随着中国经济的发展，金融行业逐渐成为最赚钱的行业之一。而出国留学读金融专业也成为中国学生和家长选择的热门专业之一。那么金融专业到底是学什么呢?申请人应该具备哪些素质与技能呢?许多人心里还是一个大大的问号。
从学术角度来讲：金融专业是以融通货币和货币资金的经济活动为研究对象，具体研究个人、机构、政府如何获取、支出以及管理资金以及其他金融资产的学科专业，是从经济学中分化出来的。主要研究现代金融机构、金融市场以及整个金融经济的运动规律。该专业具体研究内容包括：关于银行与证券、保险等非银行金融机构的理论与实务，关于货币市场、资本市场与国际金融市场的理论与实务，关于金融宏观调控及整个金融经济的理论与实务，以及关于金融管理特别是金融风险管理的理论与实务。
也许你还是不清楚，那从通俗的角度来说明：金融最早源起于经济学，属于经济学的一个分支，但后来，随着金融学的发展，逐渐发展成为一个独立的学科。西方金融学宏观上分为公司财务和投资学两个方向。随着时间的发展，在过去几十年的时间里边，金融学里面又出现了交叉学科，特别典型的就是金融工程学，Financial Engineering。从金融学的发展来讲，渐渐偏向计算机化、数学化、工程化，所以其实从某种角度上来讲，金融工程特别像精算。可以这么讲，在金融学领域如果不具备数学，数学模型和计算机化的金融工程的专业知识，是无法从事比较复杂的金融方面的交易，金融工具的产生，使金融交易越来越复杂化，越来越数学化，越来越计算机化。
毕业于金融专业的同学，日后可以在证券交易所，期权交易所，基金理财公司，风险投资公司以及各种银行和监管部门工作。用数学的方式解决现实中的问题，将可能会发生风险的机率降到最低，最终实现无风险的收益率。可见对于从业者来说，这是一个对于专业技能要求极高的一个工作。会计是一个比较具有专业性技能的专业，而金融工程和金融分析是比会计更加专业化的一个学科。所以对于数学基础较弱的学生，选择金融专业的时候还是需要慎重一些。
每年都会遇到一些来咨询金融专业的学生和家长，所以总结了University of California,San Diego(UCSD)这个学校申请Master of Finance时的要求，以便大家在选择专业的时候更有针对性，不要盲目。
1.一篇不超过500 words的Statement of Purpose.
先不要着急窃喜只需要写500字就够了，再来看下这500字需要涵盖的内容：
A.How did you become interested in this field??Establish that you have had a long-term interest in the field and that you have taken positive steps in pursuing your interest. Give the committee members a sense of your particular talents and abilities and their relevance to your academic interests.
你是怎么变得对这个领域感兴趣的?阐述自己一步步是怎样追求自己的兴趣的。展现出你独特的天赋和能力。
B. What experiences have contributed toward your preparation for further study in this field??Demonstrate your interest by providing examples of research experiences, internships, work experience, community service, publications, or life experiences. Briefly describe what you did in each experience. Also, make sure to articulate what you have learned about the field and how those lessons stimulated you to pursue an advanced degree.
是什么样的一个经历，促使你要继续学习这一领域。可以从研究经验，实习，工作经验等方面写，表明你已经学到了哪些东西。
C. What are your future goals??Specifically state your degree objective (Master's or Ph.D.) and specify what subdisciplines you are interested in pursuing. For example, if you are applying in political science, the committee needs to know whether you are pursuingAmerican Politics, Comparative Politics, International Relations, or Political Theory. Let the reader know that you are planning a future career as a university professor, researcher, or consultant, or in public service or private practice (or whatever your goal happens to be).
你未来的目标是什么?阐述清楚你的学习目标和职业目标。
D. What are your research interests??Within your subdiscipline, you should be able to identify one or two topics that are of interest to you. When possible, be specific about your research agenda. Remember that you will be working with professors in research; therefore, your research interests should parallel those of the faculty. (You will usually not be expected to know exactly what you want to research; faculty know that initial interests often change.)
你的研究方向是什么?可以选择一到两个你感兴趣的研究方向来写。
E. How are you a "match" for the program to which you are applying??Explain what attracts you most to the institution/program to which you are applying. Align your research interests with those of one or more of the affiliated professors. The better the "match" with the program/professors, the better the chance that you will be admitted.
你认为申请的这个专业跟你为什么是契合的?
Other factors to weave in (remember these are secondary factors):
Give examples of personal attributes or qualities that would help you complete graduate study successfully.
Describe your determination to achieve your goals, your initiative and ability to develop ideas, and your ability to work independently.
Describe background characteristics that may have placed you at an educational disadvantage (English language learner, family economic history, lack of educational opportunity, disability, etc.).
Leave the reader believing that you are prepared for advanced academic work and will be successful in graduate school.
除了以上五点外，学校还列出了其他一些你可以加入的要素，你的个人能力怎样可以帮助你完成学业，也可以讲出自己在某些地方的不足。让读者相信你可以已经做好准备读书，并且可以成功毕业。
所以看完这个你是否觉得，这500字，字字需要斟酌呢?
2.计算机和数学能力的自我评估
Computational Tools
In this section, you will be asked to rate your level of expertise in a variety of computational tools. Please answer the questions using the following scale: 0 = Never used, 1= Novice, 2 = Intermediate, 3 = Advanced, 4 = Expert
Matlab / R / Mathematica / Stata / SAS / S-Plus / C++ / Python
Please list any other computational tools in which you are at least proficient.
请用0/1/2/3/4来回答，你对下列软件的掌握程度。0是没有用过，4是专家级别的。列出你还会的其他软件名称，但至少是精通级别的。
Mathematical Background
In this section, you will be asked to rate your level of understanding in the following mathematical topics. Please answer the questions using the following scale: 0 = Never studied, 1= Basic Understanding, 2 = Intermediate Understanding, 3 = Advanced Understanding, 4 = Expert, I could teach the topic.
Linear Algebra / Multivariate Calculus / Differential Equations / Numerical Analysis / Advanced Statistics and probability / Stochastic Calculus / Real Analysis
请用0/1/2/3/4来回答你对下列数学分支知识的掌握水平。0是从来没有学习过，4是非常棒，并且到了教学的水平。
以上对UCSD这个学校总结，是申请美国Finance专业的一个缩影。Finance专业对学生的综合素质，特别是计算机和数学计算能力格外看重。并且现在越来越多美国院校也开始对PS，Essay等文书字数有着越来越多的限制，这对于中国学生来说无疑是一个巨大的难题。喜欢记流水账的中国学生，用仅仅500-1000个英文单词来说明自己的与众不同，是对个人语言文字功底的挑战。
