IntroductionAdmissions
Curriculum
Prog Enhancements
Annual Report 2007Annual Report 2006
The MSF Advantage
The Master of Science in Finance (MSF) was started in 2001 and serves:
- Highly motivated and bright undergraduate students who entered the University of Florida with college credit accumulated and have been accepted into the MSF Combined Degree Program.
- People with work experience that view the narrow focus on finance as an attractive alternative to a traditional MBA program.
- Very high quality students with limited or no work experience that do not have access to MBA programs.
- Students who want access to PhD courses.
Upcoming Events
9:00 a.m., Stuzin 200
to get on the attendance list.
Activities & Highlights
Internships: Accepted MSF Students are currently participating in several internship experiences. Students who apply to the MSF Combined Degree Program during their second year on campus have the best opportunities for summer internships.
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In April, 2008, Sargent White (BABA 2003; MSF 2008) and his teammates, including Aashish Shukla (MSF 2007) with mentoring from Melissa Guzy (BSBA 1986), a managing director for Vantage Point Partners, competed in The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology 2008 MBA International Business Plan Competition.
Bruce Foerster meets with prospective MSF students who are currently UF undergrads and with new MSF students, learning about their career goals and offering placement advice.
The MSF Calendar
Timing: Applicants should be aware of program "seasons" when deciding when to apply. The sooner a student is accepted into the program, the more access they have to job placement preparation and opportunities. Applicants wanting to demonstrate good qualities for the program will successfully complete the GMAT and Statement of Purpose in a timely manner.
Applications may be submitted year round. The primary review periods will be the middle of November, January and March of each year. As you can see in the following paragraphs, waiting until March is not wise unless you are a second year UF student.
Summer internship recommendations are solicited from the MSF Program from November through January with the bulk of internships finalized in January and February. Internships are thought of as summer jobs in offices the student wants to work when finished with the MSF Program, especially internships done the summer before MSF graduation. Internships are not required from applicants with only one year left on campus, but they can be a positive application variable. Second year UF students accepted to the MSF Combined Degree Program will be able to add the MSF program to their resume, attend MSF events, attend company presentations, and make MSF student and alumni contacts which may assist in getting an internship. The University of Florida Investment Corporation considers all one and two year MSF students for internships during early March each year.
Full time job placement for the majority of MSF students graduating in spring is completed by the end of December, especially for investment banking and regional banking analyst positions. MSF students who received job offers from their summer internships are set. Final year MSF students spend the fall term following the hiring plan of action they submitted as their Statement of Purpose with their MSF application. Students not hired in the fall usually have placement by March, depending on the area of the finance industry they want to work. The best preparation for fall placement is done the year before by making connections at Career Fair and attending company presentations, as well as reading books on the finance industry and keeping up with daily finance information from vault.com, Bloomberg.com, the Wall St. Journal, wallstoasis.com, the Financial Times, MSNBC, etc. Many students get Bloomberg certified and prepare for the CFA level 1 exam during their third year on campus.
Courses for Combined Degree MSF students should be planned in December so that these students can begin graduate classes in the Spring. The MSF Program does not assist with course plans until a student has completed MSF application.
Scholarship funds are allocated in April. All accepted MSF students are automatically considered for Jack D. and Betty J. Lampros Graduate Fellowship funds as well as the Betty W. Penter Memorial Scholarship.
