engineering phd to finance

How to Switch Careers from Engineering to Finance

It’s quite common for individuals who start off as engineers to think about switching to finance. I’m one of them, by the way.

Despite seemingly different disciplines, a background in engineering equips one well with an analytical mind, which is a highly transferable skillset to financial roles. But just how easy is it to switch from engineering to finance, and is it a worthwhile move?

Whether you’re an engineering student, a recent graduate, or are already working in the sector and are thinking about making the jump to a finance career, let’s take a look at what you need to know to help plan your next move and change careers successfully .

Why change careers from engineering to finance?

Some categories of engineering offer a more logical route into finance than others.

For instance, a 2018 study showed that 4.9% of engineers went directly into finance on graduation. Computer science engineers switch to finance at the rate of 7.4%, while just 1.8% of civil engineers make that change.

However, you might find a variety of circumstances influencing your decision to change careers.

Salary & earnings potential

Engineers in the UK who have risen to higher management positions can usually expect to earn around an average of £58k per annum. By comparison, senior posts in finance, such as traders or consultants in mergers and acquisitions, can enjoy significantly higher salaries. 

Yet it’s not just the base salary that’s attractive. Finance is well-known for paying enormous annual bonuses. For the roles highlighted above, these could be up to 100% of your base salary. 

In other areas the difference is not quite so clear cut, at least for entry level positions. If you graduate from a leading school and land a job as an engineer at a top US based tech firm, for example, then you could expect to earn a starting salary of $150k per year. This is a comparable salary to what those entering investment banking might be looking to take home. 

However, in finance the impact of bonuses and faster progression means that it can be significantly more lucrative after just a few years than a role in engineering after the same length of time.

Overall, a career in finance has the potential for gaining a luxury lifestyle that engineering simply cannot match, and for a lot of ambitious individuals this is the primary driving factor behind making the switch.

Career opportunities & rate of progression

Ambitious engineering students hope to become managers to improve their salary and career prospects. But it can be a frustrating route to take.

According to recent statistics , the average age of an engineering manager in the US is forty-eight years. On a global level , only 7% of engineering managers are female, while 93% are male. By contrast, 41% of financial managers are women and 59% men. 

Engineering is a broad field, and with the right skills and experience it’s possible to make some great progress. However, progression often happens at a slower pace than it does in a lot of financial roles, where professionals can expect to move up the ladder every 2-5 years.

Finance is an expanding business sector, and as such, there are many opportunities for graduates to be fast-tracked into management roles at a relatively young age.

Engineering graduates or young professionals who are looking for a career that has plenty of opportunities to progress quickly, may therefore see finance as a better match for their goals.

Lack of enthusiasm or change of interest

As engineering graduates begin to mature, they often find their enthusiasm for their career declines. One reason for this could be that up to 65% of people follow a career that their parents wanted. It’s only when they feel they have gained their independence, that many engineering graduates realise they have chosen the wrong career.

Some people get into engineering because they think they should do so, rather than because they want to. Others start off passionate about engineering, but lose interest after graduating and start to look for more rewarding options. Some people find that while studying engineering, they develop a passion for finance, and their enthusiasm to be an engineer fades.

Whatever the reason may be; whether an interest in finance has been lifelong or is a more recent development, it’s safe to say that for some engineers, a lack of excitement for the career they’ve trained for, and a stronger enthusiasm to get involved in finance, leads them to want to jump ship.

Job satisfaction & experiencing burnout

In a similar way, some engineers find their intended field no longer has the same appeal. While engineering can be a rewarding career, it’s equally the case that many engineers become dissatisfied with their role for a wide range of reasons.

These can range from finding their job boring, for example if they spend most of the day working on mundane tasks, to feeling like they aren’t being recognized by superiors for the effort they’re putting in.

Others simply experience burnout. After working hard to achieve a top degree, followed by a potentially demanding entry level job, an individual may feel that stress and pressure associated with an engineering career is getting too much for them. 

While some jobs in finance are known for their long hours, a change of career is something that some engineers may feel they need. Finance is a high risk environment that has a fast-paced, exciting image, and this is something that can be attractive to those from an engineering background.

It’s also the case that many financial roles can offer interesting and varied work. Client facing positions, for example in consultancy or wealth management , offer a level of day to day interaction that can involve a variety of challenges that engineering simply doesn’t offer.

International involvement & impact

Engineering projects are usually localized. Finance has many opportunities for an international career. In finance, employees often have the chance to work in some of the world’s most glamorous and influential financial hubs, such as New York, London, Hong Kong, Singapore and San Francisco.

If you’re a young professional, or a student planning your next move after your studies, then finance can be an attractive proposition. The industry offers an opportunity to work in one of the world’s major financial centres, which also happen to be some of the most exciting cities to live in. On top of that, the higher than average salaries offered by a lot of finance roles will enable you to do so reasonably comfortably.

It’s also a sector in which professionals can have an impact on the world. From guiding the direction of international companies through policy, products and even ESG investing , to making decisions that can really influence people’s lives, finance is a sector that offers opportunities to see the results of your efforts on a global scale.

How to move from engineering to finance

Depending on the type of engineer you are, and the area of finance you want to get into, making the move isn’t always easy, but it is possible.

Whether you’re a student who wants to get into finance with an engineering degree, or are an established professional, here are a few suggestions that might help you transition from engineering to finance successfully.

Identify a suitable career path

There are a wide range of financial career paths, so it’s vital to find one that not only offers what you want from a job, but that you are also a good fit for. Engineering skills are practical and highly mathematical, and should help you make a transition to finance. Skilled individuals in areas such as quantitative research and analytics are very much in demand. 

Financial analysts use data to help make mathematical predictions on where investments should be made. Consultancy is also a challenging, yet lucrative option, where knowledge of specific sectors might be valuable. 

If you want to move from engineering into finance, then identifying a role that best matches your skills and personality is an essential first step.

Change roles with your existing employer

One of the easiest methods of changing your career is to transfer to another department in your existing employer’s company. 

Such a step can provide you with a refreshing new challenge while enjoying the convenience of working in the same place. There may even be supportive schemes encouraging you to make the switch.

While your current employer might not offer exactly the type of financial role you want to move into, areas like accountancy, management consulting and market analysis can help you to develop relevant experience and be a great stepping stone.

Consider engineering roles at a finance company

If your engineering degree is a STEM qualification, you might find it relatively easy to transfer to an engineering role at a finance company. 

Firms such as Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan have a very high regard for STEM-trained engineers, where their computer-based, scientific and technological skills, plus engineering and mathematical analysis abilities, are valuable in a range of positions like developing algorithms and modelling market behaviours.

If you’re a software or computer science engineer, then an engineering role at a finance firm could be a great way to get a foot in the door. As your knowledge of the business develops, then you might find an internal move to a more financially related position is achievable.

Retrain with new qualifications

Before leaving your present employment, find out whether you need additional qualifications. In some cases you might feel that you need to complete another undergraduate degree, although this isn’t always necessary. 

Moving from engineering to finance at Master’s level is quite common, and can be a simple way to switch industries if it works for you in regards to timing. With an engineering degree and a Master’s in a financial field, your chances of getting into a graduate scheme at a top firm will be good.

Other options include gaining finance specific qualifications. CFA ( Chartered Financial Analyst ) is one of the best known qualifications; it’s recognized by recruiters and will equip you with skills that are valued by top financial firms . Completing the chartership does require some relevant work experience, so it could be something to consider while you’re in the process of moving sectors.

Gain relevant work experience

Restarting at the bottom of the career ladder could include volunteering. It helps you gain valuable work experience in the finance sector. Be imaginative, and you could discover the exact financial role you’d prefer. Update your CV to include your latest studies and project work.

An internship is another option that could help you gain experience. While there can be a lot of competition for intern positions at top firms, securing a spot is a great way to get into the sector. 

Alternatively, look for a short-term internship, or that you can do on a part time basis. This could be a good way to balance developing new skills with maintaining an income from your existing position. 

Put time into networking

Knowing how to network can be extremely valuable when you’re looking to move from engineering into finance.

As the old saying goes, “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know”. And while you’re unlikely to land a top job in finance without any relevant skills or experience at all, personal connections count for a lot. Consequently, up to 70% of posts are never advertised, and around 80% are filled through existing connections .

While developing your network is recommended, don’t forget to make use of the one you already have. Perhaps you’ve got friends or family members who work in a finance role. If so, then not only can they give you some great insight into what this kind of role entails, but they may be able to help you with the application process, recommend you to employers, and introduce you to members of their own network.

Develop your interview skills

Whether you’re heading straight into finance from college, or are a professional who wants to get into the industry, one thing is for certain. You’re going to need to perform well at the interview . Or possibly several interviews.

Interviews are crucial for landing the job you want, and therefore it makes sense to develop your technique to help you be successful. From doing well in phone interviews , to knowing how video interviews work in finance , take the time to prepare answers to questions you’ll likely encounter. You should also consider all the other aspects such as body language, tone of voice, and a professional appearance, as these can all make a difference. 

Apply for positions, even if you don’t think you’ll be successful. This is a great way to practise interviewing and to develop your skills.

As an engineer, recruiters will recognize that you have the analytical and numerical abilities needed in a finance role. What they will also be looking for however, is the reason why you want to make the switch. This is where your story is important; explain why you want to move into finance and this role specifically, what has inspired you to make the switch, what you can bring to the position, and the direction you see yourself going in.

Best finance jobs for engineers to move into

If you’re coming from an engineering background and want to get into finance, something that you’ll need to decide is which financial career path you want to follow. You might already have a passion for banking, trading, or making deals, but it’s also important to focus on your existing skills and where these can help you in your new career. 

Engineering to accounting

Accountancy involves processing and recording the finances of a business or individual. A knowledge of legislation such as tax laws is essential. Accountants are often called upon to think creatively to solve financial problems and provide business advice. 

The role can sometimes be solitary, but there is still plenty of communication with clients. In a large organization, a pool of accountants often share the workload. 

Engineers also think creatively, solving problems in designs. Mathematics is an essential part of the process, and these attributes are also useful in an accountancy career path .

As an engineer you may have worked as part of an extended team where everyone contributes to the project as a whole. There are similarities here, as both careers involve teamwork and communication. Transferable skills include working to minute details and displaying an unfailing level of accuracy.

Engineering to investment banking

Investment banking usually deals with large businesses. It includes issuing stocks and shares, and organizing large-scale loans. It’s often viewed as an advisory role, and can require a high level of confidence for mediation between clients. An engineering background could be helpful when analyzing financial markets for investors in industries such as production, manufacturing and technology. 

Most entry level roles in an investment banking career will be as an analyst. This involves gathering and interpreting data in order to help guide investment decisions. Generally, the rate of engineers moving directly into investment banking is low. It is a highly competitive industry due to the high salaries available, so you should aim to acquire substantial work experience in the financial sector before transferring. 

Social skills and networking are highly desirable, as well as resilience and commitment. Valuable transferable skills include numeracy, analytical skills and discipline.

Engineering to corporate finance

Corporate finance is a fairly broad area in finance. There are three main areas; capital  budgeting, capital structure and working capital, which between them encompass functions such as development and strategy, financial planning and analysis, and treasury. As this suggests, corporate finance is focused on operations that relate to a company internally, rather than providing advice to external clients, or working within external markets.

While some areas of corporate finance can be quite specialized, and require specific qualifications and experience, there are various roles within a corporate finance career path that can be a good match for individuals from an engineering background.

There’s a lot of need for analysis within many corporate finance roles, including quantitative analysis to help drive decisions and strategies used by an organization. An engineering background will mean that you’ll likely have great numerical and analytical skills that the role demands. Strategy and planning, and liaising with internal teams, are also areas where an engineer’s experience in identifying problems and developing solutions to overcome them will be valuable.

Engineering to management consulting

In the financial sector, management consulting is all about using your skills and experience to help clients and organizations to overcome problems, improve efficiency, and achieve other objectives. It’s a fairly broad ranging field, and usually impacts businesses at the top level.

There are two main sides to a career in management consulting . Working on the strategic side, consultants will assist in putting together strategies that help their clients meet their goals. On the operational side, a consultant will work on putting strategies into practice, and affecting the real-world operations of an organization.

Engineers have some clear advantages when it comes to management consulting. An ability to analyze and interpret data, and strong mathematical skills are of course an advantage.

An engineer’s problem solving and critical thinking abilities, and experience in developing specific solutions to meet objectives is also a great transferable skill to have in this career.

Engineers may also have an advantage if they’re able to work with clients in an industry they are familiar with like tech or construction, as they’ll be able to harness their sector experience as well.

Engineering to risk management

In finance, risk analysis involves understanding how various factors could affect an opportunity, and using data to identify the level of risk involved with activities or potential investments.

Similarly, risk management is the practice of reducing an organization’s exposure to uncertainty and risk in the marketplace. It involves analyzing micro and macro factors, and managing operations in line with the risk strategy and appetite of the business.

As a career path, risk management can sometimes be highly pressurized, but it can also be very rewarding. It enables professionals to work with a range of organizations across a variety of sectors.

Usually a highly analytical role, financial risk management can be a good match for those with an engineering background; it requires a keen eye for interpreting data and understanding how this impacts the bigger picture. It may be an especially good match for engineers moving into risk management within a sector they are already familiar with.

While risk management involves working within a corporate team, it’s not a client facing role and can sometimes involve working in isolation. It’s also quite a specialized field requiring relevant qualifications or experience, with options such as FRM (Financial Risk management) certification recommended.

Transferable skills from engineering include data analysis, quantitative problem solving and the ability to work individually as well as within a team.

Engineering to portfolio management

Portfolio management can offer a varied and diverse working experience, and has generous compensation available to talented individuals. As such, it’s an attractive field which means it can be very competitive to land jobs at top firms.

Most people who follow a career in portfolio management start off as analysts within a firm, which involves gathering and analyzing data, and using financial modelling to help guide investment decisions.

It’s likely that when looking to switch from engineering into portfolio management, entry level analyst positions will be your best bet, as experience of working directly in the sector is usually required to progress to manager level.

Coming from an engineering background, your numerical and analytical skills will be valued. Software engineers in particular may find their experience valuable in portfolio management, where gathering data and using sophisticated modelling and algorithms to influence decision making is needed. 

Portfolio management is a combination of strong analytical ability, the confidence to develop and move forwards with strategies, and the ability to build relationships with a range of individuals. It’s therefore vital to have strong interpersonal skills in order to communicate findings to your team and to external clients.

Are engineering skills transferable to a career in finance?

Specific engineering skills are often sought after in the finance industry. They include a meticulous attention to detail, mathematical competence, good communication skills, and an aptitude for analytics. 

A lot of engineers are natural problem solvers; an ability to interpret data in order to guide decision making and help organizations tackle specific problems is valuable in a range of finance careers.

Engineers are also aware of the importance of complying with regulations and establishing a rapport with clients. There are many categories of engineering that are compatible with a financial career.

Computer science engineers

As the world becomes more technologically dependent, there’s a growing demand for computer science engineers.

