As the role of the so-called quant has grown in importance within Wall Street firms and the broader financial services industry, a new academic specialty has developed in its wake. Degrees in financial engineering, mathematical finance, financial mathematics, quantitative finance, or computational finance, as this new discipline is variously known, are being awarded by an increasing number of universities. For the prospective quant, this presents an alternative to obtaining a Master in Business Administration (MBA) in addition to a degree in engineering, mathematics, physics, or other highly quantitative field.
The 2019 QuantNet Ranking
The Quant Network is based in New York City and focuses on financial engineering education and career resources for so-called quants. It boasts 50,000 community members. QuantNet rated a preselected group of 38 North American master's degree programs in financial engineering (MFE) from September to October 2018. Factors used to rank the programs were:
- Frequency with which employers interviewed or hired graduates
- Starting salaries
- Student to administrator ratio
- Employment rate at graduation
- Employment rate three months after graduation
- Average GRE quantitative scores of students
- Average undergraduate GPA of students
- Percentage of applicants accepted
The latter three measures indicate the selectivity of the program. The more selective, the higher the program ranks.
Caveats With the QuantNet Ranking
The ranking started out with a preselected list of 38 master's in financial engineering. mathematical finance, and quantitative finance programs. Data from the schools were not independently audited. Surveys of employers went to a select list, of which 33 responded and 27 provided the information needed to calculate the rankings. The survey favors programs with fewer students per administrator, though the supposed benefit gained by the student from this cost-increasing factor is not described. Finally, as with any degree program, attendance at any institution is no guarantee that the degree holder will obtain a suitable job in the field.
Key to the Rankings
Following the institution's name is its location, the name of the degree awarded, the tuition cost, whether full-time (FT) or part-time (PT) study is offered, and the length of the program in years.
- Princeton University
Princeton, NJ
Master in Finance
$102,500 (2 years)
FT
2 years - Baruch College, City University of New York
New York, NY
Financial Engineering
$42,395 (non-resident); $28,670 (resident)
FT/PT
1.5 years - University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, CA
Financial Engineering
$70,796
FT
1 year - Carnegie Mellon University
Pittsburgh, PA
Computational Finance
$86,339
FT
2 years - Columbia University
New York, NY
Financial Engineering
$72,648
FT
1 year - New York University
New York, NY
Mathematics and Finance
$72,000
FT/PT
1.5 years - Cornell University
Ithaca, NY
MEng, FE concentration
$78,000
FT
1.5 years - Columbia University
New York, NY
Mathematics and Finance
$72,505
FT/PT
1 year - Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Cambridge, MA
Master of Finance
$78,312 (12 months); $105,968 (18 months)
FT
1 year - NYU Tandon School of Engineering
New York, NY
Financial Engineering
$63,403
FT
1 year - University of California, Los Angeles
Los Angeles, CA
Financial Engineering
$75,816
FT
1 year - University of Chicago
Chicago, IL
Financial Mathematics
$79,412 or $85,985 based on placement
FT/PT
1 year - Georgia Institute of Technology
Atlanta, GA
Quantitative and Computational Finance
$61,135 (nonresident); $29,989 (resident)
FT/PT
1.5 years - Boston University
Boston, MA
Mathematical Finance
$79,224
FT
1.5 years - Fordham University
Bronx, NY
Quantitative Finance
$60,000
FT
1 year - North Carolina State University
Raleigh, NC
Financial Mathematics
$56,974 (non-resident); $32,112 (resident)
FT
2 years - University of Washington
Seattle, WA
Computational Finance & Risk Management
$40,950 (42 credits); $52,650 (54 credits)
FT/PT
1.5 years - Rutgers University
Newark, NJ
Quantitative Finance
$61,532 (non-resident); $40,383 (resident)
FT
1.5 years - Illinois Institute of Technology
Chicago, IL
Mathematical Finance
$59,376
FT
2 years - Rutgers University
New Brunswick, NJ
Mathematical Finance
$57,100 (non-resident); $33,262 (resident)
FT/PT
1.5 years - Johns Hopkins University
Baltimore, MD
Financial Mathematics
$80,610
FT
1.5 years - University of Illinois
Urbana, IL
Financial Engineering
$74,500
FT
1.5 year - University of Minnesota
Minneapolis, MN
Financial Mathematics
$40, 224 (non-resident); $32,128 (resident)
FT/PT
1 year - Stevens Institute of Technology
Hoboken, NJ
Financial Engineering
$47,270
FT/PT
1 year - Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Troy, NY
Quantitative Finance and Risk Analytics
$55,440
FT
1 year - University of North Carolina at Charlotte
Charlotte, NC
Mathematical Finance
$40,505 (non-resident); $20,354 (resident)
FT/PT
1 year - Claremont Graduate University
Claremont, CA
Financial Engineering
$77,600
FT
1.5 years