Business School Offers 2 New Master's Degrees

To keep pace with the changing business world’s demands, UT Dallas is rolling out new graduate programs in finance and supply chain management.

The School of Management’s new master’s programs make their debut in August.

The finance degree will prepare students for a variety of careers.  Students will specialize by choosing one of four degree concentrations:

• Financial Analysis, for students interested in completing the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) examinations in preparation for careers as financial analysts.
• Financial Management, allows students to tailor their course work for careers in a range of activities: e.g., corporate finance, investment banking, venture capital, private equity, commercial banking, insurance, etc.
• Financial Risk Management, designed for students interested in careers in financial risk management and one of the financial risk management certifications.
• Financial Engineering, designed for students with the quantitative ability to pursue a career applying quantitative methods to investment and risk management problems.

“These are some pretty hot areas right now that will help people planning to take specific certifications,” said David Ritchie, associate dean for operations in the School of Management.  Dr. David Cordell is faculty liaison for the program.

Dr. Robert Kieschnick, associate professor of managerial economics and finance, pulled together observations from graduate students and employers to fashion the new degree. 

“Students wanted to be identified as a master of finance; the old degree didn’t identify their expertise,” Dr. Kieschnick said. “This degree better suits their needs.  If you were to ask people what they wanted in finance, this is what they would ask for.”

For the master’s degree in supply chain management, students will study the intricacies of supply chain management, which is the discipline of finding the cheapest and most timely way to procure parts and supplies for a company’s operations.

Because businesses spend billions of dollars buying parts from all over the world, even a marginal improvement in the procurement process can result in substantial cost savings and the reduction of bottlenecks.

A supply chain manager bridges the gap between a company’s needs and the availability of supplies.  The manager must use his knowledge to optimize the process.  The tools include inventory management, logistics, information technology, marketing and negotiation.

The program will furnish opportunities to learn about improvement of supply chain operations in addition to projects and connections with area companies.  “The program has been driven by the industry and tailored by people high up in surrounding corporations,” said Dr. Avanti Sethi, faculty liaison for the supply chain management degree. “They told us what they needed and we built from there.”