If you’re coming from a computer science engineering background and want to move into finance, then it’s likely you have some great skills to bring to the table, such as quantitative analysis and using complex calculations to test out forecasts.

Likewise, a lot of top firms look to hire computer science engineers to their IT departments, so this could be another route to take into the sector.

Software engineers

Software engineers are already involved in the daily running of the finance sector. They create and supervise programs that perform a wide range of tasks that firms rely on. They ensure transactions are fast and accurate. Fraud detection, customer profiling, data analysis, and credit assessment are also included. Artificial Intelligence and machine learning are becoming more important in this type of role.

As a software engineer, your analytical, quantitative and problem solving skills will be valuable in a range of finance roles. 

Electrical engineers

Electrical engineering qualifications can help in finance roles such as quantitative analysis. There is also a high demand for engineers who can design trading algorithms used in financial consultancy and trading on the stock market.

Data analysts often have a background in electrical engineering, where it’s an asset to be able to visualize the impact of changes to fairly complex systems before implementing them, and to be able to quickly solve problems in models used for forecasting.

Mechanical engineers

Mechanical engineering is often instrumental in manufacturing, robotics and energy. However, it is also compatible with finance.

There are even courses at some of the top schools that combine mechanical engineering with accountancy and business studies, designed specifically for students who want to combine practical skills with finance.

As a mechanical engineer your attention to detail, ability to analyze data and problem solving skills will be valuable in finance. As will an ability to think outside the box in order to develop solutions and strategies for organizations and clients.

Civil engineers

Experience of large infrastructure and construction projects can be an asset in commercial banking. It provides a great insight when assessing real estate value, for example.

Civil engineers usually have a thorough knowledge of evaluating costs and planning legislation, and a move into accountancy could be a good fit, although it would require some level of retraining.

Other suitable finance roles could be in risk management, particularly if you have experience of working on large scale projects, as well as asset management where it’s important to be able to use analysis of a range of different data sets to guide strategy.

Chemical engineers

An engineer in this sector may have a broad knowledge of the petrochemical industry, plastics, pharmaceuticals, agricultural products and food. Many of them are commodities that are important in markets, and such a background could be an advantage in investment banking at both analyst level as well as in managerial roles.

Chemical engineers also usually bring a keen eye to detail to the table, as well as excellent analytical skills; both of these are valued in a range of financial roles.

Biomedical engineers

Biomedical engineers design a wide range of equipment and products for the healthcare sector. With the healthcare sector background, investment banking, consulting or private equity could be a good fit to utilize this biomedical knowledge for investment evaluation.

Although additional qualifications in finance would be necessary, as a biomedical engineer your problem solving abilities would be valued in areas like consulting, while an ability to analyze data and make decisions accordingly would be useful in a variety of analyst positions.

Which qualifications do I need to switch from engineering to finance?

There are many financial courses you can take in preparation for changing careers. Some may include full time study. Others might offer part time alternatives.

Undergraduate degree

A bachelor’s degree in finance is one of the most useful qualifications to start your financial career. It usually takes four years to complete. Part of the syllabus includes leadership skills, qualities you’ll probably have learned as an engineer.

However, most engineering degrees are also compatible with finance, as a lot of skills like quantitative analysis and data modelling are transferable between the two industries.

Master’s degree

Finance is a competitive industry. It’s possible to directly follow an engineering degree with a master’s degree in finance. The study takes 1-2 years to complete. Combined with your engineering skills, it could help you make faster progress in finance.

A Master of Business Administration is a very highly regarded qualification in the finance sector. It usually includes a much broader range of interrelated business and financial topics than a master’s degree. The average length of the course is 1-2 years, and an MBA can often be a good asset to have when looking to move from engineering into finance, particularly for management related roles.

Chartered Financial Analyst certification is recognized globally. It usually takes 3-4 years to complete all three levels needed for full charter. The study can be very intense and must be done in conjunction with financial work experience, but success brings increased opportunities in a range of financial roles including portfolio management, corporate finance and hedge fund management. It’s often referred to as one of the world’s hardest exams, and the pass rate is between 22% and 56%.

Additional qualifications

The Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA) generally has a pass rate of 50% to 69%. It concentrates on investment strategies in infrastructure, real estate and commodities. It’s a useful qualification for engineers who want to switch to careers in private equity and hedge funds.

Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) qualifications are also becoming more widely recognized as organizations place more importance on responsible investing and business practices. Options like the CFA Institute’s Certificate in ESG Investing develop knowledge on a variety of factors such as sustainability to analyze investment potential and material risk. 

Tips for engineers moving into finance

Changing careers from engineering to finance can be very rewarding. However, you need to be realistic about the commitment involved. Some honest self-analysis and plenty of research into the industry should help you make the right decision.

Get familiar with the basics

The first step in a career change from engineering to finance is always the most difficult. Make the process easier by understanding how the finance industry works and the roles it offers. A career switch will be more likely if you’re sure the role you seek is suited to your skills, work experience and personality.

Speak to your network

Any friends you have in the financial sector may provide an important insight into the work involved. Networking is an essential part of careers in finance, and many use networking to actively prepare for the next stage of their careers. Leverage your network to help you gain insight into the industry, learn about vacancies and even get interviews.

There are also some great places online, such as the 300Hours Forum , where you can ask questions, get feedback from your peers and those with experience, and find detailed information about any aspect of financial careers.

Identify your strengths

Draw up a list of the skills you’ve gained in engineering that are transferable and beneficial to a financial role. Be clear about how they relate to the demands of finance. It’s good practice for when you are asked to explain during an interview why your engineering background is an advantage, and the specific strengths you can bring to the role.

Be aware of your weaknesses

As an engineer, you might lack a broad knowledge of the finance industry. Before making the career switch, spend time researching finance.

Volunteer for work experience and study for basic accountancy or business qualifications. These should help convince you that finance is your future career.

Find a role in finance that’s right for you

Be realistic about the roles you can apply for. Try to reconcile them with your dreams of what a finance career should be. Accurately matching your skills to a financial role has the most potential for success. It’s not just your skills or experience that recruiters are searching for. Personality is often a deciding factor.

Engineering to finance FAQ

Can engineers move into finance.

Yes, but it may require dedicated preparation in terms of study, research and work experience depending on the specific area of finance and level you want to enter at.

Is engineering to finance a popular career switch?

It is popular, and something that we’re seeing more interest in. That being said, the number of engineers who make the switch to finance is still a fairly small proportion, compared to those who follow a career in engineering.

Does finance pay better than engineering?

Yes, usually.

While there are undoubtedly some engineering jobs that are very well compensated, the addition of bonuses and the often faster progression in financial careers, as well as the much higher pay ceilings, means that overall financial careers tend to pay better than engineering careers.

What type of engineering is best for finance?

While many engineers will have skills that are transferable into finance, those from a technical or software background tend to have knowledge that is more directly applicable to a lot of financial roles.

Can an engineering graduate go into finance?

Yes certainly, especially if you secure a relevant internship beforehand.

Can you do a master’s in finance with an engineering degree?

It’s usually acceptable, and is probably one of the most common routes to take when switching from an engineering background to finance.

Can I go into accounting with an engineering degree?

Yes, but you’ll need an accountancy qualification. You can usually be accepted for an accountancy course without related studies or qualifications.

Can engineers get into investment banking?

It’s not impossible, but will likely be extremely challenging due to the highly competitive nature of investment banking, particularly if you want to work at a top firm.

It’s worth thinking about completing an additional degree or qualifications, as well as looking for internships to help build your experience.

Can an engineer switch to finance mid-career?

It is possible, however some roles such as investment banking may be trickier. It may be possible to move into investment banking at an associate level after an MBA, especially if you’ve relevant sector experience with the team you’re joining.

An engineer may be able to use their experience to move into a managerial or consultancy role, but often would need to complete some additional qualifications and possibly enter finance at a lower level than their current engineering position.

How can you demonstrate your interest in finance as an engineer?

As well as achieving recognized qualifications, enrolling for financial courses, gaining work experience, and attending corporate events are all ways to demonstrate your interest in finance. It’s also valuable to develop your professional network as a way to get a foot in the door, or be made aware of available positions.

Yay, you made it to the end of this mammoth guide, hope the above helped your plans to change careers into finance.

Meanwhile, here are some related articles which may be of interest:

• Finance Career Quiz: Which Career Fits Your Skills & Personality?
• 6 Clear Steps on How to Change Careers Successfully
• How To Write A Good Resume: 11 Actionable Tips

Leave a Comment Cancel reply

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Notify me of replies to my comment via e-mail. You can also subscribe without commenting.

• Youth Program
• Wharton Online

PhD Program

• Program of Study

Wharton’s PhD program in Finance provides students with a solid foundation in the theoretical and empirical tools of modern finance, drawing heavily on the discipline of economics.

The department prepares students for careers in research and teaching at the world’s leading academic institutions, focusing on Asset Pricing and Portfolio Management, Corporate Finance, International Finance, Financial Institutions and Macroeconomics.

Wharton’s Finance faculty, widely recognized as the finest in the world, has been at the forefront of several areas of research. For example, members of the faculty have led modern innovations in theories of portfolio choice and savings behavior, which have significantly impacted the asset pricing techniques used by researchers, practitioners, and policymakers. Another example is the contribution by faculty members to the analysis of financial institutions and markets, which is fundamental to our understanding of the trade-offs between economic systems and their implications for financial fragility and crises.

Faculty research, both empirical and theoretical, includes such areas as:

• Structure of financial markets
• Formation and behavior of financial asset prices
• Banking and monetary systems
• Corporate control and capital structure
• Saving and capital formation
• International financial markets

Candidates with undergraduate training in economics, mathematics, engineering, statistics, and other quantitative disciplines have an ideal background for doctoral studies in this field.

Effective 2023, The Wharton Finance PhD Program is now STEM certified.

• Course Descriptions
• Course Schedule
• Dissertation Committee and Proposal Defense
• Meet our PhD Students
• Visiting Scholars

More Information

• Apply to Wharton
• Doctoral Inside: Resources for Current PhD Students
• Wharton Doctoral Program Policies
• Transfer of Credit
• Research Fellowship

About Stanford GSB

• The Leadership
• Dean’s Updates
• School News & History
• Commencement
• Business, Government & Society
• Centers & Institutes
• Center for Entrepreneurial Studies
• Center for Social Innovation
• Stanford Seed

About the Experience

• Learning at Stanford GSB
• Experiential Learning
• Guest Speakers
• Entrepreneurship
• Social Innovation
• Communication
• Life at Stanford GSB
• Collaborative Environment
• Activities & Organizations
• Student Services
• Housing Options
• International Students

Full-Time Degree Programs

• Why Stanford MBA
• Academic Experience
• Financial Aid
• Why Stanford MSx
• Research Fellows Program
• See All Programs

Non-Degree & Certificate Programs

• Executive Education
• Stanford Executive Program
• Programs for Organizations
• The Difference
• Online Programs
• Stanford LEAD
• Seed Transformation Program
• Aspire Program
• Seed Spark Program
• Faculty Profiles
• Academic Areas
• Awards & Honors
• Conferences

Faculty Research

• Publications
• Working Papers
• Case Studies

Research Hub

• Research Labs & Initiatives
• Business Library
• Data, Analytics & Research Computing
• Behavioral Lab

Research Labs

• Cities, Housing & Society Lab
• Golub Capital Social Impact Lab

Research Initiatives

• Corporate Governance Research Initiative
• Corporations and Society Initiative
• Policy and Innovation Initiative
• Rapid Decarbonization Initiative
• Stanford Latino Entrepreneurship Initiative
• Value Chain Innovation Initiative
• Venture Capital Initiative
• Career & Success
• Climate & Sustainability
• Corporate Governance
• Culture & Society
• Finance & Investing
• Government & Politics
• Leadership & Management
• Markets & Trade
• Operations & Logistics
• Opportunity & Access
• Organizational Behavior
• Political Economy
• Social Impact
• Technology & AI
• Opinion & Analysis
• Email Newsletter

Welcome, Alumni

• Communities
• Digital Communities & Tools
• Regional Chapters
• Women’s Programs
• Identity Chapters
• Find Your Reunion
• Career Resources
• Job Search Resources
• Career & Life Transitions
• Programs & Services
• Career Video Library
• Alumni Education
• Research Resources
• Volunteering
• Alumni News
• Class Notes
• Alumni Voices
• Contact Alumni Relations
• Upcoming Events

Admission Events & Information Sessions

• MBA Program
• MSx Program
• PhD Program
• Alumni Events
• All Other Events
• Requirements
• Requirements: Behavioral
• Requirements: Quantitative
• Requirements: Macro
• Requirements: Micro
• Annual Evaluations
• Field Examination
• Research Activities
• Research Papers
• Dissertation
• Oral Examination
• Current Students
• Entering Class Profile
• Education & CV
• GMAT & GRE
• International Applicants
• Statement of Purpose
• Letters of Recommendation
• Reapplicants
• Application Fee Waiver
• Deadline & Decisions
• Job Market Candidates
• Academic Placements
• Stay in Touch
• Fields of Study
• Student Life

The field of finance covers the economics of claims on resources. Financial economists study the valuation of these claims, the markets in which they are traded, and their use by individuals, corporations, and the society at large.

At Stanford GSB, finance faculty and doctoral students study a wide spectrum of financial topics, including the pricing and valuation of assets, the behavior of financial markets, and the structure and financial decision-making of firms and financial intermediaries.

Investigation of issues arising in these areas is pursued both through the development of theoretical models and through the empirical testing of those models. The PhD Program is designed to give students a good understanding of the methods used in theoretical modeling and empirical testing.

Preparation and Qualifications

All students are required to have, or to obtain during their first year, mathematical skills at the level of one year of calculus and one course each in linear algebra and matrix theory, theory of probability, and statistical inference.

Students are expected to have familiarity with programming and data analysis using tools and software such as MATLAB, Stata, R, Python, or Julia, or to correct any deficiencies before enrolling at Stanford.

The PhD program in finance involves a great deal of very hard work, and there is keen competition for admission. For both these reasons, the faculty is selective in offering admission. Prospective applicants must have an aptitude for quantitative work and be at ease in handling formal models. A strong background in economics and college-level mathematics is desirable.

It is particularly important to realize that a PhD in finance is not a higher-level MBA, but an advanced, academically oriented degree in financial economics, with a reflective and analytical, rather than operational, viewpoint.

Faculty in Finance

Anat r. admati, juliane begenau, jonathan b. berk, greg buchak, antonio coppola, peter m. demarzo, darrell duffie, steven grenadier, benjamin hébert, arvind krishnamurthy, hanno lustig, matteo maggiori, paul pfleiderer, joshua d. rauh, claudia robles-garcia, ilya a. strebulaev, vikrant vig, jeffrey zwiebel, emeriti faculty, robert l. joss, george g.c. parker, myron s. scholes, william f. sharpe, kenneth j. singleton, james c. van horne, recent publications in finance, behavioral responses to state income taxation of high earners: evidence from california, beyond the balance sheet model of banking: implications for bank regulation and monetary policy, fee variation in private equity, recent insights by stanford business, nine stories to get you through tax season, “geoeconomics” explains how countries flex their financial muscles, car loans are a hidden driver of the ride-sharing economy.

