Work with the world’s leading experts in asset management.
MF students learn to apply real-world solutions and practices through a rigorous, progressive curriculum, team-based learning, small classes, and hands-on problem-solving, including real-time data analysis using Bloomberg terminals.
Isenberg professors and faculty partners teach critical thinking and investing while focusing on all key aspects of asset management such as financial analysis, derivative strategies, hedge funds, private equity, risk management, venture capital, sustainable finance, emerging markets, real estate, and more. Students will complete a 10-course curriculum (30 credits) at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
Asset Management Curriculum with Choice of Two Tracks
Asset Management Core
MF Students are offered a rich selection of coursework in Asset Management taught by renowned Isenberg faculty experts. This coursework includes topics such as Quantitative Trading Strategies, Fixed Income Securities and Asset Allocation. Computational finance courses such as Business Application Development with Python and Data Science for Finance offer students highly functional and marketable skills.
MF students choose between two asset management tracks, Alternative Investments and Real Estate.
| Alternative Investments | Real Estate |
|---|---|
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The Master of Finance, with a specialization in Alternative Investments, prepares students for creating and growing wealth across a broad array of asset classes such as hedge funds, private equity, venture capital, commodities, and more. Faculty infuse theory with hands-on learning, and extend the classroom experience through industry partnerships with the Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst Association (CAIA) and the Journal of Alternative Investments (JAI). |
Academic Partnerships
Isenberg's academic partnerships extend the MF experience beyond the classroom, creating access to industry thought leaders and executives, conferences, research opportunities, and more. Students also have access to unparalleled resources including multiple Bloomberg terminals, the Morningstar CISDM Hedge Fund/CTA database, CRSP database for historical stock prices, Compustat, OptionMetrics, Morningstar Direct, and Thomson Financials 13F institutional holdings data.
Isenberg houses the Center for International Securities and Derivatives Markets (CISDM). CISDM places the school at the forefront of academic institutions that conduct research into derivatives, alternative investments, and asset and risk management and promotes interactions between the academic and business communities. Through CISDM, students gain access to thought leaders and top executives in the field as well as to the Morningstar CISDM Database. Students also have the opportunity to collaborate directly on financial markets research.
The Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst Association (CAIA) sponsors the CAIA Charter, an internationally recognized alternative investments credential, as well as continuing education and professional events worldwide. Isenberg is one of only 20 CAIA academic partners and the only one to offer this specialized master's degree. CAIA’s textbooks were co-authored by Isenberg Professor Hossein Kazemi, and he and Dr. Keith Black, Managing Director of the CAIA Association, will be teaching two courses in the program. MF graduates interested in CAIA certification will be able to skip the Level I Exam and the association will have 10 scholarships available for students taking Level II.
The Journal of Alternative Investments (JAI) provides its readers with innovative research, practical tools, and expert analysis on managing investments in hedge funds, private equity, distressed debt, commodities and futures, energy, funds of funds, and other nontraditional assets. Housed at Isenberg, JAI is the official publication of the CAIA Association, and its editors include Isenberg Professors Hossein Kazemi, Bing Liang, and Mila Getmansky Sherman. MF students will benefit from exposure to the most current research in alternative investments as well as from the editors’ resources and connections in the asset management profession.
4+1 Master's Degrees
Undergraduate students at UMass Amherst and other colleges in the Five College Consortium can pursue a 4+1 option, completing their undergraduate degree and their master's degree in 5 years. Isenberg's Master of Finance, Master of Science in Accounting, and Master of Science in Business Analytics all offer this option.
For UMass Amherst students, the 4+1 option can also be accelerated, allowing students to complete both their undergraduate and master's degrees in fewer than 5 years.
Interested students should apply to a master's degree program in their junior year or early in their senior year.
MF Faculty
Apply Now
Follow our step-by-step process to complete your online application.
- Review the program specific admissions requirements.
- Click Apply Now to go to the University's Graduate School site where you can find a link to the secure online application.
- First-time users will need to create an account to start a new application. Note: You can submit your application before you have all your materials ready, simply save and resume your application as you gather required materials.
- After submitting, track your application at the Graduate School Status of Application page.