MSF proves to be worthwhile investment.

Tamara Tigero and Mark Guthrie both have found the lock-step, eleven-course, twelve-month Master of Science in Finance (MSF) in the College of Business Administration an excellent way to complete a graduate program: Tigero because she wants to finish advanced degree work quickly and return to Chile to launch a teaching career, and Guthrie because he wanted to integrate graduate school into a life that was already filled with work and family.

Classes in the MSF take place on Friday evenings and Saturday mornings, allowing people like Guthrie to do just that.

Exceptional student Tamara Tigero plans career as university teacher.

Tamara Tigero set a high standard for herself by graduating first in her class from Pontíficia Universidad Católica de Chile in December 2003 with a bachelor's degree in commercial engineering. She has risen to the challenge by maintaining at 4.0 in the MSF, which she began in August 2004.

"I wanted to go to graduate school because I liked studying and I liked teaching," she said. "I knew that to teach in Chile, I would need further education."

Though she could have pursued graduate work in her native country, she wanted to move beyond its borders, at least for a while.

"I felt it was important to come to the United States because I wanted to broaden my life experiences, meet other people, and learn another language," she said.

Tigero knew she wanted to study in Miami, a city she had visited before and one in which her new husband was also interested in living. She found out about the MSF through an Internet search. She also had been in touch with people in Miami who helped orient her to a good school, and she reviewed rankings, as well as program descriptions, before making her selection.

I love finance," she said, "and I liked that this program was very specifically focused on finance, unlike an MBA which does not have the same level of concentration in that one subject."

She also was drawn to the program because she will be able to finish it in one year, she said. Though her husband is with her, she finds it hard to spend time away from the rest of her family. And she is eager to start teaching-a career path she hopes will be made easier with her MSF degree in hand.

"A master's degree from the United States is very well recognized in Chile," she said.

Mark Guthrie parlays new degree into new career.

Before MSF: director of IT. After MSF: senior account manager with a credit card processing company. That's the career move that Mark Guthrie made just two months after completing the MSF.

"I had developed a love for finance," said Guthrie, who has bachelor's degrees in both management and marketing as well as three associate's degrees.

Before selecting the Chapman Graduate School 's program, Guthrie did extensive research, including a review of national surveys. He saw that the MSF had the curriculum he wanted.

"The curriculum is very specific and concrete," he said. "Also, it was critically important to me that the program was AACSB-accredited because all schools with this accreditation have a standardized curriculum. That puts the program's curriculum on an equal footing with places like Harvard and Duke."

He also liked the convenience of attending classes at the Pines Center in Pembroke Pines, which is twenty minutes from where he lives. And he appreciated a program with a structure that fit his busy schedule.

"I was working full-time, so it was important to be able to go to school at night and on the weekend," said Guthrie, though he admitted it was a big time commitment and there were instances when he would have liked to have spent his weekend with his family.

Guthrie's technical background turned out to be a bonus when he looked for a new job.

"My clients are technically dependent, so it was helpful to have background in both the business side and the technical side," he said. "In corporate America, people tend to be highly trained in one or the other."

Always looking ahead to the next challenge, Guthrie sees himself starting his own venture in the future. But for now, he's thrilled with the new position and his accomplishment.

"Completing a program with such a strict curriculum is a life achievement for me," he said. "I'm very grateful that the MSF enabled me to balance my family, job, and school."