• Priorities for the GSB's Future
• See the Current DEI Report
• Supporting Data
• Research & Insights
• Share Your Thoughts
• Search Fund Primer
• Teaching & Curriculum
• Affiliated Faculty
• Faculty Advisors
• Louis W. Foster Resource Center
• Defining Social Innovation
• Impact Compass
• Global Health Innovation Insights
• Faculty Affiliates
• Student Awards & Certificates
• Changemakers
• Dean Jonathan Levin
• Dean Garth Saloner
• Dean Robert Joss
• Dean Michael Spence
• Dean Robert Jaedicke
• Dean Rene McPherson
• Dean Arjay Miller
• Dean Ernest Arbuckle
• Dean Jacob Hugh Jackson
• Dean Willard Hotchkiss
• Faculty in Memoriam
• Stanford GSB Firsts
• Certificate & Award Recipients
• Teaching Approach
• Analysis and Measurement of Impact
• The Corporate Entrepreneur: Startup in a Grown-Up Enterprise
• Data-Driven Impact
• Designing Experiments for Impact
• Digital Business Transformation
• The Founder’s Right Hand
• Marketing for Measurable Change
• Product Management
• Public Policy Lab: Financial Challenges Facing US Cities
• Public Policy Lab: Homelessness in California
• Lab Features
• Curricular Integration
• View From The Top
• Formation of New Ventures
• Managing Growing Enterprises
• Startup Garage
• Explore Beyond the Classroom
• Stanford Venture Studio
• Summer Program
• Workshops & Events
• The Five Lenses of Entrepreneurship
• Leadership Labs
• Executive Challenge
• Arbuckle Leadership Fellows Program
• Selection Process
• Training Schedule
• Time Commitment
• Learning Expectations
• Post-Training Opportunities
• Who Should Apply
• Introductory T-Groups
• Leadership for Society Program
• Certificate
• 2023 Awardees
• 2022 Awardees
• 2021 Awardees
• 2020 Awardees
• 2019 Awardees
• 2018 Awardees
• Social Management Immersion Fund
• Stanford Impact Founder Fellowships and Prizes
• Stanford Impact Leader Prizes
• Social Entrepreneurship
• Stanford GSB Impact Fund
• Economic Development
• Energy & Environment
• Stanford GSB Residences
• Environmental Leadership
• Stanford GSB Artwork
• A Closer Look
• California & the Bay Area
• Voices of Stanford GSB
• Business & Beneficial Technology
• Business & Sustainability
• Business & Free Markets
• Business, Government, and Society Forum
• Get Involved
• Second Year
• Global Experiences
• JD/MBA Joint Degree
• MA Education/MBA Joint Degree
• MD/MBA Dual Degree
• MPP/MBA Joint Degree
• MS Computer Science/MBA Joint Degree
• MS Electrical Engineering/MBA Joint Degree
• MS Environment and Resources (E-IPER)/MBA Joint Degree
• Academic Calendar
• Clubs & Activities
• LGBTQ+ Students
• Military Veterans
• Minorities & People of Color
• Partners & Families
• Students with Disabilities
• Student Support
• Residential Life
• Student Voices
• MBA Alumni Voices
• A Week in the Life
• Career Support
• Employment Outcomes
• Cost of Attendance
• Knight-Hennessy Scholars Program
• Yellow Ribbon Program
• BOLD Fellows Fund
• Application Process
• Loan Forgiveness
• Contact the Financial Aid Office
• Evaluation Criteria
• English Language Proficiency
• Personal Information, Activities & Awards
• Professional Experience
• Optional Short Answer Questions
• Application Fee
• Reapplication
• Deferred Enrollment
• Joint & Dual Degrees
• Event Schedule
• Ambassadors
• New & Noteworthy
• Ask a Question
• See Why Stanford MSx
• Is MSx Right for You?
• MSx Stories
• Leadership Development
• Career Advancement
• Career Change
• How You Will Learn
• Admission Events
• Personal Information
• Information for Recommenders
• GMAT, GRE & EA
• English Proficiency Tests
• After You’re Admitted
• Daycare, Schools & Camps
• U.S. Citizens and Permanent Residents
• Faculty Mentors
• Current Fellows
• Standard Track
• Fellowship & Benefits
• Group Enrollment
• Program Formats
• Developing a Program
• Diversity & Inclusion
• Strategic Transformation
• Program Experience
• Contact Client Services
• Campus Experience
• Live Online Experience
• Silicon Valley & Bay Area
• Digital Credentials
• Faculty Spotlights
• Participant Spotlights
• Eligibility
• International Participants
• Stanford Ignite
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Operations, Information & Technology
• Classical Liberalism
• The Eddie Lunch
• Accounting Summer Camp
• Videos, Code & Data
• California Econometrics Conference
• California Quantitative Marketing PhD Conference
• California School Conference
• China India Insights Conference
• Homo economicus, Evolving
• Political Economics (2023–24)
• Scaling Geologic Storage of CO2 (2023–24)
• A Resilient Pacific: Building Connections, Envisioning Solutions
• Adaptation and Innovation
• Changing Climate
• Civil Society
• Climate Impact Summit
• Climate Science
• Corporate Carbon Disclosures
• Earth’s Seafloor
• Environmental Justice
• Operations and Information Technology
• Organizations
• Sustainability Reporting and Control
• Taking the Pulse of the Planet
• Urban Infrastructure
• Watershed Restoration
• Junior Faculty Workshop on Financial Regulation and Banking
• Ken Singleton Celebration
• Marketing Camp
• Quantitative Marketing PhD Alumni Conference
• Presentations
• Theory and Inference in Accounting Research
• Stanford Closer Look Series
• Quick Guides
• Core Concepts
• Journal Articles
• Glossary of Terms
• Faculty & Staff
• Researchers & Students
• Research Approach
• Charitable Giving
• Financial Health
• Government Services
• Workers & Careers
• Short Course
• Adaptive & Iterative Experimentation
• Incentive Design
• Social Sciences & Behavioral Nudges
• Bandit Experiment Application
• Conferences & Events
• Reading Materials
• Energy Entrepreneurship
• Faculty & Affiliates
• SOLE Report
• Responsible Supply Chains
• Current Study Usage
• Pre-Registration Information
• Participate in a Study
• Founding Donors
• Location Information
• Participant Profile
• Network Membership
• Program Impact
• Collaborators
• Entrepreneur Profiles
• Company Spotlights
• Seed Transformation Network
• Responsibilities
• Current Coaches
• How to Apply
• Meet the Consultants
• Meet the Interns
• Intern Profiles
• Collaborate
• Research Library
• News & Insights
• Program Contacts
• Databases & Datasets
• Research Guides
• Consultations
• Research Workshops
• Career Research
• Research Data Services
• Course Reserves
• Course Research Guides
• Material Loan Periods
• Fines & Other Charges
• Document Delivery
• Interlibrary Loan
• Equipment Checkout
• Print & Scan
• MBA & MSx Students
• PhD Students
• Other Stanford Students
• Faculty Assistants
• Research Assistants
• Stanford GSB Alumni
• Telling Our Story
• Staff Directory
• Site Registration
• Alumni Directory
• Alumni Email
• Privacy Settings & My Profile
• Success Stories
• The Story of Circles
• Support Women’s Circles
• Stanford Women on Boards Initiative
• Alumnae Spotlights
• Insights & Research
• Industry & Professional
• Entrepreneurial Commitment Group
• Recent Alumni
• Half-Century Club
• Fall Reunions
• Spring Reunions
• MBA 25th Reunion
• Half-Century Club Reunion
• Faculty Lectures
• Ernest C. Arbuckle Award
• Alison Elliott Exceptional Achievement Award
• ENCORE Award
• Excellence in Leadership Award
• John W. Gardner Volunteer Leadership Award
• Robert K. Jaedicke Faculty Award
• Jack McDonald Military Service Appreciation Award
• Jerry I. Porras Latino Leadership Award
• Tapestry Award
• Student & Alumni Events
• Executive Recruiters
• Interviewing
• Land the Perfect Job with LinkedIn
• Negotiating
• Elevator Pitch
• Email Best Practices
• Resumes & Cover Letters
• Self-Assessment
• Whitney Birdwell Ball
• Margaret Brooks
• Bryn Panee Burkhart
• Margaret Chan
• Ricki Frankel
• Peter Gandolfo
• Cindy W. Greig
• Natalie Guillen
• Carly Janson
• Sloan Klein
• Sherri Appel Lassila
• Stuart Meyer
• Tanisha Parrish
• Virginia Roberson
• Philippe Taieb
• Michael Takagawa
• Terra Winston
• Johanna Wise
• Debbie Wolter
• Rebecca Zucker
• Complimentary Coaching
• Changing Careers
• Work-Life Integration
• Career Breaks
• Flexible Work
• Encore Careers
• D&B Hoovers
• Data Axle (ReferenceUSA)
• EBSCO Business Source
• Global Newsstream
• Market Share Reporter
• ProQuest One Business
• Student Clubs
• Entrepreneurial Students
• Stanford GSB Trust
• Alumni Community
• How to Volunteer
• Springboard Sessions
• Consulting Projects
• 2020 – 2029
• 2010 – 2019
• 2000 – 2009
• 1990 – 1999
• 1980 – 1989
• 1970 – 1979
• 1960 – 1969
• 1950 – 1959
• 1940 – 1949
• Service Areas
• ACT History
• ACT Awards Celebration
• ACT Governance Structure
• Building Leadership for ACT
• Individual Leadership Positions
• Leadership Role Overview
• Purpose of the ACT Management Board
• Contact ACT
• Business & Nonprofit Communities
• Reunion Volunteers
• Ways to Give
• Fiscal Year Report
• Business School Fund Leadership Council
• Planned Giving Options
• Planned Giving Benefits
• Planned Gifts and Reunions
• Legacy Partners
• Giving News & Stories
• Giving Deadlines
• Development Staff
• Submit Class Notes
• Class Secretaries
• Board of Directors
• Health Care
• Sustainability
• Class Takeaways
• All Else Equal: Making Better Decisions
• If/Then: Business, Leadership, Society
• Grit & Growth
• Think Fast, Talk Smart
• Spring 2022
• Spring 2021
• Autumn 2020
• Summer 2020
• Winter 2020
• In the Media
• For Journalists
• DCI Fellows
• Other Auditors
• Academic Calendar & Deadlines
• Course Materials
• Entrepreneurial Resources
• Campus Drive Grove
• Campus Drive Lawn
• CEMEX Auditorium
• King Community Court
• Seawell Family Boardroom
• Stanford GSB Bowl
• Stanford Investors Common
• Town Square
• Vidalakis Courtyard
• Vidalakis Dining Hall
• Catering Services
• Policies & Guidelines
• Reservations
• Contact Faculty Recruiting
• Lecturer Positions
• Postdoctoral Positions
• Accommodations
• CMC-Managed Interviews
• Recruiter-Managed Interviews
• Virtual Interviews
• Campus & Virtual
• Search for Candidates
• Think Globally
• Recruiting Calendar
• Recruiting Policies
• Full-Time Employment
• Summer Employment
• Entrepreneurial Summer Program
• Global Management Immersion Experience
• Social-Purpose Summer Internships
• Process Overview
• Project Types
• Client Eligibility Criteria
• Client Screening
• ACT Leadership
• Social Innovation & Nonprofit Management Resources
• Develop Your Organization’s Talent
• Centers & Initiatives
• Student Fellowships

• Doctoral Programs

Financial economics encompasses a broad area of topics and issues, including corporate investments and financing policy, security valuation, portfolio management, the behavior of prices in speculative markets, financial institutions, and intermediation.

The PhD specialization in finance is designed to give the student a strong background for study and research in both theoretical and empirical work in finance and related areas. Emphasis is placed on understanding the important concepts and models. Students normally take several graduate courses in the Department of Economics, particularly in microeconomics and macroeconomic theory, the economics of uncertainty, and econometrics.

The program offers two courses specifically in financial theory and its applications. In addition, the faculty and doctoral students attend a seminar that features speakers from around the country. However, the specialization is built primarily around individual study and research under the guidance of the faculty.

Examples of potential areas of research for the financial economics dissertation:

• Principal-agent relationships
• Financial intermediation
• Efficiency of markets
• Portfolio selection

How engineers get into banking. And why they stay there

If you graduated in a STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematical) subject, you may already have considered a career in finance. After all,  Goldman Sachs  and JPMorgan  are all over STEM graduates, and banks' existence is unlikely to have passed you by - especially if you went to a top school. However, a new study suggests that STEM students should avoid banking jobs, which may be a career dead end.

Nandini Gupta and Isaac Hacamo at the  Kelley School of Business, Indiana University , studied the resumes of 70,000 'engineers' who graduated from the U.S.'s top-ranked engineering schools between 1998 and 2008. Students studied a range of subjects, including civil engineering, computer science, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering and chemical engineering. The academics then looked at what happened to their careers over a five year period.

The schools and the STEM majors that will get you a job in finance

If you study STEM at some schools, you're more likely to end up in the finance industry than if you study at others. The academics found that engineers from Cornell University, Northwestern, MIT, Carnegie Mellon and Stanford were the most likely to go into finance. Coincidentally (or not), these were also the schools with the strictest admissions policies. 

Some subjects are also more likely to deliver you into a finance career. Around 7.4% of computer science graduates go straight into finance, for example. Just 1.8% of civil engineering graduates do.

The first jobs that make it more likely you'll move into finance later 

The academics were particularly interested in engineering majors who went into non-finance jobs after college and only moved into finance a few years later.

Curiously, they found that some first jobs have a far greater propensity for delivering engineers into finance careers than others. For example, 15% of people in the real estate industry move into finance within five years compared to less than 3% in education and health. 

This might be due to personal values as much as anything else. - Or it might be due to perceived similarities between the two professions. Law and consulting jobs are likely to deliver you into a finance career for the same reason.

What kinds of jobs do engineers do in finance?

Just because you're a computer science or an electrical engineering graduate, don't presume you'll be a computer scientist in bank. 

The researchers found that only 24% of the engineers who gave up their careers in other areas to go into finance ended up doing traditional 'engineering jobs' like working on banks' IT systems. 76% of them went into other occupations like trading - although this number may be substantially overstated due to the researchers' lack of comprehension of banking job titles (they presumed that analysts and vice presidents weren't working in IT, although this clearly wasn't necessarily the case....). 

Is a finance career really a dead end for STEM majors?

Using what might be slightly flawed logic due to this categorisation error, the academics then suggested that these engineers doing 'finance' rather than 'engineering' jobs in banks were at risk of losing their cutting-edge engineering skills. They noted that comparatively few of the engineers who went into finance set up their own entrepreneurial ventures later on, and concluded this was because their skills had atrophied.

In other words, don't go into finance if you want to stay sharp as an engineer. "These results are consistent with the view that talented engineers who move to finance due to financial sector growth, may fail to develop entrepreneurial ideas because their engineering skills depreciate in the financial sector," say the academics.

