BS in Business Administration to MS in Finance

5 Years On Campus Bachelors Program

Boston University

Program Overview

Boston University’s BS in Business Administration to MS in Finance (BSBA-to-MSF) is a five-year pathway that lets well-prepared Questrom undergraduates earn a BSBA followed by an MS in Finance, creating a more direct route into advanced finance study while allowing up to 8 undergraduate units to be applied toward 6 graduate units. The pathway is designed for students who want broad business preparation followed by intensive finance training, with advanced study in areas such as private equity, AI for financial analysis and business valuation.

Curriculum Structure

Year 1: Students begin the BSBA with a broad business foundation, including QST SM 131 Introduction to Business, Markets, & Society, Microeconomics and Calculus. These courses introduce business functions, markets, analytical thinking and the role of business in society while establishing the quantitative foundation needed for later finance study.

Year 2: Students build core business and analytical skills through courses such as QST AC 221 Financial Accounting, QST BA 221 Introduction to Data and Business Analytics and QST MO 221 Leading People & Teams. Students also undertake the QST XP 298 Core Innovation Project, where teams work with corporate partners or executives and apply finance, operations, marketing and analytics to a real business challenge.

Year 3: Students deepen their financial and managerial knowledge through courses including QST FE 223 Introduction to Financial Management, QST IS 223 Information Systems and Emerging Technologies in Business and concentration coursework. Students entering the BSBA-to-MSF pathway should also complete at least two approved 500-level finance electives—QST FE 550 Private Equity: Leveraged Buyouts, QST FE 555 AI for Financial Analysis, or QST FE 562 Business Valuation—which can later be applied toward the MSF subject to the program rules.

Year 4: Students complete advanced BSBA study, including their finance concentration and QST SI 422 Strategy, Innovation, and Global Competition, while continuing professional preparation through the Career Journey sequence. The final undergraduate stage develops strategic thinking and financial specialization before students transition into the intensive graduate component.

Year 5: Students enter the MS in Finance for intensive graduate-level finance study and must complete a minimum of 27 graduate units in the BSBA-to-MSF pathway. Depending on the courses already completed, approved BSBA courses can replace MSF foundational requirements, allowing students to focus more directly on advanced finance areas such as corporate finance, investments, risk, data analytics, valuation, private equity and AI.

Focus Areas

Corporate finance, investment analysis, financial markets, business valuation, private equity, financial analytics, AI for financial analysis, risk management, portfolio management, data analytics

Learning Outcomes

Students achieve the combined learning outcomes of the BSBA and MSF, developing business knowledge, financial expertise, quantitative and analytical capabilities, strategic decision-making, communication, teamwork, leadership, global awareness, and the ability to evaluate the ethical and social implications of financial decisions.

Professional Alignment (Accreditation)

Boston University’s Questrom School of Business states that all undergraduate and graduate degree programs are accredited by AACSB International, providing an internationally recognized quality framework for business education. The MS in Finance curriculum is also aligned with the CFA Institute Candidate Body of Knowledge, supporting students who intend to pursue CFA qualifications.

Reputation (Employability Rankings)

Questrom reports that its BSBA is No. 38 among Best Undergraduate Business Programs by U.S. News & World Report, No. 17 among private universities, and in the Top 20 undergraduate business schools according to Poets & Quants. For the broader Questrom undergraduate cohort, the university reports 99% secured full-time jobs within six months of graduation and $87K+ average total compensation in the United States for the Class of 2025.

Experiential Learning (Research, Projects, Internships etc.)

The BSBA-to-MSF pathway combines Questrom’s undergraduate Action Learning model with the MSF’s intensive finance-focused practical work. Students can work on live corporate challenges, analyze real financial data, participate in case competitions, use AI tools for financial analysis, and gain direct exposure to investment decision-making through student-managed capital and portfolio-focused projects.

