Smith Launches Global Financial Institutions Interdisplinary Course Program

Amid a global financial crisis that generates new headlines daily, the Smith College faculty approved the launch of a new interdisciplinary concentration on Global Financial Institutions.

The concentration will combine academic courses, research and fieldwork to provide a rigorous study of financial markets and institutions such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank, central banks, and the financial regulations that apply to them.

“Through the concentration, students will acquire in-depth knowledge of the structure and operation of U.S. and world financial institutions,” said Mahnaz Mahdavi, the Ann F. Kaplan Director of the Center for Women and Financial Independence. “In doing so we are preparing future leaders that understand the complexity of financial institutions.“

Beginning in 2012–13, students can apply to be admitted to the concentration. As many as 15 students will be admitted each year.

A concentration gives students a way to organize a combination of intellectual and practical experiences, such as internships and service learning, around an area of interest. Students apply to concentrations and when selected they receive focused advising to help them design a program in their area of interest.

Concentrations have a multidisciplinary approach to a particular topic of study.

To satisfy the needs of the concentration, students will be required to take a number of courses. The courses already exist across a range of subjects including computer science, economics, government, mathematics, philosophy and psychology. They will also have the option of focusing on a specific region—Africa, Asia, Europe or the Americas—by selecting courses and pursuing research on that region.

Students will also be required to pursue a research project that they present at an academic conference or to the campus community, and complete two summer internships identified with the assistance of the Center for Women and Financial Independence and the Career Development Office.