Business Administration, Finance: International Finance M.S.

Andrew J. Wagner, Ph.D., Director

Professors: Harris, Wagner
Assistant Professors: Huang, Zong
Cergy Faculty: Bal, Bellalah, Garcin, Lenfle, Martel, Mellios, Pfeffer, Prigent

View information for the Department of Accounting and Finance , or for the College of Business Administration .

The program provides study in advanced concepts of international finance. This program is designed for corporate managers of international finance as well as the recent graduates who are interested in advanced study in the field of international finance. The program is a one-year, full-time, lock-step, cohort program. The fall semester is taught on the campus of CSU Stanislaus. The spring semester is taught on the campus of Université de Cergy-Pontoise.

The Université de Cergy-Pontoise is situated in the northwestern part of the Paris region. The town has more than 200,000 residents. The university is multidisciplinary, providing both academic and vocational courses. More than 10,000 students from widely diverse social backgrounds make up its student body.

Admission to the Program

Qualified applicants holding an earned bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university may be admitted to the program. Students who do not hold a bachelor’s degree in business administration from an accredited college or university must complete the following courses (15 units) with the grade of “C” or better before being admitted to the program:

• ACC 2110 Financial Accounting* (3 units)
• ACC 2130 Managerial Accounting* (3 units)
• FIN 3220 Business Finance* (3 units)
• ECON 2500 Principles of Macroeconomics* (3 units)
• ECON 2510 Principles of Microeconomics* (3 units)

*Please consult the Undergraduate catalog for undergraduate-level course descriptions.

Each applicant must submit the following to the Graduate School:

1. A fully completed California State University Application for Graduate Admission, submitted online at www.csumentor.edu.
2. Two copies of official transcripts from each college attended other than CSU Stanislaus, submitted to the Graduate School in MSR 160.

Each applicant also must submit the following to the program director:

1. Three letters of recommendation from faculty and/or other sources.
2. The Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) score, which should be sent directly from the testing service. (The Graduate Record Examination [GRE] is not an acceptable substitute for the GMAT.) The program director will consider indicators of high promise of success in a postgraduate study of finance from the following, listed in priority order:
   1. Candidate’s performance on the GMAT. All candidates must sit for the GMAT prior to being admitted to the program, and must achieve a score of 500 or higher on that exam. (If a score of 500 or better is not achieved, the candidate will not be considered for admission into the program.)
   2. Candidate’s overall or upper-division grade-point average prior to admission to the program, based on the following criteria:
      1. A total of at least 1150 points on the formula (200 times the overall grade point average plus the GMAT total score).
      2. A total of at least 1200 points on the formula (200 times the upper-division grade point average plus the GMAT total score).
   3. Experience as demonstrated by a record of appropriate employment at increasing levels of responsibility.
3. Applicants whose native language is not English or French must take the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) and have a minimum total score of 550, with part scores of at least 54, reported directly from the testing service, or the equivalent as approved by the Graduate School.

Comprehensive Examination Procedures

Each participating professor will submit a list of questions pertaining to his/her course being taught. The program directors from CSU Stanislaus and Université de Cergy-Pontoise will work together to compile the comprehensive exam from these lists of questions, with each topic to be covered in a separate section. The program directors are responsible for the administration of the comprehensive exam.

After the coursework is completed and prior to participating in the internship course, all MSBA, Finance: International Finance students are required to take the comprehensive exam simultaneously. Participating professors are expected to grade their respective sections. If a student fails the comprehensive exam, then (s)he may retake it after completion of the internship. The new exam will be compiled in the same way that the first exam was. If a student fails the comprehensive exam twice, then the MSBA, Finance: International Finance degree will not be granted.