{"id":9663,"date":"2011-12-27T20:53:48","date_gmt":"2011-12-28T03:53:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/?p=9663"},"modified":"2011-12-27T20:53:48","modified_gmt":"2011-12-28T03:53:48","slug":"what-is-a-masters-in-finance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/what-is-a-masters-in-finance\/","title":{"rendered":"What is a Masters in Finance?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>We recently interviewed Anthony DeAngelis, founder of <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/msfhq.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">Masters in Finance HQ<\/a><em>,  a new website that provides applicants with \u201ceverything related to the  masters in finance degree.\u201d Anthony\u2019s site proves that there\u2019s a lot to  know about this specialized degree\u2026and that Anthony, a 2010 Villanova  MSF graduate, knows it all. Enjoy our interview below and then refer to <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/msfhq.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">Masters in Finance HQ<\/a><em> or our own <a href=\"https:\/\/www.accepted.com\/grad\/mastersinfinanceapplication.aspx\" target=\"_blank\">masters in finance application<\/a> services for more information.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>Accepted.com:  Can you please describe to our readers the difference between a Masters  in Finance (MiF), a Masters in Financial Engineering (MFE), and an MBA?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Anthony DeAngelis:<\/strong> An MBA is a broad-based two year  management degree for people who have worked for a number of years. It  is sometimes used to rebrand or change careers and prepares you for a  role with more responsibility or leadership. An MFE is a specialized  degree, usually lasting around one year that focuses on the mathematical  aspects of finance. The course load is very quantitative and prepares  students for a very analytical type of role within finance. An MSF is  similar to an MFE in the sense that it has a narrow focus, lasts around a  year and is very specialized, but the difference is that an MSF is more  focused on corporate finance and valuation and does not get as deep  into the mathematics or theoretical parts of finance. Both the MFE and  MSF tend to attract students with less work experience (many straight  from undergrad) and the positions that graduates enter tend to be more  junior than those an MBA would get.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Accepted.com: Why would someone pursue a Masters in Finance rather than an MBA?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Anthony DeAngelis:<\/strong> People have a variety of  different reasons. Some are fresh from undergrad and are looking to  break into investment banking, but need another year to do it. Others  want a specialized graduate degree and are not interested in the  broad-based management education that an MBA would provide. Some people  don\u2019t want to take two years off and would rather get their degree in  one year. It all really depends on the person, the school and the field  of work a person wants to pursue.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Accepted.com: Do any people who obtain Masters in Finance degrees then go on to pursue an MBA?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Anthony DeAngelis:<\/strong> This is a very common route for  students who pursue an MSF right out of undergrad. In finance the MBA is  still the degree of choice and after years of hard work, it is a much  desired break. For students who have worked and left to do an MSF, the  degree tends to be their last, but for most people they go for both over  the course of a career.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Accepted.com: Do most Masters programs fall into the  \u201cpre-experience\u201d category? Or are some of these programs designed for  more experienced students? How much work experience does the typical MiF  candidate have?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Anthony DeAngelis:<\/strong> Most programs have students with  less than two years work experience. It is very common for the MSF to be  completed as a 5th year. A few programs (George Washington University  and Princeton) have students with substantial work experience. They are  the exception, not the rule. That being said, having some work  experience is very advantageous and helps students secure full-time  positions once they graduate.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Accepted.com: Are all MiF programs year-long programs? Or are  some longer? I assume MiF programs are considerably cheaper than MBA  programs. Is that correct?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Anthony DeAngelis:<\/strong> Most programs are around a year  long. Some have summer internship sections which make them longer. There  are a few programs in Europe which are two years, but the majority are  one year in duration.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Accepted.com: How long are typical part-time MiF programs?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Anthony DeAngelis:<\/strong> Part-time programs can be as long  as a student wants them to be (within reason). Most MSF programs are  around 30 credits which amount to 10-12 classes and can be completed  within a couple of years without overloading a working professional.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Accepted.com: What inspired you to create your new website, <a href=\"https:\/\/msfhq.com\/\" target=\"_blank\"><em>Masters in Finance HQ<\/em><\/a>?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Anthony DeAngelis:<\/strong> When I was working towards my MSF  at Villanova University I realized that both classmates as well as  potential employers didn\u2019t know a lot about the degree or other  programs. There wasn\u2019t a lot of information online about the programs  and it was laborious to try and find opinions on schools, costs,  placements, etc. After I graduated I went home to visit my family and  decided to put something together online. Within a week the rudimentary  site I had created started to get a lot of attention and I realized that  there were a lot of people who wanted this information. Since then, the  site has grown and continues to add content. Being able to help others  and watch the knowledge and prominence of this degree grow has continued  to motivate me to help others.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Accepted.com: What sorts of resources do you provide to help applicants gain acceptance to their top-choice MiF program?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Anthony DeAngelis:<\/strong> My site focuses on providing as  much information on all the available programs as possible. There are  numerous student reviews, placement stats, program costs, articles and  write ups which all help in making an informed decision. I also include  links to relevant sites, financial newsletters and resources as well as  websites that help with admissions or GMAT prep. Additionally, I respond  to all emails that are sent to me and try and help in any way I can.<\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Do you need individualized assistance creating your  masters in finance application? Our experienced consultants and editors  can help. Browse our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.accepted.com\/grad\/mastersinfinanceapplication.aspx\" target=\"_blank\">masters in finance application<\/a> services to choose the service that\u2019s best for you.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We recently interviewed Anthony DeAngelis, founder of Masters in Finance HQ, a new website that provides applicants with \u201ceverything related to the masters in finance degree.\u201d Anthony\u2019s site proves that&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,3,4,775,113],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9663","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-mba","category-b-school-life","category-career-reviews","category-admission-consultants","category-applications","entry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9663","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9663"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9663\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9664,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9663\/revisions\/9664"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9663"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9663"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9663"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}