It has been too long since I posted an update on the University of Texas at Austin MSF program. Time to rectify this lapse. The UTA MSF program has matured and grown quite a bit since I last posted. Their placements continue to grow and impress, their applicants continue to get better every year and the program really has established itself as one of the main MSF programs in the country.
Class of 2016 Profile
- Class size – 50 students
- Mean GPA – 3.52
- Average GMAT – 678
- Average GRE – 320
- Mean Age – 23.5
- Average Work Experience – 10 months
- Countries Represented – Canada, China, Germany, India, Ireland, United States
These are pretty good stats and represent the competitiveness this programs has among the other top programs. I also like seeing the diversity in students (20% international). Too many programs lose focus on the benefits in having a program that has a mixture of student backgrounds.
Placements
The program doesn’t list placements by year (I will work on getting this information), but they do provide a cumulative list of firms interviewing and firms hiring MSF students. Below is a list of those extending offers to MSF graduates. You can see the entire list here.
- AIG
- China Minsheng Bank Corp Limited
- Dimensional Fund Advisors
- Fisher Investments
- Goldman Sachs
- Parks Paton Hoepfl and Brown
- PFM Group
- TRS
- Alvarez & Marsal
- Deloitte Consulting
- KPMG
- Mu Sigma
- PWC
- BHP Billiton
- American Airlines
- Apple
- General Motors
- CapitalOne
What is interesting about the above list is it represents a good mix of traditional finance placements, consulting and F500/strategy type roles. I think this owes to the fact that UTA puts a premium on finding non-finance students who are a good fit for the role. This diversity in educational background allows applicants to apply for more than just banking or credit roles.
MSF Advisory Council
UT Austin does something I think every program should do. They have an advisory council that meets twice a year with staff and helps them understand the needs of industry as well as help in the placement of these students. This is a great practice and really ensures that the adcoms and staff are on the same page when it comes to placing students in sought after finance roles.
The list of council members is pretty long so I will only provide a link to the full list so everyone can see for themselves. With that said, the list covers the gamut of top finance firms, consulting and F500 companies. I count probably 30 or more individuals, ensuring a good range of opinions and suggestions.
I hope this update is useful to everyone thinking about applying to the program. I will reach out to the school and see if I can get an updated student review of the program as well as additional placement clarification. Until then keep posted!
Here is a link to the University of Texas at Austin Masters in Finance Program
