Together with technology and consulting, the employment reports from competitive business schools in the state consistently list financial services in the top three industries where MBA graduates are hired.
Considering that demand, choosing an MBA with a focus in finance right from the start can make a lot of sense. You will gain:
- An advanced understanding of financial markets and derivatives
- The basics of evaluating securities and managing investment portfolios
- Asset valuation and advanced investment strategies
- Real estate investing and management
- Corporate governance and regulatory standards
Not only does finance represent a lot of the job openings, but it also has some of the most lucrative ones. For example, Stanford’s 2023 MBA Employment Report revealed that the average compensation for graduates going into finance was higher than that in any other category, coming in with offers of $200,000 or more… and expected bonuses of $150,000.
Just as critical, the tight current and historical connections between some of California’s most important industries and the world of finance can open doors in many different business sectors. Whether investment banking is calling to you or your aim is to become a CFO for tomorrow’s hottest new tech startup, an MBA in finance can be your best path.
An MBA Focus in Finance May Be the Most Californian of All Business Degrees
California has had a foot in the world of finance since James Marshall spotted bright shiny flecks of gold in the channel of the tailrace at Sutter’s Mill.
All that capital coming out of the ground between 1848 and 1855 built the city of San Francisco and launched the territory on a path to statehood. Crucially, it wasn’t the miners that got rich: it was the merchants and bankers who quickly developed a system of commerce who reaped the greatest rewards.
There are good reasons California is still called the Golden State.
In some ways, the California Gold Rush never really ended. Financial and business wizards here have spun around and parlayed new trends into shiny piles of money for a series of industries that have powered the state:
- International Trade - Gateway to the Pacific, California’s ports have been critical to development for almost 200 years. Today, the state remains a trade powerhouse, with exports in 2023 of nearly $180 billion according to the California Chamber of Commerce, and the number one importer of all foreign goods in the nation, primarily from China.
- Agriculture - The abundance of the Central Valley was one of the early draws for settlers to California, and the agricultural industry they built there remains a $60 billion industry that grows a full third of the nation’s crops each year.
- Entertainment - The motion picture industry started in Hollywood in the early 1900s and today generates some $200 billion a year through complex financing and distribution deals negotiated by business professionals.
- Information Technology - Silicon Valley was the beginning of another revolution that changed the world in the 1970s and remains the center of innovation for technology today. Much of what powered the growth of world-class California companies like Meta, Google, and Apple were the financial wizards in venture capital and private equity.
Each of these powerhouses have created a virtuous cycle in the state, where growing wealth creates investors, and investors create more wealth. Both at the corporate and individual level, that has led to ongoing demands for people with expertise in both business and finance.
California’s business schools have been around and been cross-pollinated through many of these waves of wealth-building. It’s a well-connected place to study the financial system and markets.
Why California is the Perfect Spot for Anybody Interested in an MBA in Finance
The finance, insurance, real estate, rental and leasing sector is the single largest component in California’s massive economy. According to 2020 data from the California State Assembly, it represents around 20 percent of the state GDP.
Finance doesn’t exist in a vacuum, though, particularly not in the Golden State. It’s wrapped up with other important trends in information technology, international trade, green business, and even entertainment. It’s a field that demands up-to-date education and information.
In fact, the state’s technology sector, a booming innovation engine that drives not just the regional, but also the global economy, would never have become what it is without finance. The investment banking and venture capital environment around the Bay Area poured the money into startups like Apple, Meta, Google, OpenAI, and other transformative multi-billion dollar companies.
Something similar is true in Hollywood, where financial engineering has frankly become the larger part of the entertainment industry.
Financial Reports with Some Special Effects Is the Real Magic of Hollywood
If you thought Fifty Shades Darker was a real clunker of a movie, you’re not alone — but thanks to business and finance experts, the sequel pulled in over $330 million globally on an $85 million budget, netting a tidy profit.
On the other side of the coin, Return of the Jedi brought in some $570 million at the box office and countless more in rentals and streaming royalties… but resulted in not a penny in income for LucasFilm, the studio that made it.
It’s all down to something called Hollywood Accounting… a specialization within financial engineering that can be just as creative as the filmmakers who use it.
Lining up investment, maximizing production credits, and putting together shell corporations to control contractual payouts is all a part of the game for movie studios today. A Production Finance Executive can have as much to do with a film’s success or failure as the top-billed star. And an MBA in finance can have a lot to do with your shot at a job as one of those executives.
