MIT Sloannnnnn

Master of Financennnnn
“MIT is primely positioned to
play a leadership role in
shaping the future of finance.”

Robert C. Merton
Nobel Laureate and School of Management Distinguished
Professor of Finance

Master of Finance

2011–12
Lead the financial industry into the future.
The world of finance is changing rapidly, and global financial leaders
must be able to rethink the instruments and institutions of finance.
The MIT Sloan Master of Finance (M.Fin.) Program is designed to
develop innovative leaders who will build the next generation of
markets, organizations, methods, products, and services across the
intersecting landscapes of finance and business.

“With the Master of Finance Program,

MIT Sloan is once again breaking
important ground in finance. The
program goes beyond just financial
engineering by tapping the synergies
among finance, mathematics,
statistics, operations research,
computer science, and engineering
expertise at the Institute. MIT Sloan
finance professors are industry
experts and key advisors to national
and international policy groups,
including the Congressional Budget
Office and the European Corporate
Governance Institute.”

Andrew Lo, Harris & Harris Group Professor

“One of the great benefits of the M.Fin.

Program is that you are actually working
with and learning from the legends of
finance—the architects of the theories that
the finance world revolves around today.
It is absolutely one of the best learning
environments to be in for finance.”

Megan Chiao, M.Fin. ’10

Global Finance, Novo Nordisk A/S
Learn from the pioneers of finance.
Many leaders in the field consider MIT Sloan the birthplace of modern finance. Pioneers like Fischer Black,
John Cox, and Stewart C. Myers, as well as Nobel laureates Paul Samuelson, Robert C. Merton, Myron
Scholes, and Franco Modigliani, all belong or have belonged to the MIT Sloan Finance Group, a major force
of change in the industry.

Formed long before other business schools recognized finance as a distinct field of study, the MIT Finance
Group is responsible for many of the research breakthroughs that have shaped finance theory and
practice over the last 40 years—and continue to do so today:

• the Black-Scholes-Merton derivative-pricing model

• the Modigliani-Miller theorems on corporate financing and evaluation
• the Cox-Ingersoll-Ross model of the term structure of interest rates

Building on pathbreaking work in market efficiencies, dynamic portfolio choice, and long-run risk
management, members of the MIT Sloan faculty continue to push the frontiers of finance. They are
advancing the field of financial economics while generating innovations and leading-edge management
practices critical for leadership in today’s complex global economy. M.Fin. students have front-row
access to their latest research.

Stewart C. Myers, Robert C. Merton Faculty currently teaching in the Master of Finance Program
(1970) Professor of Financial Economics, Paul Asquith, Gordon Y Billard Professor of Finance
is past president of the American Finance
Association, an elected fellow of the Nittai Bergman, Associate Professor of Finance
Financial Management Association, Hui Chen, Assistant Professor of Finance
and coauthor of the iconic textbook Principles of
Corporate Finance. Now in its 10th edition and John Cox, Nomura Professor of Finance
updated to reflect the latest global developments, Xavier Giroud, Assistant Professor of Finance
Myers’ influential work is the world’s leading text
on the theory and practice of corporate finance. Rajkamal Iyer, Assistant Professor of Finance
Watch talks by Stewart C. Myers: mitworld.mit. Leonid Kogan, Nippon Telegraph & Telephone Professor of Management
edu/speaker/view/518
Mark P. Kritzman, Senior Lecturer, Finance
Andrew Lo, Harris & Harris Group Professor
Deborah Lucas, Professor of Finance
Andrey Malenko, Assistant Professor of Finance
Gustavo Manso, Maurice F. Strong Career Development Professor of
Management, Associate Professor of Finance
Paul Mende, Lecturer, Finance
Robert C. Merton, School of Management Distinguished Professor of Finance
Konstantin Milbradt, Assistant Professor of Finance
John Minahan, Senior Lecturer, Finance
Stewart C. Myers, Robert C. Merton (1970) Professor of Financial Economics
Jun Pan, School of Management Distinguished Professor of Finance
Stephen Ross, Franco Modigliani Professor of Financial Economics
Discover more about MIT Sloan’s renowned
finance faculty: mitsloan.mit.edu/finance/ Antoinette Schoar, Michael M. Koerner (1949) Professor of Entrepreneurship
directory/faculty.php Adrien Verdelhan, Assistant Professor of Finance

