Joint Degrees

Master of Science in Finance/Master of Science in International Real Estate The Department of Finance and the Alvah H. Chapman Jr. Graduate School of Business at Florida International University have a joint degree program culminating in both a Master of Science in Finance (MSF), and a Master of Science in International Real Estate (MSIRE) degree.  Under the joint degree program, a student can obtain both degrees in less time than it would take to obtain both degrees if pursued consecutively.  The joint degree program will use existing faculty, courses, and resources.  Important criteria relating to the joint degree program are as follows: Candidates to the joint degree program must meet the entrance requirements established by each individual program.  Applications for a joint degree will not be accepted from candidates who have already completed either degree.  MSF or MSIRE students must apply and be admitted prior to or concurrent with the last semester in which they are expected to complete their original degree requirements. Candidates must satisfy all requirements for each degree.  To obtain the MSIRE degree, the student will be required to take ten (10) courses totaling thirty (30) credit hours.  This includes the five real estate courses in the MSIRE core, three finance courses in the MSIRE core, plus one real estate (REE prefix) elective and one finance (FIN prefix) elective for a total of 30 credit hours.  The Faculty Director of the MSIRE may substitute other suitable courses for these electives at the request of the student. The eight core REE and FIN courses include REE 6045 Real Estate Markets, Institutions, and Practices, REE 6200 Real Estate Finance, REE 6305 Real Estate Investments, REE 6435 Real Estate Law, REE Seminar in International Real Estate, FIN 6406 Corporate Finance, FIN 6644 Global Financial Strategy, and FIN 6246 Financial Markets and Institutions. To obtain the MSF degree, the student will have to fulfill all MSF program requirements, including eleven finance courses totaling thirty-three (33) credit hours, eight courses of which are considered part of the core curriculum. The eight core MSF courses are FIN 6406 Corporate Finance, FIN 6644 Global Financial Strategy, FIN 6246 Financial Markets and Institutions, FIN 6456 Quantitative Methods in Financial Analysis, FIN 6515 Security Analysis, FIN 6537 Financial Futures and Fixed Income Investment, and FIN 6487 Financial Risk Management. The remaining three courses must be taken in one of three specializations approved by the faculty and which include three courses in Corporate Finance, three in Investments, or three in Commercial and International Banking. The three finance courses in the MSIRE core curriculum correspond to three of the courses in the core MSF program.  Therefore, students pursuing the joint degree program will be credited for these courses in both programs. In addition, one Real Estate course in the MSIRE curriculum may be counted as one of the three courses required by the MSF specialization.  The two degrees then will potentially have 4 common courses. A minimum of seventeen (17) courses will be required to earn the dual degrees: four common courses, six specific to the MSIRE program, and seven specific to the MSF program. All courses transferred between degrees must be completed with a grade point average of 3.0 or higher. The Faculty Directors of the MSIRE and MSF degree programs may adjust these exact course requirements as a result of future changes to the MSIRE or MSF curriculums, subject to the approval of the Dean of the Chapman Graduate School. Joint degree candidates will not receive either degree until all requirements for both programs have been satisfied.  Students deciding against completing a second degree must satisfy all first degree program requirements as if the student had never been a joint degree candidate. With the joint degree program students will take a total of 51 credit hours to get both degrees. Without the joint degree programs students would need to take 63 credit hours to get both degrees. For more information, contact the appropriate academic department or program manager.