It has been a number of years since I last checked in on the University of Houston Masters in Finance program and I see there has been some updates since then. Figured it made sense to do a refresh post on the program as Houston and Texas are very popular job markets right now. This MSF offers a lot of flexibility and anyone in the Houston area should definitely have this program on their list.
Overview
This is a 30-credit hour program, offering online, full time and part time options for study. Students take 9 required credit hours with the rest being electives, allowing you to pick from 5 different focus areas (Real Estate, Corporate Finance, Energy Finance, Investments & Portfolio Management and Quantitative Finance). This MSF is STEM Certified, very important for international students.
Students take part in the Cougar Investment Fund where they invest in a multi-million dollar investment fund and manage real money. There is also an industry consulting project which gives students the opportunity to earn 3 credit hours over the summer working on an actual business project.
This MSF is part of the CFA University Affiliate Program meaning a 70% or more of the CFA body of knowledge is taught throughout this degree. A number of CFA scholarships is offered as part of this.
Class Profile
Below is the current class profile I found on the website. Not sure what class year this is, but I would consider this a good guide for the stats required to get admitted to this program.
- Average Undergraduate GPA – 3.51
- Average GMAT – 618
- Male/Female – 69% / 31%
- Average Age – 26
- Average Years Professional Experience – 2.3
Admissions
Below are the upcoming application deadlines. Plenty of time if your goal is to apply this year.
| Fall 2025 | Spring 2026 | Fall 2026 | Spring 2027 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Application opens | August 1, 2024 | May 1, 2025 | August 1, 2025 | May 1, 2026 |
| International Application Deadline |
March 21, 2025 | October 1, 2025 | March 1, 2026 | October 1, 2026 |
| International Confirmation Fee Deadline |
April 15, 2025 | October 15, 2025 | April 15, 2026 | October 15, 2026 |
| Domestic Application Deadline |
July 1, 2025 | December 1, 2025 | July 1, 2026 | December 1, 2026 |
| Domestic Confirmation Fee Deadline |
July 31, 2025 | December 15, 2025 | July 31, 2026 | December 15, 2026 |
Tuition for this MSF is done four ways, all pretty affordable:
- Resident tuition and fees – $30,100
- Non-Resident tuition and fees – $45,300
- International Student (w/ resident tuition) – $35,400
- International Student – $50,700
There are also a number of scholarships available to qualified students to help reduce the cost of attendance.
Careers
The MSF program has some career information located on the Rockwell Career Center page.
- 94% Accepted Offers within 6 months
- $83,907 Average Starting Salary
- 47% Average Salary Increase
Here is a list of hiring firms:
- Alvarez & Marsal
- Baker Hughes
- BOK Financial
- BP
- Deloitte
- DHL
- Enterprise Products
- Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors,
- Friedkin Group
- Halliburton
- HP Inc.
- Huntsman
- JP Morgan Chases
- Kinder Morgan
- Kroll
- M&T Bank
- Mabry Custom Homes
- MCKinsey
- Medline Products
- National Property Valuation Advisors,
- NextEra Energy Resources
- Pelican Energy Partners
- Phillips 66
- Resa Power
- Silvergrove Advisors
- Tenaris
- Wallis Bank
This is a great list of banks, oil & gas companies as well as consulting and wealth management. With all the specializations this MSF offers you can really tailor your education to suite the career of your choice.
—
This program provides quite a bit of detail and I love seeing good placement information as well. If you are looking at a Texas based graduate program, definitely make sure to consider this MSF.
Here is a link to the University of Houston Masters in Finance Program
