The Naveen Jindal School of Management has launched a Professional Program in Finance (PPF) with the goal of matching the top finance students at UT Dallas with the most competitive employers in the industry.
“It’s like an honors program — except that it’s for the professional side instead of the academic side,” said Alex Treece, a former investment banking analyst and private-equity investor whom the Jindal School called upon to spearhead the program.
PPF focuses on helping highly motivated finance students gain competitive advantages needed to land top jobs. The PPF’s target industries include investment banking, private equity, management consulting, investment management and corporate finance, strategy and development.
Benefits include learning about recruiting cycles and specific qualifications sought by recruiters at top firms. Students accepted into the program also spend time networking and developing personal relationships with potential employers.
Students who apply to the program go through a rigorous application and screening process. Those who meet the program’s admission requirements (sophomore or junior standing, minimum cumulative grade-point average of 3.0, minimum grade of B in Business Finance (FIN 3320)) undergo in-person interviews in which they are judged for their communications skills, attitude, drive and other factors.
Of the more than 100 students who applied when the program began in the fall 2016 semester, 40 were chosen for in-person interviews. Thirty-two were accepted, including 30 sophomores and juniors, and two seniors.
“While it’s great to have good grades, while it’s great to have campus involvement, in today’s workforce and labor environment in finance and business in general, it’s not enough,” Treece said. “The bar is much higher for getting the best jobs and the goal of our program is to help students clear it.”
Sean Lowry applied to gain access to the professional-development assistance the program offers.
“I wanted to be a part of the PPF because I believed that it would be a great opportunity to learn all the skills and knowledge that you need to be successful in the finance world,” Lowry said. “I believe that the PPF will really fill the void when it comes to learning all the information that you need but will not be taught in the classroom, such as what recruiters are looking for in potential candidates.”
Like Lowry, Sukriti Palaha focused on the benefits that would become available to her upon acceptance in the PPF.
“What got me really interested was the great amount of resources that came along with it,” she said.
“Distinguished faculty, better networking opportunities that would help me in my career, and Breaking Into Wall Street — an intensive financial modeling course that helps finance students strengthen their technical skills and make themselves more marketable to employers.”
In addition to networking, development of relationships within a tight-knit cohort program and access to industry knowledge from an insider’s perspective like his own, another key goal that Treece has set is helping PPF students develop those technical skills that Palaha mentioned.
“It’s the combination of all those things that is going to help students be competitive, “Treece said. “If they don’t engage in that level of planning and have guidance, it’s really tough to break into the top industries.”
Although the program is in its infancy, finance junior Vijay Bhagvath already has seen some dividends from it, including landing a job with a Dallas-based investment bank.
“Mr. Treece has helped me out extensively with networking skills,” Bhagvath he said. “He shared his [cold-call] networking method of reaching out to investment banks based on his own experiences in industry. I’ve had the chance to interview at multiple investment banks and a private equity firm, opportunities I wouldn’t have had access to outside the PPF.”
Bhagvath recently got an internship at The Vant Group, an investment banking firm, after applying networking concepts learned through the PPF. Other PPF students have used their newly acquired skills to land internships at Bain & Company, a management consulting firm; Goldman Sachs’ investment management division; and The Riverside Company, a global private equity firm.
The next round of PPF interviews will occur early next fall semester. That will allow new “PPFers” to participate in the crucial fall recruitment season, during which top firms select their candidates for the coming summer. Based on the quality of candidates and high market demands, the minimum cumulative GPA threshold to apply next fall will likely increase to 3.5, Treece said. The average GPA of the current class is 3.89. Treece is optimistic about the current trajectory of the program.
“The students here at the JSOM are really exceptional,” he said. “As more employers hire our PPF students and see their ability to perform at a very high level in top positions, there will be increasing demand in the marketplace for the PPF and JSOM brand.”