Really? The researchers' category mistakes not withstanding, there are plenty of other reasons why STEM majors who've gone into banking might not want to  leave again to become entrepreneurs. For example, they might be self-selected bureaucratic types who like working for large organisations. Or, they might stick around in finance for the money. - When you're a successful trader or a quant in finance , you're likely to earn at least six figures (probably a lot more). Quitting your job and setting up as an entrepreneur is therefore going to seem far more of a financial risk if you work in finance than if you have a career in the construction sector.  This is likely to be the real reason that engineers in finance don't become entrepreneurs. - And given the high rate of failure in the entrepreneurial sector, can you really blame them?

Have a confidential story, tip, or comment you’d like to share? Contact: [email protected] in the first instance. Whatsapp/Signal/Telegram also available. Bear with us if you leave a comment at the bottom of this article: all our comments are moderated by human beings. Sometimes these humans might be asleep, or away from their desks, so it may take a while for your comment to appear. Eventually it will – unless it’s offensive or libelous (in which case it won’t.)

That is an interesting study on how STEM graduates end up in finance and also sustain the odds of the field. When the income that they generate is beyond expected they are of course an asset to the company. It is surprising that the research sees this as a dead end for their career, there are different opportunities that arise with the growth in tech, that may need equally their varied expertise.

Sign up to Morning Coffee!

The essential daily roundup of news and analysis read by everyone from senior bankers and traders to new recruits.

Boost your career

"My daughter is very unhappy with her Goldman Sachs bonus"

Surprise as Bank of America cuts jobs three days before bonuses

Citadel Securities wants to hire the gaming engineers who are being let go

The last bank paying $600k to 23-year-olds

Hedge fund hires who joined $12bn fintech given one hour to leave

Investment bank head pays tribute to "courageous" first year analyst who died aged 22

The former JPMorgan MDs becoming product executives in fintech

Morgan Stanley will be opportunistically hiring bankers as "pot pourri" of deals returns

"Please help, my junior fixed income sales job is very dull"

A veteran Citi MD in New York was rescued by a Japanese bank

Related articles

What's a quant developer in a bank or hedge fund?

Python libraries for finance: Six of the best

Diversity nothing but 'an afterthought' in data science

Join 307,012+ Monthly Readers

Get Free and Instant Access To The Banker Blueprint : 57 Pages Of Career Boosting Advice Already Downloaded By 115,341+ Industry Peers.

• Break Into Investment Banking
• Write A Resume or Cover Letter
• Win Investment Banking Interviews
• Ace Your Investment Banking Interviews
• Win Investment Banking Internships
• Master Financial Modeling
• Get Into Private Equity
• Get A Job At A Hedge Fund
• Recent Posts
• Articles By Category

How to Break into Investment Banking as an Engineer – If You Enjoy the Punishment

If you're new here, please click here to get my FREE 57-page investment banking recruiting guide - plus, get weekly updates so that you can break into investment banking . Thanks for visiting!

After all, companies like Google and Facebook now offer higher pay, better hours, and more interesting work than banks.

And students at top universities and business schools are increasingly interested in technology rather than finance.

But despite all that, some engineers still want to get into finance.

You’ve probably landed on this article because you’re in a similar position.

I’ll explain how to do it here, but you should answer a critical question first: Are you sure you want to do this?

Why Do You Want to Do This?

Most engineers point to one of the following reasons to explain their desire to work in finance:

• They want to make more money; they’ve hit a “ceiling” in their current role.
• They want better advancement opportunities.
• They want more interesting, client-facing work.
• They want to make a bigger impact on the world at large.

These are valid reasons for wanting to do something besides engineering, but they’re not great reasons for wanting to do investment banking, specifically.

In investment banking, you advise companies on financing deals and mergers and acquisitions .

If you have no interest in advising companies on transactions , which means spending a lot of time in PowerPoint, Excel, and Word as a junior banker, you should consider other options first.

For example, if you’re bored of your current job and want to make more money:

• Start a side business and make money from an app or simple software product .
• Learn about the stock market and start making your own investments.
• Become a contractor and offer coding or product management services to other companies.
• Take the money you’ve saved up, learn about real estate, and start buying small single-family properties.

If you just want to “work in finance,” think about the other options outside of investment banking as well.

If you have deep industry knowledge (e.g., of the semiconductor industry ) and you complete significant self-study, equity research might be an option.

If you want to apply your coding skills to finance, you could work in quant research , at a quant hedge fund , or in another sales & trading role.

Or if you want to invest in tech companies, venture capital is an option, though it’s actually tougher than IB in many cases.

Finally, you could also work at a tech company and move to a business or finance role there over time.

Entry Points into Banking

But if you want to ignore everything above, and you’re convinced that you need to do investment banking, there are four main entry points into the industry:

• As an Undergrad – This one is the easiest and cheapest way to get in, but you must decide on IB very early . Recruiting now starts so early that if you haven’t decided on IB by the middle of your second year , you probably won’t get in.
• As a Recent Grad – This one can also work, but your chances of moving directly from an engineering role into investment banking are almost 0%. You almost always need something finance-related first, such as a stint at a Big 4 firm or valuation firm or a Master’s in Finance degree.
• At the MBA Level – If you’ve been out of university for 2-3+ years, you’ll probably have to use a top MBA program to get in. But, again, your chances of going from “Engineer at Google” to “Investment Banker at Goldman Sachs” with nothing in between are almost 0%. You need a more relevant full-time role and/or a pre-MBA internship .
• Beyond the MBA Level – If you’re well beyond the MBA level, you have almost no chance of getting into investment banking as an Analyst, Associate, or VP . But if you reach the senior executive level at a large company, you might be able to enter IB at the top levels or move into a field like venture capital or venture debt .

The key point is simple: If you’re an engineer or technical person, you will not be able to get into IB at the last minute without prior internships or work experience.

You need a sequence of internships or other finance-related experience, regardless of your entry point.

You also need in-depth knowledge of accounting/finance, even if your degree had nothing to do with those subjects.

Bankers will be confident that you can do the math and attend to detail, but they’ll be skeptical of your social skills and ability to burn the midnight oil .

They will also be skeptical of your interest in finance: If you want to do investment banking now, why didn’t you get in earlier? Did you “get interested” a few months ago when you heard about your friend’s bonus? Or did you try to get in earlier and fail?

Telling Your Story

The same 4-point story structure applies ; we’ve even made available a full template and example of how to tell your story from an engineering/technical background:

• Engineer or Technical Major to IB – Sample “Story” Template and Example

You can use these points:

• Beginning: Where you’re from, your university, and your internships/activities. Insert a brief mention of some interest in finance at a younger age.
• Spark: A banker you met, an internship project, or an activity or class that sparked your interest in finance.
• Growing Interest: Networking with bankers, self-study of the technical side, stock-market investing, case competitions, etc.; also give a short example of how you can handle the hours.
• The Future and Why You’re Here Today: You want to combine your engineering skill set with finance and advise companies on major transactions, ideally in an industry related to your field of engineering, such as TMT , industrials , or healthcare .

This same template applies for undergrads, recent grads, and MBA students because a degree doesn’t change that much – you must be able to explain why you want to do IB without referencing your degree at all .

Networking is largely the same for engineers: You still use the alumni database, informational interviews , information sessions , and cold calls/cold emails to win interviews.

Please see the dozens of networking-related articles on this site for the tactics and strategies.

I’ll just add one point here: You should probably not focus exclusively on tech-focused banks or groups (or aerospace/defense ones, healthcare ones, etc.).

As a career changer, you already face an uphill battle to get your foot in the door.

Focusing too much on a specific industry might kill your chances prematurely, especially if you’re at a non-target university or business school.

You also shouldn’t limit yourself to one type of bank, such as regional boutiques or middle market banks .

The recruiting process is random, and even if you think you have no chance at the bulge brackets or elite boutiques, it’s still worth reaching out and speaking with a few bankers there.

We have many resume templates on this site , and you should refer to them to write your own.

The #1 mistake engineers make is focusing too much on the technical details and not enough on the business results. We often see bullet points such as the following:

“Inspected client’s customer support code and led migration from Linux 4.11 to Linux 4.12 by implementing support for 64-bit multi-core processors in assembly code and support for threaded processes in operating system kernel.”

You should focus on revenue generated , money saved , or time saved instead:

“Reviewed client’s customer support system and optimized processes by 20%; saved client $10,000 and 10 hours of labor per week over first year.”

And if you start writing your resume and realize that you have nothing even remotely related to investment banking, you need to re-think your plans.

You can spin technical experience all you want, but it only does so much; bankers mostly care about:

• The reputation of your university or business school.
• Your grades and test scores.
• The reputations of the companies you worked at and what you did there.

If you have a 3.0 GPA from an unknown state school and all technical internships, no amount of resume spinning will get you interviews at banks.

We have dozens of articles on interviews, including ones on “fit” questions , technical questions , telling your story , and more.

Not that much is different for engineers, but you should be aware of a few points:

1) Yes, you need in-depth knowledge of accounting, valuation, and financial modeling . IB roles are still highly competitive, and if you don’t know the technical side, bankers will assume you’re not serious about the job.

Majoring in something different is not an excuse. If you can’t learn the material independently, you don’t have the discipline and drive required to get in.

2) Yes, you still need good grades (2:1 or above in the U.K., or 3.5 or above in the U.S. – and probably closer to 4.0 if you’re at a non-target school).

“Engineering classes are harder” is a weak excuse, and bankers won’t care about your explanations. If your GPA is low, they can select from thousands of other candidates.

3) They will probe you heavily on your ability to work long hours, your social skills, and your interest in finance.

It’s best to answer these questions by citing examples of when you used these skills over extended time frames in the past.

For example, to prove that you can work long hours, tell a story about how you woke up at 5 AM, went to sports practice, attended classes, and then worked until 10 PM every day for a year.

Anyone can pull all-nighters for a week, but killing yourself for an entire year is a worthy accomplishment.

It’s tough to “prove” that you have social skills, but you can come across as sociable by talking about your hobbies and interests.

Even if you’re awkward or you get nervous speaking with people, you might be able to convey the opposite image if you talk up your activities.

What Does a Successful Engineer to Financier Look Like?

Here are two examples:

Example #1: The Undergrad

He started out majoring in aerospace engineering and did a first-year internship at Lockheed Martin.

He realized it wasn’t for him, so in his second year, he switched to an accounting/finance degree and made aerospace engineering his minor.

He also interned at a local private equity firm and began networking months in advance of third-year summer internship recruiting.

In the summer after his second year, he interned at an independent valuation firm, and he kept networking on the side to win an IB summer offer at a bulge-bracket bank for the next year.

In the summer after his third year, he completed that internship and converted it into a full-time return offer.

Example #2: The MBA

She completed an undergraduate degree in biomedical engineering and worked in R&D at an orphan drug company after graduation.

After a year, she switched into a business development/sales role, and after another year, she moved to a Big 4 firm to conduct due diligence on pharmaceutical clients.

Then, she applied and won admission to a top MBA program. Before attending, she completed a pre-MBA internship at a healthcare-focused private equity firm.

She also began networking with business school alumni months before the school term began.

When recruiting kicked off, she won interviews with the major banks and ended up accepting a summer internship offer at an elite boutique, which she later converted into a full-time return offer.

Plan B Options

If you do everything above but do not get into investment banking, the worst strategy is to give up and go back to a pure engineering role.

If you’re about to graduate, your best Plan B options are finance-related roles outside of investment banking.

For example, think about corporate finance rotational programs at tech companies, corporate banking , equity research , or a coding role at a hedge fund or trading firm.

Plan to work there for a year or two and then move into IB, perhaps using a Master’s in Finance degree along the way.

If you’re at the MBA level and did not win an investment banking offer, you could consider similar options, but it will be much harder to move into IB later on.

You might be able to take finance experience elsewhere and go to a tech-focused boutique or a small venture capital firm, but you will probably not be able to move to a large bank directly.

Finally, if you’re well beyond the MBA level, more realistic options might be joining a VC/PE firm as an operational partner or “entrepreneur in residence” or joining an equity research team that needs deep subject matter expertise in a highly technical area.

Engineer to Financier?

I made this move – computer science to tech companies to investment banking – a long time ago.

But you would not be able to follow that same path today.

You need finance-related experience and solid accounting/finance knowledge before applying for IB roles, or you won’t have a chance.

So, decide on your career change early on, or skip it altogether.

It might be “boring” to work at a big tech company and hit the pay ceiling, but you’ll have a pretty good life, and you’ll still earn more than 99% of the population.

And if you want to make more money, you can always build an app.

For Further Learning

If you liked this article, you might also be interested in reading:

• How To Get Into Investment Banking
• Technology Investment Banking: Take Over the World with Zero Earnings and Negative Cash Flows?

If you want help navigating the recruiting process as an engineer, our friends at Wall Street Mastermind  might be able to help you out.

They’ve worked with over 1,000 students to help them secure high-paying investment banking jobs out of school (and internships while in school), and their coaches include a former Global Head of Recruiting at three different large banks.

They provide personalized, hands-on guidance through the entire networking and interview process – and they have a great track record of results for their clients.

You can book a free consultation with them to learn more .

About the Author

Brian DeChesare is the Founder of Mergers & Inquisitions and Breaking Into Wall Street . In his spare time, he enjoys lifting weights, running, traveling, obsessively watching TV shows, and defeating Sauron.

Free Exclusive Report: 57-page guide with the action plan you need to break into investment banking - how to tell your story, network, craft a winning resume, and dominate your interviews

Read below or Add a comment

145 thoughts on “ How to Break into Investment Banking as an Engineer – If You Enjoy the Punishment ”

I am currently professional engineer in civil engineering with 5.5 years experience, and I want to change my career to infrastructure finance position, selling factories, buildings, plant, etc.

1. What career path can I expect to work on infrastructure finance position?

2. I was thinking to do MBA or get CFA certificate. Do you think either of plan is good for moving my career to infrastructure finance position?

You will probably need an MBA to make this transition. Please do a search for the coverage of infrastructure and project finance on this site to get some ideas. The CFA won’t be too helpful here because it doesn’t give you access to recruiters and an alumni network. You’ll probably have the most luck targeting roles at large banks initially, gaining some experience there, and then considering buy-side (investing) roles in either equity or debt.

Hi Brian! I really appreciate the piece. Idk if you’re still asnwering questions. I’m in 11th grade, and going to be in 12th this year. Im prepping to get into a decent IIT on completon of school. I’m majoring in science subs. I have ample interest in finance but couldnt manage to get it as a major. Im willing to break into IB rather than taking up a software eng / eng job after college. Is there anything I can do right now i.e. on school level to enhance my opportunities for an IB job in future? Like an internship or something which doesnt demand a lot of of time due to my constant studies? Thank you for ur time.

They don’t really care about pre-university activities, so focus on getting into the best university you can and then completing internships early (in your first year or the summer after). There is not much to do until then unless you want to start learning about accounting, finance, Excel, etc.

Hi Brian and Nicole, I m a mechanical engineer, I’m in the last year but I don’t know how to get into finance. I’m an average student please suggest me what course should I do after that? I will be glad if you will help me .

