Masters Program

The Master of Finance (MFIN) is a 9-month graduate program designed to quickly prepare students for the finance industry. It has selective admissions, diverse student backgrounds, & a flexible, intense curriculum.

Master of Finance

The Master of Finance (MFIN) is a one academic year (9-month) graduate program with applied learning to prepare students for industry. Many recruiters search for new hires who can create and build value quickly, often with limited on-the-job training. The MFIN program prepares students to exceed these expectations in an intense, but also encouraging, academic environment.

Our students come from a wide variety of academic backgrounds – both within and outside business undergraduate studies. Several students arrive to MFIN from engineering, economics, accounting, psychology, finance, among other areas. Admissions standards are selective – for the incoming 2024–25 cohort, our admit rate was roughly 32%. The admissions team screens for top students with:

  • an analytical mindset
  • a passion for the financial industry
  • the ability to succeed in the classroom as both a student and a colleague
  • the ability to place well after graduation 

A brief “waterfall” of the incoming 2024–25 cohort: 282 total completed applications with 91 admitted and 47 deposits. Total applications increased 48% year-over-year reflecting the increased awareness of the MFIN program and the brand’s reputation – the trends are positive.

Like many 9-month masters programs across the nation, the MFIN program is relatively young. Our first class (2020) had 19 students. We have an unwavering focus on quality candidates. In 2021, we moved to 25 students, in 2022 to 26 students, and in 2023 to 32 students. For last year’s cohort (2024), we had 43 students.

The basic demographics of our incoming class (47 deposits) are as follows: 57% domestic students and 43% international. For the incoming international students, 50% have a U.S.–based undergraduate education, while 50% have degrees outside the U.S. These percentages are relatively consistent with previous years. Penn State undergrads represent 51% of our incoming deposits, compared to 40% last year. Women comprise of roughly 15% of our incoming class, compared to 37% last year. Underrepresented Minorities (URM) students comprise of roughly 15% of our incoming class, compared to 4.6% last year. With a young history and the small sample sizes of admits and enrollees, trends based on percentages are difficult to interpret; however, our team analyzes the portfolio of applicants to identify ways that our communications teams can expand our reach and messages.

Curriculum

Several courses in the MFIN program follow a “Module” structure that consists of two 2-hour class periods per week for seven weeks. While this structure contributes to the relative intensity of the program, it also allows for curricular flexibility. The MFIN program’s fundamental goal is to prepare students to succeed in industry, and our team constantly examines options that help with the academic design. For instance, in the Spring of 2024, several MFIN students enrolled in FIN 478 with Dr. Greg Filbeck. This online (optional) course in Advanced Financial Analysis is designed to help students master the material associated with the CFA Level 1 exam. In the Spring of 2025, we are offering a new Advanced Financial Modeling course that combines spreadsheet modeling and programming in VBA and Python. Our plan is to ultimately replace this class with REST 575, which is a rigorous course in R programming and statistical analysis, but not as aligned with finance industry needs.

The MFIN program’s course numbers and names are shown below, and we are happy to share with you the syllabi. The MFIN program recently submitted its detailed application for the CFA Institute University Affiliate Program, and roughly 86% (73 / 85) of the CFA Candidate Body of Knowledge (trademarked) is covered in our core curriculum.

Recent Job Placements

Our Career Services team works diligently to provide the MFIN students with coaching, advice, and opportunities. We do not yet have comparable statistics on job placements for the class of 2024, but for the classes of 2021 – 2023, roughly 84% of students accepted a full-time offer within six-months post-graduation with an average salary around $75,500. There were no notable trends over those three years, but domestic students tend to have slightly higher placement percentages than international students. Companies’ sponsorship policies and regulations likely play a role, but the MFIN international students have many opportunities.

For the recent class of 2024, we have exciting placement stories:

  • Venture Capital in San Francisco
  • Corporate Finance
  • Restructuring Consultant in NYC
  • Supply Chain Consulting in NYC
  • Financial Accounting in Philadelphia
  • Risk Management in Tennessee
  • Insurance and Finance in New Jersey
  • Graduate School in business analytics
  • Hedge Fund in Connecticut
  • Personal Finance Advisor

Once we hear more and obtain the comparable placement statistics for the class of 2024, we are happy to share them with you.

Incoming Student Highlight

The incoming MFIN cohort is extremely strong. Many students stand out, but Veronica Knipp has a particularly fun and unique story. Veronica was accepted to Penn State and very much wanted to attend for her undergraduate studies, but when she graduated high school in 2020, with the uncertainty in education environments during COVID, she decided to stay close to her family in Austin, TX. Veronica now has her degree in Chemistry from Texas A&M.

Much of Veronica’s desire to attend Penn State stems from her mother’s fondness of Penn State and the wonderful experiences that she had while earning her MBA here. Veronica’s mother, Wanda Molinary-Knipp, was born and raised in Puerto Rico. When she attended Penn State, her idea was that she would be in the U.S. for two years and return, but her time here was life-altering. She says that the Penn State faculty, staff, and fellow students gave her the confidence and desire to stay and work in Marketing in the U.S. She’s been here ever since. Wanda’s energy and passion for Penn State is difficult to put into writing. She’s very active in the alumni community and cheers for all Penn Staters to succeed. She’s extremely excited that Veronica is entering the MFIN program and says that it’s the best excuse to visit State College, see her daughter, connect with others, and watch a few Penn State football games.

Veronica continues to love Chemistry, and her most enjoyable undergraduate business classes were in Finance. With the MFIN program, she hopes to use her unique combination of knowledge and skills to enter a managerial, finance-related role at a top chemical, biochemical, food industry or related company. Veronica is a phenomenal addition to the MFIN cohort, and she and Wanda’s passion for a Penn State education, the career services, community support and alumni networking should be inspiring to all of us.

Professor Jason Lunn is currently the head of the Master of Finance program.