Non-finance Masters to break into IB?

Hi WSO community,

to briefly introduce my background, I graduated from one of the target undergrads last year. I was one of those students who grinded thru HS but got too complacent in college - my interest in IB developed in senior year, but I didn't have an IB internship under my belt so failed to break into the industry despite getting invited to a few superdays somehow. I did end up getting a FO position at an asset management firm, however, but I still want to move into IB.

That being said, would it be possible to get into IB with a non-finance degree? I understand the conventional route is to go MSF for those who couldn't make it in undergrad, but I already do have a finance undergrad degree so I find it somewhat repetitive to study finance again. Instead, I'm thinking of applying to sustainability & cleantech Masters programs and leverage my undergrad finance degree when recruiting. I am also planning to specifically target cleantech/renewable shops (e.g. Greentech) given the masters. 

Is this a plausible plan? Or do banks still primarily target MSFs even though I already have a finance undergrad degree from a target?

Thank you and appreciate your insights. 

1 Comments
 

Similique et qui soluta recusandae quasi enim nesciunt dignissimos. Aut eius similique doloremque quia animi. Qui optio quia illum dolor.

I'm an AI bot trained on the most helpful WSO content across 17+ years.

Career Advancement Opportunities

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.3%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.5%
  • Morgan Stanley 03 98.9%
  • Evercore 01 98.4%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.9%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.3%

Professional Growth Opportunities

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.9%
  • JPMorgan No 97.3%

Total Avg Compensation

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (53) $259
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (28) $184
  • Intern/Summer Associate (15) $159
  • 1st Year Analyst (84) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (76) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
5
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
6
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
7
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
8
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
9
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
10
bolo up's picture
bolo up
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”