Master of Science in Financial Economics (MSFE)

The Master of Science in Financial Economics (MSFE) is designed as a terminal, professional degree in financial economics. The curriculum includes courses in the key areas of finance and the supporting areas of economics and quantitative methods. It is intended to prepare students for a wide range of careers both within and outside the financial industry, including risk management, asset management, macroeconomic and financial forecasting, trading, and financial and economic research.

Why an MSFE at Utah State University?

The MSFE if offered by the Jon M. Huntsman School of Business through the Department of Economics and Finance. Based on the maxim, if you do not have a focus, you do not have a strategy, the department has focused its faculty and related resources on financial economics and the supporting areas of quantitative analysis. The MSFE, therefore, is both unique and distinguished as a result of its disciplined focus on these areas of analysis.

Faculty

Since the fall of 2009 the department has hired ten new faculty members. Six of these individuals have extensive training in finance or financial-macroeconomics and are producing cutting-age research in these areas. The faculty includes three members with a the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation. It is unique to have so many members of a finance and economics faculty with professional credentials in addition to the more academic and research focused doctorate degree.

Visit the Economics and Finance Directory for additional information about individual members of our faculty.

Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA)

The MSFE curriculum is designed to help students pass the first CFA exam (i.e., Level I exam) at the end of their second semester in the program. The CFA designation is the most internationally recognized and credible credential for financial professionals and is earned by passing a series of analytically rigorous exams. The department has been providing competitive scholarships to undergraduate students to offset part of the cost of taking the exam. This scholarship program will be extended to MSFE students. Further, the department will make available study-guide material to help students prepare for the exam.

Bloomberg Terminals and Training

Bloomberg is synonymous with real-time financial information. Every major financial institution hosts Bloomberg terminals. Due to the expense, however, very few universities provide access to Bloomberg. The Department of Economics and Finance at the Huntsman School of Business is one of these select few. These terminals not only support class-room instruction and faculty research, but provide a means for students to become certified in the use of Bloomberg terminals– a skill that provides value to future employers on day one of your professional career.

A Research Portfolio

The MSFE program includes the requirement that each student complete a Plan B paper. It is a little unusual for a professional master’s degree to require a Plan B paper. But we think it is important for students to demonstrate that they have the creativity, discipline, and analytical ability necessary to complete such a project. Students will receive guidance as they write their papers through a faculty committee formed specifically for this purpose. The ideal student will have passed the Level 1 CFA exam, be Bloomberg certified, and completed a Plan B paper by the time they enter the job market with their freshly minted master’s in financial economics from the Huntsman School of Business.