The Master's Program in Finance is a program offered by the Department of Finance at the College of Business Administration, which aims to enhance students with knowledge related to the science of finance and its applications to developments and issues in the contemporary and ever-changing business environment. The program also enhances the skills necessary for students that will be effective in analyzing, evaluating and developing financial management in business sectors.

The Master of Science in Finance program is designed with a comprehensive curriculum through a combination of core courses and a wide range of elective courses. The program's courses cover everything related to the modern financial industry required by today's world (corporate finance, financial engineering, financial markets, investment, behavioral finance, and more).

The Finance Department’s design for this specific program came in response to the Saudi academic and professional community’s need for highly qualified national cadres, which would enable them to complete advanced postgraduate programs such as Ph.D. The program will also contribute to activating the Kingdom's Vision 2030, which focuses on enhancing investment in the Kingdom significantly, and therefore the Master of Science in Finance program will provide this sector and others with a qualified group of students and professionals.

The program targets fresh graduates who have a bachelor's degree and wish to enhance their scientific knowledge in the field of finance. The program also targets professionals working in the financial sector in business companies in the private and government sectors who wish to enhance their capabilities and business opportunities in the financial sector.

• Providing students with knowledge related to the science of finance and its applications to developments and issues in the contemporary business environment.
• Providing students with skills and knowledge related to the analysis, evaluation and development of financial management in business sectors.
• Providing students with financial knowledge and skills that will enable them to apply for an examination for obtaining international professional certificates in the field of finance.
• Enhancing students' abilities to present and discuss their research ideas.
• Developing students’ abilities and skills in conducting scientific research in a systematic scientific manner that provides real scientific additions.
• Enhance students’ research capabilities related to the analysis of financial and economic models using a range of research methods, data, and statistical analysis techniques.
• Orienting students’ research towards studying and analyzing business financial problems in the Saudi market and proposing appropriate solutions.
• Enhancing students' abilities in the decision-making process.
• Enhancing students’ capabilities in interpreting and reading numbers and financial data and applying appropriate statistical and mathematical methods to deal with financial problems and phenomena in the business environment.
• Enhance students' abilities in teamwork, leadership and communication with others.

• Fulfilling the admission requirements stipulated in the unified regulations for postgraduate studies in Saudi universities, and the organizational rules and procedures for postgraduate studies at King Faisal University.
• The applicant must have a regular bachelor’s degree in finance, accounting, or economics from a Saudi university or any other recognized university.
• The student must submit two scientific recommendations from professors who have taught him previously.
• The applicant must pass the personal interview for the program.
• The student must submit an approval from his reference to study if he is an employee.
• The applicant must have obtained a minimum score of 4 in the IELTS test or its equivalent in the TOEFL test.

• Finishing the required number of compulsory study hours for the program from the Finance Department or other departments.
• Completion of the number of elective hours required for the program.
• Finishing the number of academic hours allocated to the research project.
• Completion of all accredited academic hours with a cumulative grade point average of no less than very good.
• The student must complete the master's degree within four semesters, or a maximum of eight semesters.

The College of Business Administration at King Faisal University is considered the first college in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the fourth in the Arab world, in that its "Bachelor of Business Administration with a Specialization in Finance" program, presented by the Department of Finance, has been recognized by the Chartered Financial Analysts Institute.

The recognition of the Finance Program comes within the framework of achieving the vision and mission of the Finance Department, which is to achieve leadership and excellence in the academic and professional environment in the field of finance and investment, and to achieve a good position to contribute to lifelong learning. The CFA Institute's recognition of the Finance program indicates that the program includes basic knowledge, skills and abilities that are accepted and applied by all investment and finance professionals all over the world, as the scientific content of the Finance program covers more than 70% of the CFA Institute curriculum and this is the most prominent condition For universities to obtain recognition by the Institute. Where the Institute of Chartered Financial Analysts seeks to enhance the knowledge of investment science based on the ethics of the profession.

What is the Institute of Chartered Financial Analysts?

The CFA Institute is the global association of leading investment analysts and professionals, with more than 148,000 members in more than 163 countries and territories and over 142,000 CFA charters. The Institute of Chartered Financial Analysts is considered a pioneer of ethical and professional conduct in the financial and investment markets and an excellent and reliable source of knowledge in the international financial community. Where the Institute aims to create an environment in which the investor's interest is the basis and that the financial markets work in the best form and contribute to the growth of economies.

