As you likely saw, the Finance Department at The University of Arizona Master's in Finance program, more formally called the Master of Science in Management with a Concentration in Finance (MMF) program, is an intense one calendar year program (August to August; Fall semester through Summer II). No work experience is required nor does it affect the admission decision.
We currently have only a Fall start to the program. The classes are all in finance during the calendar year, with the Master’s project completed under the supervision of a Finance faculty member during the Summer sessions following the Fall and Spring coursework. The department website (http://finance.eller.arizona.edu/masters) also includes descriptions of the three tracks in our MMF program, Fixed Income-Corporate Finance-Real Estate Finance, and descriptions of the courses offered.
The incoming Fall classes will normally be between 25 and 30 students, keeping the classes small and the students connected with the faculty. About 50-60% of the class will be international students, and 95% of those are from China and Taiwan. Many of the classes are also shared with 2nd-year MBA students in the College.
Detailed guidelines for admission (including submission requirements) are available on our website at http://finance.eller.arizona.edu/masters/ under Master's in Finance. The application is available through the University of Arizona Graduate College and you'll find a link to that site and other application requirements at http://finance.eller.arizona.edu/masters/admissions/, under MMF Application Package Requirements. You can complete The UA Graduate College application online at http://grad.arizona.edu/applynow.php. No specific form is required for the recommendation letters. FYI, at this time, no scholarship funds, stipends nor tuition waivers are available for master's level finance students.
We do require the GMAT exam and the average score of entering students is just over 600. The UA Graduate College requirement is a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or a GPA of 3.0 in the last 60 units.
The TOEFL is required and the desired score is 100 on the iBT. We will accept the IELTS in lieu of the TOEFL. The IELTS requirement, per the UA Graduate College, is as follows. “The minimum IELTS score requirement for admissions consideration is a score of 7, with a score of no less than 6 on any individual module.”
Please let me know if I can answer any other questions. The international student application deadline is December 1, 2012 for Fall 2013 consideration. Yes, your application material should be sent directly to the department at the address provided on our website.