- Academic Programs
- Faculty & Research
- Alumni
- Executive Programs
- Corporate Connection
- Newsroom
- About MIT Sloan
The M.Fin. curriculum consists of required fundamental and advanced subjects, restricted electives, a proseminar and general electives. Students have an option of writing a 24-unit thesis or 12-unit independent study, which may replace one or more of the program’s general electives, pending the approval by the Faculty Director.
MIT’s motto, mens et manus (mind and hand), is very much a working credo. Putting ideas into action is the fundamental principle underlying the Institute’s approach to knowledge creation, education, and research. In the M.Fin. Program, mens et manus manifests itself in a rigorous hands-on curriculum that offers students the chance to build a deep reservoir of finance knowledge and immediately put that knowledge to work in the world. M.Fin. students participate in many action learning experiences including, but not limited to, Proseminars and a Research Practicum.
Proseminars offer students an outstanding opportunity to work with leading industry practitioners on authentic industry problems. The two proseminars for M.Fin. students—financial engineering and financial management—help students bridge the gap between theory and practice and introduce them to the broader financial community. The Finance Research Practicum similarly offers an opportunity to work on projects proposed by external sponsors, but somewhat more intensely. The projects are motivated by real business problems of the sponsors and provide an opportunity for students to apply skills they have learned in class in a business setting.
Many of the required and elective M.Fin. courses carry 9 or 12 units of H-level credit. Thus any M.Fin. student who satisfies the program requirements will easily meet the Institute requirement of 66 units of credit, including a minimum of 42 H-level units, in order to receive the Master's degree. To graduate, students must attain at least a B (4.0) GPA (4.0/5.0) by the time of graduation.
M.Fin. students may take a maximum of 66 units per semester; no more than 54 of those units may be from Sloan (15.xxx).
Except in the case of core requirements (Accounting and Finance Theory I and II), coursework completed at MIT prior to matriculation into the Master of Finance program may not be applied toward the Master of Finance degree without the approval of the M.Fin. faculty director.
Required Fundamental Subjects:
| Title | Course # |
|---|---|
| Finance Theory I (15) | 15.415 |
| Corporate Financial Accounting (12) | 15.516 |
15.415 Finance Theory is an intensive Summer session offered only to M.Fin. students. MIT students who take both 15.401 and 15.402 prior to enrollment in the M.Fin., and earn a minimum B average in the two courses, may be permitted to waive the Summer session.
M.Fin. students must register for Accounting in the Summer, under 15.516, for graduate level course credit. The undergraduate course number (15.501) will be acceptable only if the course was taken as part of an MIT undergraduate degree program.
Required Advanced Subject:
| Title | Course # |
|---|---|
| Analytics of Finance (9) | 15.450 |
15.450 covers the mathematical, statistical, and computational methods used in advanced quantitative financial analysis. All topics are presented in the context of financial applications.
Restricted Electives:
Typically two (but no less than one) per term to meet the required minimum of four from:
| Title | Course # |
|---|---|
| Practice of Finance: Advanced Corporate Risk Management (9) | 15.423 |
| Entrepreneurial Finance (9) | 15.431 |
| Investments (9) | 15.433 |
| Advanced Corporate Finance (9) | 15.434 |
| Options and Futures Markets (9) | 15.437 |
| Fixed Income (9) | 15.438 |
| Security Design and Corporate Financing (not offered in 2011-2012) (9) | 15.522 |
| Analytics of Finance II (9) | 15.460 |
| Business Analysis Using Financial Statements (9) | 15.535 |
| Mergers and Acquisitions (6) | 15.545 |
| Valuation (9) | 15.S02 |
| Special Seminar in Management: Applied Fixed Income and Speculative Strategies (2011-2012 only) (9) | 15.S05 |
| Functional & Strategic Finance (Spring) (9) | 15.S12S |
| Retirement Finance, Lifecycle Investing, and Asset Management (9) | 15.S14 |
M.Fin. students are required to take at least one Restricted Elective each term. Restricted electives must be taken while enrolled in the M.Fin. program. Courses taken while an undergraduate at MIT may not be counted toward the M.Fin. requirements.
Proseminars:
One from:
| Title | Course # |
|---|---|
| Proseminar in Financial Engineering (6) | 15.451 |
| Proseminar in Financial Management (6) | 15.452 |
The proseminars are project-based subjects where students work in teams on current problems set by finance professionals.
