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Today I am going to cover Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, which has made its mark in the field of Finance. Ranked #1 by Financial Times in Global MBA 2008 Rankings, # 3 by US News 2009 Rankings doesn’t leave much scope to question its credibility or the quality of education that it imparts in building future managers for tomorrow. With an option to choose from 19 majors, 200 electives and a support form 250 + faculty members, it definitely makes a learning experience one of its kinds. The majors range from Accounting, Business and Public Policy, Entrepreneurial Management, Environmental and Risk Management, Finance, Health Care Management, Human Resource and Organizational Management, Insurance and Risk Management, to Marketing, Real Estate etc.

wharton

Let’s take a look at what makes Finance at Wharton so special. Before selecting any area of specialization, it is important that a student takes a look at the list of subjects that would be taught in the particular area of specialization. For Finance at Wharton, following are the subjects:

• Corporate Finance
• Macroeconomics and the Global Economic Environment
• Financial Derivatives
• International Financial Markets
• Investment Management
• Real Estate Investment: Analysis and Financing
• Fixed Income Securities
• Advanced Corporate Finance
• Corporate Valuation
• Urban Fiscal Policy
• International Corporate Finance
• International Banking
• Funding Investments
• Venture Capital and the Finance of Innovation
• Mergers, Acquisitions, and Buyouts
• Advanced Study Project in Finance
• Independent Study Project in Finance

A student is required to choose from the five elective credit units offered by the school. The course is designed to provide students with the analytic and theoretical tools currently required to master practical issues in finance, stressing financial management in business firms, financial institutions, and units of government. Where on one hand Corporate Finance seeks to provide an understanding of the analytical framework underlying business financial decisions on the other hand international finance is designed both to extend the principles of finance to an international setting and to explore the issues peculiar to conducting business in an integrated world economy.

Wharton regularly conducts seminars in the related field through out the year for the benefit of students. I personally fell for the Research Centres that school has, and that too three in number. Shall I say cherry on the cake?

The Rodney L. White Center, founded in 1969 sponsors a wide range of financial research. It publishes a working paper series and a reprint series and holds an annual seminar, which for the last several years has focused on household financial decision making. The Members of the Center gain the opportunity to participate in innovative research to break new ground in the field of finance. The goal is to distribute this new research as broadly as possible. The Center provides grants to faculty at the Wharton School who wish to undertake research in finance.

Weiss Center for International Financial Research, established in 1990 has a primary mission to encourage research on international finance.

Wharton Financial Institutions Centre, established in 1992 directs primary research on financial institutions and their interface with financial markets.

Careers:
Specialization in Finance appeals to those interested in the finance sector, including investment banking, investment management, hedge funds, and private equity. The major is also a good choice for those considering careers in corporate treasury, retail banking, and consumer finance. Finance majors often fill management consulting jobs and corporate finance positions in other industries–for example, in mergers and acquisitions in the energy sector. The Finance major combines particularly well with Strategic Management, Marketing, and Operations and Information Management.

The Full Time Employment Statistics published by the school reveal that according to job function 20.2% opted for Corporate Finance/Mergers and Acquisitions, by Industry Choice 47.6%took Financial Services, and 100% received an Annual Salary in the range $28,000-$392,000 , median coming down to $110,000. (US Dollars)

Have a look at the Finance statistics. I am talking about money, I am sure you want to know.

Full-Time Compensation by Function*

The top hirers were from Boston Consulting Group, Inc., Goldman, Sachs & Company Merrill Lynch & Co., Bain & Company, JP Morgan Chase, McKinsey & Company Morgan Stanley, Lehman Brothers Holdings, Google, Deutsche Bank etc. to name a few.

Did I mention that Wharton also has Finance club, which focuses on areas of finance such as Investment Banking and Capital Markets? The club members work closely with Career Management and corporate recruiters to put on events for students. Day-on-the-Job Fridays allow students a chance to visit firms for on-site presentations.That;s all for today.:) I had put my brains in adding Essays and Deadlines some time earlier this month.