Qualified Georgetown University undergraduate students will now have the option to apply for an accelerated pathway to graduate within five years with either their B.A. or B.S. degree and a Master of Science in Finance (MSF) offered through the McDonough School of Business. Besides the possibility of reducing the time required to earn the MSF degree, this pathway also provides cost savings through the double-counting of some courses for both degrees.
The MSF program is a blended online program that starts in August and can be completed in 21 months under one of the Traditional Track options*. The program has a week-long in-person Financial Markets Residency (FMR) course in October following the first course in the program (Financial Markets). There is also a required week-long international trip at the end of the Global Consulting Project (GCP) course.
Overview
Counting Courses Twice: Admitted students can have 12 MSF course credits count toward both their undergraduate and master’s degrees. Upon completion, those credits are listed both on their undergraduate and graduate transcripts.
Up to six of these MSF course credits may count toward the undergraduate major electives, subject to approval by the Department Chair (or Area Chair in McDonough) or the Chair’s/Coordinator’s designee. The remaining MSF course credits are classified as “above and beyond” all undergraduate requirements (i.e., major/minor/core/certificate and 120-credit graduation minimum). The students pay for all 12 course credits as part of their undergraduate tuition and financial aid package.
At the end of the spring semester of their senior year, students would complete their B.S. or B.A. with 12 MSF course credits jointly counting between their undergraduate degree and the MSF. After this semester, the Accelerated Pathway students will no longer be classified as undergraduate students, and if they have met all the normal requirements, they will receive their bachelor’s degree as scheduled and participate in commencement with their undergraduate class.
Students complete the MSF after they graduate from their undergraduate program (i.e., by the following December or May as noted earlier). The blended online format permits students to take the program from virtually any location except for the in-person FMR and GCP course requirements. Therefore, students who wish to accept a job outside the DMV area following their undergraduate graduation may do so without interrupting the timing of their MSF degree completion.
While this Accelerated Pathway is open to all undergraduates at Georgetown University, it does not apply to non-Georgetown undergraduates. Georgetown students who have not been admitted to MSF or another McDonough graduate program are not eligible to take graduate courses in that program unless the classes are explicitly tagged as open for multiple degree programs; spots in graduate courses are reserved solely for students admitted/enrolled in the programs.
*The program also has an Accelerated Track–not to be confused with this Accelerated Pathway–option where students can complete the program in 10 months. This is not a feasible option for Accelerated Pathway students given the university’s 12-credit limit on graduate courses during their senior year, but it may be possible for some students (depending on their prior coursework) to choose a hybrid Accelerated/Traditional track option and conclude the program in the same year as their undergraduate graduation. These students would graduate from the MSF program as December graduates.
Admissions and Eligibility Criteria
- Students must be on track to complete all but the final 24 or fewer credits of their undergraduate degree by the end of their junior year and be prepared to take 30 or more credits in their senior year.
- Students must meet the admissions criteria of the MSF program.
- Students must submit an approval letter from their Department/Area Chair or the Chair’s designee confirming their eligibility for the program.