The University of Southern California MSF program just recently posted their 2015 placement report which I know has been highly anticipated by potential applicants. The program is relatively new, but it was and is an exciting new entrant to a market that doesn’t have many MSF programs. I’ve known a number of USC alumni (UG, MBA and MAcc) and all have told me about the quality of education, recruiting and alumni.
Below are the firms hiring MSF students in the 2015 year (bold companies are hiring more than one USC MSF student). A lot of West Coast firms here, which is good and to be expected. About half the class went into financial services, with roughly 22% going into investment banking. This is to be expected with a finance graduate degree, but I was surprised with the real estate and consulting placements. Really shows the range of career opportunities someone can expect from on of these programs.
- Advance Ventures
- AHMC Healthcare Inc.
- American Realty Advisors/ PM Realty Group
- Angeles Investment Advisors
- Bank of the West
- CBRE
- Cheung & Chu CPA
- Citics Securities
- Deloitte
- Eastdil Secured
- Ernst & Young
- Farmers Insurance
- Goldman Sachs
- Irvine Company
- J.P. Morgan
- Kayne Anderson Rudnick
- KPMG
- Mass Mutual
- Noah Wealth Management
- Oak Circle Capital Partners
- PricewaterhouseCoopers
- Salem Partners
- SRR
- T3 Trading Group
- Warner Brothers
Salary wise, the program reflects the diversity in placements. Average salary ~$62,000 with a $10,500 sign on bonus, which is pretty good starting out of the gate. Max was $85K with a $20K bonus. This shows the range in salaries and the higher numbers is most likely a reflection of the investment banking placements.
For a new program I think this is really good. With a class of 48 students, 73% sought jobs (an additional 7% accepted positions with family firms and 11% pursued additional education). Effectively, 91% of students who attended the program found a career direction after graduation.
I’ll work on getting a recent student review as I think this will help augment this placement report. Until then I hope this career information helps any of you considering the USC MSF program.
Here is a link to the University of Southern California MSF Program