Read about recent faculty honors and awards: Jiang Wang, Mizuho Financial Group Professor
mitsloan.mit.edu/finance/about/press.php
 Robert C. Merton’s two courses Functional and Strategic Finance and
Retirement Finance, Lifecycle Investing, and Asset Management are
essential components of the M.Fin. curriculum. Together they give
students the knowledge and skills to confront the most urgent industry
challenges of our time.

“One of the important components underlying the

MIT Sloan Master of Finance Program is the recognition
that we need more expertise in finance in virtually every
sector of government and industry. Our intensive one-
year program is designed to produce highly skilled
financial professionals with the necessary theoretical and
empirical training to make a real difference to businesses
and government agencies as soon as they graduate.”

Robert C. Merton, Nobel Laureate and School of Management Distinguished

Professor of Finance

Immerse yourself in a rigorous examination of finance.

The MIT Sloan Master of Finance Program is an intensive 12-month program designed to prepare
students for a broad range of careers in the financial industry–careers requiring analytical rigor and the
ability to innovate around market challenges. Building on the foundation of MIT Sloan’s powerful finance
legacy, the M.Fin. Program offers an unprecedented combination of heritage, resources, rigor, and
relevance to shape the leaders who will shape the industry.

The M.Fin. Program kicks off with a rigorous, foundational six-week term beginning in July. M.Fin.
students then spend the next two semesters immersed in required and elective courses. All students
are required to complete core courses in finance theory and corporate accounting, an advanced course
in analytics of finance, and a proseminar, which gives them a chance to put theory into practice on real-
world projects directed by financial leaders. In addition to these courses, M.Fin. students choose from a
variety of electives, giving them the ability to personalize the curriculum and tailor the experience to the
specific areas of finance they wish to pursue.

“What’s exciting about this program is that we’re not removed from
the world of finance while we’re here. We’re very much immersed in it.
We work with the world’s top industry experts, advise real companies,
devise algorithmic trading strategies, sit down with financial leaders,
and visit major banking centers around the world. In this program, we
learn what we need to know, then put that to work in the world. It gives
us tremendous confidence in the power and validity of our knowledge.”

Thibault Colle, M.Fin. ’11

Build a career on essential knowledge and skills.
The Master of Finance Program offers students unparalleled opportunities to explore synergies among
economics, finance, and accounting as well as the critical ties among finance and mathematics, statistics,
operations research, computer science, and engineering.

M.Fin. students investigate leading-edge modeling methodology and learn to apply those models to
contemporary business problems. They also learn how and when to think outside the model. And they
delve into the ethical implications of business decisions and the responsibilities of finance professionals
in the broader social context.

In addition to restricted elective courses, M.Fin. students select three or four general electives either
in finance or from other departments at MIT, including Electrical Engineering and Computer Science,
Economics, and Mathematics, provided they are at the graduate level. Students may also elect to
complete an optional thesis that replaces one or more of the program’s general electives.

Required fundamental and advanced courses

• Finance Theory I and II (Summer Term) • Analytics of Finance
• Corporate Financial Accounting • Proseminar: Financial Engineering or
(Summer Term) Financial Management

Electives
Restricted electives: (select 4)
• Practice of Finance: • Business Analysis Using Financial

Advanced Corporate Risk Management Statements
• Entrepreneurial Finance • Mergers and Acquisitions
• Investments • Valuation
• Advanced Corporate Finance • Retirement Finance, Lifecycle Investing,
• Options and Futures Markets and Asset Management
• Fixed Income • Analytics of Finance II
• Functional and Strategic Finance

General electives: select 3 from a wide range of finance-related courses, including computer science,
mathematics, accounting, and economics.
See more electives at mitsloan.mit.edu/academic/mfin/electives.php

“Graduates of our Master of Finance Program are trained to have a broader

conceptual understanding that transcends any particular financial model.
As a result, they are positioned to take on more central decision-making roles
in the industry.”

