Princeton University

• The MFin Program: What Is It?
• Recruiting Logistics
• Recruiting Calendar 2009-10
• Employers of Recent Graduates
• Student Resumes and Photos
• Contact Information

Princeton University's MFin program enrolls approximately 25 students each year, out of nearly 700 applicants. The small size of the program leads to high academic standards, an intense relationship for students with the faculty and with each other, both of which enhance the academic experience.

In 2009, the program received almost 600 applications, despite the tumultuous market conditions. In order to provide the highest level of career placement services in a difficult economy, our incoming 2009 class will be smaller than in recent years.

Our students have achieved outstanding academic records and they possess excellent leadership and communication skills. They arrive from a multiplicity of nations worldwide. Some have a depth of professional experience while others have superior educational achievements. All manifest a deep interest in finance.

See Bendheim in the news for recent articles that focus on our program.

Unlike an MBA program which focuses on a general business education and will include courses on strategy, management and marketing in addition to finance, our program teaches only finance. This allows us to do so at a much deeper level contrasted with an MBA and enables us to incorporate all the interdisciplinary aspects of modern finance, such as financial mathematics, financial econometrics, computational finance, behavioral finance and corporate finance. Our courses are more quantitative than a typical MBA course and some may find them more demanding. The MBA is still the degree of choice for the corporate finance divisions and mergers and acquisitions areas of the modern investment bank, but the MFin degree is becoming the preferred degree in the trading and asset management areas of the I-bank. These would be areas such as quantitative asset management, risk management, derivatives pricing and trading, fixed income analytics and other areas where the pricing and analysis of complex securities require significant quantitative input. Also, the world of finance is broader than the traditional investment banking business, with opportunities in insurance, commercial banking, commodities and energy trading and risk management for traditional industrial companies, to mention just a few areas where our MFin program is becoming well known due to the quality of the students and the learning experience provided by Princeton's MFin program.

Unlike mathematical or computational finance Master programs, we teach all of finance. This means, for instance, that we teach accounting, corporate finance, behavioral finance, etc., in addition to stochastic calculus, derivatives pricing, financial engineering, etc. We believe that our broad multidisciplinary approach to finance is an important advantage of our program, and that our placement record reflects it.

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If you have an opportunity that you would like to publicize with our MFin students, please contact us. We will work with you to produce a top quality group of applicants. What works best is an email (see contact information) with an attachment specifying:

• Position title and brief description of job attributes and desired skill set
• Position start date (please note that, except in unusual circumstances, our program graduates students in early June; should you require a start date that is nonconforming with graduation, you should contact us to see what sort of arrangements can be made)
• Preferred method of receiving applications

Our office can help you schedule an on campus interview at our facilities which is an efficient way to meet several of our students. Alternatively, if you prefer, you can combine your recruiting of undergrads and graduate students and proceed through the Office of Career Services using the Tiger Tracks system. Either way, be sure to contact us regarding your dates and times so that we can publicize them with our MFin students.

In view of Princeton's proximity to the major East Coast financial centers, it is very feasible for our students to travel to meet with you in your offices. Contact us so that we can get you a list of qualified applicants and help you coordinate dates and times with our students' class schedules. Students frequently have Fridays open with no lecture classes so this can be an excellent day to schedule them for a visit to your offices.

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In general, most company presentations and interviews for permanent positions are carried out during this period. Most offers for permanent positions are made prior to Thanksgiving and resolved prior to Winter recess.

September 17. Classes commence
October 2. Career Fair sponsored by Office of Career Services
October 26–30. Mid-term exam week
October 31. Fall recess commences
November 9. Classes resume
November 25–29. Thanksgiving holiday
December 18. Winter recess begins

This is an awkward month for most recruiting activity since the students are not here for much of this month except to take exams, but it can be a good time to schedule interviews at your offices during reading period or offer short 1–2 week internships between winter and spring terms.

January 3. Winter recess ends
January 4-12. Reading period
January 13. Fall term exams begin
January 23. Fall term exams end and term break begins

Most company presentations and interviews for summer internships for our two year students are carried out during this period. Most offers of internship positions are made by Spring recess and are resolved by late March.

February 1. Classes begin
March 8-12. Mid-term exam week
March 13-21. Spring recess
March 22. Classes resume
May 3–11. Reading period
May 12–22. Spring term exams
June 1. Commencement

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The Bendheim Center provides extensive career assistance to students, including help with internships and job placement, through its own staff and our placement record has been excellent.

The following firms have employed at least one of our students in a permanent (for graduating students) or internship position (in the Summer for two-year students). In addition, several of our students have gone on to PhD programs at Oxford, London Business School, Wharton, Northwestern and Princeton.

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Please note: The photographs and CVs contained in this section are for the reference of recruiters working with Princeton University; permission is not granted for any other use.

Summer 2010

View photos and download individual resumes
Download an archive containing student resumes (PDF)

Summer 2010

View photos and download individual resumes
Download an archive containing student resumes (PDF)

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For additional information about recruiting MFin students or for assistance with any aspect of the recruiting process, please contact:

Wendell Collins
Director of Corporate Relations
Bendheim Center for Finance
26 Prospect Avenue
Princeton, NJ 08540
Tel: 609 258 9865
Fax: 609 258 0354
Email: wendellc@princeton.edu

Summer internships are a requirement of the program; in the difficult market environment, our students have found internships in sales and trading, asset management, quantitative research, consulting, corporate finance and treasury strategies.