Best Ph.D. Math Program for I-Banking, Hedge-Funding

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<p>
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does anyone know the difficulty of getting into a program like Columbia M.S. in financial engineering. What is the acceptance rate? What's a good ug major?

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<p>this question has been in my mind for quite a while too...u have to do insanely well as an undergrad in some mathematical major....i plan to do undergrad Finance + math/statistics at Stern, because most of the resumes of the students in those programs say that their undergrad major was either math, applied math, econ, statistics, or in some cases, electrical/computer engineering....i guess to even be considered competitive, you have to be majoring in one of those areas, along side which you must have done research/independent study as an undergrad.....a high GPA (3.7++) is almost assumed of the applicants who apply</p>

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<p>sac, that what was what I was getting to vis a vis a PhD program before tetris jumped on me. Flexibility and higher end work at places like Shaw. I disagree with you regarding the emphasis on full ride, it is more economic to take a loan for $60,000 and get into the workforce than linger in a doctoral program for 4 years because of a free ride. Of course, you have made it clear that this is only one reason.</p>

<p>I examined the curriculums of Stanford, Chicago, Cornell, CMU yesterday. They all need math almost to a minor or major level and if you do stats or engineering etc they insist on math up to PDE and Real Analysis. Can someone enlighten me as to what Real Analysis is and how it differs from what is described as Modern Analysis. And also what would be prereqs for this course. Thanks.</p>

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<p>What if you're someone who just can't afford a financial engineering degree (lack of loans for internationals)..? What can you do if you don't want a PhD?</p>

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<p>There are a couple of banks that will give internationals loans as long as a they have a co-signer. Most schools that I have been looking at don't offer FA for internationals for masters in financial math, so I think I'll probably have to do loans myself.</p>

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<p>^^actually, NYU has a special loan program along with Citibank which allows internationals to borrow up to the full cost of the education WITHOUT a co-signer.....so if you're admitted to NYU's grad program in mathematical finance, you can easily get a loan for the entire year's education</p>

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<p>^sweet. Though I think my dream school would be stanford (I don't really know much about the field right now, so this might change... but I'm sick of Northeast weather lol)</p>

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<p>^^ as far as i know, most graduate programs in quant finance dont provide any sort of financial aid....for us internationals, that would mean either getting funding form parents, or getting some sort of loan....as far as I know, only NYU offers a loan program for internationals which does not require a co-signer whoz a US citizen</p>

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<p>I know, but I can get a co-signer without a problem. My aunt is an US citizen, and she said from day one that if I needed a co-signer, she would be glad to help (b/c its not like I'm gonna bail on her).</p>

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<p>Hmm.. the Citi loan doesn't seem enough for poor guys like me..</p>

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<p>These programs seem to have requirements and transcripts stricter than those required for med school. Why is that? Is it just because the typical applicant is the math major who doesn’t want a career in academia or is the field that competitive?</p>

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<p>I must demur here with regard to grade inflation in Ivy leagues (well, at least one of them). I graduated from an Ivy League with a BA in Math, summa cum laude. Do I deserve it? Probably not. I began taking graduate level courses in my junior year, and it was almost impossible not to get at least an A- when you are the only undergrad in a graduate level class.</p>

<p>I happened to be a PhD student in Math at the Ohio State University, and I was a teaching assistant/lecturer for undergrad courses there for a number of years. I must say that the grading system there was much more honest. The exams in math could actually be quite hard (depending on the professor), and most of the students actually sucked it up when they got bad grades (and not raise hell like a spoiled Ivy Leaguer, like I was.)</p>

<p>Regarding your other question:
As college level courses go, there is virtually no difference between real analysis and modern analysis. In a nutshell, whatever theorems whose proofs were hand-waved away or skipped in BC Calculus, you prove them, delta-epsilon, in real/modern analysis.
Within academia, people tend to refer to the material as real analysis. I guess "modern analysis" might seem more dazzling to a college freshman, or whoever is paying for his/her astronomical tuition.</p>

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<p>If you are looking at Financial Engineering programs, here's some info...</p>

