The finance industry has always gone hand-in-hand in the MBA. Even as MBAs are becoming increasingly popular in other industries, finance is still the biggest MBA job sector and accounts for 22 percent of all MBA jobs, according to the 2014/15 QS TopMBA.com Jobs and Salary Trends Report.
The San Diego Metro is yet another business school destination chock full of MBA programs with finance concentrations. Here are a few of the top San Diego finance MBA programs:
The Best San Diego Finance MBA Programs
Alliant School of Management – Alliant International University
The Alliant School of Management was formed in 2001 when The California School of Professional Psychology and United States International University merged. Since then, the university has made preparing students to be part of an increasingly global and diverse workforce one of its primary missions.
At its San Diego campus, Alliant offers an evening MBA program for working professionals. Meanwhile, MBA classes are also offered at Alliant’s San Francisco, Irvine and Fresno campuses. Students can work toward their degree entirely online. The program is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC).
As far as finance specializations go, Alliant offers an MBA concentration in International Investments Management. According to the school the concentration provides students a broad understanding and skills in financial markets, financial management as well as investments and trading. Students in this track are expected to take courses like International Financial Management and International Financial Markets.
California International Business University (CIBU)
California International Business University’s (CIBU) take on business school is a unique blend of the American and Scandinavian approaches to business studies. In fact, CIBU partners closely with the Niels Brock Copenhagen Business College and has plans to eventually merge the two schools.
CIBU offers a Master of Business Administration (MBA) and an MBA (Vatel) with a Tourism and Hospitality concentration and is accredited by the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools (ACICS). While the MBA program offers no specialization or concentration in finance, Corporate Finance is among the necessary core course students enrolled in the degree program must take.
Fermanian School of Business – Point Loma Nazarene University
Point Loma Nazarene University (PLNU) was founded in the Los Angeles area by Dr. Phineas F. Bresee in 1902, but moved to its current location in Point Loma, San Diego in 1973. Currently accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges, PLNU started offering MBAs in 2001 at the Mission Valley campus.
The Fermanian School of Business offers a one-year, full-time daytime MBA degree, in addition to a 24-28 months evening part-time MBA. PLNU’s MBA program doesn’t have a finance specialization, but Financial Management is a required course. The course addresses the topics of evaluating financial performance, financial forecasting, asset valuation, capital budgeting, planning the firm’s capital structure and corporate restructuring.
Fowler College of Business Administration – SDSU
San Diego State University College of Business was the first business school in California to earn AACSB accreditation when it did so in 1959, and was one of the first business schools in the state to gain this distinction. Today, the college has grown into one of the largest business schools in Southern California.
The school offers a full-time and part-time MBA, an Executive MBA and a Sports Business Management MBA. Fowler offers an MBA Specialization in Finance, which provides students with an curriculum focusing on four career tracks: Financial Management, Investment Management, Financial Institutions Management and Wealth Management.
Rady School of Management – UC San Diego
Although it is a relatively new business school, the the Rady School of Management offers one of the premiere San Diego Finance MBA programs. The school offers a full-time MBA that typically takes 21 months to complete. It also offers two flexible programs: The FlexEvening MBA, which requires 30 consecutive months to complete, and the FlexWeekend MBA, which takes 24 consecutive months.
Rady students can shape their degree with any of the school’s MBA elective course offerings. In fact, more than half of the Rady MBA program is made up of elective coursework. High-level finance electives are available, such as Financial Risk Management, where students learn how to identify, measure and analyze investment risks associated with interest rates, currency exchange, equity markets and acquire techniques to manage and control risk through the use of over-the-counter and exchange-traded derivatives.
University of San Diego School of Business Administration
Founded in 1972, the School of Business Administration at the University of San Diego offers two MBA programs: a full-time MBA and a Professional part-time MBA. School of Business Administration MBA students may focus elective coursework in an area of concentration, including two finance concentrations.
The Corporate Finance Track provide students with the skills to pursue career opportunities in corporate finance, multinational financial management and in venture capital finance. Additional career opportunities include business consulting and investment banking. Meanwhile, the Investments Track can open doors for career opportunities in financial services industry and investment analysis. Additional career opportunities include wealth management and risk management.