Online Master's Degrees in Finance

Full-time students can earn this degree in one to two years of study. Both the MS and the MBA offers curriculum that covers advanced financial management practices, including market analysis and risk assessment. The MS often entails a deeper study of quantitative topics, such as portfolio management and financial modeling, whereas the MBA typically explores topics that impart knowledge for running corporations and managing employees.

Possible MS in Finance courses include:

• Real Estate Finance: Introduces students to investment strategies for real estate, including lease analysis, financing alternatives, and proper valuation of property. Students also learn how to use ARGUS software to project cash flow, analyze transactions and value assets. This software is an industry standard, and learning it helps students understand how real estate brokers, investors, and appraisers evaluate property.

• Portfolio Management: This course gives students an advanced study of financial markets from the perspective of an investor. Fixed-income securities, equity, market efficiency, and tax structures are studied. Students learn to compile and manage portfolios based on past stock performance and patterns in market fluctuations, among other factors. 

Some examples of possible MBA courses with a concentration in finance include:

• Financial Policy for Corporations: This course examines compensation plans, corporate valuation, dividend policy, and risk evaluation. Students assess long-term and short-term decisions, such as financing investments with equity or debt, and when to pay dividends to shareholders. Students combine financial theory with empirical research to materialize various approaches to maximize a company’s shareholder value.

• Management and Analysis of Risk: Students learn about derivative securities, including futures, forwards, swaps, and options. They also learn about the tools and financial instruments used to measure and predict risk, including dividend policy and net present value. Students valuate and assess risk of daily business operations, such as the buying and selling of various assets and commodities.

Those who earn an online master’s degree in finance may better qualify for financial management positions. These individuals are responsible for preparing financial statements, supervising analysts, and helping with financial decisions. The master’s in finance is geared toward functional roles, such as cash managers, risk managers, controllers, or insurance managers. Cash managers, for example, monitor the amount of cash that exits and enters a company. They also have to make decisions on whether to take out a loan, or to make investments, depending on the amount of cash a company is holding at a given time.

Students who earn the online MBA in finance typically pursue administrative and supervisorial roles, such as that of a controller. These financial managers put together forecasts of a company’s financial standing. They are also in charge of any reports that the government requests. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (bls.gov) estimates the field of financial management will grow by 9 percent nationwide from 2010 to 2020.

Sources:
"Financial Managers," Occupational Outlook Handbook (2012-13 Edition), Bureau of Labor Statistics, http://www.bls.gov/ooh/management/financial-managers.htm