Professional Development Program

The Villanova MSF begins in June, in order to give students ample time to prepare, professionally and academically, before heading into formal recruitment in the Fall semester. You’ll take Fundamentals of Financial Statement, Survey of Financial Theory and Valuation over the Summer to solidify your already strong academic foundation in the field of finance. You’ll also complete our mandatory Professional Development Program (PDP) course, which is designed to give you the necessary skills and resources to pursue your career goals as early as possible.

PDP classes meet every Wednesday afternoon in the summer and cover a variety of topics. Headed by our Associate Director of Professional Development and Career Services, Rita DiCarlo, PDP focuses on hard and soft skills as well as site visits, alumni speakers and access to Villanova resources.

PDP is required for all students and is taken for credit. Students are expected to attend and actively participate in all class discussions and activities.

PDP topics, assignments and events include:

• Excel training
• Haverford Funds site visit
• Presentations from Villanova Career Development staff
• Introduction to mentoring program
• LinkedIn workshop
• Resume development
• Introduction to on-campus recruiting software, Handshake
• Presentations from alumni currently working in the finance field
• Mock interview sessions
• Networking tactics
• Technical interviewing session
• New York Trek
• Jaymin Patel networking session and alumni reception