Financial Analysis Certificate

Program description

The Graduate Certificate in Financial Analysis is designed for students who wish to pursue a career in financial analysis.  The certificate will help prepare students to pass the Level I Chartered Financial Analysis (CFA) Exam and will provide a foundation for further study in preparation for the Level II and Level III CFA Exams.

Admission requirements

1. The student must hold a bachelor’s degree from a college or university accredited by agencies recognized by Missouri State University or equivalent education from a foreign university.
2. A student must meet one of the following criteria for admission to the Graduate Certificate in Financial Analysis program:
   1. Satisfy the following condition: (Undergraduate GPA X 200) + GMAT ≥ 1200.
   2. Achieve an average GPA of 3.50 in the following three undergraduate courses: FIN 390, FIN 485, FIN 586 (or FIN 686 equivalent).
   3. Achieve an average GPA of at least 3.50 in the following three graduate courses: FIN 685, FIN 686, FIN 787.
3. The student must submit an application online.
4. Application Fee:
   1. For first-time degree-seeking graduate students, pay the non-refundable graduate application fee.
   2. Students applying online will be prompted to pay the fee by credit cared or electronic check.
   3. ​​​​​​​NOTE: applications will not be processed if the graduate application fee has not been paid.
5. Transcripts:
   1. Submit to the Graduate College one (1) official transcript showing all course work for the bachelor’s degree and any graduate-level work. At minimum, the bachelor’s transcript must show grades for the last 60 hours of course work. Missouri State University transcripts do not need to be requested.
   2. NOTE: transcripts are not considered official unless they are received directly from the institution where the coursework was completed. A transcript that is hand-delivered by a student is considered unofficial even if it does have the seal from the institution or received in an unopened envelope. In addition, students sending transcripts while coursework for a bachelor’s degree is in progress will need to send another official copy showing that they have been awarded a bachelor’s degree.
6. Acceptance into this certificate program does not imply acceptance into any other Missouri State University master’s program.

Prerequisite courses

The following foundation courses (or their equivalents) are considered prerequisite courses for the Graduate Certificate in Financial Analysis program:

• ACC 600   - Accounting Concepts for Managers (typical equivalent is ACC 201 and ACC 211)
• ECO 600   - Fundamentals of Economics (typical equivalent is ECO 155 and ECO 165)
• FIN 600   - Managerial Finance (typical equivalent is FIN 380 with a grade of B- or better)
• QBA 600   - Statistical Methods in Business Research (typical equivalent is QBA 237 and QBA 337)

A student that has completed an undergraduate degree in finance or a related field will generally have satisfied most or all of the prerequisite course requirements.