While the degree you earn can be important to getting these positions, so can the school. Interested in film industry finances? Chapman, CSU LA, and Woodbury all have ties to entertainment. Looking for careers along Sand Hill Road? Stanford lets you write your own ticket, while other Bay Area finance MBAs have a strong shot at both Silicon Valley and Finance District jobs.
Either way, you’ll need a lot of savvy and strong quantitative reasoning skills. And that’s why an MBA is almost a must-have degree for success in California finance in any industry.
Master’s in Finance vs MBA in Finance – the Debate Among California Business Students
“But what about a Master of Science in Finance?”, you say.
It is the perennial debate in finance and business education: what are the pros and cons of an MBA versus a Master’s in Finance?
There are a few levels at which you can look at this.
As an academic matter, MF programs are concentrated entirely on the hardcore quantitative and analytical aspects of finance. They don’t branch out into other matters of business management, leadership, or strategy. They may, however, allow you to go far deeper into specific financial specializations, becoming an expert in areas like financial engineering or mathematical and computational finance—options you won’t find in any MBA.
As a career consideration, the numbers are clear: a Master of Finance graduate tends to earn less than an MBA grad from the same business school. Further, without the broader education of an MBA, promotion prospects can be limited. Fewer senior management positions are open with a more limited skillset.
From an admissions angle, however, you are likely to find it easier to be accepted to an MS in Finance vs an MBA. Also, as a one-year program, you can speed through finance grad degrees and get back out into the world of work much faster than in the average full-time MBA.
From the fiscal perspective, both the relatively short program and the lower overall demand can make master of finance degrees a more affordable option, as well.
Ultimately, your choice has to be grounded in your own skills, needs, and career plans. Six-figure salaries lie on the other side of either type of business degree. But as a rule, a more broad-based business education of the kind that comes with an MBA unlocks higher rungs on the career ladder more easily, and the greater compensation that comes with it.
Looking At an MBA in Finance Versus a Master’s in Finance May Miss the Point Bit
Plenty of people get wound up deciding between a finance-focused MBA or master’s in finance, but the reality is that some of the most revered degrees in the world of high finance don’t even come with a specialization.
One of the most searched terms in financial business education is “Stanford GSB MBA in finance” but Stanford doesn’t even have MBA concentrations. Yet Stanford graduates frequently go into finance — nearly 40 percent of the graduating class of 2023 did so — and they bring home top dollar despite not having a formal focus in the field.
That’s true of many California business schools. Differences in philosophy of business education may lead some of them not to create specializations in particular fields, but that doesn’t mean they don’t offer excellent elective coursework in those areas. In many cases, you can put together a first-rate and highly respected financial business education with almost any sort of MBA.
The Curriculum Found in California’s MBA in Finance Programs
A finance focus doesn’t fall far from the MBA core curriculum tree. Every MBA candidate will have a heavy dose of coursework such as:
- Financial Accounting
- Managerial Economics
- Corporate Financial Management
Finance-focused programs double down and go even more in-depth, unpacking many of the concepts that other students only cover in brief. Frequently, the concentrations offer a range of elective courses that allow you to tailor your financial education to a specific subject. Those can include:
- Options and Futures Trading
- Financial Markets
- Investment Banking and Asset Management
- Private Equity
- International Finance
- New Venture Financing
Additionally, you can expect guest lecturers and speakers drawn from the worlds of fintech, venture capital, and investment banking to lay down the latest on what it takes to work in those hot fields of finance.
There are also different types of finance MBAs in the market. You’ll find concentrations that are oriented more toward the accounting world and corporate financial management, while others lean toward investing or tax planning.
Finance is a big world and there is a lot of room for specialization even within MBA concentrations. The curriculum for each reflects that, and you’ll want to look closely at what each school has to offer to find out which aligns with your plans.
California’s MBA Programs with Concentrations in Finance Come With Real World Experience
California also offers a perfect lab for experiential studies and capstone projects in finance MBAs.
Some schools, including the Eberhardt School of Business at the University of the Pacific, even have student-managed investment funds that put you in charge of million dollar portfolios.
The MBA internship you get with a finance concentration can put you on the floor at big investment banks, VC firms, or private equity managers throughout the state. These opportunities give you months of valuable real-world experience that not only hone the lessons you learned in the classroom, but also put you in touch with valuable contacts that can smooth your path to employment later.
Additionally, many schools deliver an integrated capstone project that puts you on a project team engaging in real-world consulting projects for Fortune 500 companies, hot Silicon Valley startups, or cutting edge sustainable energy companies.
