USC MSF or Brandeis Masters in International Economics & Finance

Hi everyone,

I am facing a bit of a dilemma as I got accepted into the USC MSF program, and the Brandeis MAeif program, and am not sure which one to choose. I like the Brandeis program as it has an Economics component to it, as well as many more specialization opportunities vs. the USC program, and to be quite honest I am not 100% sure if I want to pursue finance as a career in the future (I am leaning more towards the Economics side). I feel like if I were to attend Brandeis' program I would have a wider net of career opportunities whereas if I were to go to USC I would have to stick to Finance and nothing else. At the same time, however, I think that Brandeis' reputation probably isn't nearly as good as USC's...

The MSF program at USC is new though and has never been offered before, whereas the Brandeis program has been around for a while, but considering that it is Marshall the quality of the program probably can't be bad, right? Also the alumni network for Marshall is much larger than Brandeis' and it seems that the program is a lot more selective than the MAeif program...

And not to mention I do prefer LA over Boston (or rather, Waltham, Mass.)

I am a bit conflicted and not sure which one would be the best choice to make, any advice or insight anyone has into any of these programs would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

9 Comments
 

From what I know, Brandeis is very bad career-wise. Typically, their best graduates are going to be working for the Big 4, which, at least in Europe, is not prestigious at all. As a result, it's definitely not worth the money. I don't know about USC, but at least the climate is good there!

"The societies that have achieved the most spectacular, broad-based progress are neither the most tightly controlled, nor the biggest in size, nor the wealthiest in natural resources. No, what unites them all is their willingness to believe in the magic o
 

Ex non doloribus saepe corporis itaque. Esse velit debitis consequatur ea illum molestiae. Consequatur tempora et nemo velit. Provident earum voluptas minus alias minus numquam et. Incidunt ut tempore assumenda et amet animi.

Dolores ducimus necessitatibus voluptatem. Ratione accusamus cumque et aut suscipit suscipit provident. Aut quaerat similique aperiam voluptates sit.

Career Advancement Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.2%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.8%
  • Evercore 01 98.2%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.6%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.2%
  • JPMorgan No 97.7%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (14) $434
  • Associates (43) $259
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (75) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (67) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
3
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
6
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
7
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
8
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
9
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
10
Jamoldo's picture
Jamoldo
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”