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MS Finance
Master of Science in Finance
The primary objective of the USC Marshall Master of Science in Finance (MSF) program is to provide students with a flexible and rigorous STEM curriculum to prepare them for a wide range of career opportunities in finance. The MSF is a full-time program starting in August that allows students to earn a graduate degree in 16 months. All courses are taught on the University of Southern California campus by the Marshall School of Business’ award-winning teachers, researchers and practitioners.
MSF PROGRAM BENEFITS
Who would benefit from a Master of Science in Finance?
The program prepares students for careers across a variety of functions including commercial and investment banking, asset management, quantitative research and trading, risk management, venture capital and private equity, consulting, sales and trading, impact investing and fintech.
CUSTOMIZABLE CURRICULUM WITH WORLD-RENOWNED FACULTY
MSF students start their experience in core classes within their cohort. During this time, our program has overlapping cohorts, allowing for unique bonding and mentorship experiences. Starting in the spring semester, students choose from an extensive range of electives including various topics in finance, strategy, entrepreneurship, and data science. This allows opportunities for collaboration and learning with students in our Marshall MBA programs and other specialized master’s programs. This diversity enhances the classroom experience and provides unique networking opportunities.
The Trojan Family: Lifelong + Worldwide
Our program enables students to connect with the Trojan family alumni network. USC has over 400,000 alumni across the globe, with strong ties to greater Asia.
In addition to the typical finance and consulting career opportunities, due to our geographic advantage students are uniquely positioned to explore careers in tech, media and entertainment, life sciences and other growth industries.
Regardless of where you are on your career path, the Marshall Graduate Career Services (GCS) team is ready to help you transition to the next level. Through personalized career advising and training programs. GCS career strategists support your professional development and job-search skills by helping you plan your career progression, explore opportunities, develop networking techniques and refine your interviewing skills.
Discover Los Angeles With A One-Of-A-Kind Student Experience
Students in the MSF program benefit from the resources of a vibrant campus community located in the heart of one of the most diverse and dynamic cities. The MSF program goes beyond the experience in the classroom. Our program provides special events and programming to support all aspects of student life. Past events have included USC Football tailgates, “Meet the Faculty” over In-n-Out, Thanksgiving dinner, Lunar New Year celebration and alumni networking events. Our Marshall Masters in Finance Association (MMFA) leadership also contributes to the student experience through career exploration programs, organized beach days, escape rooms and hikes.
MSF ACADEMIC OVERVIEW
The MS in Finance experience starts mid-August with a week-long math boot camp and orientation featuring critical team building, alumni networking events, and program and expectations overview. The fall term courses provide a solid foundation in key finance, economics and accounting principles and develop your quantitative abilities.
By spring semester, you begin to learn investment analysis and portfolio management, and financial analysis and valuation. Now is the time to start specializing, with electives spanning topics such as hedge funds, fixed income securities and real estate finance.
During the final fall semester, you delve into issues around corporate financial policy while increasing your knowledge in a wide range of subjects, ranging from mergers and acquisitions to trading and exchanges to venture capital and private equity.
Electives
Some electives choices that MSF students can choose from:
For more detailed descriptions of each course please visit the USC Schedule of Classes.
APPLYING TO THE MSF PROGRAM
Dates + Deadlines
Important Dates:Application opens: October 1, 2022Classes begin: August 21, 2023Orientation: August 14, 2023Deadlines:Round 1 – December 1, 2022Round 2 –February 1, 2023*We will continue to accept applications after February 1, 2023. However, applications received after this date will be considered on a space-available basis. Priority will be given to students who apply by the Round 1 (Dec 1) and Round 2 (Feb 1) deadlines. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis until the Fall 2023 intake is full or by the May 31 final deadline.No international student applications will be accepted after April 15, 2023, due to immigration timelines.Notification period can extend to May 31, 2023.All deadlines are at 11:59 pm ET (8:59 pm PT).
Career Prospects
Enjoy an overview of the job opportunities that MSF alumni have experienced.
MSF Class of 2021
MSF Class of 2020
MSF Class of 2019
MSF Class of 2018
MSF Class of 2017
MSF Class of 2016
MSF Class of 2015
MSF FACULTY
Message From the Director: Julia Plotts
Decision-making is an essential management skill that can both drive and impede financial performance. The USC Master of Science in Finance Program (MSF) enables emerging business leaders to gain the knowledge and skills necessary to meet the challenges and complexities of our business world. Our graduates become competent investors and financial analysts, responsible business professionals, skilled leaders, team players and ethical decision makers.
Our program is flexible, innovative and allows a degree of specialization that enables students to embark on careers across a variety of functions. We are committed to offering innovative classes, a collaborative culture and connections to the Trojan family. USC Marshall MSF experience includes learning from world-class researchers, accomplished practitioners and guest lecturers.
We are excited to provide a comprehensive overview of our program. Please visit all the sections of our website to learn more about the program and email us if you have any questions.
The right fit: Successful Marshall MSF students bring a passion for learning about finance and the evolving markets. They are collaborative team players who take advantage of opportunities during their USC journey. They have a strong desire to be challenged and think critically and innovatively. We are excited to get to know you through your application to our program. We look forward to hearing from you.
— Julia Plotts, Masters of Finance Program Academic Director and Professor of Clinical Finance and Business Economics
SELECT MSF FACULTY
Gerard Hoberg's research is primarily in the area of empirical corporate finance with a focus on innovation, mergers, IPOs, disclosure, informational environments, and industrial organization. His work often focuses on issues relating to important theories that have proved difficult to test, and to issues that are of importance to regulatory agencies and financial stability. He is known for methodological contributions that bring technologies from computational linguistics into finance.
Christopher Jones conducts research on empirical asset pricing and financial econometrics. He is an expert on option pricing and volatility modeling and also conducts research on the term structure, mutual fund performance, and stock return predictability. He has published in the Journal of Finance, the Review of Financial Studies, and the Journal of Financial Economics. He currently serves as an associate editor of the Journal of Finance. Before coming to USC, Professor Jones was on the faculty at the University of Rochester.
Selale Tuzel conducts research at the intersection of macro-finance and real estate, both at the theoretical and the empirical front. Her work has been published in many top finance, management, and economics journals, including the Journal of Finance, Journal of Financial Economics and the Review of Financial Studies.
MSF STUDENT LIFE
The Marshall Masters in Finance Association
The Marshall Masters in Finance Association is a student-run organization that fosters community, professional development, career exploration and networking through corporate and alumni outreach, in addition to providing an avenue through which students can engage in extracurricular enrichment.
GRADUATE STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS
REQUEST INFORMATION
For more information about this program, please fill out the form below. If you have further questions you may EMAIL the admissions team directly.