Key practical opportunities include:

Core Innovation Project (QST XP 298): Teams work with corporate partners or executives on a real business challenge, integrating finance, operations, marketing, data analytics and innovation into a business recommendation.
Finance Action Learning Project: Questrom concentrations include an Action Learning Project in which student teams address a current real-world problem for an external client and present their recommendations.
QST FE 555 AI for Financial Analysis: Students can use AI platforms and financial-analysis workflows to investigate risk factors and analyze large collections of financial documents.
QST FE 562 Business Valuation: Students learn to analyze financial statements, build forecast models, assess cost of capital and determine company value—skills applicable to corporate finance, private equity, investment banking and public-equity investing.
Financial Practicum (FE 840): Small teams analyze an industry and its portfolio implications and present their recommendations to a panel of working portfolio managers.
Graduate Finance & Investment Club: Students manage a portion of a real $1.2 million stock investment fund, making and defending investment-allocation decisions.
Case competitions: The Battle of the Boutiques gives teams a real company challenge and requires them to develop and present a strategic recommendation to experienced consultants and hiring managers.
Global Business Experience: BSBA students can complete QST XP 301 Global Business Experience through approved international experiences, adding a global dimension to their business education.
Finance-focused technology and analytics: The MSF curriculum incorporates statistics, data analytics and AI tools, including LLMs, natural-language processing, factor models and portfolio optimization.
Financial Industry Practicum: Students on the MSF extended track can undertake QST IM 888 Financial Industry Practicum, providing an opportunity for an internship or project, including CPT for eligible international students.
Boston financial ecosystem: Questrom reports approximately 500 finance-firm visits to Questrom each year, alongside 79 finance and accounting faculty and 14 finance-oriented student clubs.

Progression & Future Opportunities

The BSBA-to-MSF pathway is designed to take students from broad business preparation into specialized finance careers, with the MSF providing advanced training in financial analysis, corporate finance, investment management, risk and related areas. Questrom identifies career paths including financial analysis, corporate finance management, financial advising, wealth management, investment banking, security research and valuation analysis, portfolio analysis and management, and consulting.

Typical career directions include: Financial Analyst, Corporate Finance Analyst, Investment Banking Analyst, Portfolio Analyst

Career development and employment support include:

Dedicated career support: MSF students receive a dedicated career coach, a summer career course before arrival, a weekly calendar of finance-industry events and access to nine Feld Center industry advisors.
Questrom undergraduate career support: The Feld Center provides personalized career guidance, career fairs, company events and support throughout the undergraduate Career Journey sequence.
Employment outcomes: Questrom reports 99% of undergraduate graduates secured full-time jobs within six months and $87K+ average total compensation for the Class of 2025 in the United States. These are Questrom undergraduate figures rather than outcomes specifically attributable to the BSBA-to-MSF pathway.
Recent employment benchmark: Questrom's published undergraduate employment report for the Class of 2024 reported a 98% employment rate at six months and $80,382 mean first-year total compensation among reported U.S. employment outcomes.
Finance-industry connections: Questrom reports approximately 500 finance-firm visits each year, providing students with opportunities for employer exposure and professional networking.
Alumni network: Questrom has more than 54,000 alumni, while BU Connects provides a wider university networking community.
Industry-linked learning: Students can engage with corporate partners through undergraduate Innovation Projects and with portfolio managers, consultants and other finance professionals through MSF practicum and case-competition experiences.
Professional value: Questrom's AACSB accreditation applies to its undergraduate and graduate degree programs, while the MSF curriculum is aligned with the CFA Institute Candidate Body of Knowledge.
MSF career breadth: Questrom identifies opportunities across financial analysis, corporate finance, wealth management, investment banking, portfolio management, security research and valuation, and consulting.

Further Academic Progression: The defining progression route is built into the program itself: students complete the BSBA and then continue into the MS in Finance as a fifth year. The pathway allows up to 8 undergraduate units to count toward 6 MSF units, subject to the program rules and advisor approval, while students must complete at least 27 units as graduate students.