If you’re in your last year already, you don’t have many options because finance recruiting starts so early. I would recommend looking at the articles on Last-Minute Recruiting, Lateral Hires, and Master’s in Finance programs on this site (do a search) to get some ideas. Also, if you’re in India, you should probably move elsewhere because the Indian IB market is incredibly difficult, and your chances are low unless you’ve gone to one of the top IIMs.

Hey Brian! This is a cool article, thanks for writing this. I’m an engineer from Carnegie Mellon, currently working as a senior engineer in one of the large top tech company. I’m 31. I grew my own business by 10x in about 7 years. In addition to being an engineer, now I also work as a Fractional COO for some companies. I love business, and I want to get into investment banking. I am deeply passionate about creating, learning about, working on everything related to business. Do you think the best path to do this would be to get an MBA? Is there any other way?

If you grew your own business by 10x, you’re currently a senior engineer, and you’re also a part-time COO, bankers will seriously question your motivation for going into banking and taking a pay cut just so you can work 80 hours per week on fixing PowerPoint slides. So I don’t think you have a good plan, I don’t think someone at your seniority level should ever go into IB, and unless you have an amazing reason for making this change, I think bankers will be quite skeptical of your plans.

You could theoretically do an MBA to get in, but, again, I’m not sure why you’d ever want to enter the industry at your experience level.

I’m about 50 years old. I’ve been working in as an engineer for 25 years mainly with software modeling of math equations of some sort. An=m I too old for this ?

Yes. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but no bank is going to hire you for an entry-level Analyst role if you have 25 years of experience. If you really want to do finance, you might be able to find a quant fund or trading firm that needs good engineering talent and doesn’t care about age or experience level. But traditional Analyst roles at banks are not really an option.

HELLO BRIAN, I am from india and currently applying for colleges. I am looking for economics major for dual degree but i am quite confuse what should i dual it with in order to work in investment banking ,will bioinformatics be good combination with economics or should i look for some other majors combination.

I think you should look at all our coverage of India on this site because it’s a completely different market with strange dynamics and a very small market for IB hires, and if you don’t go to one of the top few IIMs, you don’t have a great chance. Your choice of major matters very little next to getting into one of the top IIMs… at least if you want to stay in India.

Hello Brian, Thanks for the great article. I am 28 years old, planning for a career change to finance. I graduated with a bachelor degree in mechanical engineering in 2020 and I have worked in textile industry and supply chain operations since then, however I totally lacked passion, therefore am looking for a career switch into Equity Research, especially after reading about the role and that it requires a very good report writing, which is my best skill. Is it really true that equity research is the best entry point in finance if I am coming from a different background, and have deep experience in specific industry ? Is management consulting in finance would be easier to break into than equity research? I am planning on getting a masters degree in finance this September in the UK. Is a masters degree in finance enough for that career switch or CFA level 1 at least?

I’m not sure I would say that equity research is the “best entry point in finance” if you’re coming in from a different background and you have deep experience in some other industry. Sometimes that is true for certain verticals, such as biotech, but it’s more accurate to say that equity research offers advantages and disadvantages over other paths, such as traditional investment banking roles (less of a structured recruiting process, but also many fewer roles and more networking is required to get in).

You would probably have an easier time getting into consulting simply because they hire entire classes each year, and people are always moving around and leaving when they find something new.

A Master’s in Finance degree can definitely help (much more so than the CFA), at least if you go to a top school to do it. See our previous coverage of Master’s degrees on this site for a few examples.

The biggest point with all of this is that you need to get relevant work experience ASAP because even with a Master’s degree, you’ll need some type of internship to leverage the degree to win bigger/better roles.

Hi You suggest in your article making the switch from eng to IB using a 2 year MBA with a summer IB internship is difficult, and requires relevant exp before doing that MBA. That is not what Ive heard or read from my research. It seems an established route, in the states, to do the above whilst not needing any finance exp prior to the MBA. Could you expand

It is possible to get into IB via a 2-year MBA without much finance experience beforehand, so you do not “need” a pre-MBA internship necessarily. However, it does increase your chances, and you want every advantage you can get.

At the MBA level, ~50% of people who apply for IB roles at the top business schools end up winning at least one IB offer. Those are actually not great odds for the amount of time and money you spend on the degree.

So, would you rather roll the dice, even factoring in interview prep and networking, or would you rather do everything you can to maximize your chances?

The other issue is that you may not be able to tell recruiters or bankers much of a story if you have literally 0 finance experience before doing the degree. You want to have at least something because recruiting starts the minute you arrive on campus.

https://mergersandinquisitions.com/mba-investment-banking-recruiting-process/

Hello Brian, I completed a bachelor in software engineering in Canada 1 year ago and currently work at a FAANG company in tech sales. I completed my CFA level 1 during my undergrad and I’ve always wanted to break into IB or PE and I recently got offered an M&A analyst role at a small firm. It would be a great learning opportunity but I would take a paycut. I was thinking of joining them for a year and then going with the MBA route to join one of the big 5 in Canada.

OK. If you want to do that and understand the trade-offs, it’s fine. I’m not sure what your question is.

I’m currently a first year undergraduate student in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, I cannot change my major to Finance. How should I proceed exactly to land a position in finance upon my graduation? I was thinking about taking the CFA exams as soon I graduate and then start applying to finance positions, but then realized that to become Chartered you need at least 4 years of work experience in finance.

You don’t need to major in finance. Get relevant internships, start early, begin networking with alumni, etc., and follow the steps outlined here:

https://mergersandinquisitions.com/how-to-get-into-investment-banking/

Accounting and finance are easy next to EECS. And you don’t need the CFA or other certifications, just a bit of prep work, industry research, and networking to find internships.

Hi Brian, thanks for the great article My background is 2 years of military service in Korea Canada top school mechanical Engineering with 3.6 GPA 5 years of Field engineering experience with GE Professional Engineer, CFA level 3

I am 31 now I am thinking about getting into top us MBA next year.

will there be a good chance for me to get into PE, IB with my background?

Yes, potentially, but you’ll probably need something a bit more finance-related before business school to have the best chance (e.g., pre-MBA internship).

Hi Brian,Am currently pursuing my Btech IT Engineering degree in one of the colleges in India…..How could I enter into Investment banking career….? ant d please give me accurate ways to get into the IB career…. To mention I am not a coder too And Also say how can I transfer By doing MBA in finance/Buisness…Will it be right? Am being in confusions……..Please assist me……..And If you could make through the mail…..It would be very usefull.!!!!! Thanks In advance!

India is a completely different market, so you have to look at advice specific to India:

https://mergersandinquisitions.com/?s=india

It’s very difficult unless you’re at one of the top IITs or IIMs. If not, you’re better off going for other roles, like the Big 4, or moving to a different country.

Hi Brian, apologies for the lengthy monologue but I would like your opinion on how I should pursue a HF/AM career give my experience: I’ve been working in a Data Science/Engineering role in the Business and Management Consultancy unit of a Financial Services Consultancy for around 9 months in London. I graduated in 2019 with an engineering degree from a top target London university, and completed a research placement where I co-authored a paper. While this is certainly not finance experience, and not exactly management consulting, being in the business/management unit has enabled me to take part in projects involving internal management consulting, development of a new data idea to fit in with industry trends, business writing involving due diligence, and I am having one white paper published by my firm about management with another about a strategic industry development in the pipeline. Recently I’ve become set on the long term goal of an investing role at an AM/HF because I really enjoy reading and writing about industry trends, am enjoying reading books on value investing and beginning creating y own portfolio, and find following the public markets fascinating (I subscribe to the economist and to a couple of investment newsletters). Do you have an opinion on the best way to do that? I looked into masters in finance courses but it is too late to apply for courses beginning 2020. Friends in banking and equity derivatives roles say that I still count as a ‘recent graduate’ and that I should apply to off cycle programs at banks, either to ER or AM divisions. Recently I have thought about trying to use your Premium Modelling package to teach myself modelling in my spare time, then use cold emailing to create an internship opportunity at HF/AM/ER firms and go from there. Should I go all out to secure an off cycle internship in AM/ER (which one?), and do you think your IB interview guide would + keeping up with markets would be good enough to secure one? Would networking at this late stage be a worthwhile use of my time to secure one? If I cannot secure a published off cycle internship would the next best thing be to cold email to create one? Or should I go for the aforementioned approach to create an internship directly in a buy side firm? Or should I prioritise a different approach? Apologies for the super long post and thanks in advanced – a very confused and hungry person.

Off-cycle internships are an option, but I’m not sure how common they are for AM/ER. I think you need to decide on what type of role you want first:

1) Something technical that leverages your background, such as quantitative trading or quant research or development at a hedge fund?

2) Or something that is “non-quantitative,” i.e., based on fundamental analysis that does not require programming skills?

If it’s #1, you could probably apply directly to prop trading firms or quant funds and have some chance at winning offers if you’re good enough with the math/probability questions.

If it’s #2, you’ll probably have to go for off-cycle IB/PE/VC-type internships at smaller firms and then eventually use those to win a HF or AM offer, maybe after working full-time at a bank for a while. I think you would need more than our guides and courses to pursue #2 if you haven’t had previous finance internships or full-time experiences.

Thanks for the quick reply Brian. I’m definitely attracted to #2, the fundamental analysis side. Sounds like you’re saying I should go for off cycle internships in whichever fundamental analysis role I can get and then work my way from there, which I’m happy with.

Just to clarify, by smaller firms are you saying I should be resorting to networking and cold emailing to create an unadvertised internship? Also, is it highly unlikely I could win an off cycle internship at a major bank? I ask because there are some openings which I’m currently applying to.

Yes, you can cold email or cold call to create an unadvertised internship. There are examples of how to do so on this site. You could apply to large banks with official openings as well, but sometimes the process for those is very drawn-out.

Hi Brian, again apologies for the long post ahead. I have a question about how to prepare for a possible HF/PE interview 1-2 weeks away.

It’s been a journey but have since taken part in a successful stock pitch competition, left the data science role, worked at a leadership internship at a 20 person startup with direct management experience, took the GMAT and have been accepted to study at one of the top 3 pre-experience finance masters in the world (at least I like to think so). Since being accepted to the masters a month ago, I have slowly started sending out cold-emails in the hopes of a last minute HF/PE internship. Obviously not a sure proposition but I used your networking guide to get good at emails and have worked on my resume over the last year (it’s crazy how much a resume can improve just by coming back to it every couple months over the course of a year or two). Had an introductory call this morning (thank god I crammed your ib interview + informational interview guides the night before) with one 3-5 person multi-billion dollar, long-term value HF looking to hire away from their typical pe backgrounds. They don’t have a formal internship available, but are interested in doing something informal with an eye towards working full-time after graduation. It went well, and the guy asked me for some work samples which I sent and will talk to his team about scheduling a much more rigorous interview, which would probably take place 1-2 weeks from now.

My question is I am unsure of how best to use my time to prepare for this. Still cold emailing 1-2 hours a day, but have no commitments other than going to the pub outside of that. I’m unsure if I should heavily prioritise learning technicals, or focus elsewhere? To give an idea of my ability, I understand most but not all of the basic concepts from the ib interview guide, read the economist almost daily, know how to interpret quarterly/annual reports, and for my stock-pitch competition conducted detailed research + created the thesis + thought through and calculated all DCF model assumptions (although it was my team mate who actually adapted an Excel template and then asked me for input assumptions, so I’m not confident I could create a whole DCF from scratch by myself). I have not yet gone through your ib or modelling guides with any rigour, but put ‘began studying towards BIWS financial modelling certification’ on my resume; although that’s at the bottom and did not come up today, I’m worried I could get called out on this point if they ask about it in a more formal interview. Basically they know that I have a programming background and like me for it, and cared most about the ability to do deep and original research, so they may be more lenient about it than others. That said I purchased and have been meaning to go through your guides since quite a while ago, but would love to get your perspective on how to put my best foot forward, given I may have to be ready as quickly as a week from now.

As for their strategy, they seek to find great but undervalued companies where the market isn’t paying attention and hold for 10-15 years. They only have up to between 8-10 holdings at any one time, invest in both public and private backgrounds are almost always one of the three largest shareholders when they do invest, and all have PE backgrounds so this seems like a ‘Pershing Square’ style of investment fund. Because of this, I’m uncertain as whether to treat it like a HF or PE process, and I’m also uncertain of what to prioritise for possible 1 week time frame given that I probably need to go more in depth than your IB interview guide but don’t have the 2-3 weeks+ needed to go through either the PE or ER/AM/HF action plans in your modelling mastery course. What do you think?

OK, so if you have very detailed questions like these, and you have our courses, you should really leave a comment on the BIWS site. I happened to see your comment here and respond quickly, but I normally only check comments once every 1-2 weeks.

If you have 1-2 weeks to prepare, I would do the following:

Week 1: Focus on your story, why this firm/industry, and complete Modules 7-9 on the valuation and DCF analysis in the course because you’ll need to know those if they look for undervalued companies.

Week 2: Come up with 1 long idea and 1 short idea and do a bit of work for both of them. Maybe just a quick/simple DCF and multiples and some industry research to justify your views. They are almost certainly going to ask you for stock pitches and investment ideas, so this has to be part of the process.

Brian, I am set to start my SWE job at a Major CRA company. My main goal has always been to work in debt markets/structured finance so I don’t think my first job is “too unrelated”.That being said I would like to work in finance (preferably the buy side or banking).My initial plan was to involve myself with tech teams within the company that deal with structured finance and then slowly make the transition into a more finance role than a programming role. Assuming I do make the transition within the company to a more finance role,what options could I be looking into moving outside of the CRA field after a few years?

I think it will be tough to do that unless you transition over to a finance role very quickly (within a year or so). If you do, maybe something related to CRA, such as real estate debt, corporate banking, or DCM at a bank. It would be tough to move from that directly into an IB industry group or M&A team.

I was thinking of jumping to a more “finance” activity within the firm after two years and then do an MBA post Credit Rating to rebrand myself from the CRA type of work.But it seems you are suggesting me to jump to IB pre MBA?

Yes, it’s always better to get in pre-MBA if possible.

Hi Brian, I am currently pursuing a Bachelors in Electronics Engineering. I will be graduating in 2021. I am interning in a finance firm ( but my work is mostly software-oriented and involves very little finance ). I further want to pursue a Masters in Finance. Is it a good idea to start applying for the Masters, right after I graduate? Or should I network for 2-3 years more and then start applying for Masters? Thank you!

It’s usually best to have at least a year of work experience before doing a Master’s in Finance program, but not too much beyond that. 3 years is pushing it, and you might get pushed into the MBA track by that point.

Thank You for the advice Brian! Will start looking into it

I am pursuing engineering from Chandigarh Group Of Colleges Landran but i have interest in Finance sector also. You have shared very informative article regarding this and i have got many good ideas from your article. Keep sharing such informative articles.

Very insightful article. I’ve read through some of the comments but didn’t exactly get the advice I needed for structuring my future. I graduated with a BS in civil engineering and am almost a year into my first job out of college as a Structural Engineer in NY. I find that I don’t really enjoy my job at all and aspire to make more money than I will in this industry. I am considering a career change and would love to get into finance, accounting, or consulting, but I feel that I have no prior knowledge or skills in those fields.