Leonid Kogan, Nippon Telegraph & Telephone Professor of Management

Put your knowledge to work in the world.
MIT’s motto mens et manus (mind and hand) is very much a working credo. Putting ideas into action
is the fundamental principle underlying the Institute’s approach to knowledge creation, education, and
research. In the M.Fin. Program, mens et manus manifests itself in a rigorous hands-on curriculum that
offers students the chance to build a deep reservoir of finance knowledge and immediately put that
knowledge to work in the world. M.Fin. students participate in action learning experiences such as:

Proseminars Lab for Financial Engineering

Proseminars offer students an outstanding A partnership between academia and industry,
opportunity to work with leading industry the Lab for Financial Engineering promotes
practitioners on authentic industry problems. qualitative research to spur advances in financial
The two proseminars for M.Fin. students— engineering and develop new methods for
Financial Engineering and Financial teaching students and executives how to apply
Management—help students bridge the gap financial technology in corporate settings.
between theory and practice and introduce
Speaker series
them to the broader financial community.
MIT Sloan invites more than 400 of the world’s
Research practicum finest leaders to campus every year. The most
During the research practicum, students anticipated of these visits are the talks given as
spend three months (one month full-time) part of the Dean’s Innovative Leader Series, which
working directly with client teams at companies features the most dynamic movers and shakers of
like Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Credit Suisse, our day. mitsloan.mit.edu/alumni/dils.php
BlackRock, Bank of America, PIMCO, and Fidelity.

Treks
Organized by student groups in collaboration
with the Career Development Office (CDO), these
broad-based company visits offer students the
chance to sit down with executives and learn
more about firms where they might like to work.
Popular treks include the Asia Finance Trek, the
Warren Buffett Trek, the IT Trek, the Healthcare
Trek, and the Hong Kong Banking Trek.

Students on the Asia Finance Trek compare notes on the leaders they’ve met and the companies they’ve visited.
MIT Sloan’s club culture.
An outgrowth of the creative, hands-on nature of its diverse student body, MIT Sloan’s student clubs
offer dozens of choices for group exploration. Clubs give M.Fin. students myriad vehicles for expanding
their knowledge, skill sets, and networks. Every club is shaped by the interests of the incoming class—
and if students don’t see a club with exactly the focus they’re looking for, they start a new one.

Case in point: the Quantitative Finance Club. A recent group of M.Fin. students established this
organization to leverage MIT Sloan’s expertise in modern finance and the Institute’s legendary technical
edge. Members collaborate to create career and networking opportunities among students, faculty,
alumni, and finance professionals.

The club has hosted a number of talks featuring some of the most influential figures in the financial
realm, including Blackthorne Capital President Timothy Morge, one of the largest currency traders in
the world. Morge shared with students how he adjusted his trading strategies during the recent financial
crisis and sat down with students individually during an office hours session.

The quantitative value of clubs

At last count, MIT Sloan students were operating nearly 40 organizations, clubs, and conferences, including:
• Finance Club • Quantitative Finance Club
• Investment Management Club • Business in Gaming Club
• Venture Capital and Private Equity Club • Sales and Trading Club

Read more about M.Fin. students’ favorite organizations: mitsloan.mit.edu/academic/mfin/clubs.php

Some of the student founders of the

MIT Sloan Quantitative Finance Club.

“I originally trained as an electrical engineer, then got a degree in economics. Maybe

because of that engineering side of me, I like to put what I know to work immediately.
I chose MIT Sloan, in part, because they offered so many incredible opportunities to do
that. My MIT Sloan teammates and I recently won the 5th Annual Boston Investment
Research Challenge, which was exciting after 600 hours of research! It was the second
year in a row that a team from MIT Sloan won the competition. I think it’s that MIT work
ethic coming through.

