Master of Science in Finance

The best financial decision of your career.

The Master of Science in Finance program provides students with the analytical and communication skills necessary for effective financial decision-making through the application of financial theory and quantitative techniques. ​With ever-increasing financial globalization and competition for employment in the financial sector, professionals must build a solid foundation to prepare for the increasingly complex world of finance. This challenging advanced degree prepares participants to become leaders in a rewarding and dynamic field.

What You'll Learn

The MS Finance program is a 36-hour, full-time, three-semester program. MS Finance students must successfully complete at least 18 hours of finance courses, including three required courses. The remaining 18 hours are customizable based on our eight unique Career Tracks and one specialization to meet each student’s specialized goals.

MS Finance students can customize their curriculum to meet their long-term career goals through a variety of Career Tracks. Available Career Tracks include:

  • Accounting Career Track
  • Actuarial Science Career Track
  • Corporate Finance Career Track
  • Economics Career Track
  • ISDS Career Track
  • Internal Audit Career Track
  • Investments Career Track
  • Statistics Career Track
  • Customized Career Track*

*The MS Finance program allows students the flexibility to design a custom Career Track tailored to their individual needs and interests (with input and approval of the MS Finance advisor).

Course Hours

FIN 7633 Financial Markets

3

FIN 7719 Advanced Financial Management

3

FIN 7826 Investment Analysis and Portfolio Theory

3

Major Electives

9

General Electives

18

Total

36

Suggested electives for an MS Finance with an Accounting Career Track: 

Course Hours
FIN 7633 Financial Markets 3
FIN 7719 Advanced Financial Management 3
FIN 7826 Investment Analysis and Portfolio Theory 3
Finance Electives 9
Accounting Electives 18
Total 36

 

Suggested electives for an MS Finance with an Actuarial Science Career Track: 

Course Hours

Students must choose one of the following:

EXST 7003 - Statistical Inference I
EXST 7004 - Experimental Statistics I
EXST 7005 - Statistical Techniques I

4

FIN 4850 Financial Derivatives (Fall only) 3
FIN 7400 Financial Risk Management (Spring only) 3
FIN 7633 Financial Markets 3
FIN 7719 Advanced Financial Management 3
FIN 7826 Investment Analysis and Portfolio Theory 3

Students must choose one of the following:

FIN 7900 - Independent Study in Finance
FIN 7930 - Finance Internship

3
MATH 4050 Interest Theory (Fall only) prereq: MATH 3355 5
MATH 4056 Mathematical Statistics (Fall only) prereq: MATH 3355 3
MATH 4058 Elementary Stochastic Processes (Spring only) prereq: MATH 2085 3
MATH 4153 Finite Dimensional Vector Spaces (Spring only) prereq: MATH 2057 or 2058 or 2085 3
Total 36

Suggested electives for an MS Finance with a Corporate Finance Career Track: 

Course Hours
FIN 4830 Analysis of Corporate Financial Statements 3
FIN 7400 Financial Risk Management (Spring only) 3
FIN 7633 Financial Markets 3
FIN 7719 Advanced Financial Management 3
FIN 7826 Investment Analysis and Portfolio Theory 3
ACCT 7235
Fraud Auditing (Fall only)
3
Finance Electives 3
General Electives 15
Total 36

Suggested electives for an MS Finance with an Economics Career Track: 

Course Hours
FIN 7633 Financial Markets 3
FIN 7719 Advanced Financial Management 3
FIN 7826 Investment Analysis and Portfolio Theory 3
Finance Electives 9
Economics Electives 18
Total 36

 

Suggested electives for an MS Finance with an Information Systems and Decision Sciences Career Track: 

Course Hours
FIN 7633 Financial Markets 3
FIN 7719 Advanced Financial Management 3
FIN 7826 Investment Analysis and Portfolio Theory 3
ACCT 7235 Fraud Auditing (Fall Only) 3
Finance Electives 6
ISDS Electives 18
Total 36

Suggested electives for an MS Finance with an Internal Audit Career Track: 

