Admissions
Program Application
The deadline to complete the application is January 15th for international students and March 15th for domestic students.
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
Applications may be submitted year round. The primary review periods for current UF students and non-current UF students 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
Summer internship recommendations are solicited from the MSF Program from November through January with the bulk of internships finalized in January and February. These internships are primarily for UF undergraduates that begin the MSF Program during their third year on campus. However, we have had students from other universities apply early to the MSF Program and take a summer internship at a firm where they eventually wanted full time placement. The internship resulted in a full time offer, so the student completed the MSF degree in the fall and spring semester, and returned to the firm full time. Internships are thought of as summer analyst jobs in the firms that the student wants to work full time 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. Students entering the program from other universities, that have approved summer internships, may miss the summer MSF semester and start the MSF Program in the fall, condensing the MSF to fall and spring only.
Job Placement
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 UF MSF students, and those joining the program from other universities, 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 for UF undergraduates doing the MSF Program 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. Students that join the MSF Program in the summer from other universities receive job placement assistance over the summer and early fall, so they too are hopefully placed before the end of the fall term.
Scholarships
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.
Current UF students should apply early. Optimal application is during the second year on campus. This allows time to get to know the applicant. Students accepted this early:
- Have premium summer internship opportunities
- May be candidates for the University of Florida Investment Corporation year long internships
- Can begin graduate coursework earlier
- Get connected with graduating MSF students to learn about their hiring experiences and develop relationships with some of the companies that hire MSF students
- Have a better understanding of the finance industry and current markets, making them better job candidates
To assure that your information is received for consideration into the MSF Program in a timely manner, you must mail or deliver the following:
- A copy of your transcript
- Two letters of recommendation
- A photocopy of your GMAT score report
- Resume
- Statement of Purpose
- International students must also include a photocopy of all pages of either the TOEFL or IELTS score report.
Domestic applicants should contact Kelly Herring by emailing their resume and an introductory email as soon as they begin investigating the program. You will be informed of program developments and receive announcement of Open House events. A phone dialog in the fall or early spring would be appropriate.
Local students considering the MSF Program should contact Kelly Herring as early as possible to attend one of the frequently held interest sessions and begin developing a relationship with the program.
The courses that comprise the MSF and MBA programs are taught at a considerably higher level of sophistication and faster pace than undergraduate finance courses. The admission process evaluates an applicant's potential, particularly current UF student applicants, to thrive in the MSF program by evaluating variables which have been historically reliable.
Students from UF typically have nearly all 'A' grades in undergraduate finance and related courses. Non-business students are expected to have competitive math grades.
The average MBA student GMAT score is about 670. MSF student scores need to be comparable as they share classes with MBA students.
UF students are very fortunate to have immensely valuable access to people like Bruce Foerster and the Finance Professional Speaker Series participants. Focused and eager students make the most out of these resources and other events we host on campus. We look for students with motivation and desire who prepare for these events and actively participate by asking questions.
Because the MSF program lasts just under a year and the placement process starts fairly early for many kinds of finance positions, applicants are encouraged to have a deep understanding of the career opportunities in their interest areas. We only admit students into the program if they have researched and can identify opportunities where they can be hired with this degree. Applicants must map out their goals, requiring that they learn finance career paths and find firms in their areas of interest. An important criterion for admission is a one to two page statement of purpose emphasizing your short- and long-term career goals and your job search strategy. The document should include (1) the position(s) you plan to fill after completing the MSF Program, (2) how the MSF degree facilitates this career goal (3) the kinds of positions that your initial career path can lead to, and (4) a list of companies or organizations that you will target for your job search. Admitted students can certainly explore other areas of finance while in the MSF program and are not restricted to their original plan, but this plan is critical for admission.
Selected applicants will be invited to interview, either in person or by phone, for the MSF Program before an admissions decision is made.
- Email Kelly Herring (kelly.herring at warrington.ufl.edu)
Mail the items to:
Kelly Herring, MSF Program
The University of Florida
Warrington College of Business Administration
Department of Finance, Insurance and Real Estate
Corner of 13th Street and University Avenue
321 Stuzin Hall
PO Box 117168
Gainesville, FL 32611
Applicants must also complete the University of Florida graduate school's online application, except for the online recommendations.
