Information Session Spring 2010

Masters of Science in Finance Program Overview

•36 Graduate Credits (12 Courses), comprised of:

• 4 Foundation Courses (required)

+• 8 FINA Electives

Program Summary

•ACCT 6331

•FINA 6387

•STAT 6360

•FINA 6335

Foundation Courses

•ACCT 6331, STAT 6360 & FINA 6387 are pre-requisites for FINA 6335

•MSF Students will be allowed to take these concurrently (for students who wish to take more than 2 courses in the first semester)

•FINA 6335 is the pre-requisite for all 7000-level courses

Comments on Foundation Courses

• Students with extensive and strong preparation in finance (e.g., prior MBA, BBA with a high GPA and GMAT) can petition a pre-requisite waiver for STAT 6360, FINA 6387, and FINA 6335.

• ACCT 6331 will not be waived except under exceptional circumstances; you can take ACCT 6331 concurrently with 7000-level courses.

• Macroeconomics or Financial Systems type of courses are not equivalent to FINA 6335.

• Taking 7000-level courses pre-maturely is self-defeating: many electives are very challenging and it is difficult to get a high grade.

Comments on Foundation Courses

• Generally, it is a good idea to take FINA 7330 (advanced corporate finance) and FINA 7320 (Investments) prior to taking other electives;

• However, there is more flexibility in the sequence of electives than foundation courses;

• You can take as many FINA 7397 Selected Topics courses as desired, as long as they have different titles;

Advanced Courses & Electives

•Selected New 7397 courses:

• Private Equity and Investment Banking• Strategy of International Project Finance• Techniques and Tactics of Project Finance• Financial Engineering• Financial Risk Management• Competitive Strategy and Real Options in Energy

Finance

Electives

•New 7397 courses:

• Financial Statement Analysis and Competitive Analysis

• Energy Insurance & Risk Management• Mergers, Acquisitions & Joint Ventures• Applied Projects in Finance • Economics of the Energy Value Chain • Upstream Economics• Downstream Economics

Electives

•Cougar Fund Program

•Numerous specializations in Finance are available(typically require 3 electives in a designated area)

Special Programs & Focus Areas

Waivers

• It is important to understand the difference between a waiver with substitution and a waiver without substitution

• Waiver with substitution: If you waive a course but have to substitute another course in its place

• Example: You use an undergraduate course to waive a foundation course; in this case, you waive the pre-req but have to substitute an elective for it

Waivers

• Waiver without substitution: If you use prior graduate work in finance or statistics or economics to waive a foundation course, then you can get up to 3 waivers without substitution; i.e., up to 9 graduate credits from an earlier graduate degree can be recognized toward the MSF

• Example: If you have an MBA, you can get a waiver without substitution for STAT 6360, FINA 6387, and FINA 6335. For the MSF, you then have to take ACCT 6331 and 8 electives

• Ranked #8 in the US in an authoritative new ranking based on the research productivity and impact of faculty;

• Top-ranked (based on research output) finance department in the Gulf coast;

• Faculty have doctorates from Chicago, Stanford, Michigan, Princeton, Cornell, UCLA, UC-Berkeley, NYU, Univ. of British Columbia, Purdue, Michigan State;

• Most of the senior faculty have previously taught at top-10 business schools.

Finance Department Facts

• The first general admission MSF class entered in the Fall of 2005;

• In the past two years, the average class size has been 45

• Average GMAT was 650; Average GPA was 3.5

• Significant number of the entering class had 700+ GMAT or 750+ quantitative GRE scores

Stats on Recent MS Finance Classes

Admission Process1. Online application2. $75 application fee required for all students, $150 for

international students3. GMAT Test4. TOEFL for International Students5. Official Transcripts6. Professional Resume7. Goal Statement8. 2 letters of recommendation

*International Applicants are required to submit additional paperwork which can be found at: http://www.bauer.uh.edu/graduate/ms-finance/checklist.asp

Application Deadline: April 1 for International Students May 1 for Domestic Students

• Dr. Praveen Kumar, Chair, Department of Financepkumar@uh.edu

• Dr. Ramon Rabinovitch, MSF Directorramon@uh.edu

• Annice Butler, Academic Advisor abutler@uh.edu

Marian Newman, Academic Advisormnewman@uh.edu

• Dalia Pineda, Director of Student Servicesdrpineda@uh.edu

• Adeline Garduno, MSF Admissions assistantaevillegas@uh.edu

• Patricia Garza, MSF Admissions assistantpmeza@uh.edu

• Michelle Poullard, Director of Operationsmpoullard@uh.edu

Significant People

Questions??

Thank you for attending our

M.S. Finance Information Session