B.S. Business Administration, Economics Concentration/M.S. Finance and Investment Management

University of North Carolina - Wilmington

This combined bachelor’s/master’s degree program is designed to provide qualified students the opportunity to complete both degree programs in under 5 years. A student will earn a Bachelor of Science (BS) in Business Administration with a concentration (BSBA) in Economics and a Master of Science (MS) in Finance & Investment Management (MSF).

BS of Business Administration Economics students must apply for admission to the 4+1 BS Economics/MS Finance program. Six (6) hours of courses taken at the 500-level will apply towards both degrees. Upon completion of the BS degree, students have the option to apply to the graduate school and continue progress towards the MSF degree.

Requirements: Completion of all degree requirements for both the BSBA. in Economics and the MSF with six credits of graduate-level courses that will count towards the finance concentration electives.

Rational for Proposed Program

This program is an opportunity for students who excel in economics and finance to pursue a specialized master’s program linked to the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation. The CFA Program is known for its rigor, and is described by The Economist this way:*

The Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) qualification is roughly equivalent to a specialised postgraduate finance degree, including a mixture of economics, ethics, law and accountancy. It is much liked by employers in financial services. Whereas there are tens of thousands of finance degrees available around the world, ranging from the excellent to the worthless, there is only one CFA, managed and examined by an American association of financial professionals, the CFA Institute. It used to be just an American qualification. But explosive growth (see chart) has made it, in effect, a global currency.