This is the stage for MSF inquiry and essential individual student development.

Gleaning information from several resources over time offers candidates and the MSF Admissions Committee reassurance that the MSF Program is the best choice for the student’s education and career preparation.

• Join Exploring Financial Economics (EFE).
• Attend an MSF Information Session.
• Have an impact in a student organization, vs. joining several.
• Utilize the reading list provided by MSF alumni.
• Join a finance-related student organization such as Founders Fund, Undergraduate Consulting Club, Diversity in Banking & Securities, Student Investment Club, Gator Student Investment Fund and Student Finance Group.
• Attend company presentations.

To stay on track for MSF application and course planning aim for the following:

• Try to complete any required summer credits before the second year on campus.
• Finance and General Business majors need to complete all prerequisites for the 4000-level FIN courses required for the undergraduate degree. Non-Finance or General Business majors need to attend an MSF Information Session to learn about combination degree planning for their particular major.
• Keep overall GPA above a 3.5.
• Keep up with finance related current events.

Application is made to the Combination Degree Program in the second year at UF. The sooner a second-year student applies, the better it is for course planning, job placement and mentoring opportunities. Students accepted to the program early enough in their second year are often assisted in finding sophomore summer opportunities and introduced to junior summer internship firms.

1. Step 1: Complete the pre-application form to express interest at any point on the calendar.
2. Step 2: Submit complete application by the due date for the application window you choose:
   1. Early
      August 27: Application due. Application during the Early window requires Finance majors to have ACG 2021 completed prior to fall 2023 semester.
      Sept 1: Notification of application status: declined, deferred or invited to interview
      Sept 5 – Oct 5: Interviews
      Oct 5: Results released
   2. Regular
      Oct 8: Application due
      Oct 14: Notification of application status: declined, deferred or invited to interview
      Oct 25 – Nov 16: Interviews
      Nov 20: Results released
   3. Extended
      Nov 15: Application due
      Nov 20: Notification of application status: declined, deferred or invited to interview
      Nov 28: Remaining interviews begin
      Decisions made on rolling basis
   4. Late
      After Nov 20: Pending space availability, late applications considered on a rolling basis

The interview will result in a candidate’s application being denied, waitlisted, or conditionally accepted.

Waitlisted applicants can expect a final decision at the end of May. Pending available space, waitlisted applicants’ updated transcripts, resumes and Statements of Purpose will be reviewed upon conclusion of the spring semester.

Conditionally accepted interviewees receive the MSF Handbook to participate in the next internship interview-training module. Module start dates are Oct 27 (in-person on Friday mornings), Jan 12 (in-person on Friday mornings), June 12 (online). Conditional acceptance will be lifted upon review of sophomore performance. The accepted student will be eligible for MSF course registration once a Combination Degree Form is signed by Undergraduate and Graduate programs.

A complete application requires the following by the due date:

1. Two letters of recommendation emailed directly to Mrs. Herring by the people making the recommendations. The student is copied on the thank you reply email, so the applicant will know the recommendation has been received.
2. Transcripts are available to the MSF Admissions Committee electronically. Applicants do not need to order or email their transcript since the transcript are added to the applicant file from the UF Student Information System. The Committee will be looking for strong evidence that the undergraduate courses at UF have not been enough of a challenge. A minimum 3.5 overall GPA is expected. The average application GPA for the MSF classes of 2024 and 2025 was 3.89.
3. SAT/ACT scores are also accessible to the Admissions Committee electronically. The MSF Program does not require a GMAT nor GRE score. Applicants may submit a GMAT score to enhance the MSF application. Any GMAT score received will be included as part of the holistic application review process. The minimum expected SAT combined math and reading score is 1350/1600, or ACT math 31/36. The MSF class of 2024 and 2025 average SAT was 1454/1600, and average ACT math was 32.8/36.0.

After you have been copied on thank you emails to the people sending your recommendation letters, indicating that both of your recommendation letters have been confirmed, applicants should email Mrs. Herring the next two items together:

4. Resume formatted for use in the finance industry. Resume material may be verified. “Pursuant to Florida Statute, your application requires inclusion of all post-high school education and employment, as well as information about ongoing international affiliations and research funding. Please ensure this information is included on your curriculum vitae (CV) or résumé.”
5. Statement of Purpose describing the chosen career path and listing firms in the areas of interest. An important criterion for admission is a document focused briefly on long-term career expectations, and more extensively on the junior summer internship from which the applicant would want to receive an offer to return full-time. The document must show evidence that the applicant has a clear idea of what the internship entails, their suitability for the job, and what they like about the job and that particular area of finance. Include information about how these decisions were made. An Excel or Word table with the following should accompany the paragraphs of text: the list of firms targeted for junior summer internship, the caliber of students those companies select (GPA, other suitability criteria), and some understanding of the recruitment process (hiring calendars for those firms, indication of which companies recruit UF students on campus and which firms that have hired MSF students that do not recruit on campus).

