Master of Financial Engineering vs Master of Business Analytics

A quick preface…I have a nephew who is in his Junior year in Aerospace Engineering at a globally respected university for engineering. His dad is out of the picture, his mom didn’t go to college, and I am the one he talks with about his education (which is unfortunate for my nephew, because of my limitations when it comes to engineering).

He is very interested in graduate school, and cost is not an issue. While no one is a lock for elite universities for Masters programs, he will likely be a solid contender. His interests have driven him to 2 possibilities; a MFE and a MBAn. These options are new to me, and when I drill down on the descriptions of these options on the university websites, the more I read, the more similar they seem.

He likes the idea of working on Wall Street as a Quant, and he is also intrigued with being a Big Data guy at a prominent tech company. While the MFE seems best for the first, and the MBAn seems better for the latter, it looks like he could pursue either path with either Masters degree…is that correct? Is one Masters degree more limiting in scope than the other?

I’d recommend that your nephew speak to the career center at his school and his advisor.

If there isn’t a clear cut direction, he may be better served working for a few years to narrow his interests and then applying to grad school.

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Because of a family/money situation, he will be attending graduate school right after he gets his Bachelors.

I’m a retired mechanical engineer and have been on these threads a long time. I’ve not heard of FInancial Engineering. Per quick google, it seems to be a business kind of degree, heavy on math(?). Found prerequisites for one program - MS in Financial Engineering Prerequisites | Lehigh Business

It could be an interesting career path, but a change from the original engineering undergrad emphasis. Nothing wrong with that, if it is what he wants. Same with Analytics.