All the MSF programs I can think of are going to require you to take some math classes to brush up.

Claremont McKenna, Vandy, Purdue, Kansas, Alabama, Villanova, etc.

I mention some of these lesser known programs because they all have finance PhD programs and will most likely let you roll your MSF into a PhD. Villanova has a couple MSF--> PhD students. Vanderbilt and Claremont do also.

London School of Economics

If my end goal is to get accepted into the best Finance PhD program possible...do you think it would be advantageous to get a masters degree in finance, as opposed to something like economics? (or mathematics, engineering, statistics, etc...for that matter)

If that's what you really want to do I think an MS in applied math- from a strong program- might be a good route. You've got to strengthen the quantitative background. Chicago has an excellent reputation for Mathematics and my experience has been that it's a little more open-minded about students with non-standard undergraduate majors.

That said, it's extremely difficult to get into a finance PhD program- and I might have heard that it's also tough to get funding once you're in.

If I may ask, why do you want a Finance PhD?

MSF at Princeton. Top notch program, but good luck getting in.

Chicago, CMU, Cornell, and Columbia are all pretty top-notch, too. Anthony has a great blog on QuantNet, and QuantNet's annual rankings typically put all of them in the top five, but it's tough to distinguish which programs are really the best at that level.

If the OP has a solid background, gets his required coursework, an 800Q on the GREs, and he can get a strong- and I mean strong letter of reference from a math professor, I think he stands as good a shot as anyone else at all five of those schools' MFE/FinMath/MSF programs. (Please note the extra programming requirements at CMU).

Whoa, how did this turn from a MSF with a liberal arts background to recommending quant programs that are suited for engineers or math majors lol.

If you have no math classes I would recommend taking some stats and calc at a community college. Once you do that they start looking at programs. A MFE or PhD in finance is going to involve some very high end math. Start now.

Thank you all for the great responses. I guess that I probably should have been a little more thorough in the original post though...

1) Math. Math isn't my favorite subject. It's not that I'm bad at it - I've gotten an A in every math class I've ever taken (stats101 and econ101 in college), and I got a 30 on the math section of the ACT - it's just that classroom mathematics are a little boring. So, I'm going to be trying to take the least quantitative route possible to getting a finance PhD (and I know, it's still going to be very, very quantitative). With that being said, which kind of pre-phd masters program would you reccomend? Finance or Economics?

2) Math in the Profession. From what I've been told, high-end math skills aren't THAT essential to being a successful professional in the field of investment management, aside from in the highest-end quant roles. Has that been true in your experiences? Which fields (or more specifically, which roles in those fields) DO require a great deal of mathematical prowess?

3) PhD. Why do I want to get a PhD (as opposed to an MBA, I'm assuming is what your asking). Look, I love finance. I love everything about it. The investment strategies, the theories, the competition, the game like aura about it. It really fascinates me like nothing else I've encountered to this point in my life. I really want to become an expert of those theories. It's just that the typical lifestyle of a high-end financial professional isn't for me. I think I'd rather just make 100k a year as a professor and have a more relaxed lifestyle. I'd like to work for a fund for maybe 10 or so years after getting my phd - just to make some money to invest for myself - but I know that I'll eventually want to settle down and teach.

PhD math is no joke. I would consider it slightly less intense then Econ math. If you are not into math like that get your CFA and get into AM. Hours suck in banking, but are reasonable in other fields.

PhD Finance math is no joke you mean?

I really just like the idea of eventually being a b-school professor Anthony. Good hours. Summers off. High pay. Tenure. And you can do it anywhere. I think I can handle 5 years of shitty math classes.

Math as in Theorem Proof type math...not like find the derivative type math

Sorry, I was thinking more about an Econ PhD than Finance but you're still going to have to know Matrix theory and some fairly high level calculus. Way beyond Stat and Econ 101. (And I don't know that you can say you have A's in 'all' the math classes you have taken and include just those two.) Are you in an UG business school now and, if so, do they not require calc?

Do a Wikipedia search for mathematical finance and you'll get an idea as to the breadth of mathematical knowledge you're going to need.

1) I didn't think it was necessary to include the names of all my high school math classes, lol.

2) No. I just graduated from college. Humanities major. I'm looking for a pre-phd masters program in finance. I'm probably going to take the pre-reqs that I still need at a local community college.

3) I've looked at the curriculums of some PhD programs. Doesn't seem too insane. Just two years of math classes, then its all research. I think I could stick it out.

Good luck to you man and I hope you do stick it out. I guess the point I was trying to make is that, though I agree math can be a bitch, it will still be pretty important. Particularly if you haven't taken any math courses in a few years (which seems to be the case). Just give it a good look over and go for it.

Also, if you are serious about it, Anthony's suggestion to take some community college stats and calc classes is probably the best way to go. If you get through Calc III and some advanced probability courses and you're still feeling good about it, then you'll be much more prepared to take on the Masters program and get the grades from it you'll need to gain PhD acceptance. Plus this way, you can potentially avoid risking money on a masters program you might otherwise decide not to finish.