The Best MBA in Finance Programs in California
Since California has some of the finest MBA programs in the country, not to mention a great deal of history in specialized areas of finance, it’s a natural place to find the best financial business education available.
Most business schools in California offer MBA concentrations in finance.
In fact, most MBAs in California offer a finance specialization for their MBA programs. A significant sampling is shown here, both public and private:
Public
University of California - Berkeley
Haas School of Business
Berkeley, CA
Master of Business Administration - Finance Career Path
University of California - Davis
Graduate School of Management
Davis, CA
Master of Business Administration - Finance/Accounting Concentration
University of California - Riverside
School of Business
Riverside, CA
Master of Business Administration - Finance
University of California - San Diego
Rady School of Management
San Diego, CA
Master of Business Administration Specialization Certificate in Finance
University of California - Los Angeles
Anderson School of Management
Los Angeles, CA
Fully Employed Master of Business Administration Finance Specialization
Master of Business Administration Corporate Finance Specialization
Master of Business Administration Kayne Investment Management Specialization
San Diego State University
Fowler College of Business
San Diego, CA
Master of Business Administration Finance Specialization
Master of Science in Business Administration - Financial and Tax Planning
California State University - East Bay
College of Business and Economics
Hayward, CA
Master of Business Administration Finance concentration
California State University - San Bernardino
Jack H. Brown College of Business and Public Administration
San Bernardino, CA
Master of Business Administration Finance concentration
California State University - Long Beach
College of Business
Long Beach, CA
Evening Master of Business Administration Finance specialization
California State University - Fullerton
College of Business and Economics
Fullerton, CA
Master of Business Administration concentration in Finance
University of Massachusetts Global
School of Business and Professional Studies
Aliso Viejo, CA
Online Master of Business Administration in Finance
California State University - Los Angeles
College of Business and Economics
Los Angeles, CA
Master of Business Administration Finance concentration
California State University - Stanislaus
College of Business Administration
Stanislaus, CA
Master of Business Administration Finance Concentration
Private
University of Southern California
Marshall School of Business
Los Angeles, CA
Master of Business Administration Finance and Business Economics Concentration
Pepperdine University
Graziadio Business School
Malibu, CA
Master of Business Administration Finance concentration
Chapman University
Argyros College of Business and Economics
Orange, CA
Master of Business Administration Finance specialization
Claremont Graduate University
Drucker School of Management
Claremont, CA
Master of Business Administration in Management Sciences Finance certificate
Santa Clara University
Leavey School of Business
Santa Clara, CA
Master of Business Administration Finance concentration
Loyola Marymount University
College of Business Administration
Los Angeles, CA
Master of Business Administration Finance emphasis
University of San Francisco
Masagung Graduate School of Management
San Francisco, CA
Master of Business Administration Business Finance Accelerator platform
University of San Diego
Knauss School of Business
San Diego, CA
Master of Business Administration Finance concentration
Saint Mary’s College of California
School of Economics and Business Administration
Moraga, CA
Professional Master of Business Administration Finance concentration
Woodbury University
School of Business
Los Angeles, CA
Master of Business Administration Accounting-Finance concentration
Golden Gate University
Ageno School of Business
San Francisco, CA
Master of Business Administration Finance concentration
University of the Pacific
Eberhardt School of Business
Stockton, CA
Master of Business Administration Finance specialization
Mount Saint Mary’s University
Department of Business Administration
Los Angeles, CA
Master of Business Administration Finance and Accounting Concentration
Dominican University of California
Barowsky School of Business
San Rafael, CA
Master of Business Administration with a Concentration in Finance
National University
School of Business and Management
San Diego, CA
Master of Business Administration Financial Technology Specialization
Master of Business Administration Financial Management Specialization
La Sierra University
Tom and Vi Zapara School of Business
Riverside, CA
Master of Business Administration in Finance
California Lutheran University
School of Management
Thousand Oaks, CA
Master of Business Administration with an Emphasis in Finance
University of Redlands
School of Business and Society
Redlands, CA
Master of Business Administration: Finance Concentration
University of La Verne
College of Business
La Verne, CA
Master of Business Administration Finance concentration
University of the West
Rosemead, CA
Master of Business Administration Finance concentration
Azusa Pacific University
School of Business and Management
Azusa, CA
Master of Business Administration Finance concentration
Master of Business Administration Government Financial Management concentration
Abraham Lincoln University
School of Business Administration
Glendale, CA
Master of Business Administration Finance emphasis
Touro University Worldwide
School of Business and Management
Los Angeles, CA
Master of Business Administration Finance track
University of the People
Pasadena, CA
Master of Business Administration with Certificate in Finance
How To Evaluate the Best Business Schools in California for Your MBA in Finance
This is a broad selection of options at every level of cost and competition. Some schools even have multiple specializations aimed at finance careers. That opens the door to finding a school that offers the best fit for your personal goals as a financial business professional.