I am very motivated and willing to work the long hours. I am very proficient in excel too, which I know will be utilized very often. My main issue is that I have almost no interest in going back to school for an MBA. I have many friends that work for Big 4 firms and IB companies, so I think I can do pretty well in networking. I’m seeking some advice on how to go about switching careers without going back to school. Do you think it will be an extremely difficult transition not really having prior experience? A bunch of my friends have said they think I would be fine given the training programs and learning on the job. Am I setting myself up for failure by not wanting to go back to school?

Thanks! Appreciate the help.

If you make the move quickly (i.e., right now), and go for something related, such as a Big 4 firm or valuation firm, before moving into IB directly, it’s possible (though still difficult). The main problem is that you’re probably not going to be able to jump directly from civil engineering to IB, so you need something in between… whether it’s an MBA program or another job is up to you. Another option might be to aim for something like infrastructure finance and then use that to get into IB or a related group at a bank.

Hi Brian, Thank you a lot for this helpful article. I have a question I you can answer me please. I am an engineer in Business Intelligence and Data Analysis with 1 year of professional experience. I am interested in working in investment bank as a trader, having some experience and start trading for myself or create a financial company in the long future. I intend next year make a MS in finance in some Swiss universities that I aim. I will also start preparing CFA certificate level 1. Do you think that I can it’s possible to work in a IB as a trader after a short carrer as an IT enginner ? And what would you recommend me to do ? Thank’s a lot for your time.

I think you should probably read these articles about trading first to get an idea of the trade-offs and what they’re looking for in candidates:

https://mergersandinquisitions.com/future-of-sales-trading/ https://mergersandinquisitions.com/sales-and-trading-vs-investment-banking/ https://mergersandinquisitions.com/fixed-income-trading/ https://mergersandinquisitions.com/equity-trading/

Hi Brian, Great article.

I am a Structural Engineer with around 5 years experience in infrastructure and Buildings. I am looking at a career switch into Equity Research.

I am based in Australia and will be taking the Level 1, CFA exam next year. I am also self teaching myself modelling & valuation methods.

Do you have any insight on research roles for Engineers? Are there any additional steps I can make to improve my applications?

What sort of entry level jobs are worth applying for to get a foot in the door that will be beneficial to ER down the track?

Thanks in advance for your time.

I don’t think this is a great idea if you want to stay in Australia because the finance industry is very small there, and ER is probably in even worse shape than it is in the U.S. and Europe currently. A better plan might be to apply to sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) because they actually invest in infrastructure, which you know something about, while equity research has little, if anything, to do with infrastructure in most cases. See some of the comments here:

https://mergersandinquisitions.com/sovereign-wealth-funds-australia/ https://mergersandinquisitions.com/investment-banking-australia-perth-sydney-melbourne/

Thanks, Brian for the article! I’m a masters student studying engineering management in the US, I have worked for Google in India as a software engineer for 3 years.

I have taken up Engineering management hoping to be a product manager but after being exposed to the venture capital, investment banking industry here I see my interests shifting to finance. Is there any chance for me to get an internship in a VC firm or a Bulge bracket bank without any previous experience, and what do you think is the best way to break into the industry?

It’s unlikely if you have a pure engineering background. You need to do something closer to business, whether it’s another degree, a different role at your current firm, etc. Please see:

Hi Brian! I am a 3rd year mechanical engineering student with research experience in applied mathematics. I want to get into financial engineering in Egypt. The financial market in Egypt is very small but it is currently growing very rapidly and financial instruments will be much more common since the real estate market is already dominated by big players. I have almost no knowledge on finance, except for financial accounting since I have founded a company last year and needed to study the basics to understand the documents. Side note: I am an avid researcher and love applied mathematics and computation very much. I have used monte carlo simulation in computational fluid dynamics. I am considering doing research in mathematical finance, but don’t know how would that help me if it ever will.

I don’t know enough about the market in Egypt to give you detailed advice, but I think you should narrow down the exact field you want to get into first. Math skills matter a lot in quant-type roles but tend not to be important in deal-based roles where you work with entire properties or companies… so that should be the starting point. Also, even if the market is growing quickly in Egypt, you’ll have more opportunities in all these areas if you go to a major hub such London or NY.

I have completed my civil engineering from India and then moved to Canada to do my post grad diploma in construction management and while in diploma I’ve got to come across financial topics like financial management Ain construction and construction finance 1 & 2. That really developed my interest in financial field and now I want to make it as my main stream career. Many recommended starting from clearing CSC exam and then preparing for CFA levels. Is that the even real career path into cracking financial fields? what can be the best way to step into finance industry?

The CSC and CFA will not help. To move in from this type of background, you’ll almost certainly need a top MBA, at least if you want to work in investment banking. You might be able to get into something like real estate finance if you can network aggressively, learn the basics on your own, and get more relevant experience first. Also, Canada is a very small market with few openings in traditional finance jobs, so you should try for a bigger market if you can… far more openings in the US and UK.

Hi Brain, it was such a nice article. Can you please help me out with few things? Currently I’m in 4th year of my Computer Science & Engineering from India and I’m really very much interested in finance and all (though I’m not sure what in it especially, confusion!!). I read a lot about Finance, Economics, Businesses, Share Markets and all and it fascinates me a lot and I don’t see myself as a coder in the long run, it’s not that I don’t that I hate to code but it don’t delight me at all. But at the same time I don’t know what to do other than that (in financial field obviously). I see myself as a capitalist in the long run but don’t know the path! Can you please help me?

The market is completely different in India, so you should start by reading some of our coverage on it to understand the difficulties it presents and the career options:

Hi Brian! Dont know if you are commenting still. Your page is really useful and has changed the way I looked at IB. I am working as a R&D engineer with experience in R&D, little bit of business and product management in Japan. I did my Masters in Electrical from IIT Bombay (CGPA-9.6/10),GMAT-710 and am applying for MBA at LBS, INSEAD, Duke,Darden,Cambridge, I want to make a switch into IB work in BB firms- GS,JPM,MS in London. So after reading your posts I came to realize how much effort I have to pull in given I have no experience in finance work or knowledge. Things to step up the gas on 1. Self study- Financial modelling, LBO courses 2. CFA ? or coursera certifications in financial courses (confused here) 3. Pre-MBA internships 4. Networking with alumni So which one among 1-4 should I focus the most and should i focus on learning financial model etc first or gaining coursera certificates? I will be joining MBA in Sep next year. and currently in the process of applying to R1 in the above schools. Thanks in advance!

The CFA and Coursera will not help you at all, at least not in a way that’s useful relative to the time/effort you put in. Learn the basics via our Interview Guide or Excel & Fundamentals course if you have more time, read everything on this site, and then focus on getting into the best MBA program you can. Once you’ve studied the technicals for 1-2 months so you understand the basics, start networking with alumni to set up a pre-MBA internship first. You should start the networking process ASAP once you decide on your school.

Thanks for the reply.That was really helpful. I am concerned if the Interview guide or Excel and Fundamentals will focus on basic concepts to understand for a non finance guy like those on Course era by wharton profs.

We assume that you have no existing knowledge. Obviously it will help if you come in knowing something, but nothing is required. You just need Excel and PowerPoint and some familiarity with Windows programs.

Hi Brian & Nicole!

Thanks a lot for this website! I have started networking with my undergraduate alumnis in IB, other bankers in my region using Linkedin, personal sources etc. but I am bit confused whether to ask for pre-MBA internship now. Currently I am working in a tech job , busy in MBA colg app process. I have fixed my first priority school as LBS (and have also got in touch with some of the school’s alumnis) but I feel i don’t have much leverage to convince for a pre-MBA internship as long as I don’t get confirmed admit at one of the schools. So should I wait till I get an admit ? Please help! Thanks!

You can’t ask for a pre-MBA internship until you win admission to an MBA program and accept enrollment there.

I dropped out from a BEng program of a top university several years ago due to poor grades. And now I will be starting all over and will be studying for a BEng program in another top university (target) in the UK. I will be doing EEE in this university. But I will be 28-29 years old by the time I graduate. Do I still have any chance to get into IB?

Thanks in advance.

Again, it really depends on your years of full-time work experience ( https://mergersandinquisitions.com/age-investment-banking/ ). If it doesn’t seem like you have worked full-time for 2-3+ years, yes, you can still do IB. 28-29 is above the normal age range for Analysts, but it happens sometimes.

Thank you writing this article. The information within it was very interesting and helpful. I don’t know if you’re still actively responding to comments here since it’s been a long time but I thought I would try anyways.

I am a grade 12 student in Canada. I am very fascinated by business (specifically finance) and have been involved in many extra-curricular business clubs and programs. However, I am also interested in the programming and technology. I have just applied to universities last month for Computer Engineering as I thought it would be easier to transition into a finance-oriented job from engineering as opposed to the other way around.

After reading the article, I understand that the best bet would be to get into a business undergraduate degree and then go from there.

What do you suggest that I should do, now that I’ve already applied for computer engineering programs and is too late to get into a business-finance program? I mean in terms of things I should be doing outside of university, when I begin in September 2019.

Thank you for your help through this article. Looking forward to hearing from you.

If you want to keep your options open, I strongly recommend majoring in engineering because, as you said, it’s easier to move from there to finance than to do the reverse. Maybe do a minor in accounting or finance if you want.

Almost any bank or finance firm on the planet would prefer an engineering major with some business/accounting/finance knowledge to someone who just majored in a business-related field and has limited knowledge of math/science/engineering.

I’m currently a student at Upenn doing a dual degree in finance from wharton and either computer science or systems engineering from the engineering school. I’ve been programming for many years but I don’t really like Penn’s CS curriculum and have found the Systems Engineering program to be more similar to my interests. I’ll still be doing programming on the side but I was wondering if not doing Computer Science as an official degree would hurt me in the long run, especially if I’m able to demonstrate high technical proficiency in an interview.

No, it doesn’t matter as long as you can prove your knowledge.

Hi brian im graduating from highschool in Singapore. In school I excell in maths and physics which is why I’m conflicted on whether to pursue an engineerig course in electrical engineering or pursue a degree in banking at finance. Currently im being suggested to take engineerig as I can switch back to finance if i change my mind from engineering. However Im not so sure whether investment banks and other finance related industries are keen on hiring engineers. So my questions are do you think choosing to take the path of electrical engineering and pursue a cfa later is a good idea whilst applying for internships in finance durig university. Or should i major in banking and finance straight away. Lastly I’ve also been intrigued by the idea of taking applied math in university and minoring in finance to maybe work in a quant fund. Appreciate the help.

You can definitely get into finance from engineering/math, but it’s much harder (or impossible) to do the reverse and get into one of those from finance. The only issue is that engineering/math are harder majors, so your GPA will likely be lower, which will make it more difficult to win IB roles. Personally, I would recommend something in engineering and then maybe a minor or classes on the side in accounting/finance to gain the background and hopefully boost your GPA in the process.

Thanks for the fast reply Brian. Will the only disadvantage be the harder curriculumn and GPA. As I’m not sure whether investment banks have a preference for those with finance degrees over engineering hope that the minor in finance and possibly pursuing a cfa will be enough.

That is the main disadvantage. Some banks might prefer candidates with accounting/finance degrees, but from a risk and “total career” perspective, you’re better off majoring in something that will be practical in many markets.

I graduated in July with a degree in Computer Science and I am currently working as an Associate Product Manager in a hot Startup in India. I’ve finished Finance and Business Strategy specialization offered by Wharton and the University of Michigan. I am planning to go for an MBA in Europe or USA after 2-3 Years, what should I do before my MBA to get into Investment Banking after MBA?

Will writing CFA increase my chances?

The CFA will not help much if you already have finance experience and an MBA. You should focus on getting a pre-MBA internship before the MBA begins ( https://mergersandinquisitions.com/pre-mba-internship-hedge-fund/ ), though I’m not sure how the process works if you’re international (maybe find an unpaid role so they don’t have to get a work visa for you?).

I just followed the path as outlined. I did BS in Mechanical Engineering, MS in Operations Research. Worked for a few years and did MBA. Then I switched to Investment Banking. As an Investment Banker my area of work was in Project Finance, as I worked as Risk Analyst. I became the Country Head of Risk Management or CRO for the Investment Bank, where I was directly reporting to the CEO. My special interest was the financing of Green Field Projects. These were the projects few people had financed before. I must say I have enjoyed my work both as an Industrial Engineer and as an Investment Banker.

Congrats, I’m glad to hear it worked out for you.

Hey. Did you have prior finance work experience before your MBA

First I might want to thank you for the above article, it is exceptionally educational and particularly pertinent for my situation. I am seeking after my B.S. in Computer Engineering and will graduate in May 2018. Over the mid year of 2017 I completed an entry level position in an IB in New York as an innovation expert (IT corporate). Where I discovered that I need to work in the front office jobs. A portion of the representatives there proposed me to seek after CFA. Along these lines, I have been investigating it from that point forward however I am as yet not sure to go for CFA. What’s your opinion about it? Will it be a decent venture?

The CFA is not going to help you that much if you are an engineering major with no finance/business work experience. You need to get that experience first and then use it to win future internships/jobs. Or, go the quant route and use your coding skills for something like quant funds, quant research, or even trading automation roles at banks.

Hi Brian – You mentioned that post MBA, you could enter the industry if you are at a senior executive level. Can you please elaborate on that. I work in the energy /infrastructure industry, and am trying to make a transition. Thanks.

I don’t know much about it, unfortunately, and we do not have examples of this transition. But we hope to cover it one day.

Hi Brian and Nicole, I m a mechanical engineer, I’m in the last year but I don’t know how to get into finance. I’m an average student please suggest me what course should I do after that? I will be glad if you will help me .

IF this is another “I’m an engineer in India, how do I get into finance?” question, then please see our coverage of India for tips (the short answer is you need to get into one of the top IIMs, go for roles outside of IB, or leave the country):

https://mergersandinquisitions.com/investment-banking-india/ https://mergersandinquisitions.com/startup-investment-banks-india/ https://mergersandinquisitions.com/india-big-4-transaction-services/ https://mergersandinquisitions.com/private-equity-india/

Though I have an engineering(IT) background, I have 5 years experience of working in SME and corporate finance at bank State Bank of India. I have good understanding of financial statements analysis, accounting and project finance. I am planning to go for ex-MBA from one of top IIM’s or NUS. Do you think that would be enough to get into a corporate development M&A role?

Usually they want to see prior IB experience for corporate development roles… so you will probably need more than that. Maybe if you can get into one of the top IIMs and then work at a bank from there.

Thanks for the quick reply Brian. If not IB, would a role in corporate banking as a relationship manager or business developer be a feasible option post MBA. I have only worked in public sector banks so far and though promotions are quick, rise in salary is paltry and I see an MBA as the only ticket out of here.