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The Haas School's (Berkeley) Master's in Financial Engineering Program (MFE) ranked #1 among financial engineering and quantitative finance master's programs around the world, according to Global Derivatives, an information clearinghouse for quantitative finance topics. </p>

<p>The MFE Program earned near-perfect scores in the three categories ranked by this survey: program rating (98), faculty rating (99), and overall reputation (99). Also in the top five were: #2 Columbia University, #3 Courant Institute at New York University, #4 University of Chicago tied with Cornell University, and #5 Carnegie Mellon University. </p>

<p>"The Haas MFE is an excellent program, featuring some of the finest finance faculty and students anywhere in the world," says John O'Brien, executive director of MFE. "Our recruiting success shows this, and we are proud that our peers in the industry who responded to this survey have recognized this as well." </p>

<p>Global Derivatives hosts a web site focused on promoting networking and education and sharing information on financial engineering, derivatives, and quantitative finance topics with professionals around the world. </p>

<p>Global Derivatives claims this to be the first ranking of quantitative finance programs. Its ranking is based on the 249 responses it received from a survey of 500 recruiters and professionals in the US and Europe who are associated with the organization. Each school received a base score of 75, or 25 points each for program, faculty, and reputation. Global Derivatives then added or subtracted points based on how a program scored in each category. </p>

<p>Global Derivatives plans to conduct a more formal annual ranking of quantitative finance programs around the world starting in 2004. </p>

<p>See the ranking results at Global</a> Derivatives v3.0 - Doctorate Degree Programs - Complete List.

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<p>I tried to find the original rankings at the website, but couldn't. I haven't read the thread so much in depth, but I don't see why you'd get a doctorate in math if you want to go into finance - unless you want to teach and straddle academe and the cutting edge of quant-based finance. The cutting edge of quant in investment management seems to be done among other places at Barclays Global Investors in San Francisco and is run by a bunch of Berkeley and Stanford professors I have heard. They hire a lot of the Berkeley MFE folks too. I do know that the Berkeley MFE program numbers Math PhD holders among its admittees quite commonly.</p>

<p>Masters</a> in Financial Engineering Program - Essentials - Haas School of Business</p>

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<p><</p>

<p>Oops, should have put this url:</p>

<p>Master's</a> in Financial Engineering Program - Haas School of Business - UC Berkeley</p>

<p>and this one:</p>

<p>Global</a> Derivatives v3.0 - Doctorate Degree Programs - Complete List</p>

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<p>^ </p>

<p>Oops, someone pointed this out to me as well. This is a good article about the blending of a quant background with an understanding of finance:</p>

<p><a href="http://mfe.haas.berkeley.edu/download/fe_news_report_2006.pdf%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://mfe.haas.berkeley.edu/download/fe_news_report_2006.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

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<p>Elihu, does that mean I could do much better at an ivy league? I take honors classes in math at OSU and get A's in them. As for the grade inflation, don't the math and science classes get curved to a B/B- average? Which ivy league did you go to?</p>

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<p>i think he went to Yale</p>

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<p>^^^^</p>

<p>Elihu Yale, founder of Yale;indeed.</p>

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<p>If you pay your own uni fees without being in debt or financial aid, would a PhD in Math be the best option for I-Banking and Finance? Because from what I understand, masters is considered more ideal as you accumulate less debt from being in uni for less time and working for longer but if financing college was not an issue would a master's still be a better choice?</p>

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<p>Yes. PhD is only if you want to be in academe. When there were no MFE programs PhDs in math, physics etc were recruited into finance. Today, except for a few positions that emphasize the kind of research for which a doctoral dissertation is good preparation most quants need only MFE or equivalent.</p>

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<p>^^^^</p>

<p>I agree with ramaswami. I actually thought this question was pretty well answered in the following article in the section where she talks about what MFEs have over quant PhDs:</p>

<p><a href="http://mfe.haas.berkeley.edu/download/fe_news_report_2006.pdf%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://mfe.haas.berkeley.edu/download/fe_news_report_2006.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>