Curriculum
The Cox MSF is designed to provide students with a broad and intensive education in the finance field. Its focus is to provide specialized skills that enhance finance based employment prospects. Graduates will be positioned well with the knowledge and skills required by employers for entry-level financial analyst positions. To distinguish the Cox MSF from other programs offered by top graduate business schools, we have built the program around four areas of unique competency: We offer a course in hedge funds, which is aligned with our Alternative Assets Management Center, we offer courses in energy risk management and energy project management, which builds on an area of faculty strength and connects with our Maguire Energy Institute, we utilize the Kitt Trading Center in several courses including a course on markets and trading. The Kitt Trading Center is built around on-line and real-time trading and financial information processing. Finally, we connect some of our class applications to the management of the Cox and Underwood student-managed investment portfolios, which are real-time investment portfolios managed by Cox students.
The 30-hour SMU Cox MSF Program is taken on a full-time basis over four modules (two semesters). All SMU Cox graduate classes are offered in seven week modules (half-semesters) with each class receiving two credit-hours with two modules offered in fall and two in spring term. The ideal applicant to our program will be familiar with the basic introductory subjects covered in finance, accounting, economics and statistics at the undergraduate level. But we describe below a Summer Boot Camp that provides familiarity in these subjects before starting in the fall. Ambitious students may also be able to make up deficiencies while in the program.
Course offerings for the Master of Finance (MSF):
Degree requirements: Minimum 30 hours
• Foundation Courses (F): All 20 hours offered each year
• Applications/Specializations (S): At least 10 hours from list offered each year.
(For more information about the courses, click on 'Fall Term' and 'Spring Term' Tabs above)