$500 Priority Submission Scholarship*
New students who submit their completed application by Monday, Dec. 29, 2025, will receive a $500 scholarship toward their first course starting in January 2026 (Spring I). Start your no-fee application today.
Master of Science in Finance
100 Percent Online or Hybrid | Full Time or Part Time | No GRE or GMAT Required
Build on Your Experience. Earn Industry Credentials. Lead in Finance.
Merrimack’s M.S. in Finance (MSF) is a rigorous, career-focused program designed to equip you with the analytical, technical and strategic skills needed to lead in today’s fast-paced financial landscape.
Our program offers a practical curriculum designed to prepare you for the certifications and credentials employers value. It covers topics relevant to exams like the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA), Financial Risk Manager (FRM), Certified Treasury Professional (CTP), Bloomberg Certification and FactSet Certification.
Through hands-on experience with Bloomberg, FactSet, Capital IQ and Morningstar, you’ll build expertise in financial modeling, valuation, investment planning, portfolio strategy and risk management. You’ll build a portfolio of real-world projects that demonstrate your enhanced skills and position you for growth within your current role — or your next one.
Whether you’re a working professional looking to advance or a recent graduate ready to specialize, the MSF prepares you to stand out — with the knowledge, tools and certifications top employers demand.
Quick Facts:
100 percent online or hybrid
Tuition under $24K for most students
Complete in 12 months full time or 16 months part time
No GRE or GMAT required
Financial aid eligible
Learn more about Merrimack’s M.S. in Finance.
Why Earn a Merrimack MSF?
Tailored to Your Industry
Customize your MSF with career-focused concentrations designed to deepen expertise and accelerate your professional growth.
Affordable
With tuition under $24K for most students, you’ll benefit from a high-quality education that provides exceptional value without compromising academic excellence.
Built for Working Professionals
Complete your degree in 12 months full time or 16 months part time while you balance your other commitments.
What Can I Do With a Master of Science in Finance?
With a strong foundation and applied learning experience, Merrimack’s M.S. in Finance prepares you for high-impact roles across sectors, including:
- Asset management
- Commercial banking
- Corporate finance and treasury
- Risk and derivative services
- Financial planning
- Equity research and investment strategy
- Financial operations and regulatory reporting
Personal financial advisor
$102,140
Median annual salary
Financial risk specialist
$106,090
Median annual salary
Real estate investment analyst
$112,359
Median annual salary
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2025; Indeed, 2025
Master of Finance Coursework
Merrimack’s M.S. in Finance curriculum was developed in consultation with industry experts to ensure that you emerge a strong analyst ready to identify value-added opportunities, assess risk, navigate global challenges and effectively communicate insights across a wide range of industries.
Every student is on a unique professional journey and Merrimack’s curriculum is designed to provide students with the opportunity to develop competencies in additional areas of business, dive deeper into technical aspects of finance, hone leadership skills and more.
Foundational Core (8 credits): For non-business majors only
If you do not hold an undergraduate degree in business, foundational coursework must be integrated into the curriculum to provide the framework needed to succeed in more complex finance courses. These courses will take the place of open electives.
A solid understanding of accounting principles and financial statements is essential for managerial decision-making. This course provides students with a strong foundation in the principles of both financial and managerial accounting and their impact on business decisions. In addition to developing an understanding of financial accounting concepts and the accounting cycle, students will prepare, analyze and interpret primary financial statements (i.e., balance sheet, income statement and statement of cash flows). The course also exposes students to fundamental managerial accounting concepts, including cost allocation, cost-volume-profit analysis, operational budgeting and financial planning. Credits: 4
Finance Core (20 credits)
The program is intentionally designed to build a strong set of skills across a variety of finance concepts.
This course introduces students to the basics of corporate finance and financial valuation and builds a solid understanding of financial markets and securities. This course focuses on what corporate finance is and how financial assets and firms are valued in financial markets. The goal of this course is to help students develop their ability to use financial statement information and related disclosures to evaluate the underlying economics of a corporation. Course participants examine the company’s past and current performance and its competitive environment by collecting, analyzing and interpreting data from the firm’s financial database. Students develop a financial model of the firm, in the form of pro forma financial statements, to forecast the firm’s future performance. These projections in turn become the inputs to the valuation techniques, which include discounted cash flow models and residual income (or abnormal earnings). Credits: 4
Offers an introduction to portfolio management with a focus on quantitative methods. Major topics include portfolio construction, revision and performance measurement. Examines portfolio construction using constrained mean-variance optimization, as well as performance evaluation using factor models such as the Fama-French three-factor model. Additional topics include the effects of diversification on risk reduction and the costs of inflation, taxes and transaction costs on management of fixed-income and equity security portfolios. Also covers quantitative approaches to manage specific sources of risk. Students employ historical data to construct back tests to assess the performance of various portfolio strategies.
