The Boston College Master in Finance program is one of the best MSF programs in the country and is usually at the top of many students list. A well respected university, located in a major US city, the BC Master in Finance provides students with the brand, location and recruiting necessary to break into whatever career in finance that they want.
I’ve been lucky enough to received a recent review of the program and hope it helps any of you considering the Boston College Master in Finance program. I should have a few more of these coming so stay tuned.
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1) Why an Master in Finance in general? Why the Boston College program in particular?
A Master in Finance is a great program for those who want to gain in-depth knowledge in Finance. A rigorous curriculum allows you to obtain not only fundamental theory but also hands-on experiences through real world cases that most professors bring into the class discussion and team assignments. Most of the courses are intensively real case-oriented, which allows us to learn beyond the academic theory or what’s in textbook.
Boston, being one of the world financial hubs, offers a lot of networking opportunities with finance professionals through on-campus as well as off-campus events. Professors are not only well known in the financial academic field but also have robust, real world experiences and connections. Of course, all these are brought to the class, which makes the BC experience more fruitful and enriching. The Boston College community is known for a strong bond with its alumni and I have experienced this first hand.
2) Pros/Cons (if any) of the degree and Boston College experience?
Students in the MSF come from a very diverse background, which was a huge benefit as different perspectives enriched the class discussions. Small class size also helped everyone stay close to each other and build a bonding relationship. Student Organizations at the Carroll School of Management (e.g. GMA) do a great job organizing professional training by external sources with no or very low cost and we, as students, take advantage of them. In addition to those arranged by the student organization, Boston College provides a lot of other opportunities like field trips, international management experiences, etc.
The Master in Finance program at Boston College is a very structured program where you have to take 8 core and 2 elective courses to complete. All the core classes definitely helped me gain knowledge and exposure to different aspects within Finance. But it would have been better if I had some more flexibility in choosing the courses. For those who come in to gain a general, broad finance knowledge, the current offerings would be perfect, but for those who come in with a specific area that they want to focus, a bit of flexibility in their scheduling options would benefit more.
3) Who would you recommend an Master in Finance to?
Whoever wants to further enhance their technical skills and propel them to the next level in the finance field.
4) Anything else. Feel free to talk about recruiting, groups you were involved in, Boston, job search, etc. Anything you want.
I am part of a leadership team in the Graduate International Student Association, holding monthly events – educational, informational, cultural, entertaining – for the entire graduate international student community specifically focusing on marketing and communication aspects of the organization. Also, I am participating in volunteer work, specifically Invest N’ kids, which is an on campus tutoring/mentoring activities for junior high school kids. I first started last semester to make up my hours for the 10 hour community service requirement and I already have decided to continue to be involved in it as it was really rewarding and fruitful experience and personally I always get a hold of any chance to give back to the community.
The MSF is a one-year, very intense program and it is a little bit challenging to get involved in many extra activities but I am just trying my best to get the most out of this program. Also, the Boston College MSF is not intended for CFA prep but as CFA Level I candidate, I feel all the classes that I took at BC have been helpful in my exam preparation.
Here is a link to the Boston College Master in Finance Program
