SIPA: School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University

The International Finance and Economic Policy Concentration equips students to pursue careers in the international economy in the private and public sectors. The concentration includes an International Finance Track and an International Economic Policy Track. The International Finance Track prepares students for careers that require knowledge of capital markets, banking, accounting, and public policy. The International Economic Policy Track prepares students for careers related to international trade or international monetary policy.

Previous graduates have pursued a wide variety of careers. Many find jobs in investment
and commercial banks, hedge funds, private equity funds, research institutions, consulting firms, corporations, and accounting firms. Others join central banks, ministries of finance or treasuries, government agencies responsible for domestic and international economic matters, or international organizations such as the World Bank, International Finance Corporation, and World Trade Organization. The International Finance and Economic Policy Concentration prepares graduates to build new types of financial institutions and bring fresh thinking to regulatory policy.

 

Workshop

The International Finance and Economic Policy Workshop offers students an exciting opportunity to work with a major financial institution, business firm, or government agency to assist, advise, or research a specific issue in which the client institution has an interest. Past clients include Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, UBS, Fitch Ratings, Congressional Budget Office, the World Bank, Inter-American Development Bank, and GE Energy Financial Services.

Past projects have included:

• Proposing methods and best practices for the mitigation of foreign currency risk
  
• Developing a corporate social responsibility program for a communications corporation
  
• Marketing research for a company’s expected expansion into China and India
  
• Utilizing Excel-based financial modeling to analyze structured finance issues for a bank
• Studying microeconomic issues affecting oil exploration in western Africa
  
• Using economic analysis to assess and recommend investment opportunities in Russia

Past Employers of Graduates

The International Finance and Economic Policy Concentration provides students with:

Asian Development Bank Bain & Company Bank of America Barclays Booz Allen Hamilton Credit Suisse Deloitte Deutsche Bank Ernst & Young Eurasia Group European Commission Federal Reserve Bank of New York Gap Inc. General Electric Commercial Finance Goldman Sachs HSBC Inter-American Development Bank International Finance Corporation JPMorgan Chase McKinsey & Company Merrill Lynch Oracle Standard & Poor’s UBS United Nations U.S. Department of the Treasury World Bank

• an understanding of the interrelation between regulatory policy, political economy, and financial systems • strong quantitative, critical thinking, writing, and management skills • training in economic, empirical, political, and institutional analysis of international economic policymaking • multicultural interaction, teamwork, and collaboration within an international context • key skills in areas such as cost-benefit analysis, compliance management, accounting, corporate finance, structured credit, microfinance, and decision models and management

Audit Form