The Department of Finance & Legal Studies offers an Accelerated MS degree program that allows students to simultaneously earn their BSBA with an emphasis in finance and their MS in Fintech in as few as ten semesters. The combined program requires a minimum of 138 credit hours. Students accepted to the Accelerated MS degree program will be allowed to take up to 12 credit hours of 6000-level courses toward both BSBA and MS Fintech programs. These courses will require additional work by the instructor. The remaining 18 credit hours must be at the 6000 level. Students are encouraged to work closely with the Undergraduate and Graduate Business Programs Directors to ensure that required courses are timed appropriately.
Students will need to have fulfilled the core curriculum requirements prior to applying for the Accelerated MS program.
Provisional Admission
Applicants are considered for provisional admission if they meet the following four criteria:
The Graduate Business Programs Director, in consultation with the Undergraduate Director, will determine whether the student can apply for provisional status. Graduate courses completed by undergraduate students who have been provisionally admitted to Accelerated Master’s program will be charged at the undergraduate tuition rate; however, these courses will count the master’s degree. These courses must be approved before the semester starts. Therefore, it is recommended to apply for provisional status as a junior, preferably in the first semester of junior year.
Formal Admission
Applicants are considered for formal admission to the graduate school in their final semester in their undergraduate degree program. Thus, students should meet with the Graduate Business Programs Director each semester. Applicants are considered for formal admission if they meet the following criteria:
The Graduate Business Programs Director, in consultation with the Undergraduate Director, will
determine whether the student can apply for formal admission. Final decisions concerning formal
admission are made by the Graduate Dean in consultation with the Graduate Business Programs
Director. Students admitted at this stage are conferred graduate status and must continue taking
courses with graduate status until the completion of the MS degree.
The student must apply for and receive the bachelor’s degree in the semester when all the
undergraduate requirements are completed. In that semester, the student must also apply and be
admitted to the graduate program, to begin in the semester following the awarding of the
undergraduate degree. The student will apply to receive the master’s degree in the semester that the
requirements for the graduate degree will be completed.
If the student fails to enroll for more than one year after receiving the bachelor's degree, the student
can still earn the master’s degree, but the graduate-level credits earned as an undergraduate cannot be
used for the graduate degree.
Students with provisional admission at the 5th semester (Junior year) will continue the status of
undergraduate standing until the end of 7th semester (Senior year) and will complete up to 12 graduate
credits (dual credits; AM form): 6500(=3500), 6503(=3503), 6520(=3520), 6521(=3521), 6540(=3540), 6570 (=3570), 6576(=3576).
Junior/Senior Year Courses
Choose 12 credit hours from the following 3000 6000 level finance courses that are taught by a
member of the Graduate Faculty: 12 credit hours
For more information, contact Sierra Phipps in Graduate Business Programs at acceleratedbiz@umsl.edu and/or Nasser Arshadi, PhD, Finance Department Chair at arshadi@umsl.edu.
See also the webpage about the accelerated master’s programs in the college and the UMSL Bulletin details for this program.
UMSL is the only public university in the region to carry dual AACSB accreditation for its business and accounting programs at the undergraduate and graduate levels.
