FAQ

A Master of Finance is a specialized graduate degree designed to develop the financial, analytical, and technical skills needed to launch or accelerate a career in finance. Unlike a broad-based MBA, a Master of Finance goes deeper into financial markets, investment strategies, financial modeling, valuation, risk management, and other areas of finance.

Goizueta’s Master of Finance combines rigorous finance education with hands-on, experiential learning so you can put what you learn into practice. In as few as 10 months, you’ll build the technical expertise, strategic perspective, and professional skills to take the next step in your finance career.

Goizueta’s Master of Finance brings together rigorous finance education, hands-on experience, and a strong connection to the finance industry. Rather than learning finance only through lectures and textbooks, you’ll apply concepts in our Finance Lab, work with real-time market data and professional platforms, tackle project-based challenges, and engage with finance practitioners.

The program was created with the needs of the finance industry in mind and combines financial expertise with the technology and analytical skills increasingly demanded by employers. You’ll gain experience with tools such as Bloomberg, FactSet, LSEG, Python, R Studio, and Power BI while building the communication and strategic skills needed to turn analysis into action.

Goizueta’s Master of Finance is designed for analytically minded, early-career professionals who want to build a career in finance or accelerate their path within the industry. You may be coming directly from an undergraduate program or have experience in finance or another field.

We welcome students from a wide range of academic backgrounds—including business, economics, computer science, engineering, mathematics, the sciences, social sciences, and humanities. Prior knowledge of finance or economics is not required. What matters is your ability to think analytically, work with quantitative information, communicate effectively, collaborate with others, and demonstrate a strong interest in finance.

A finance lab is an exciting, interactive professional space that allows students to experience the pace of live global markets 24/7. 

Goizueta's finance lab serves as the hub of the masters in finance experience and provides students immersive, action-based learning in a professional trading floor setting. You will experience the pace of global markets and trading products in real time and be able to test out the models you have learned in the classroom using state-of-the-art tools (Bloomberg, Python, R, and Power BI), real-time market data, and trading platforms. Class time  is spent “on the job” in the Finance Lab, where you will mirror the position of a Wall Street analyst as you work through four divisions of an international bank or fund.

Absolutely. Prior finance or economics coursework is not required. Goizueta welcomes students from a broad range of academic disciplines, provided they demonstrate strong quantitative and qualitative analytical skills.

Students have entered the program from fields including computer science, engineering, mathematics, the sciences, social sciences, humanities, economics, and business. Your academic background can be different from your classmates; what connects the community is analytical ability and an enthusiasm for finance.

Internship or professional experience—whether in finance or another field—can strengthen your application and enrich your experience in the program, but it is not required. The Master of Finance is designed for early-career candidates, including those coming straight from undergrad, as well as those with up to two years of finance work experience or those with up to 8 years of non-finance experience looking to transition into finance.

Yes, Goizueta’s Master of Finance is a STEM-designated degree. The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) allows graduates of STEM programs on F-1 visas, who work for an E-Verify employer, the opportunity to work full-time in the US. In addition to the normal Optional Practical Training (OPT) period of 12 months for international students, a STEM degree makes possible a 24-month extension of post-completion OPT, offering total potential eligibility of up to 36 months.

No, we do not accept transfer credits.

Our Master’s in Finance program is an intense, full-time commitment—whether you choose the 10-month or 16-month option. Students should not plan to work or travel extensively during the fall and spring semesters. Winter break provides a good opportunity for travel. Students in the 16-month format should plan to use the summer term for a professional experience, such as an internship, rather than travel.

Emory offers graduate professional housing in venues on the edges of campus targeted to students’ needs. Emory provides shuttles to these units. In addition, the Emory area offers a wide variety of attractive and affordable housing options including apartment complexes and rental homes. Admitted students receive more information on housing following admission to the program. You will find that Atlanta offers the access and opportunities of other major U.S. cities but at a much more affordable cost of living.

You can complete the Master of Finance in as few as 10 months, beginning in August and graduating the following May. The 10-month option is designed for students who want to move quickly into the finance industry and complete their graduate degree in an accelerated format.

You can also choose a 16-month option that includes a summer internship and nine additional elective credit hours during a second fall semester. This gives you additional time to gain professional experience and deepen your knowledge in areas of interest. It can be a good fit if you want more time to explore a particular area of finance, expand your technical expertise, or gain internship experience before graduation.

The curriculum builds your understanding of finance from the fundamentals of global markets and trading through increasingly advanced topics in financial analysis, investment strategies, modeling, forecasting, risk management, M&A, and global currencies.

You’ll also have opportunities to explore areas such as FinTech, corporate finance, and real estate through electives. Throughout the program, you’ll develop both the financial expertise and technical skills needed to analyze complex business and market challenges.

Experiential learning is built into the Goizueta Master of Finance experience. You’ll take concepts from the classroom and apply them through hands-on work in the Finance Lab, project-based learning, industry engagement, off-site experiences, and collaboration with practitioners.

Rather than simply studying how finance works, you’ll practice applying financial analysis, developing recommendations, communicating insights, and solving problems in settings designed to mirror the work of finance professionals.

You’ll develop financial modeling, analytical, and data-driven decision-making skills while working with tools used in the finance industry. Depending on your coursework and areas of interest, you may work with Bloomberg, FactSet, LSEG, Python, R Studio, and Power BI.

The program integrates technology throughout the curriculum so you can build both the financial knowledge and technical fluency needed in a rapidly evolving industry.