Interviewees should demonstrate characteristics appropriate for the graduate business courses and qualifications expected by the firms they have targeted in their Statement of Purpose. These traits include:

• An innate interest in financial current events and other industry related subjects
• Strong interpersonal skills and ability to articulate ideas
• Strong communication skills, both written and oral
• Strong work ethic
• Achievement-oriented character

Each of the application materials, and the interview, are used to assess an applicant’s motivation, ability, preparedness and maturity for the MSF Combination Degree Program.

These applicants are required to have accepted a junior summer internship at the firm they plan to place full-time.

The MSF is a Combination Degree program designed for sophomores accepted to partake in the program for the final two of four years at UF.

The traditional MSF Combination Degree timeline does not work for transfer students or third year applicants. By fall of the third year, juniors have missed the deadline for the two year program. Transfer students do not have UF transcript evidence that more difficult UF coursework is needed.

However, transfer students and juniors that have secured a junior summer internship at the firm they expect to accept a full time offer may apply during their junior year to complete the MSF degree by the end of their fourth year. Course timing is tricky.

For more information about applying in the junior year, or to learn about opportunities available to juniors from the MSF Program, attend an early fall MSF Information Session.

The UF MSF Program is not seeking graduating students or students with work experience.

Graduates of this particular program place in entry level analyst positions. The current job market is not conducive to analyst placement without the student having had a junior summer internship at the firm they wish to join full-time. The program’s recruiting focus has shifted to current University of Florida sophomores to focus on internship preparation and placement.

Other UF Hough Graduate School of Business Programs to Consider:

• One of UF’s various MBA Programs may be an option for applicant’s that meet minimum work experience requirements.
• The following one year master’s degree programs are offered at UF:
  • Master of International Business
  • Master of Science in Entrepreneurship
  • Master of Science in Management
  • Master of Science in Real Estate

JD and PhD students may apply.

Students already accepted to UF’s Levin College of Law may apply to the MSF Program for a Dual JD/ MSF arrangement. Students enrolled in a PhD program at UF may apply for a Non-Traditional degree arrangement that allows students with permission from their PhD department to simultaneously work towards the MSF degree. If accepted to either the Dual or Non-Traditional MSF Programs, the students may apply 9 of the credits taken in the JD or PhD program towards the MSF degree, reducing the MSF degree from 32 credits to 23. Dual degree students may not graduate from either program until they have met all graduation requirements for both degrees; then, they graduate from both programs at the same time.

JD and PhD students may inquire about program suitability by emailing to Kelly Herring:

• UFID
• Explanation for wanting to pursue the MSF degree

Full application by current UF PhD students requires submission the following to Kelly Herring:

• UFID: The applicants standardized test results and transcript records will be printed from UF’s electronic records system and added to an application file. There is no need to order these materials.
• Approval from the doctoral program indicating to partake simultaneously in both the doctoral program and the master’s program. If accepted to the MSF Program, Graduate Program signatures must be provided UF Graduate School Doctoral/Master’s combination degree forms.
• A timeline for completion of PhD and MSF coursework.
• A Statement of Purpose describing short- and long-term career goals, as well as an explanation of the job placement desired immediately upon graduation, and how it will be acquired. Include information about prospective positions such as firm names, location, how the feasibility of the position was determined, hiring timelines, assurance that students with a PhD are hired to those positions, explanation of the recruiting/interview process for those positions, the necessity of an internship to gain a full time offer (and how such internship will be acquired), and any additional considerations that need to be taken by international students. The data may be in a Word table or Excel file.
  If a job position awaits the candidate, pending graduate finance coursework or degree completion, please provide documentation.

As the above materials are received, they will be placed in an application file for review. Once the candidate establishes that they have submitted all of their application materials, the MSF Admissions Committee will review the completed application file and contact the student regarding whether or not an interview will be offered.