This course introduces students to mathematical and statistical concepts, integrating financial modeling applications across various finance domains. Quantitative methods and financial modeling are employed to conduct financial analysis, thereby facilitating managerial decision-making. The utilization of quantitative aspects in financial topics and the practical use of tools, including but not limited to Excel, blend data interpretation with technology, enhancing and improving overall analytical skill sets. Credits: 4
Financial statement analysis is essential to evaluate an organization’s performance and provide insights into its operations. Designed to build and strengthen a student’s ability to correctly interpret financial statements, this course is a deep dive into income statements, balance sheets and cash flow statements, where students learn how to assess a company’s financial health and performance. The course will review how financial statements are generated, followed by the application and analysis of a range of financial statement analysis tools, such as ratios, common-size financials and rate-of-change financials. Students gain valuable hands-on experience analyzing financial and business information included in the Annual Report, Form 10K, Form 8K and Form 10Q. Credits: 4
This course focuses on how technology innovation is creating profound changes in the financial services industry. Financial technology (FinTech) is revolutionary and is challenging long-held practices, systems and processes in the financial industry, and even forcing us to rethink the underlying concept of money. Students will learn about these new technologies and trends that are creating opportunities for visionaries. This course provides an introduction to the future of finance, including numerous FinTech applications, cryptocurrencies (e.g., Bitcoin and Ethereum), payment systems, AI, and machine learning (robo-advising). Students are expected to develop a broad understanding of recent FinTech developments, the evolving ethical landscape, changes in regulations, and their broad impact on the financial industry. Students will also have hands-on and problem-solving experiences that can be useful in FinTech applications and innovation. Credits: 4
Optional Concentrations and Open Electives (12 Credits)
The remaining electives are used to supplement and complement your finance courses and can be utilized to expand your skills in business analytics or data science. However, you have the option to choose open electives that fit your goals and meet your needs.
Business Analytics
Businesses are increasingly turning to data to evaluate and improve the efficacy of decisions. The ability to use data to inform the decision-making process is a critical skill for successful business professionals. This course introduces students to the growing role of evidence-based management and the manner in which data is used to answer high-level business questions. Students are exposed to real-world applications of analytics to solve problems in a variety of industries. Credits: 4
Businesses are acquiring data at incredible speed and volume. This data can become the foundation of informed, data-driven decisions when organized and analyzed at scale. This course introduces students to the processes of identifying and analyzing data to find patterns and relationships that can drive informed decisions. The course makes extensive use of data-embedded case studies, enabling learners to develop hands-on, applied data analytic competencies as a means of driving strategic decisions. Credits: 4
Winning organizations today use analytics to outthink and outexecute their competition by deploying business intelligence frameworks. This course explores the motivation and methodology that these organizations use to discover competitive advantages and adopt business processes to win in the marketplace. Students will learn how to use business intelligence tools and techniques to extract insights from data, and how to use these insights to drive business process change for success. Credits: 4
How to visualize data and tell a compelling story is a powerful means of communicating with key stakeholders. This course introduces students to the core design considerations and communication strategies behind the creation of captivating data visualizations. Using industry data and intuitive point-and-click tools, students learn to capture the key data analytic takeaways using baselines, scorecards, dashboards and other widely used data summarization techniques. Credits: 4
The ever-expanding access and usage of data bring to light the importance of ethical conduct in relation to business. This course equips students to understand important moral dilemmas of business analytics and artificial intelligence. It is the goal of this course to highlight some of the key data-governance, compliance and usage-related ethical considerations and to provide learners with an opportunity to carefully examine and reflect on those important matters. Credits: 4
Data Science
This course explores the expertise, perspectives and the statistical foundation that data scientists apply to projects during four phases of data science: problem foundation, data acquisition, statistical modeling and analysis, and presentation of results. This course intends to provide students with a comprehensive introduction to all the major aspects of data science. Credits: 4
This course offers students an introduction to R and Python object-oriented programming. More specifically, students will learn data programming concepts, reproducible research and version control, which will serve as a foundation to the rest of the program. The course is meant to offer a foundation for the programming skills necessary for modern data professionals. Credits: 4
This course offers students an introduction to the basic concepts and applications of predictive analytics, which is a broad domain of data analytical practice focused on developing forward-looking statistical estimates. The course begins with an overview of predictive and prescriptive analytics, followed by immersion in statistical prediction-related multivariate statistical concepts, including an in-depth discussion of commonly used types of multivariate predictive models, all focused on strengthening students’ comprehension of core statistical notions, including variable types, statistical learning, statistical regression and classification, non-linear modeling, and tree-based estimation. The second part of the course focuses on hands-on applications of model fitting and evaluation using programming applications in R or Python. Credits: 4
Master the Skills of Finance
The Merrimack Master of Science in Finance prepares you with the expertise needed to excel in various financial roles. In our program, you’ll learn how to:
Analyze financial statements to assess the financial health and performance of organizations
Manage risk through the use of financial derivatives and other hedging strategies to protect assets
Optimize capital structures to ensure efficient allocation of resources and improve financial stability
Interpret market trends and economic indicators to provide strategic financial advice and insights
Relevant Coursework Aligned With In-Demand Certifications
Merrimack’s MSF program curriculum covers a range of industry-relevant topics related to exams like the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA), Financial Risk Manager (FRM), Certified Treasury Professional (CTP), Bloomberg Certification and FactSet Certification.
For students without an undergraduate degree in business or finance, eight credits of foundational coursework are required. Sixteen credits focus on building core financial skills, while eight credits of advanced finance electives allow you to tailor your studies to your professional goals. Optional concentrations and open electives are available to expand your skills in business analytics and data science.
In addition to becoming certification-ready in Bloomberg and FactSet, you’ll acquire a working knowledge of Capital IQ and Morningstar.
Customize Your MSF With an Industry-Focused Concentration
Merrimack’s MSF program offers two concentrations so you can align your studies with your professional goals to work in a particular industry — or choose a general MSF path without a concentration.
The courses in our concentrations are taught by expert faculty working in these specific industries and designed with workforce needs and certifications in mind.
- Business Analytics
- Data Science
Mucci Capital Markets Lab
M.S. in Finance students are welcome on campus to hone their research and analytical skills at the Mucci Capital Markets Lab, featuring an array of Bloomberg terminals with real-time market data — open seven days a week.
Student Support Resources
Students in the Girard School of Business benefit from a dedicated success team.
Support includes:
- 1:1 advising and mentoring from the Girard School of Business graduate advising team
- Access to LinkedIn Learning and Handshake
- Professional development workshops
- Math, writing and accessibility services through the Academic Success Center
Optional Executive Coaching Add-on Package
Unlock your full potential with executive coaching designed for career advancement.
- Two executive coaching sessions focused on professional profile enhancements, including resume review, job search, elevator pitch and networking strategies (online, 50 minutes each)
- Cost: $1,250
Jill Huggett, Career Coach
Jill Huggett is a certified professional career coach and certified professional resume writer for MCG Partners. Huggett also serves as a career coach with the Harvard Business School for their global network of alumni and current MBA students.
Tuition and Financial Aid
$725
per credit*
32
credits
$23,200
tuition
*Tuition is based on 2025–2026 academic year.
Tuition and fees are subject to change annually.
Additional program fees may apply.
Financial Aid
As a graduate student, you may qualify for federal support in the form of loans. We strongly encourage all eligible graduate students to apply for federal financial aid, even if they don’t demonstrate an exceptional financial need.*
All graduate students also have the option of obtaining private loans and/or enrolling in an institutional payment plan.
Complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).
Merrimack College’s FAFSA school code is 002120.
*Certificate programs do not qualify for federal financial aid.
Tuition Assistance, Scholarships and Discounts
- Employer tuition assistance: Many employers offer tuition reimbursement — check with your HR department.
- Alumni discount: Double Warrior Scholarships are available to all Merrimack graduates. New alumni automatically receive a 33 percent savings on tuition if they begin a graduate degree program within two terms following graduation. All other alumni (i.e., those with an earlier graduation date) are eligible for a tuition discount of 25 percent.
- Partnership discount: Employees of affiliated companies may qualify for discounted tuition rates. Partners include Blue Cross Blue Shield, Citizens Bank, Mass General Brigham, New Balance and many more. Contact us or ask your employer whether your organization is an official partner with Merrimack’s online programs.
It’s Easy to Apply Online
A complete application includes:
- Online application (no fee)
- Official college transcripts from all institutions attended
- Resume or LinkedIn profile
- Interview or personal statement
GRE and GMAT scores are not required. Additional materials may be requested.
One year of relevant work experience is preferred (relevant work experience includes full-time work, internships and co-ops).
Key Dates and Deadlines
This program enrolls six times a year. Each term is eight weeks.
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Accolades and Accreditation
At Merrimack College, we’re proud of our long history of providing quality degrees to students entering the job market. Our faculty are more than just teachers. We are committed to helping you grow — academically, personally and spiritually — so that you may graduate as a confident, well-prepared citizen of the world.
U.S. News & World Report | Best Regional Universities North (2026)
- Most Innovative Schools (No. 8)
- Regional Universities North (No. 38)
- Best Undergraduate Teaching (No. 20)
- Best Undergraduate Engineering Programs (No. 82)
(at schools where doctorate not offered) - Best Colleges for Veterans (No. 16)
- Best Value Schools (No. 52)
NECHE-Accredited
- Merrimack College is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE).
Tell me more about Merrimack’s programs.
*This applies to new students entering the Spring I 2026 term. Does not roll over to subsequent terms. MBA excluded. Not combinable with other offers (i.e. Double Warrior, Fellowship, Partnership Discounts, etc). For CSC 6000, credit will be applied to their second course.