Chicago Booth Launches A Master In Finance, Its Second New Degree In 88 Years

The University of Chicago Booth School of Business announced a new Master of Finance program — its second new program announcement this year

In July, the University of Chicago Booth School of Business launched its first new degree program since before World War II, a Master in Management. Now, six months later, comes a second big announcement: On Tuesday (December 12), the Booth School rolled out a new Master of Finance degree, with studies beginning in fall 2024.

“Chicago Booth’s finance faculty are the best in the world,” says Madhav Rajan, Booth dean and George Shultz professor of accounting, in the school’s announcement of the new degree. “They developed modern finance theory and have shaped the course of financial knowledge and markets for more than 100 years. We are excited to bring our transformative approach — and the latest innovations in finance — to talented, analytical college graduates, jump-starting their careers and putting them at the frontier of this rapidly advancing field.”

The program will have both a standard 15-month track and an accelerated 10-month track. Applications are open now; the first deadline is January 25, 2024, and the second March 29, 2024. Tuition for the program has not been announced.

PROGRAM COMPRISED OF 13 COURSES & FOUR SPECIALIZATIONS

Booth’s Starr Marcello: “By combining a deep understanding of finance with the ability to communicate effectively and solve problems, our Master in Finance graduates will be prepared to succeed in their early jobs and far beyond”

Long considered a leader in finance education, Chicago Booth sent 32.6% of its MBA Class of 2023 into the field — down a bit from 2022, but more than any other MBA class since 2016. Finance grads this year made a median salary of $175K, with some in more specialized areas making more; the high salary for any Boothie in the Class of 2023 was a grad who went to work in private equity and reported a base salary of $247,500. Year in and out the school’s top recruiters include Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, Citigroup, and Morgan Stanley, among others.

The new Master in Finance program is only Booth’s second new program in 88 years. Here’s how Booth describes it in its press announcement:

“The program includes immersive orientation programming focused on career exploration and advising, opportunities to specialize in an area that will help ensure that students standout in the job market

“Students in Booth’s Master in Finance Program take four core courses — Investments, Corporation Finance, Data Analytics and Financial Accounting — as a cohort, along with nine electives for a total of 13 courses. There are five finance elective requirements, and students choose the remaining four electives from a large subset of MBA courses. Students also have the option of tailoring their finance electives to match their career goals by choosing one of four areas of specialization: Asset Management, Investment Banking, Fintech or Research in Finance.

“Career development is also woven throughout a student’s time in the program — starting even before classes do — and experiential opportunities such as internships and a Booth-sponsored Leaders in Finance Speaker Series, which will allow students to network with and connect to hiring managers at top financial firms.”

STUDENTS CAN TAKE DEEP DIVES INTO AI, BLOCKCHAIN, FINTECH

Students who complete the new Master in Finance will be “equipped with not only a profound understanding of this dynamic and rapidly evolving industry but also a diverse set of skills that go beyond the theoretical realm,” the school declares.

“One of the great features of this new program is that students can take courses that are really at the cutting edge of the technologies and advances that are disrupting the financial industry,” says Ralph S.J. Koijen, AQR Capital Management Distinguished Service professor of finance and a Fama Faculty Fellow, in the school’s announcement. “The option to take courses that delve deep into topics such as A.I., machine learning, big data, blockchain technology, fintech and current topics in investment banking — among many others — will give students an advantage in the market after they graduate.”

“We developed this transformative program to not only expand students’ quantitative skills, which are critical for excelling in the world of finance, but also to enhance their interpersonal and critical-thinking skills,” Starr Marcello, deputy dean for MBA Programs at Booth, says in a story about the new program on Booth’s website. “By combining a deep understanding of finance with the ability to communicate effectively and solve problems, our Master in Finance graduates will be prepared to succeed in their early jobs and far beyond.”

Learn more about the Booth Master in Finance here.

DON’T MISS BIG NEWS: ANOTHER M7 SCHOOL LAUNCHES A MASTER IN MANAGEMENT PROGRAM and MEDIAN PAY FOR CHICAGO BOOTH MBAs IS NOW OVER $200K