Course Hours
ACCT 7231 Internship in Internal Auditing (Optional) 3
ACCT 7232 Case Studies in Internal Audit (Summer only) 3
ACCT 7233 Graduate Internal Auditing I (internal audit students only; Spring only) 3
ACCT 7234 Operational Auditing (Fall only) 3
FIN 7633 Financial Markets 3
FIN 7719 Advanced Financial Management 3
FIN 7826 Investment Analysis and Portfolio Theory 3
Finance Electives 9
General Electives 6
Total 36

 

Suggested electives for an MS Finance with an Investments Career Track: 

Course Hours
FIN 4828 Security Analysis and Portfolio Management (Spring only) 3
FIN 4830 Analysis of Corporate Financial Statements 3
FIN 4850 Financial Derivatives (Fall only) 3
FIN 7310 Real Estate Financial Decisions 3
FIN 7400 Financial Risk Management (Spring only) 3
FIN 7633 Financial Markets 3
FIN 7719 Advanced Financial Management 3
FIN 7720 Topics in business Finance (Asset Management) 3
FIN 7826 Investment Analysis and Portfolio Theory 3
FIN 7845 Student Managed Investment Fund 3
General Electives 6
Total 36

 

Suggested electives for an MS Finance with a Statistics Career Track: 

Course Hours
FIN 7633 Financial Markets 3
FIN 7719 Advanced Financial Management 3
FIN 7826 Investment Analysis and Portfolio Theory 3
ACCT 7235 Fraud Auditing (Fall Only) 3
Finance Electives 6
Statistics Electives 18
Total 36

 

 

We admit students in both fall and spring semesters. For admissions, we look at the entire application package, including transcripts, rather than focusing on any one test score. We target a 3.2 (on a 4.0 scale) undergraduate grade point average and a 600 or better on the GMAT (the code for LSU is 6373), with a balance between the verbal and quantitative sections. For Fall 2021, we will waive the GMAT requirement for well-qualified candidates ( >3.5 GPA and good references are required). 

We encourage but do not require work experience.   

The MS Finance program at LSU is small, with a total census of around 25. We usually accept between five and ten students each semester.

Since the curriculum is tailored to each applicant's needs, we require that you have already established a career goal and reasons for seeking the MS Finance degree. This information should be included in your statement of purpose on the graduate school application form and used to determine your program of study. 

Letters of recommendation are also an important part of the assessment process. We use them to help us determine the applicant's likelihood of success both in the program and after graduation. We do not require specific forms for these letters; the respondent should write on standard letterhead. 

International applicants must also provide an official TOEFL score (the code for LSU is also 6373) of at least 550 on the paper-based exam, 213 on the computer-based exam, or 79 on the internet-based exam to be considered for admission. 

The applicant's undergraduate degree should be equivalent to that from a four-year accredited U.S. institution. Applicants should have successfully completed the core requirements for a business degree, roughly the equivalent of at least a comprehensive undergraduate minor in business administration:  calculus, micro-economics, macro-economics, one year of accounting including financial accounting, statistics through regression and hypothesis testing, business law, principles of marketing, principles of management, principles of finance, and either production management or operations research. Applicants should also be proficient in office applications software (i.e., word processor, spreadsheet, and presentation). 

Students seeking the MS Finance degree must meet all degree requirements specified by the Pinkie Gordon Lane Graduate School as well as specific departmental requirements outlined in the MS Finance Admissions section.

Prospective students should send all applicant documents and materials to the Pinkie Gordon Lane Graduate School. Applicants should be sure to include:

  • résumé
  • letters of recommendation
  • copies of the applicant's GMAT and TOEFL (international only) scores

This site also contains much information about the admissions process. The Pinkie Gordon Lane Graduate School sets the deadline of May 15 for Fall admission and October 15 for Spring admission but advises international students to submit their application at least ten months in advance of enrolling.

View tuition and fee estimates published yearly by LSU. The LSU International Services Office publishes estimates for standard living expenses including tuition and fees, view expense information for the current year

We currently do not offer any assistantships for the masters program for the coming academic year.

In addition to the standard MS Finance program, we offer alternate paths to obtaining a master's degree in finance.

 

Contact Us

Department of Finance

2900 Business Education Complex
501 South Quad Dr.
Baton Rouge, LA 70803
225-578-6291
finance@lsu.edu

 

Clifford Stephens

MS Finance Program Advisor
2934 Business Education Complex N.
225-578-6291
csteph5@lsu.edu