MS in Finance

The MSF at IENYC is an intensive 11-month, full-time program based in the heart of New York City — one of the world’s most dynamic financial hubs. Designed for ambitious, globally minded students, the program blends academic rigor with real-world access to finance professionals, networks, and career-shaping opportunities.

What makes the MSF unique is its individualized, hands-on approach. Students are guided by practitioner faculty who bring deep, current experience from across the financial industry, ensuring every classroom conversation connects theory to practice. The curriculum is designed to be both broad and customizable, with three distinct tracks:

• Markets, for students focused on global capital flows, asset pricing, trading, and financial modeling
• Alternative Finance, which explores venture capital, private equity, securitization, and real estate finance
• Sustainable Finance, for those committed to integrating ESG, impact investing, and long-term value creation into financial decision-making

Students engage directly with the industry through guest speakers, company visits, live projects, and networking events — all just steps from Wall Street and the broader NYC finance ecosystem. Whether your goal is to become a trader, portfolio manager, fintech entrepreneur, or sustainability strategist, the MiF at IENYC prepares you for high-impact careers in finance as well as leadership in a rapidly evolving global market.

Absolutely — especially if you're an international student looking to launch a new career in finance. The MSF at IENYC is designed to support bold, curious individuals from all academic and professional backgrounds who are ready to pivot into the financial world.

Whether you studied engineering, political science, the humanities, or something entirely different, this program gives you the financial knowledge, technical skills, and market insight to transition confidently into the industry. You’ll build a strong foundation across capital markets, alternative finance, fintech, and sustainable finance — and you’ll do so in small, immersive classes taught by faculty who are active finance professionals with deep connections across the NYC financial landscape.

As an international student, you’ll be part of a globally minded community and benefit from individual attention every step of the way. From personalized academic mentoring to practical career coaching, our faculty and dedicated Career Services staff work closely with you to help you understand where your strengths align in the financial sector and how to navigate your job search in the U.S. market. You’ll also gain direct exposure to the industry through guest speakers, site visits, networking events, and hands-on projects — all designed to make New York City’s finance ecosystem feel accessible and within reach.

If you're ready to change paths and take on a new professional future in finance, this program is built to support that journey — with structure, clarity, and a personal touch.

Graduates of the MSF program at IENYC step confidently into a wide range of finance careers — from investment banking and asset management to venture capital, fintech, private equity, and ESG investing. The program is designed not just to build technical expertise, but to help students discover where in the financial world they want to make their impact — and how to get there.

Being based in New York City means you’ll have direct exposure to one of the world’s most powerful financial ecosystems. Through company visits, guest speakers, alumni panels, and networking events, students connect with professionals from investment firms, global banks, boutique advisory firms, hedge funds, real estate finance companies, and purpose-driven capital providers.

Throughout the program, our dedicated Career Services team works with each student individually to map out job strategies, prepare for interviews, and tap into opportunities that align with their skills and ambitions — whether in the U.S. or globally. Many students go on to work in New York and other major financial centers around the world, often in roles that blend their pre-MSF experience with the financial skill set they’ve built here.

This isn’t just a launchpad — it’s a bridge to a new career.

Yes, students customize their journey by selecting two of the following three strategic specializations:

• Global Markets & Asset Management
• Financing & Alternative Investments
• Sustainable Finance

These specializations allow students to tailor their studies to their career interests and goals.

The MSF curriculum at IENYC is structured to give students both breadth and depth in modern finance. It begins with rigorous foundation courses that ensure all students — regardless of background — develop fluency in core financial concepts, quantitative methods, and data analysis.

From there, students pursue one of three specialization tracks: Global Markets and Asset Management, Financing and Alternative Investments, or Sustainable Finance. Within each track, courses are carefully designed to address current issues and evolving trends in the industry, while also building strong analytical and problem-solving skills. Students not only learn the language and logic of finance — they learn how to apply it in real-world scenarios, make sound decisions under uncertainty, and communicate effectively with colleagues and clients.

The program emphasizes practical, up-to-date knowledge that aligns with what employers expect. Whether you’re preparing for technical interviews, case-based assessments, or your first day on the job, the MSF curriculum is built to ensure that you can think like a finance professional, speak the language of the industry, and succeed in a competitive global marketplace.

The MSF program at IENYC is designed as a full-time, in-person experience — and that’s very intentional. Immersing yourself fully in the program and in New York City’s financial ecosystem is a key part of what makes this degree so impactful.

Being on campus allows students to engage directly with practitioner faculty, work closely with peers on team-based projects, and participate in dynamic, real-time discussions that reflect the pace of the financial world. Many of the most valuable learning opportunities — including company visits, networking events, live cases, and guest speakers from Wall Street, fintech, private equity, and sustainable finance sectors — happen in person and often at the firms themselves.

In a field where access, relationships, and communication are everything, the in-person format ensures students are not only mastering technical content but also building the professional fluency and confidence that come from daily interaction with experts and peers. The full-time structure also allows for deep focus, momentum, and faster transition into the job market.

For students ready to fully commit to a career in finance, there’s no better place — or way — to do it than this.

The MSF program at IENYC is designed to combine a strong academic foundation with flexibility, specialization, and real-world application. Students begin with a set of core courses that build essential skills in financial analysis, modeling, accounting, and data-driven decision-making — ensuring everyone develops a shared, job-ready foundation.

After the core, students select two out of three specialization tracks:

• Global Markets and Asset Management
• Financing and Alternative Investments
• Sustainable Finance

Each specialization offers a focused set of courses that reflect current trends and practices in the field — from securitization and venture capital to ESG investing and trading strategies — giving students both breadth and depth as they shape their individual path.

The program culminates in a Capstone Project, which allows students to integrate their learning in a hands-on, career-relevant context. The capstone can take one of three forms: a company-based consulting project, an entrepreneurship initiative, or a research-based management project. In all formats, students are supported by faculty mentors and a professional advisor, receiving personal guidance while working on real challenges in finance. The capstone experience is a key step in helping students connect classroom learning to the workplace and prepare for competitive roles in the industry.

Yes — the MSF program at IENYC provides a strong foundation for the CFA Levels I and II exams. The curriculum covers a broad range of topics central to the CFA Body of Knowledge, including corporate finance, financial analysis, ethics, quantitative methods, portfolio management, and fixed income. Students in the Markets and Alternative Financetracks, in particular, will find the coursework highly relevant to the structure and content of CFA exams.

The program also helps lay the groundwork for Level III, which focuses more heavily on portfolio construction and wealth management. While most candidates pursue Level III after gaining some work experience, graduates of the MSF will have the analytical and conceptual foundation to begin preparing for it seriously.

In addition to the CFA, the MSF equips students to perform strongly on Series 7, Series 63, and similar licensing exams required for finance professionals in the U.S., as well as comparable certifications in Europe and Asia. The program’s technical depth, ethical training, and applied financial tools all support graduates in meeting professional standards across global financial markets.