Graduate Certificate in Finance

Program Overview
The Graduate Certificate in Finance is designed for those students wishing to gain knowledge or update their knowledge in the specific area of Finance. The Finance Graduate Certificate Program is not a degree program and completion of this program indicates an expertise in Finance, not general expertise in all areas of business.

Possible prospective students include those with a nonbusiness undergraduate degree and those with a business degree in an area of business other than Finance. This Program essentially allows students to take a short, focused graduate program in the area of Finance. This Program is aimed at professionals that currently work in a Finance-related field looking to enhance their Finance knowledge, or for professionals contemplating a career shift to a Finance-related field.

Profiles of potential students include: (1) An employee of a financial services company whose educational background is in an area other than Finance and who could benefit from some more formal Finance training; (2) An employee of a financial services company looking for continuing education classes demanded for a professional license or credential; (3) Someone currently employed in an area other than Finance that desires to update their knowledge portfolio for a career change; (4) Someone personally interested in having a better understanding of the many Finance issues that directly affect their lives.


Curriculum
The Finance Graduate Certificate Program is envisioned as a 4 course, 12 credit hour program. The Finance Graduate Certification Program consists of one required class, MBA711-Financial Management. With appropriate background the Certificate Student may substitute an elective Finance class for MBA711-Financial Management. What qualifies as an appropriate background will be determined by the Department of Finance Certificate Program Administrator. An example of an appropriate background is having an undergraduate degree in Finance.

The prerequisites for MBA711 (MBA709-Accounting Management and MBA710-Applied Economic Analysis) can be waived with equivalent course work. Equivalent course work for MBA711-Accounting Management is the completion of ACC201-Financial Accounting and ACC202-Managerial Accounting (or their equivalents) with a B average or better (B- grades are not acceptable). Equivalent course work for MBA710-Applied Economic Analysis is the completion of ECON261-Principles of Statistics I and ECON262-Principles of Statistics II (or their equivalents) with a B average or better (B- grades are not acceptable).

Program students then choose 3 of the available FIN 7XX classes. Currently, 5 FIN 7XX classes are available: FIN 708-Advance Corporate Finance; FIN 710-Investment Management; FIN 712-Financial Markets & Institutions; FIN 715-Portfolio Management; FIN 740-Risk Management. (Note: FIN 710 is a prerequisite for FIN 715).

Admission Requirements
Admission requirements include an undergraduate degree with a GPA of 3.00 or higher, and either relevant work experience or a GMAT of 550 or higher. Relevant work experience is a minimum of 3 years experience in a relevant finance-related position. The determination of what is considered relevant work experience will be made by the Department of Finance Certificate Program Administrator. Note that MBA711 Financial Management requires the prior completion of either MBA 709 and MBA 710 or waivers based on equivalent undergraduate work.

Program Faculty
Our program is staffed exclusively with leading professors from the UNLV College of Business who have significant experience in teaching business concepts and skills in a way that is readily understandable and immediately useful. Actively engaged in research and practice, they bring their cutting-edge discoveries and insights into the classroom.

Tuition & Fees
There is a $500 administrative fee due upon admission into the graduate certificate*. Graduate tuition runs almost $200 per credit hour for Nevada residents or approximately $2400 for the finance program. UNLV also charges several other ancillary fees (see our graduate registration calculator for an estimate).

Program Completion
You will need to complete the 12 credit hours outlined above with a minimum GPA of 3.0 to be awarded the Graduate Certificate in Finance. Following completion, students may wish to apply for admission to the UNLV MBA program. General admission requirements for the UNLV Evening MBA Program include: an undergraduate degree with a GPA of 3.00 or higher and a Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) score of 550 or higher. All certificate classes and grades will appear on an official UNLV transcript and up to 15 graduate credit hours earned while studying for the certificate may be applied towards the MBA program.

How to Apply
Applications must be made through the UNLV Graduate College (choose "Certificate Only" as your area of interest). Application deadlines are June 15 for the Fall semester, and November 15 for the Spring semester. For more information contact: bizoutreach@unlv.edu

* - pending Board of Regents approval.