And I’ve just flown back from Nebraska after the Warren Buffett Trek. About 20 of us
from MIT Sloan had lunch and dinner with Mr. Buffett. He gave us so much time. We
asked him a great many questions—and he gave us straight answers. We even talked
about MIT Sloan professors he has worked with. I had a lot of admiration for Warren
Buffett before this trek—even more so afterward. This trip was inspirational and an
extraordinary opportunity.”

Kunal Sachdeva, M.Fin. ’11

 Advance your career in finance.
By the time they graduate, M.Fin. students are sophisticated finance professionals who understand
the evolution of finance, have the preparation and applied experiences to meet market challenges, and
aspire to be leaders in the world of analytical finance.

M.Fin. students begin career planning before their arrival on campus with a career survey and access
to finance-career exploration tools. Once at MIT Sloan, they have direct access to a dedicated Master of
Finance career advisor and a team of career resource and recruiting professionals at MIT Sloan’s Career
Development Office (CDO).

The CDO plays a vital role in connecting M.Fin. students with leading firms, domestically and globally,
on and off campus. In addition, the CDO staff helps M.Fin. students articulate their individual stories,
build their résumés, network effectively, interview well, conduct successful job searches, and manage
their careers.

M.Fin. students also have the benefit of recruiting services at the MIT Global Education and Career
Development (GECD) Center.

Launching careers
M.Fin. students graduate into significant positions across the financial industry spectrum. For the full
employment report go to mitsloan.mit.edu/pdf/Class_of_2010_Master_of_Finance_Employment_
Report.pdf.

Alfredo Ramirez Sha Na Chris Bubeck Ying Cao

Citigroup Citigroup Beijing Waddell & Reed General Motors
Quantitative Trading Corporate Finance Asset Management Treasury
and Analysis

Top hiring firms

The CDO is a strategic resource connecting M.Fin. students with employers from influential
organizations like:

• Bain & Company • Cambridge Associates • Deloitte • Morgan Stanley

• Bank of America • China Development • Deutsche Bank • Nomura
• Barclays Bank • General Motors • PIMCO
• BlackRock • China International • Goldman Sachs • Société Générale
• BNP Paribas Capital Corporation • ICICI Bank • Standard Chartered
• Boston Consulting • Citi • JP Morgan Bank
Group • Credit Suisse • McKinsey & Company • UBS

“The Career Development Office is a powerful component of the M.Fin. Program. The CDO
provides support on everything from fine-tuning your career trajectory to figuring out
what to wear to an interview. The CDO even organized a finance trek to Asia. We talked
to alumni and recruiters in banking and finance who gave us invaluable advice and tips
on opportunities in Asia and around the world. Some of us even ended up with jobs as
a result of that trip.”

Wei Chen, M.Fin. ’10, Junior Trader, State Street Global Market
Join one of the world’s most powerful networks.
M.Fin. students graduate into a network of MIT Sloan alumni in 90 countries:
• MIT Sloan alumni: 20,000
• MIT alumni: 120,000
• MIT Alumni Association clubs worldwide: 75

“The MIT alumni network is incredibly strong—even in Chile, where I’m from. Before
I started at MIT Sloan, I was already playing soccer with alumni in the MIT Club of Chile.
And I have kept in touch with them while at MIT and tapped the network professionally.
I have an offer from the Citibank management program based in Latin America and will
start right after graduation—which is exactly where I wanted to be right now.”

Claudio Tapia, M.Fin. ’11

Take the next step.
Visit campus
Come to an on-campus information session with admissions representatives. Find out what sets
MIT Sloan apart, get a firsthand feel for the dynamic MIT culture, and learn the ins-and-outs of the
application process.

Read more about visiting campus: mitsloan.mit.edu/academic/mfin/events.php

Apply online
The M.Fin. application process is an opportunity for you to tell us how you think, lead, and pursue your
goals. The application includes a cover letter, recommendations, your academic transcripts, GMAT or
GRE results, and responses to these essay questions:

Essays
• Essay 1: Please describe a time when you worked effectively with people to accomplish
an important result.
• Essay 2: Please describe a situation in which you were able to use persuasion to successfully
convince someone to see things your way.

