and work in the U.S. for a total of three years.
Corporate Finance Path (F) |
| Quantitative Finance Path (QF) |
FOUNDATION: GR521 - Managerial Statistics GR522 - Economic Environment of the Firm GR524 - Accounting for Decision Making | FOUNDATION: GR521 - Managerial Statistics GR522 - Economic Environment of the Firm GR524 - Accounting for Decision Making GR526 - Calculus | |
CORE COURSE (5) ST625 Quantitative Analysis for Business FI623 Investments FI625 Corporate Finance FI751 International Finance FI631 Financial Modeling | ||
ELECTIVE COURSES (5) FI627 Advanced Corporate Finance FI635 Fixed Income FI640 Equity Valuation FI645 Derivatives FI650 Advanced Portfolio Theory FI685 Financial Strategy FI701 Internship FI730 Financial Institutions FI735 Mergers and Acquisitions FI787 Large Project Finance or with Program Director approval. or One external elective | REQUIRED COURSES (6) FI635 Fixed Income FI640 Equity Valuation (or FI735) FI645 Derivatives FI650 Advanced Portfolio Theory MA611 Time Series (or ST635) FI774 Computational Finance
ELECTIVE (1) Any course in FI, EC, MA, or CIS |