Goizueta’s Master of Finance is a CFA Institute University Affiliation Program. The curriculum broadly aligns with the CFA Program and incorporates ethics-based investment education.

Students may also benefit from the program’s partnership with the Atlanta CFA Chapter, including opportunities such as CFA exam preparation resources, scholarships, chapter programming, and other professional experiences..

A Master of Finance can prepare you for a wide range of careers across financial services, corporate finance, consulting, and emerging areas of the industry.

Goizueta graduates pursue roles in areas such as investment banking, equity research, corporate finance and FP&A, financial consulting, valuations and deals advisory, risk management, FinTech, private equity, and market analysis.

Yes. The program is designed for early-career candidates, including students who have built experience outside of finance and want to transition into the industry. Whether you are coming directly from an undergraduate program or bringing professional experience from another field, the curriculum provides a focused foundation in finance while helping you develop the technical and professional skills needed for your next career move.

Career preparation begins before you even start classes. You’ll work with the Goizueta career team to develop a personalized career strategy based on your strengths, interests, goals, and target opportunities.

Throughout the program, career support includes one-on-one coaching, mentoring, professional development workshops, networking events, career panels, employer and alumni engagement, mock interviews, resume preparation, and interview training.

Recruiting preparation is integrated throughout the program. You’ll work with a dedicated career team to identify target roles and companies, develop your professional brand, build your network, prepare for interviews, and understand the finance recruiting process.

You’ll also have opportunities to connect with employers, alumni, finance professionals, and other members of the Goizueta community through networking events, panels, speakers, and other career programming.

Goizueta Master of Finance graduates pursue careers across financial services, consulting, technology, and corporate organizations. The program's recent graduates have moved into roles spanning investment banking, investment management, equity research, corporate finance, consulting, risk, private equity, and other finance functions.

Past hiring companies include BlackRock, Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan, the New York Stock Exchange, Truist, USB, Deloitte, and KPMG, among others.

Goizueta is ranked among the top-20 in the U.S. for employability of graduates by QS.

See career outcome details.

Yes, you may submit your application whenever you are ready. It will be reviewed in the first round following the date you submit. For example: If you submit on November 15, you have missed the Round 1 deadline and your application would be reviewed in Round 2.

Yes, regardless of whether your credits from other institutions were accepted by the institution where you received your degree, we must receive a transcript from each post-secondary institution attended.

We will accept scanned unofficial transcripts for evaluative purposes. Please upload all transcripts to the application with your essays and résumé. If you are admitted to the program you will be required to submit official transcripts with your enrollment deposit.

Applicants to Goizueta Business School's Master of Finance program may choose whether or not to submit the Graduate Management Admissions Test (GMAT) or the Graduate Record Examination (GRE). To apply with a GMAT or GRE test score, simply add those test scores in the appropriate section of the online application. 

Your request to your recommenders can be sent prior to submitting your application. Once you log into your application, fill out the recommender section and then select "notify" for each recommender. Your recommender will be notified of your request via email. Please tell them to expect the email and to check their spam box if they do not see it within a day. If the request is not there, you should contact us via email.

We prefer recommenders use our online recommendation form, but they may submit a letter that addresses our questions as long as they also include the evaluation grid, which can be downloaded from the hardcopy form. They may scan their letter which should include their business card and email it to us or send to our mailing address:

All interviews are by invitation only after review of an application. All students who are admitted to our program have been interviewed. We offer in-person interviews for those who are local, but most often interview by a web-based tool similar to Zoom/Skype.

The interview is conducted by a member of the Admissions Committee and gives us an opportunity to get to know you better and may serve to answer some questions that were not addressed in your application file. You should plan to spend 30 minutes with your interviewer. If you are interviewing in person, please leave sufficient time to arrive at the interview location at least 20 minutes prior to your interview.

An application is considered complete when we have received:

• a completed application form
• the application fee
• your essays
• transcripts for every institution attended
• your recommendations
• official standardized test score and TOEFL test score (if applicable)

You will need to email us directly. Please forward a copy of your receipt with the date you submitted payment and the card holder's name. If you did not receive a receipt following online payment, please contact your credit card company and verify the charge. If the charge is not verified, please resubmit payment.

This is not an uncommon situation for international students. Most U.S. transcripts have a notation included that says, "degree conferred" or "degree issued." If your transcript does not state that your degree was issued, please include documentation that your degree was issued by your university. If you have completed the checklist in your application and yet still receive a message that your application is not complete, please email the admissions team.

Detailed instructions for checking the status of your application will be sent with confirmation that your application was received.

Candidates who are waitlisted in one round will be moved to the next round and the application will be reassessed. You may check your status online on the next decision notification date. If your waitlist status did not change, it means that you have remained on the waitlist, and your file will be reassessed in the next round.

Yes, loans are available and students may borrow up to the budgeted cost of attendance minus any scholarship. Loans include the Federal Stafford Loan, Graduate Plus Loan, Private Loans, and the International Student Loan. The International Student Loan does NOT require a U.S. co-signer.

All scholarships are merit-based and are determined based on the strength of the application. The Admissions Committee looks at academics, work experience, and demonstrated leadership in undergraduate and post graduate extracurricular activities.

There is no application for scholarships. All admitted candidates who submitted a completed application, including all recommendations, test scores, transcripts, and essays are automatically considered for merit-based scholarship. We announce merit scholarship awards when we communicate our admission decision.

Our program is highly competitive and not everyone is awarded scholarship. If your admission decision does not mention a scholarship, it means that you were not awarded a scholarship.