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A new partnership created between Christopher Newport University and Hampden-Sydney College will broaden the impact and reach of Christopher Newport’s innovative Master of Financial Analysis (MFinA) graduate degree. It provides for five exceptional juniors and seniors from Hampden-Sydney College to be nominated each year as candidates for admission into Christopher Newport’s MFinA program. The collaboration between the two schools offers a unique opportunity to Hampden-Sydney students, as Christopher Newport is the only school in Virginia offering a MFinA.
“We are thrilled to partner with Hampden-Sydney to enroll graduates of this historic liberal arts college into Christopher Newport's state-of-the-art Master of Financial Analysis program with its emphasis on the data analytics needed for tomorrow’s finance and accounting careers,” said Dr. Lynn Lambert, Associate Provost for Research and Dean of Graduate Studies at Christopher Newport.
The MFinA degree is the Luter School of Business’s newest graduate program. It is designed to elevate a student’s ability to succeed in today’s ever-changing business world.
“It is a cutting-edge graduate program that operates at the intersection of the fields of accounting, finance, and data analytics,” said Dr. Sean Heuvel, Director of Graduate Recruitment and Admission at Christopher Newport. “It is designed to help students prepare for how those fields will continue to evolve as we progress into the 21st century. As such, it is appealing to recent graduates as well as people who are already in the workforce.”
Created in 2020, the MFinA is a one-year program that appeals to accounting and finance majors, as well as students majoring in marketing and management who wish to broaden the scope of their business insight.
Students who majored in non-business subjects may also find career benefits to pursuing an MFinA, however, they must have completed some business courses along with the prerequisite course requirements in order to be admitted.
To ensure eligibility and a smooth transition, Christopher Newport will assist nominated Hampden-Sydney students in crafting a plan to complete all prerequisite courses before they begin their graduate studies. Once students are admitted into the program, they’ll be assisted by the Luter School of Business career planning office in finding a career-related internship to be completed during the summer between their junior and senior years.
Dr. Mike McDermott, Dean of the Faculty at Hampden-Sydney College, said the agreement between Christopher Newport and H-SC will benefit students by immersing them in a graduate program that will help them realize their business aspirations. The MFinA program will build on the educational foundation that the students received at Hampden-Sydney and allow them to take their business acumen to the next level.
“We’re pleased to have this opportunity to foster a productive partnership between Hampden-Sydney College and Christopher Newport University. With its emphasis on professional skill development through interactive, hand-on learning, set alongside a commitment to developing ethical, community-minded business leaders, the MFinA program at CNU is a great complement to the Hampden-Sydney undergraduate experience.”
Nominated candidates must have a strong work ethic, maturity, and integrity. They also are required to have a grade point average of 3.0 or higher. Nominated students will not be required to submit a GMAT score with their application, and their application fee will be waived. Juniors and seniors at Hampden-Sydney who apply and are accepted this year will enter into the MFinA program in the fall of 2024.
Alan Witt, Dean of the Luter School of Business, is confident the innovative partnership between the schools will help strengthen and expand Christopher Newport’s MFinA program.
"Partnerships like this are an invaluable part of our outreach efforts as we continue to grow the reach and reputation of CNU's Master of Financial Analysis program across Hampton Roads, the Commonwealth, and beyond,” Witt said.