My son is a freshman at University of Florida. As most young men his age, he doesn't know exactly what he wants to do, but will likely find himself in some sort of a business career. Over Christmas break, he met somewhat of a big wig in investment banking who is also a Gator who highly recommends he pursue a Masters of Science in Finance. The program is designed to get an undergraduate degree and a Masters in 4 years.
U.F. Warrington Master of Science in Finance
It is pretty competitive to get in, from what I understand, but my son definitely has the grades and scores right now. He is likely to want to go to law school after his undergraduate degree, but that is another 3 1/2 years away. It shouldn't be too hard to get a Poli Sci or Economics undergraduate degree and merge it with this program if he wants to pursue it. For people in similar industries, would you think that having a MSF would make him more desirable as a hire once he finishes school, regardless of whether or not he wants to go to law school. I am in Medicine, I am thankful he has ZERO desire to pursue my career path, but I am woefully ignorant of the value of such a degree. He's going to have to make it on his own in the business world. Thanks in advance.

I'm not familiar with it, but after a quick googling, it sounds like a way for UF to get investment banking recruiters on campus at a non-target school. I'd be curious of placement rates with it.

If he's interested in investment banking, he should research it. It can certainly be lucrative with good exit opportunities but lots of long hours.

Kool said:

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My son is a freshman at University of Florida. As most young men his age, he doesn't know exactly what he wants to do, but will likely find himself in some sort of a business career. Over Christmas break, he met somewhat of a big wig in investment banking who is also a Gator who highly recommends he pursue a Masters of Science in Finance. The program is designed to get an undergraduate degree and a Masters in 4 years.
U.F. Warrington Master of Science in Finance
It is pretty competitive to get in, from what I understand, but my son definitely has the grades and scores right now. He is likely to want to go to law school after his undergraduate degree, but that is another 3 1/2 years away. It shouldn't be too hard to get a Poli Sci or Economics undergraduate degree and merge it with this program if he wants to pursue it. For people in similar industries, would you think that having a MSF would make him more desirable as a hire once he finishes school, regardless of whether or not he wants to go to law school. I am in Medicine, I am thankful he has ZERO desire to pursue my career path, but I am woefully ignorant of the value of such a degree. He's going to have to make it on his own in the business world. Thanks in advance.

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On the careers portion of that website there are a lot of prestigious banks listed. It seems like they likely have the connections as a program to get student's feet in the door which is the biggest hurdle for state schools getting ins at investment banks (although Florida is a really good state school).

I have my MSF from A&M. I think it's a degree that has opened many pathways for me. Good trade off for one extra year of school. If your son is set on doing law, I would probably go straight to law school and get started in a law career. If he's unsure, it could be a good gap type year to re-orient things and figure out which pathway he wants to pursue.

Most important thing for law school or any advanced program/tough career path is to keep high grades. So good job so far for that!

Thanks for all of the responses above. I would think that a person with a law degree AND an MSF would be highly sought after within the corporate world, but it's not my world and so I come here for answers. That's a lot of intense schooling, but he could do it.

With specific regard to Ag13, this program is one to which you apply during your sophomore year. If accepted, the plan allows you to complete your undergraduate degree as well as the Masters in Finance within 4 years. The person who is recommending it for my son is an investment banker with Bank of America, and he is offering to make personal introductions to the administrators for my son.

Chase McGuire said:

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I'm in oil and gas tax consulting after getting my MSF from A&M. People from our program went IB, consulting, and corporate finance, so it's pretty versatile. I hardly use anything I learned on a day to day basis, but the degree was invaluable for getting my foot in the door.

The actual classes aren't much different than an undergrad in finance from what I understand, but at least at A&M, the program is heavily focused on putting students in front of companies so they can network and find the right fit. I now try to hire out of the MSF program because so many of our most successful consultants have come from it.

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Thank you. Would you have any idea as to how well thought of Florida's program is, or were you specifically referring here to A&M's MSF program?

I don't know the exact placement statistics, but I can't imagine that a finance master's from a large public university with a strong reputation won't help him significantly. At worst, it sure as heck won't hurt him, especially as it doesn't take any extra time. I say go for it. I have a friend do did a finance MS. I know her coursework was brutal, so I'd sure at hell look favorably on your son's MS

Kool said:

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Thanks for all of the responses above. I would think that a person with a law degree AND an MSF would be highly sought after within the corporate world, but it's not my world and so I come here for answers. That's a lot of intense schooling, but he could do it.

With specific regard to Ag13, this program is one to which you apply during your sophomore year. If accepted, the plan allows you to complete your undergraduate degree as well as the Masters in Finance within 4 years. The person who is recommending it for my son is an investment banker with Bank of America, and he is offering to make personal introductions to the administrators for my son.

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I did a similar path at A&M. 5 year program to get undergrad and grad degree. JD/MSF is not a bad combo to have, was just saying if he wants to do law for sure then it's probably not necessary to delay law school by a year. But doing the program would give him the optionality to do something besides law school/a career in law, including I-Banking. I assume the program sets up time in the study course to do a banking internship which would help him make a good decision in the future about what to pursue.

I mostly agree with this, but there are a number of finance jobs where a law degree + some experience in the business law space (say 2-3 years practicing) would be immensely helpful. I'm in a corporate finance position that has me structuring a lot of moderately complex deals, and the final legal documents are an inseparable part - heck maybe the most important part - of every one (in fact, I read 3 law books and have a couple more in my queue so that I have a better idea what the heck is going on).

If he just wants to do any sort of asset analysis (equity, fixed income, alts) or most corporate finance jobs, I agree that the law degree is a waste. If his heart is set on deals (PE, M&A, corporate development, etc.), a 5-6 year detour into law would 100% be beneficial. If you don't believe me, browse a few IB and PE sites. You'd be surprised how many JDs are filling those roles.