Career goals
In addition to the two essays, we will ask you to indicate your career area(s) of interest, explain what
attracts you to your career choice(s), and describe how the MIT Sloan M.Fin. Program will help you to
meet these goals.

You’ll find all the specifics you need to apply—including the application itself—at
mitsloan.mit.edu/academic/mfin/admissions.php.

Application deadlines
November 1, 2011 Decisions released by December 20, 2011
January 4, 2012 Decisions released by February 23, 2012

Learn about funding

The goal of the Admissions Office is to admit the most qualified candidates regardless of their financial
means. You will find more information on funding here: web.mit.edu/sfs/loans/graduate_loans.html.

Estimated tuition and costs (for a single student for one year)
Tuition
Summer $ 13, 256
Fall 30, 272
Spring 30, 272

Books and Supplies 2,247

Computer 2,000
Food 5,250
Personal (includes medical insurance) 5,775 Tuition costs quoted above are for 2011–12.
Housing 16,170 Costs for the 2012–13 academic year will be posted
Transportation 2,912 online as they become available at
TOTAL $108,154 mitsloan.mit.edu/academic/mfin/tuition.php.
 Class profile
Female 36%
Male 64%
Age range 21–60 years
Average work experience 17 months
Average undergraduate GPA 3.71
GMAT range 700–760*
GRE quant range 740–800*
GRE verbal range 460–750*

*Middle 80% n=73

Undergraduate majors
Business and Commerce 44%
Math and Science 26%
Engineering 16%
Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences 12%
Computer Science 2%

Nondiscrimination Policy
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is committed to the
principle of equal opportunity in education and employment. The
Institute does not discriminate against individuals on the basis of race,
color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, disability, age,
genetic information, veteran status, ancestry, or national or ethnic
origin in the administration of its educational policies, admissions
policies, employment policies, scholarship and loan programs, and
other Institute-administered programs and activities, but may favor
U.S. citizens or residents in admissions and financial aid.*

The Vice President for Human Resources is designated as the

Institute’s Equal Opportunity Officer and Title IX Coordinator. Inquiries
concerning the Institute’s policies, compliance with applicable laws,
statutes, and regulations (such as Title VI, Title IX, and Section 504),
and complaints may be directed to the Vice President for Human
Resources, Room E19-215, 617-253-6512, or to the Coordinator of Staff
Diversity Initiatives/Affirmative Action, Room E19-215, 617-253-1594.
In the absence of the Vice President for Human Resources or the
Coordinator of Staff Diversity Initiatives/Affirmative Action, inquiries
or complaints may be directed to the Executive Vice President,
Room 3-211, 617-253-3928, or to the Director of Labor and Employee
Relations, Room E19-235N, 617-253-4264, respectively. Inquiries
about the laws and about compliance may also be directed to the
Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, U.S. Department of Education.

* The ROTC programs at MIT are operated under Department of Defense (DOD) policies
and regulations, and do not comply fully with MIT’s policy of nondiscrimination with
regard to sexual orientation. MIT continues to advocate for a change in DOD policies
and regulations concerning sexual orientation, and will replace scholarships of
writers: Kathleen Thurston-Lighty and Robert Thurston-Lighty students who lose ROTC financial aid because of these DOD policies and regulations.
editors: Shauna LaFauci Barry, Kimberly Ebeling, Pamela Spencer,
Julie Strong, Linda Walsh
photography: Stuart Darsch, Sarah Foote, L. Barry Hetherington,
Debra A. Luchanin
design: Robert Beerman, Onward Upward
printing: DS Graphics, Inc.

PSB 11-07-0363
The mission of the MIT Sloan School of Management
is to develop principled, innovative leaders who
improve the world and to generate ideas that
advance management practice.

MIT Sloan School of Management

Admissions Office
50 Memorial Drive, E52-450
Cambridge, MA 02142-1347
617-258-5434
[email protected]

mitsloan.mit.edu/mfin