I graduated with a BS in Chemical Engineering 13 years ago and have been practicing as an engineer in two fields since then. I am looking to possibly transition to the finance industry because I believe I would enjoy the research aspect (equity research specifically in industrial and tech sector. I plan on talking with professionals in the field as well. I am also considering a masters. I live in NC, and some of the major companies here are Credit Suisse, Citi, and JP Morgan. My question is, since I would need some kind of masters and internship, what masters should I pursue (MBA the only option)? Do you have an opinion on accounting since it’s similar to engineering with attention to detail and numbers/math? Thanks for the reply in advance.

You do not have a great chance of winning an entry-level investment banking role if you have 13+ years of work experience. In fact, I’d say you have almost no chance. Even if you pursue an MBA (a normal Master’s degree would not be worth it at all), it’s not likely because you’ll be over-qualified for Associate roles and the inevitable first question will be: “If you really want to do finance, why did you take over a decade to switch?”

I would recommend some of the options outlined here instead: https://mergersandinquisitions.com/too-old-for-finance/

hi brain this is harthik . i’m a BE (mechanical engineering ) student 2018 passed out from india. i’m intrested in finance. but i don’t know how to get into finance. i’m an average student.so,the admission for mba (finance) at top bschool in india is very difficult for me. pls suggest me what i want to do.

I would suggest reading our coverage of finance in India to understand the options and typical paths there:

Hello ! My name is Nikhil. I am 22 years old and I have recently done my engineering in electronics and telecommunication.while looking for a job, I get a job in commercial finance company with satisfactory CTC. I am fresher and I just want ask that it will be beneficial for me to work with a finance company at the starting of my career. If I get interest in finance, can do MBA in finance. Let me know as soon as possible.

I’m not sure I understand your question, but you might want to take a look at these articles for information on finance roles in India:

I am a mechanical engineer from India. Currently I am working in my field. But after during my graduation years I came across stock market which i wanna pursue carrer in finance field. Is it possible for me to have carrer in finance. What sould i do futher.

Please see: https://mergersandinquisitions.com/investment-banking-india/

I just started at Wharton for my MBA. Came here from Google, where I was a software engineer and technical program manager. I’m also a former professional ballet dancer. My background, I understand, is bizarre.

Is there any chance for me to enter finance (VC/PE/IBanking)? How should I approach going for it, given my odd background?

The issue is that you need to start preparing for this transition long before you reach business school. People typically begin networking with alumni the moment they get in, which then gives them an advantage in the process. If you haven’t yet networked with alumni and you haven’t completed any finance-related experience before this, there’s still a chance you could just win an IB role via on-campus recruiting if you learn finance quickly and spin your story very well, but it’s not a great chance. See:

https://mergersandinquisitions.com/mba-investment-banking-recruiting-process/ https://mergersandinquisitions.com/mba-investment-banking-recruiting-process/ https://mergersandinquisitions.com/mba-investment-banking-recruiting-process/

Great article, very well written. The first part of the article cleared that I do not want to get in to IB. However, I do want to get in Finance.

I am an Oil Field Engineer and I work on oil rigs. The money is decent, however, the learning has ceased. I would highly appreciate if you could advice on how can I move from where I am towards the following:

– Equity Research or Security Analysis – Business Evaluation

Regards, Anshul

P.S I like the side business idea by making an app

For equity research, you would probably need another degree or something serious to signal your intent to switch industries along with a lot of self study, possibly the CFA, etc. But if you don’t want to get into IB, are you sure you really want to do equity research? They are different, but they’re still finance roles at banks and a decent amount of the work is actually similar, at least at the junior levels.

I’d appreciate your recommendations on how I should move into IB from engineering. Thank you for your time.

Summary of my background: (1) Engineer for 3 years, so would classify as MBA level per your article; currently 27 years old; (2) Over past 5 years, self-studied and trained myself on most of the technical work an analyst/associate would know/do (financial analysis & valuation methods, reading & understanding filings, M&A agreements, research reports, spreading comps, building DCF and merger models). My wife used to be in IB (TMT banking, left at Associate level), so I did my self-study and training on my own, while going through my wife’s interview preps and studying together with her, and through helping her with occasional non-confidential work when she needed it (usually spreading comps or pulling research data). I am also therefore familiar with all the demands of IB; (3) Don’t have any finance/business related experience on paper, except an online certified business foundations course; (4) B.A. in Physics from Columbia University, GPA 3.8; M.S. in Materials Science from UPenn, GPA 3.6

I think my main weaknesses is the lack of finance work experience on paper. My current thought is to somehow make my way into an internship at a bank, if they won’t accept me as an Analyst right away, and use that to land a full-time position even as an Analyst. If this is possible, this seems more worthwhile given my background than the MBA route.

How do you suggest that I get my foot in the door and get that internship? I’m fairly confident that I will do well once I have the chance to prove myself. Is there anything else that you would recommend?

I think it will be nearly impossible to move from that background into investment banking, even at a boutique bank. You are assuming that banks recruit people based on reality, i.e. required skills and experience, but a lot of the recruiting process is based on perception (age, status/prestige, etc.). In reality, yes, you might be better at the job than a 20-year-old with no work experience at a top university, but banks will still perceive that 20-year-old to be a better candidate.

Your best options are:

1) Complete a top MBA and use that to move in.

2) Go for non-IB roles such as quant hedge funds, data science at hedge funds, or something else where your engineering background would make a difference.

3) You could still look for boutique internships, but I’ve never once seen someone with your profile get one… and I’ve been doing this since the mid-2000s. Maybe think about an MSF degree and use that if you don’t want a full MBA, as it’s sometimes more acceptable to hire interns out of that type of program.

I’m in Civil Engineering and I want to move to banking, either auditing or investments. Is it possible?

Um… maybe? I don’t really have enough information to answer your question.

Hi Brian. You mention you can’t move from Engineer at Google to IB, but can you move from Technology Analyst/Software Engineer at a bank to IB through an MBA program?

or Technology Consulting Analyst

“Can’t” is too strong; the odds are low with no experience in between, but it does happen. I think it would actually be harder to move from an IT role at a bank to IB through an MBA program – if you want to do IT first, do it at a top tech company.

Hey, thanks for the great article. I am currently in high school and have a strong interest in both computer science and finance. Currently, though, I am thinking of majoring in computer science, as I think that there are more opportunities for a computer science degree. After college, however, if I do manage to work for 2-3 years(in tech) and then get an MBA at a(hopefully good) school, will it be possible for me to enter Investment Banking?

Note: In order to show interest in finance, I do plan on participating in finance-oriented clubs in college and do so now too(in high school).

Dear Brian,

Thanks for your time and expertise shared through this excellent piece of article. I have a MS in EE from University of Southern California graduated in 2016. I was top of my class and did 3 internships during my time, one of them leading to $100k+ in savings to a firm (and a letter of recommendation by CEO). I have similar accomplishments in other internships and my first job. I also founded USC Energy Club and was president with the organization (held similar positions in other organizations). I am currently working with a large EPC company in Southern California. Engineering is not as fast paced as I imagined & I am looking to get into IB to have a more aggressive career. I am planning on getting a MS in Finance- online(as I can’t afford to leave my job) and planning to get CFA in the meanwhile. Getting an MBA is an option, but I am almost sure I won’t get into top 10 with my experience, so would rather get relevant experience and accomplishments. Please suggest: 1) Is MSF- online a good idea? (Targeting univs like Penn State) 2) Working full time will make it impossible to look for an internship in banking, what can be an alternate? 3) Any input to further guide me will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks for help in advance.

I don’t think an online MSF is a good idea because you need access to recruiters, which online degrees don’t necessarily provide. If you really want to switch to IB, it will be really tough to do so while working full-time because you need to get some type of finance-related experience. Your best options are:

1) Leave your job and complete a top MSF or MBA degree and use that to get in (but the MBA is only worth it from a top school).

2) Stay in your current role, but try to transition to the finance/business side internally. You might be able to move over to a business development role like that (maybe at another company) and then eventually move toward a finance role (but probably not one in traditional investment banking).

Hi, I found this article extremely helpful.

I am from India and I will be appearing for my grade 12 exams in March this year, with Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics. No commerce background as such.

I have developed liking for Finance sector because of its direct relation with business or at least that’s what I seem to understand from its mention in newspapers here. And starting my own Luxury Hotel Chain like JWMarriott is one of my dreams.

For that I was looking at IB as my best bet for in my opinion it is the best way to earn comparatively more money in comparatively less time than an engineering or tech job.

So, my question is whether I should opt for a career in Finance leading to IB or should I go for engineering? Also, would CFA be a good bet along with a bachelor and master in Finance?

Does Finance have a higher ceiling than Tech? What about higher averages? I would think MDs make more on average than senior Tech people. In addition, only the top companies pay more than Finance I would believe.

The average finance person will earn more than the average tech person, yes. It’s hard to give a definitive answer on ceilings because Jeff Bezos or Mark Zuckerberg are worth far more than any MD in banking, but they’re huge exceptions that nevertheless make “the ceiling” higher.

hello I’m persuing B.tech final year. I really have interest in markets and stocks sector. But currently not getting a clear way to be focused on in ebtering in IB line. please advice me a best way by which i can achive my goal. I really want to become an Investment banker My Btech Grades are around 7 really suggestions required Which steps should I follow ?

please advise me thanks Regards

I’m a graduate of chemical engineering with no experience in the finance sector. I’m planning on starting my own business in d future more likely in agricultural sector. I don’t want to limit myself to this, so I need help with going into the financial sector. If I’m to pursue my masters, what area in finance or business related area would be advisable to go into. Also jobs should I partake in to enable me gain insight into dis if I’m unable to further my studies for the time being. What are the chemical engineering finance roles avalaible. Thank you

Please see:

https://mergersandinquisitions.com/investment-banking-masters-programs/ https://mergersandinquisitions.com/chemicals-investment-banking/

I have an MS in engineering, currently working in big data consulting at the Big 4 where I’ve gotten exposure to working within a department that focuses on relationships with start-ups and VC firms. I’m 27, and am very early in my career. This sparked my interest in going into IB-TMT and eventually VC. Plan was to apply to b school next year, but since IB is now a goal of mine, I’m thinking about trying to transition to a boutique bank focused in tech and putting off b school another year. I had a weak ugrad gpa (2.7) froma non-target, my MS (same school) was a 3.83. I haven’t taken the GMAT yet

Is IB realistic for me or should I stay true to consulting and shoot for MBB for strategy work and shoot for VC later?

Thanks, this article was extremely helpful

I think you could get into IB, but at this point you might need an MBA depending on your years of work experience. If it’s more than 2-3, you will probably need an MBA if you want to get into banking eventually. The undergrad GPA will also hurt you, though not the end of the world due to your MS GPA. Also, I don’t think IB will necessarily get you better results in the VC world than consulting.

https://mergersandinquisitions.com/engineer-to-venture-capital/

Is Ms in finance a good step to get into investment banking ?

It can be: https://mergersandinquisitions.com/investment-banking-masters-programs/

I’m starting a Masters in Software Engineering program in the fall. It’s a 2-year program. Will it be hard to get an IB internship?

Yes because a Master’s in Engineering degree has nothing to do with investment banking. You need a more relevant degree and/or more relevant internships.

I am a chemical engineer having work experience of 3 years in fertilizer industry. I want to switch to a role having exposure to both technical and finance

OK… so what is your question?

I am a graduate in computer science, I’ve 2 years of experience in non-finance related things.. I want to be a programmer in finance sector… But I don’t have knowledge about finance field…where to start ?? I have no idea what should I do ?

Learn about finance… read up on deals… learn accounting/valuation… see all the articles on this site.

I’m about to graduate with a Bachelor’s in Civil Engineering in the coming year, but would like to work in investment banking here in Hong Kong.

I really have no idea what I am doing though, any tips on what I should do to prepare for interviews so I at least have a fighting chance?

Please see all our articles on interviews and interview prep here: https://mergersandinquisitions.com/investment-banking/#recruiting

Thanks Brian?some good food for thought.

Hi Brian, First I would like to thank you for the above article, it is very informative and very much applicable in my case. I am pursuing my B.S. in Computer Engineering and will graduate in May 2018. Over the summer of 2017 I did an internship in an IB in New York as a technology analyst (IT corporate). Where I found out that I want to work in the front office roles. Some of the employees there suggested me to pursue CFA. So, I have been looking into it since then but I am still not certain to go for CFA. What do you think about it? Will it be a good investment?

If you’re graduating in less than a year, no, the CFA will not be useful, at least not if you spend hundreds of hours on it. It’s better to say you’re “studying for it,” put in a bit of time, and leave it at that so you get some of the benefit without hundreds of hours of work. At this point, you’re very late to finance recruiting, so you’ll probably have to do a Master’s in Finance program or MBA program and move into the industry from that.

So what do you think about doing a Master’s in Finance and along with it preparing for CFA?

The CFA is only helpful for some roles. Do a search on this site to see which ones it is useful for.

Thank you Mr. Brian, I appreciate your help.

Hi! I´m from sweden and I´m 16 years old. I´m very intressted in the stock market and have been buying and selling shares for a few years now. But I am aswell very intressted in technology developement. Today i read Sience at the “gymnasium” I belive that is the same thing as “upper secondary” in the US. However, I am not sure if I want to get a degree in engineering or maybe industrial economy or Bussiness.

What would u recommend me to do?

I have no idea what your question is, sorry. Maybe wait until you’re older.

Hi I am a Chemical Engineering graduate from a prestigious university in India. I graduated with a CGPA of 8.2/10 and ranked 10th in my batch. I have had internships in companies like ExxonMobil and Schlumberger and they were not rigidly technical. Besides having technical projects, I was also associated with marketing and sales. Then I joined Reliance industries limited as a process engineer. I worked there for 10 months . On the way I had developed strong interest in finance and I also did MOOC on various areas related to IB. Presently I am working on my family business venture. I want to make a career in IB. I have applied for masters in management in the top schools of France and I am quite positive that I will get selected in one of them. I am also CFA level 1 candidate.I have a track record of working long hours specially in Reliance. How should I work from this point to grab a position in top IB firms.

Please see this article:

https://mergersandinquisitions.com/investment-banking-masters-programs/

Thanks.. that cleared a lot of my doubts. Thus in conclusion the internships or the apprenticeship programs in the business school will be of real benefit to me.

Hey I have some interviews coming up for the masters in management courses. I am concerned about how to answer the question “why did you leave your last job”? Since my start up is still at a very initial stage, how to justify this along with my interests for finance.

Say that you became more interested in the business side and left to work on your own venture. In this venture, you’re responsible for finance and business development, which are directly relevant to your long-term career goals.

Let me tell you first my situation is. I have completed my B.tech in computer science from India and currently working in TCS (an Indian consultancy company) as a software developer, I am also CFA level-1 candidate right now. As i am interested in working in investment bank ,I have planned to switch after 2 years experience to top investment banks in their tech division and also wanna complete rest of the CFA levels. After this can i get into front office roles? Do you think i am on the right way? Any further suggestion will be helpful for my career.

P.S. I am also planning to do Executive MBA from top B-schools after 5 year experience.

