Grad School/Certificate in Finance

[rlw74]

My husband's HR Department told him that if he had even a few Finance courses at a Master's level it would help advance his career. He is interested in pursuing this but he works a ridiculous number of hours - sometimes as many as 15 hours a day in some weeks. He needs a program that is online and self-paced so that he can work on classes when he can and take breaks when he needs to. Ultimately he would like a Master's degree but some kind of certificate short-term would be beneficial.  Any advice on programs/schools etc?

Obviously he isn't looking for something like a WGU MBA program where its work as fast as you can to finish in just one or two terms. But if there is something pretty cost effective and competency based like WGU that would be wonderful. I'm not sure if his employer cares if its NA or RA - just as long as it has accreditation.

[videogamesrock]

Since you said NA isn't an issue CSU has self-paced courses which can take a year to complete. https://www.columbiasouthern.edu/finance...ertificate

[rlw74]

That looks wonderful and like it might fit the criteria he needs. I'll definitely pass the information along to him.

[eriehiker]

Would economics work? I have completed 12 mostly online economics graduate credits from the University of Colorado Colorado Springs via their LAS extension program. They are about $175 per credit hour and aimed at teachers.

[amilitab4k9]

My husband's HR Department told him that if he had even a few Finance courses at a Master's level it would help advance his career. He is interested in pursuing this but he works a ridiculous number of hours - sometimes as many as 15 hours a day in some weeks. He needs a program that is online and self-paced so that he can work on classes when he can and take breaks when he needs to. Ultimately he would like a Master's degree but some kind of certificate short-term would be beneficial.  Any advice on programs/schools etc?

Obviously he isn't looking for something like a WGU MBA program where its work as fast as you can to finish in just one or two terms. But if there is something pretty cost effective and competency based like WGU that would be wonderful. I'm not sure if his employer cares if its NA or RA - just as long as it has accreditation.

What kind of finance? Corporate finance, something more general, more personal finance, etc.? What does he do?

He could check out the American College (https://www.theamericancollege.edu/) or the College for Financial Planning (http://www.cffp.edu/). They are more geared towards financial planning, but have a number of degrees and certificates and he could probably take stand-alone courses. You've probably never heard of those schools, but they are well respected within financial services. CFFP has a Master's in Finance that he could slowly work towards, one class at a time.

[rlw74]

I'm sure they want to see something in Corporate Finance. He builds things like multi-million dollar high rise condos in urban areas; hotels; restaurants etc. I'll run all the programs past him though and see what he says.

[dfrecore]

The one problem you're going to run into is that a lot of Master's programs won't take transfer credit. So he would probably want to find an MBA with a concentration in Finance, that also has a Finance cert. Otherwise, he risks getting a cert in Finance, and then not being able to do anything with it when he goes for his MBA. I would plan it out carefully. Either find a cert that he likes that he can use at that school, or find a school that he likes that will let him transfer in his cert, or find a school that has both.

Also, look at costs. An in-state school will have better prices for most students than an out-of-state school or private school (in general) so see if something in your state has what you need. But there are always going to be schools that have great rates. ENMU gives students an in-state rate if you take fewer than 6cr per semester. Obviously it will take longer to get your degree this way, but it's certainly a great price for an MBA. And since your husband isn't looking to go fast, that or something like it might be a great option.

West Texas A&M has an online MS in Finance and Econ degree, and decent rates for out-of-state students. Not sure what the price is for taking just one course, but it looks like he could get the degree in 2 years (the courses are offered in a 2-year cycle). The cost is $3600 for 9cr per semester, not sure if he can do 1 class at a time.

CSU-global has a MS in Finance, and you pay $1500 per course.

[rlw74]

Thank you for that info. I hadn't thought to look in-state. I just naturally went to online schools because that's the mode I've been in for the last 9 months. But we do have some great state schools here that have online programs too. Since he isn't looking to go fast maybe one or two classes at a time is the way to go.