Student Externships: Investment Opportunities
By Jennifer Warfel Juszkiewicz ’09 M.A., NDAA Staff Writer

This summer, 22 students worked one-on-one with some of the leading firms on Wall Street through the Financial Services Externship Program at Notre Dame. The program, which essentially involves “job shadowing” for students pursuing opportunities in the financial services industry, was organized through the University’s Career Center, the Wall Street Career Services Committee, and the Notre Dame Investment Office.

More than 50 students applied to the externship program using the Career Center’s “Go IRISH” student career application system. The 22 students chosen were matched with host organizations, including investment banks, private equity firms, hedge funds, and other related companies. Fifth Third Bank, JPMorgan Securities, Merrill Lynch Private Banking, Moody Aldridge, and Viking Capital were just a few of the host organizations.

Applicants were required to hold a GPA of 3.0 or higher. The 2009 program was offered to rising juniors and seniors. But because the externships are designed for students in an earlier stage of their education, moving forward the program will be offered exclusively to students in their sophomore and junior years.

Unlike internships, externships are generally of a shorter duration, students are more closely supervised, and participants are less likely to receive compensation. The externships in the Financial Services Externship Program at Notre Dame generally lasted between three days and three weeks. While the Career Center provided each student with a $300 travel allowance, participants were responsible for their own room and board.

After the program ended in June, the students unanimously rated the experience as “outstanding” on their post-program survey. "I had an absolutely amazing experience, surrounded by people who were willing to teach me everything they knew about the investment industry,” said one participant.

Some of the companies transitioned the students into longer internship programs due to their excellent performance. Five of the students were given full, paid summer internships through this route. Their subsequent projects included equity research, valuation analysis, technology experience with Bloomberg, and health care industry research.

To learn more about the Financial Services Externship Program at Notre Dame, visit the externship portion of the Career Services website.