So how do you find the best fit from all these options?
You might look for a college that has strong clubs geared to financial MBA students, such as a Finance Club, FinTech Club, or Investment Club. Or some campuses, like San Diego State University, may have a branch of Beta Alpha Psi, the honor society for financial information students and professionals.
It may also be important to look at alumni networks and find out which universities are well represented in the financial sector. Many top schools are happy to brag about graduates who end up at heavyweights like Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, and BlackRock, or hot fintech startups like Square. Those alums can provide golden threads of connection to help you launch in the right direction.
Considering Earning Your MBA in Finance Online From a California University
Anyone who is serious about costs and optimal financial strategies in the business context has to give serious consideration to earning an online MBA in finance.
That’s because online degree programs offer one of the clearest paths to keeping the overall cost of an MBA at a manageable level.
This comes in three different ways:
- Flexible delivery and attendance options - Many online MBA in finance programs offer at least some courses asynchronously, which allows you to shift your studies around your existing day-to-day schedule. That can keep you working in your current position rather than having to take a leave of absence, and allow you to optimize your life instead of upending it to get to class on time.
- Staying home to study - Online degrees can happen without requiring you to relocate, which also opens the door to continuing to work while you study. It can also reduce your overall expenses by keeping you at home instead of moving to a more expensive area to be close to the university.
- Expanding your choices - If you aren’t otherwise planning to relocate, you’re restricted when looking at conventional finance MBAs to schools within commuting distance. California has a lot of choices, particularly in the Bay Area and around LA and San Diego. All those options are on the table with online programs. That increases your opportunity to find a program that offers a good fit at a good price.
Some California universities only offer their MBA in Finance through online options.
Online studies today in the MBA world are given the same weight as more traditional options and work better for professionals at many different stages of their career.
Are There Differences in Jobs Between a Master of Science in Finance vs MBA Financial Specializations?
No matter what degree you choose to pursue in California, be clear about one thing: businesses here are going to go with the best candidate for any open position, regardless of the degree on their resume. All these points are up for consideration:
- Your experience
- How you come off in the interview
- Performance and references
- Leadership qualities
And many finance-related positions are unique, pulling together a combination of skills from the business and accounting worlds. Your degree isn’t going to be the make-or-break qualification.
Expect a focused MS in finance to lead to positions that are more in the weeds of financial engineering and advising.
Master’s in finance jobs may have less broad management responsibilities or promotion potential than MBA in finance positions, however.
MBA in finance careers may start you off in some of the same places as an MS in finance, but give you broader perspective, communication skills, and management capabilities that ultimately push you higher up the corporate ladder.
What To Expect for MBA in Finance Salary Levels in California
MBA salaries in general track toward the top levels of business and management positions. It can be difficult to pin down the specifics, however, since the go-to source for salary data in the United States, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, doesn’t specifically track pay by level of education.
It’s reasonable to assume that an MBA can push your salary into the upper percentile for finance jobs, well north of the average which already comes in at a lofty $196,670 according to 2023 data for financial managers in the state.
How much higher can you go? Well, the sky is the limit, according to BLS… the top ten percent of financial managers in the state literally break the ceiling in the feds data collection system, coming in somewhere over their maximum value of $239,200 per year. The same is true, naturally, of chief executives, although you can expect the number to go considerably higher in that role.
Your salary with a finance MBA varies according to experience and industry as well as education.
You can expect to make considerably more working in investment banking, venture capital, or technology generally than in more old-school industries like agriculture or international trade. On the other hand, those businesses come with proven stability and consistency which you may prefer to the fast-paced hiring and firing in more trendy fields.
Across the board, however, top finance professionals tend to make their real money in bonuses and complex payouts for assets under management. Of course, an MBA equips you to calculate and negotiate the best possible salary package for your position.
Working with the money is always a good way to be the one making money, though. An MBA in finance puts you in the right position to reap the rewards.
2023 US Bureau of Labor Statistics salary and employment figures for Top Executives and Financial Managers reflect national data, not school-specific information. Conditions in your area may vary. Data accessed December 2024.