Who does the CFA Institute give recognition to?

The CFA Institute has a long history of collaborating with many universities around the world. This is considered as part of the institute's mission to develop standards of education, ethics and professional excellence. In this context comes a program:

The University Affiliation Program

Among the most prominent frameworks of cooperation between the Institute of Chartered Financial Analysts and educational institutions. Through this program, the Institute of Chartered Financial Analysts grants recognition to the university, which includes its advanced educational program to obtain recognition, a large percentage estimated at least 70% of the approved scopes of the Institute of Chartered Financial Analysts within the so-called:

CFA® Program Candidate Body of Knowledge™ (CBOK)

The main scopes include (ethical and professional standards, quantitative methods, business economics, financial reporting and analysis, corporate finance, equity investments, fixed income investments, financial derivatives, alternative investments, portfolio management and wealth planning). In addition to fulfilling a number of other conditions. The fact that King Faisal University obtained the recognition of the CFA Institute gives positive signals to students, employers and employers that its recognized educational program is distinguished and closely related to the profession and practice of investment and finance management in accordance with the standards of the Institute, which also helps prepare students well for the CFA Institute program . The university will also receive a set of annual grants provided by the institute to students and faculty members, in addition to many other benefits.

Within the framework of cooperation between the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Institute and King Faisal University, the Finance Department at the College of Business Administration and through the Institute will annually offer male and female students of the Bachelor of "Finance" a set of grants to study the CFA program, in order to help students to obtain Certified Financial Analyst Certification. Where the institute cancels the enrollment fees for the program and adopts a nominal fee for registration, while making an electronic copy of the institute’s curriculum available to grantees.

Those wishing to receive the scholarship are required to achieve the following:

• The applicant should be one of those currently enrolled in the “Finance” BA program and should be in the last academic year.
• Attach the most recent academic record (70% counts in the assessment)
• Take a written competitive examination (calculated at 30% in the assessment)
• Attach an updated CV in English.

The previous documents shall be sent via e-mail to His Excellency the Head of the Finance Department, Dr. Wadah bin Ibrahim Al Sheikh Mubarak

Those who will be accepted will apply online on the CFA Institute website at the following link

For more information and admission requirements

The College of Business Administration at King Faisal University is the first college in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to obtain its "Bachelor of Finance" program, which is offered by the Department of Finance, with professional accreditation from the Chartered Institute for Securities and Investment.

The Chartered Institute of Securities and Investments

It is the leading professional body for professionals in securities, investment, wealth and financial planning. The Institute works to encourage each of its members, as well as those who strive to achieve the highest professional standards in financial services. The institute was founded in 1992 by practitioners of the London Stock Exchange, and currently has over 45,000 members in 104 countries. It sets annually a wide range of examinations in more than 80 countries, and examinations cover a wide range of professional qualifications.

In the Finance Department, we aim to obtain accreditation and educational partnership with the Chartered Institute of Securities and Investments to develop and ensure the quality of the finance program. In addition to that, students of the department get many advantages, the most prominent of which are:

• 10 annual grants to test one of the CISI qualifications.
• Raising the confidence of our students and enhancing their professional competence in the field of financial services by helping them and facilitating their access to globally recognized CISI qualifications.
• Enhancing the competitive capabilities of the department’s male and female students in the labor market and increasing their chances of obtaining prestigious jobs in the financial sector, which is one of the twelve executive programs to achieve the Kingdom’s 2030 vision.
• Department students receive a 50% discount on the fees for exams and scientific materials at CISI.
• Availability of learning resources on the institute's website for students of the department wishing to take CISI exams.

Within the framework of cooperation and educational partnership between the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment and King Faisal University, the Department of Finance at the College of Business Administration will annually offer students of the “Finance Program” a set of scholarships to study CISI qualifications such as:

• Fundamentals of Financial Services
• International Introduction to Securities & Investment

This is to help male and female students to obtain professional qualifications for CISI.

Those wishing to receive the scholarship are required to achieve the following:

• The applicant should be one of those currently enrolled in the "Finance" program and should be at the seventh academic level or in cooperative training.
• Attach the most recent academic record (70% counts in the assessment)
• Take a written competitive examination (calculated at 30% in the assessment)
• Attach an updated CV in English.

The previous documents shall be sent via e-mail to His Excellency the Head of the Finance Department, Dr. Abdulaziz Al-Sahlawi

For more information, you can visit the following links: