Program Overview

The Master of Science in Finance Program (M.Sc.) offered by the Department of Finance and Management Science, Edwards School of Business, University of Saskatchewan provides students with a theoretical background in contemporary finance issues and a strong foundation in empirical methods. The program can be used as a platform for students who wish to pursue a Ph.D. and it equips students with a competitive advantage in jobs that have a significant research component.

The two-year program features seminars and lectures in a small class size setting. A thesis is required in the second year. Due to the research intensive nature of the program and individual student supervision at the thesis stage, enrolment is limited. Only a handful of universities across North America offer programs that have a similar focus on financial research at the Master’s level.

The Finance faculty are interested in a number of different areas of research including venture capital, banking, corporate and international corporate finance, emerging markets, financial econometrics, asset pricing, personal finance, fixed income securities, credit risk, risk management, derivatives and investments. Students may choose their own research topic and are not restricted to the above fields.

Graduates from the program have obtained excellent jobs, or gone on to higher studies, upon completion of the program. The following are comments about the program from recent graduates:

"Getting accepted into top finance Ph.D. programs is very difficult and it continues to become more and more competitive. The very fact that I had an M.Sc. degree in finance with research experience helped me get into the program at Ohio State (an MBA also helps, but not nearly as much)."

Craig Doidge (M.Sc. 1996), Assistant Professor of Finance
Rotman School of Business
University of Toronto

"The knowledge and skills that I acquired through the program’s course work and teaching assignment have truly helped me with my career in the public service. The prescribed theory courses provided me with a broad base of knowledge on pricing securities while the reading sessions allowed me to focus on specific areas that were particularly interesting to me, specifically the pricing of options. These foundations have proved very useful in my current job of assessing the value of debt securities and developing policies on the mix of instruments held in the federal government’s domestic debt portfolio."

Clifton Lee-Sing (M.Sc. 2001), Financial Economist
Domestic Debt Management Section
Dept. of Finance, Government of Canada