Finance Research Practicum:
| Title | Course # |
|---|---|
| Finance Research Practicum | 15.S26 |
M.Fin. students have the option of participating in the Finance Research Practicum, an Action Learning course that offers a full-time immersion experience during IAP and meets once per week during the first half of the spring term. The course is focused on working in a team on a finance project or research question posed by an external sponsor and reporting back to the class one’s findings. Some projects are done onsite at the sponsor during the full-time period in January; some are done on campus; and some are a mix.
General Electives:
M.Fin. students must take a minimum of three General Electives, or a minimum of four if 15.501 was taken while an undergraduate at MIT.
At least two of the General Electives must carry 9 or more credit units. Remaining General Electives must carry at least 6 units of credit. All General Electives must be taken for letter grade credit if a grading option is available.
General Electives may include any of the Restricted Electives, the Finance Research Practicum, and/-or the Proseminar not already taken for program credit. View a list of additional acceptable Finance General Electives.
Also, any course from Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (6.xxx), Economics (14.xxx), Sloan (15.xxx), or Mathematics (18.xxx) is acceptable, provided that it meets the following criteria:
Courses labeled “with permission” are typically intended for doctoral students. In such cases, the student is responsible for contacting the instructor to request approval to enroll. The M.Fin. program cannot guarantee enrollment in any course.
A maximum of two non-Sloan courses may be counted as General Electives. General Electives must be taken while enrolled in the M.Fin. Program. With the exception of Finance Theory and Accounting, courses taken while an undergraduate at MIT may not be counted toward the M.Fin. requirements.
Listed below is an outline of the mathematical background that we recommend in order to be successful in the most challenging courses in the program.
Linear algebra: Basic topics, including: matrix/vector notation, operations on matrices and vectors, determinants, eigenvalues and eigenvectors, quadratic forms, systems of linear equations. At the level of Lang, Linear Algebra, 1987, 3rd Edn., Chapters 1-8.
Calculus: Multivariate differentiation and integration, function maximization. At the level of Larson and Edwards, Calculus, 2009, 9th Edn., Chapters 4, 13.
Probability: Law of large numbers, Central Limit Theorem, moments of distributions, conditional expectation and Bayes rule, commonly used distributions, multivariate distributions, independence. At the level of DeGroot and Schervish, Probability and Statistics, 2002, 3rd Edn., Chapters 1-5.
Statistics/Econometrics: Parameter estimation, confidence intervals, hypothesis tests, ordinary least squares, likelihood principle. At the level of DeGroot and Schervish, Probability and Statistics, 2002, 3rd Edn., Chapters 6-8, 10.
Computer literacy: Basic programming experience. We use Matlab. Java, C, VB, etc. would provide sufficient foundation for quickly learning Matlab features.
To assess the adequacy of your mathematical background, please use the following self-assessment test. If you experience difficulties in any particular area, we strongly recommend that you strengthen your skills through self-study or formal coursework prior to enrolling in the M.Fin. program.
Test: http://db.tt/OrvKxKQa
Solutions: http://db.tt/Oo3POeIu
Summer Session
M.Fin. Fall Term
M.Fin. January – IAP (optional)
M.Fin. Spring Term
There will be many variations of this schedule. An MIT student entering the M.Fin. program can take 15.401 and 15.402 in the Fall and Spring of the senior year, respectively, and then follow a schedule similar to the one outlined above once enrolled full-time in the M.Fin. program.
MIT Sloan Innovation Period (SIP)
The MIT Sloan Innovation Period (SIP) is a one-week period at the midpoint of each semester during which students participate in a wide variety of workshops. SIP provides students and faculty with the opportunity to explore jointly, in a non-traditional setting, what makes MIT Sloan unique: exceptional research expertise, leadership acumen, and the hands-on application of knowledge.
M.Fin. participation in Fall SIP is optional. However, M.Fin. participation in the first three days of Spring SIP (week of March 19–23, 2012) is mandatory. The M.Fin. SIP sessions will focus on Ethics and Professionalism and Giving Voice to Values. Participation in the remaining days of Spring SIP is optional.
SIP course offerings vary by semester. A listing of workshops will be posted on the Sloanbid website prior to the start of bidding.
As with all MIT Sloan courses, regular classroom attendance and participation guidelines apply.
SIP workshops are not graded.
MIT Sloan's student body is a diverse, collaborative group who excel at teamwork and leadership.
© 2012 MIT SLOAN SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT