Part-time vs. Full-time | McDonough School of Business

Customize Your Degree with One Cohort, Three Tracks

Choose the track that works best for you and your goals from traditional part-time and full-time options or an accelerated track. The same admission process applies to all three choices.

Not sure which is right for you? Explore these student profile examples to help you decide:

Traditional Part-time: 21 Months

Working professionals who seek to deepen their knowledge of finance and business while continuing to build their career experience.
Working professionals who aspire to improve their current job performance and position themselves for a promotion.
Working professionals who want to pivot into a new field by gaining practical experience in another industry through participation in the MSF Summer Clinics while keeping their current jobs.
Individuals who need flexibility on where they study because of business travel requirements or family obligations.
Active military personnel or other working professionals who may be transferred to a different location(s) during their time in the program.

Traditional Full-time: 21 Months

Individuals who typically have less than three years of work experience after completing an undergraduate degree and for whom the accelerated track is not the right choice.
People who wish to deepen their understanding of career options, personal branding, and strategic networking by enrolling in the MSF Career Strategy course.*
Students who seek to pursue work experience through a summer internship or participation in the MSF Summer Clinics or both.
Individuals who need the flexibility to switch to the part-time track–while remaining a member of the same cohort–if they choose to begin a full-time job before graduation.
People who want the time to focus on their coursework and career search–at the pace of the 21-month program–while filling an employment gap by showing full-time study on their resume.
Students who seek to work in a field that typically requires a summer internship before a full-time offer is made (e.g., investment banks, consulting firms, etc.).

Accelerated (Intensive Full-time)Track: 10 Months

Recent baccalaureate graduates who majored in finance or who have extensive coursework in finance, or who majored in a quantitatively focused major.
Students who have strong internship experience or work experience or students who need additional course credits to sit for their CPA exam or other professional credential.
Fully employed students with supportive employers (e.g., offer sabbaticals or lighter work hours).
Students who are highly motivated to complete a challenging curriculum in a shorter period (10 months) than the traditional track (21 months).
Students who have a clear career path in mind and have done extensive research to ensure an appropriate fit with their background.

*While all MSF students have access to the concierge-level support provided by the MSF Office of Career Management, students who enroll in the MSF Career Strategy course receive additional support through a formal academic course.

Journey Through the Curriculum for Our Unique Tracks

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Curriculum Infographic In Text Format

For the traditional part-time track, your course sequence is as-follows: You will be taking Financial Markets, Financial Markets Residency and Financial Accounting in the Fall semester of your first year. Then, Corporate Finance, Financial Economics and Corporate Valuation and Modeling in the Spring semester of your first year. In the Summer of your first year, you have 3 optional courses – Summer clinics, Applied Data Science for Finance and Summer Seminar. Moving into the Fall semester of your second year, you will be taking Derivatives and Risk Management, Investments and Fixed Income and an elective course of your choice. And, finally, in the Spring semester of your second year, you will take an elective of your choice, Principled Financial Leadership and the Global Consulting Project.

For the Traditional Track Full-Time option, you will be taking 4 courses in the Fall semester of your first year instead of 3 courses. You will be taking Financial Markets then Financial Markets Residency and then Financial Accounting and Career Strategy, which will overlap with the other 3 courses. Then, Corporate Finance, Financial Economics and Corporate Valuation and Modeling in the Spring semester of your first year. In the Summer of your first year, you will be taking your internship. Moving into the Fall semester of your second year, you will be taking Derivatives and Risk Management, Investments and Fixed Income and two elective courses of your choice at the same time. And, finally, in the Spring semester of your second year, you will take two electives of your choice at the same time, then Principled Financial Leadership and the Global Consulting Project.

The final track option is the Accelerated Intensive Full-time. In the Fall semester of your first year, you will be taking Financial Markets then Financial Markets Residency and then Financial Accounting. Overlapping with those courses will be two additional courses – Investments and Fixed Income and an elective of your choice. That’s 5 total courses. In the Spring semester of your first year, you will take Corporate Finance then Financial Economics then Corporate Valuation and Modeling. Overlapping with those courses you will be taking an elective of your choice, Principled Financial Leadership and the Global consulting project. That is 6 courses total. Between the Fall and Spring semester, you also have the option to take the winter clinics, but not required. Lastly, in the summer and final semester of this track, you will take 1 course – Derivatives and Risk Management to finish out the program. These are the 3 tracks and course breakdowns of Georgetown’s blended online Master of Science in Finance program.

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