Policies & Procedures

All graduate students are expected to be familiar with the University, College, and M.S. Finance program policies and procedures as outlined in the graduate catalog (http://catalog.wvu.edu/graduate/). Among other things, the graduate catalog details:

1. Academic and Professional Standards: http://catalog.wvu.edu/graduate/enrollmentandregistration/

  • Academic Rights, Penalties, and Appeals
  • Academic Dishonesty
  • Probation & Suspension
  • Research Integrity
  • Intellectual Property

2. Admission policies: http://catalog.wvu.edu/graduate/graduateeducationatwestvirginiauniversity/

  • Application
  • Admission to M.S. Finance and M.S. Finance-Energy Area of Emphasis—To gain admission to the M.S. finance programs, an applicant must have a bachelor's degree from an accredited institution. Admissions decisions are based on an assessment of expected success in the program shown by the application materials and according to space available. The Admissions Committee considers grade point average in all previous college-level work and also the grade point average in the last sixty hours of coursework. The Graduate Management Admissions Test (GMAT) is required and the Admissions Committee takes no action on an application for admission to the full-time program until the applicant submits a GMAT score. Each applicant must submit a resume with the application. Additionally, applicants are encouraged to submit a statement of purpose and two letters of reference. Each applicant will be interviewed either in person or by phone prior to admission. Provisional admissions are very rare and will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.

    International applicants are required to submit official scores from TOEFL or IELTS. The requirement is waived for students who have earned a prior degree from a U.S. institution. The College of Business & Economics TOEFL requirement is higher than the University's minimum.  Applicants must have a TOEFL score of either 580 (paper), 237 (computer), or 92 (Internet-based) or a minimum score on IELTS of 6.5.

    The following prerequisite courses may be taken at other institutions but must be successfully completed prior to entering the M.S. in finance program: Principles of Economics (6 credit-hours); Principles of Accounting (6 credit-hours); Business Finance, Investments, Statistics, and Calculus.

    Transcripts and Deadlines—Application for admission to the M.S. in finance program and official transcripts of all prior academic work should be submitted to the WVU Office of Admissions as early as possible. Applicants who have attended institutions other than WVU must request the registrar or records office of those institutions to forward a complete official transcript directly to the WVU Office of Admissions. Review of applications and consideration of financial awards will begin on January 15 and continue until April 15.
  • Classifications
  • International Student Admissions

3. Advising, Enrollment, and Evaluation: http://catalog.wvu.edu/graduate/advisingcoursesdegrees/advising_and_evaluation/

  • Advising
    • Advisor—The M.S. Finance Coordinator serves as the academic advisor to all students in the program.  For dual degree MBA/MS Finance students, the student will have a second advisor assigned from the MBA program.  As highlighted in the graduate catalog, "the advisor and student typically meet soon after the student's admission to the program to develop a plan of study and on a regular basis thereafter to monitor and review progress. In most programs the plan of study should be in place no later than the end of the student's first semester."
    • Plan of Study—The graduate catalog specifies that "All graduate students must have a plan of study, which is a formal agreement between the student and their program faculty regarding the conditions the student must meet to earn the desired degree. The plan of study usually lists required courses and activities and describes the timeline for these requirements. The plan may also include suggested or optional courses and activities. Each college or school determines the mechanisms for establishing, changing, and monitoring students' progress on plans of study." For the M.S. Finance program, each student should meet with the program coordinator within the first two weeks on campus to determine and sign a plan of study.  Near the end of each semester, the student and program coordinator should meet to review the plan of study and modify, if necessary.
    • Yearly Evaluation—"All graduate students who enrolled in at least one credit during the academic year are provided with a written evaluation from their program following the end of each spring term. This requirement may be waived for students in good standing who are expected to graduate in spring or summer."
    • Masters Committee—Although the M.S. Finance program does not require a thesis, a masters committee comprised of the program coordinator and at least two other faculty will be assigned to oversee students in the program.  This begins with review of applications, includes approval of plans of study, and continues through certification for graduation. A majority of the committee will hold regular graduate faculty status.
  • Enrollment
  • Grades—Note that the M.S. Finance program has a higher standard than the general University guideline (as outlined in the graduate catalog) for minimum performance. Students must earn a grade of C or better for all courses and have an overall GPA greater than or equal to 3.00 for graduation.

Academic Calendar: http://catalog.wvu.edu/graduate/westvirginiauniversitycalendar/

Degree Regulations: http://catalog.wvu.edu/graduate/advisingcoursesdegrees/degree_regulations/

  • Time Limits—Master's degree students are permitted to continue in a program for a maximum of eight years following their term of admission to the program. Students who have been inactive for two or more years or who exceed eight years following their term of admission are required to apply for readmission to the University and their graduate program.

    Graduate course work used to meet degree requirements must be satisfactorily completed within a period of eight years immediately preceding the conferring of the degree. Courses completed in the same term as degree conferral (fall, spring, summer) 8 years previously are considered to fall within the 8-year limit. A course completed more than eight years prior to the term of degree conferral must be revalidated if it is to be used toward meeting degree requirements.
  • Committees
  • Requirements—For graduation: Students anticipating completion of all degree requirements by the end of a term must complete an Application for Graduation (see registrar.wvu.edu/current_students) by the posted deadline for that term. The candidate must complete all requirements by posted deadlines. If the degree is not earned during that term, the student must submit a new Application for Graduation by the posted deadline for the term in which completion is again anticipated.

6. FERPA: http://catalog.wvu.edu/graduate/ferpa/index.html

Students at West Virginia University benefit from the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974. This Act, with which West Virginia University intends to comply fully, was designed to protect the privacy of education records, to establish the right of students to inspect and review their education records, and to provide guidelines for the correction of inaccurate or misleading data through informal and formal hearings. A more detailed explanation of rights afforded to students by FERPA can be found at: http://ferpa.wvu.edu/policy.

7. Financial Aid: http://catalog.wvu.edu/graduate/financialaid

  • Apply for Aid
  • Policies
  • Fellowships and Assistantships

8. M.S. Finance Program, Courses, and Credits: http://catalog.wvu.edu/graduate/collegeofbusinessandeconomics/finance/

  • Program Options
    • M.S. Finance
    • M.S. Finance-Energy Area of Emphasis
    • Dual degree MBA/M.S. Finance
    • Dual degree MBA/M.S. Finance-Energy Area of Emphasis
  • Credit-Hours—The M.S. Finance and M.S. Finance-Energy Area of Emphasis are each 38 credit-hour, non-thesis programs. The dual degree programs have a total of 79 credit-hours with 9 of those credit-hours meeting the requirements for each degree program.

9. Tuition, Fees, and Residency: http://catalog.wvu.edu/graduate/graduateeducationexpenses/

10. General University Information: http://catalog.wvu.edu/graduate/#text