It is really difficult to move into IB in India because of the small size of the industry relative to the population. You might have a better chance if you focus on boutique banks there, go outside the country, or maybe if you can get into one of the top two IIMs and apply from there. Please see:

https://mergersandinquisitions.com/investment-banking-india/

Hi Brian and Nicole, I graduated in May with a mechanical engineering degree. During under grad I did three engineering internships, and a year as an analyst and investment officer with our $3MM real money student investment fund (also my “spark” for IB), and currently am working interim at a law firm doing corporate legal services. On my resume and in my story I play up the analyst position and law firm experience and working with clients. I’ve taken finance/accounting courses and BIWS prep courses and am becoming confident on the technical end. I’m targeting MMs and tech boutiques by brute force cold calling / emailing, and have gotten some interviews but no offers. 1) Should I change my strategy and go for something outside of IB? I am confident and want IB, so I don’t want to give up, but I want to take the best path there. 2) How can I better position myself to get an offer?

If you’ve been winning interviews, I don’t think it’s a problem with your networking approach or resume or anything like that. What has been the feedback from interviews? What’s the main reason why you are not advancing? Can you go back to any of your interviewers and ask what they think about your performance or see if they have any tips?

It’s hard to say what to do without knowing that. If their main objection is “You’re good, but we need someone with more finance experience,” then you might have to go for something outside of IB first and use that to move in. But if they’re objecting to something else, such as your technical knowledge or interest in the industry, then you might have to change your strategy in interviews.

In your case, it probably makes sense to focus on smaller banks because it’s incredibly difficult to go from non-finance work experience directly to a role at a large bank.

Aside from playing up your legal and analyst experience, you can’t do too much more to position yourself more effectively.

Hii Brian , I have completed bachelor in civil Engineering from India because of my parents they forced me to do so even though i was not interested in engineering ,but now i think that i should go for master in Finance as it has good job opportunities here in India please help me i am confused what to do..??

What is your goal? If you want to get into IB, you should read this article first: https://mergersandinquisitions.com/investment-banking-india/

The environment is completely different in India, and it’s easy to get stuck in a role with no upward mobility.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Ace Your Investment Banking Interview

The BIWS Interview Guide gives you everything you need to ace your Investment Banking Interview, even if you only have a few days to prepare.

• Skip to Content
• Berkeley Academic Guide Home
• Institution Home

Berkeley Berkeley Academic Guide: Academic Guide 2023-24

Financial engineering.

About the Program

The Berkeley Master of Financial Engineering (MFE) degree offers two options of study: one-year graduate degree option and our part-time degree option (completed over two-years). Both are offered by the Haas School of Business and cover the same curriculum. Students enrolled in the MFE Program learn to combine finance, mathematics, data science and machine learning, and computer programming skills to optimize decision making. They enter careers in areas like portfolio management, trading, data science, quantitative research, and development, as well as strats and modeling among many others.

Graduates of the MFE Program find positions in hedge funds, fintech firms, commercial and investment banking, insurance and reinsurance, corporate treasuries, private equity and asset management. Specializations include asset/liability modeling/optimization, security structuring, derivative valuation, sales and trading, consulting, asset management, research, option-based securities valuation, special hedging, real-option investment analysis, and risk management.

Visit School Website

Admission to the Program

Please visit the departmental website at mfe.haas.berkeley.edu  for more information.

Admission to the University

Minimum requirements for admission.

The following minimum requirements apply to all graduate programs and will be verified by the Graduate Division:

• A bachelor’s degree or recognized equivalent from an accredited institution;
• A grade point average of B or better (3.0);
• If the applicant comes from a country or political entity (e.g., Quebec) where English is not the official language, adequate proficiency in English to do graduate work, as evidenced by a TOEFL score of at least 90 on the iBT test, 570 on the paper-and-pencil test, 230 on the computer-based test, or an IELTS Band score of at least 7 (note that individual programs may set higher levels for any of these); and
• Sufficient undergraduate training to do graduate work in the given field.

Applicants Who Already Hold a Graduate Degree

The Graduate Council views academic degrees not as vocational training certificates but as evidence of broad training in research methods, independent study, and articulation of learning. Therefore, applicants who already have academic graduate degrees should be able to pursue new subject matter at an advanced level without need to enroll in a related or similar graduate program.

Programs may consider students for an additional academic master’s or professional master’s degree only if the additional degree is in a distinctly different field.

Applicants admitted to a doctoral program that requires a master’s degree to be earned at Berkeley as a prerequisite (even though the applicant already has a master’s degree from another institution in the same or a closely allied field of study) will be permitted to undertake the second master’s degree, despite the overlap in field.

The Graduate Division will admit students for a second doctoral degree only if they meet the following guidelines:

• Applicants with doctoral degrees may be admitted for an additional doctoral degree only if that degree program is in a general area of knowledge distinctly different from the field in which they earned their original degree. For example, a physics PhD could be admitted to a doctoral degree program in music or history; however, a student with a doctoral degree in mathematics would not be permitted to add a PhD in statistics.
• Applicants who hold the PhD degree may be admitted to a professional doctorate or professional master’s degree program if there is no duplication of training involved.

Applicants may apply only to one single degree program or one concurrent degree program per admission cycle.

Any applicant who was previously registered at Berkeley as a graduate student, no matter how briefly, must apply for readmission, not admission, even if the new application is to a different program.

Required Documents for Applications

• Transcripts:   Applicants may upload  unofficial  transcripts with your application for the departmental initial review.  If the applicant is admitted,  then  official  transcripts of all college-level work will be required. Admitted applicants must request a current transcript from every post-secondary school attended, including community colleges, summer sessions, and extension programs. Official transcripts must be in sealed envelopes as issued by the school(s) attended.  If you have attended Berkeley, upload your unofficial transcript with your application for the departmental initial review.  If you are admitted,  an official transcript with evidence of degree conferral  will not  be required.
• Letters of recommendation:  Applicants may request online letters of recommendation through the online application system. Hard copies of recommendation letters must be sent directly to the program, not the Graduate Division.
• Evidence of English language proficiency:  All applicants from countries or political entities in which the official language is not English are required to submit official evidence of English language proficiency. This applies to applicants from Bangladesh, Burma, Nepal, India, Pakistan, Latin America, the Middle East, the People’s Republic of China, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, Southeast Asia, most European countries, and Quebec (Canada). However, applicants who, at the time of application, have already completed at least one year of full-time academic course work with grades of B or better at a US university may submit an official transcript from the US university to fulfill this requirement. The following courses will not fulfill this requirement: 1) courses in English as a Second Language, 2) courses conducted in a language other than English, 3) courses that will be completed after the application is submitted, and 4) courses of a non-academic nature. If applicants have previously been denied admission to Berkeley on the basis of their English language proficiency, they must submit new test scores that meet the current minimum from one of the standardized tests.
• GRE or GMAT:  The GRE/GMAT is optional for prospective students who meet the following criteria:

Have earned or will earn a Ph.D. degree before starting the program.

Have earned a four-year bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university in the U.S. with a GPA of 3.70 or higher. Please note that an undergraduate degree from an institution outside of the U.S. is not eligible.

Degrees from undergraduate institutions that do not grade on a 4.0 scale are not eligible. (GPAs cannot be rounded up to meet the minimum 3.70).

Applicants who are applying prior to the completion of their undergraduate degree must have earned the required GPA at the time of application to be eligible. Applicants must maintain the required minimum GPA through the completion of their undergraduate degree.

If you meet the above criteria but would still like to submit a GRE or GMAT score, you may do so and the admissions committee will consider it along with the rest of your application materials. Additionally, while a test score is not required to submit an application, the admissions committee reserves the right to ask for a valid GMAT or GRE score to further assess an applicant's candidacy for admission. 

Where to Apply

Please visit the departmental website at  mfe.haas.berkeley.edu  for application information.

Master's Degree Requirements

Unit requirements: 28 units, research resources, mfe data lab.

Dedicated lab that includes the following resources:  Bloomberg terminals (4), Access to FactSet, DataStream, Thompson Reuters, High Frequency trading server with NYSE TAQ, NASDAQ TotalView-ITCH, and ICAP EBS currency data; Software: SPSS, Mathematica, SAS, Visual Studio, EViews, RStudio, Anaconda, R, OneTick, kdb+, Rotman Interactive Trader, Numerix Bloomberg Edition, ETNA Trader, Kensho, and WRDS.  Access to high-performance research cluster is available for individuals and for group scenarios. 

Research Lab Manager

Dedicated staff member assists students with lab and technical needs.  Depending on project needs, the lab manager provides appropriate resources for high-performance computing.

Business and Economics Library at the Haas School of Business

Access to Financial Times, Wall Street Journal, and all library resources.

Professional Development Activities

1. Extensive assistance with placement in internship and full-time positions.

2. Workshops on job search skills, e.g., cover letter/resume writing and interviewing.

3. Financial Practice Seminars with professionals who discuss career paths available and industry needs. Workshops on relevant skills, e.g., programming languages.

For more information, visit the departmental website at mfe.haas.berkeley.edu .

Note: Not all courses are offered every year.

MFE 230A Investments and Derivatives 2 or 3 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2015, Spring 2013, Fall 2007 The course discusses the basic theories of asset pricing. It begins with the standard discounted cash flow analysis, and generalizes this approach to develop the No Arbitrage Pricing Technique for security valuation. Topics will be fixed income securities, derivatives, contingent claims, basic principles of optimal portfolio theory, models of equilibrium asset pricing, including CAPM and related Factor Models. Investments and Derivatives: Read More [+]

Hours & Format

Fall and/or spring: 8 weeks - 4-6 hours of lecture per week

Summer: 8 weeks - 4-6 hours of lecture per week

Additional Format: Four hours of lecture per week for eight weeks.

Additional Details

Subject/Course Level: Masters in Financial Engineering/Graduate

Grading: Letter grade.

Investments and Derivatives: Read Less [-]

MFE 230D Derivatives: Quantitative Methods 2 Units

Terms offered: Summer 2008 10 Week Session, Fall 2007, Summer 2007 10 Week Session This course emphasizes the pricing of derivatives in continuous time, from the formulation of the pricing problem to the implementation of computational and numerical solution techniques. Derivatives: Quantitative Methods: Read More [+]

Rules & Requirements

Prerequisites: 230A-230B

Fall and/or spring: 8 weeks - 4 hours of lecture and 4 hours of lecture per week

Summer: 10 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week

Additional Format: Four hours of lecture per week for eight weeks. Four hours of lecture per week for eight weeks.

Derivatives: Quantitative Methods: Read Less [-]

MFE 230E Empirical Methods in Finance 2 or 3 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2020, Spring 2019, Spring 2018 This course reviews probability and statistical techniques commonly used in quantitative finance. It includes a review of normal, lognormal, CEV distribution, estimation and nonparametric techniques commonly used in finance (MLE, GMM, GARCH). Students will be introduced to financial databases and estimation application software to estimate volatilities and correlations and their stability. Empirical Methods in Finance: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: Business Administration 230A-230B

Fall and/or spring: 8 weeks - 4-6 hours of lecture and 1-1 hours of discussion per week

Summer: 8 weeks - 4-6 hours of lecture and 1-1 hours of discussion per week

Additional Format: Six hours of lecture per week for eight weeks.

Empirical Methods in Finance: Read Less [-]

MFE 230G Equity and Currency Markets 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2015, Fall 2012, Fall 2006 This course reviews various aspects of equity and currency markets and their relative importance. It provides models of and historical evidence on the average returns and volatility of returns on equities, on the trade-to-trade equity price behavior, on trading volume and patterns, and primary financial risks. Determination of spot and forward rates and volatility, volume, high frequency dynamics and dealer behavior are examined. Equity and Currency Markets: Read More [+]

Summer: 7.5 weeks - 4 hours of lecture and 4 hours of lecture per week

Additional Format: Four hours of Lecture and Four hours of Lecture per week for 7.5 weeks.

Formerly known as: Business Administration 230G

Equity and Currency Markets: Read Less [-]

MFE 230GA Equity Markets 1 Unit

Terms offered: Prior to 2007 This course will cover active equity portfolio management including the more general quantitative theory of active management. We will view active management as an optimization problem trading off expected returns against risk and the cost of trading. Modules will cover forecasting returns, risk, and cost. We will also cover how to research active strategies and the analytics that support the enterprise. We will discuss various categories of active equity strategies and provide an introduction to current approaches. Equity Markets: Read More [+]

Credit Restrictions: Students will receive no credit for MFE 230GA after completing MFE 230G . A deficient grade in MFE 230GA may be removed by taking MFE 230G .

Fall and/or spring: 3 weeks - 6 hours of lecture per week

Additional Format: Six hours of lecture per week for three weeks.

Equity Markets: Read Less [-]

MFE 230GB Currency Markets 1 Unit

Terms offered: Prior to 2007 This course is dedicated to currency markets: market organization, determination of spot and forward rates, and links to international finance more broadly. Topics include: The FX market: organization, players, and instruments, FX arrangements and capital controls, Different approaches to exchange rate determination/forecasting, Conventional and unconventional monetary policy and exchange rate, Dominant currency paradigm/ dollar safety and FX Markets in the Post-COVID era. Currency Markets: Read More [+]

Credit Restrictions: Students will receive no credit for MFE 230GB after completing MFE 230G . A deficient grade in MFE 230GB may be removed by taking MFE 230G .

Currency Markets: Read Less [-]

MFE 230H Financial Risk Measurement and Management 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2015, Fall 2012, Fall 2008 This course examines risk measurement and management including market risk, credit risk, liquidity risk, settlement risk, volatility risk, kurtosis risk and other types of financial risks. Topics will include risk management techniques for different types of contracts and portfolios such as duration, portfolio beta, factor sensitivities, VAR, dynamic portfolio analysis and extreme value analysis and other risk management techniques. Financial Risk Measurement and Management: Read More [+]

Formerly known as: Business Administration 230H

Financial Risk Measurement and Management: Read Less [-]

MFE 230I Fixed Income Markets 2 or 3 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2007, Summer 2007 10 Week Session, Summer 2006 10 Week Session This course provides a quantitative approach to fixed income securities and bond portfolio management. Topics include fixed income security markets, pricing and uses for portfolio management or for hedging interest rate risk, bond mathematics, term structure measurement and theory, immunization techniques, and the modern theory of bond pricing, and derivative instruments. Fixed Income Markets: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: 230D

Fall and/or spring: 8 weeks - 3-4 hours of lecture per week

Summer: 8 weeks - 3-4 hours of lecture per week

Additional Format: Three or four hours of lecture per week for eight weeks.

Fixed Income Markets: Read Less [-]

MFE 230J Financial Innovation with Data Science Applications 1 - 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2015, Fall 2008, Fall 2006 This course will stress financial innovation in the traditional financial markets, and innovation opportunities in the newer disciplines of long and short term economic markets. Some examples of the later include livelihood insurance, home-equity insurance, inequality insurance, intergenerational social security, international agreements, and individual pension investment strategies. Financial Innovation with Data Science Applications: Read More [+]

Fall and/or spring: 10 weeks - 1-3 hours of lecture per week

Summer: 8 weeks - 2-6 hours of lecture per week

Additional Format: Two hours of lecture per week for seven and one-half weeks.

Financial Innovation with Data Science Applications: Read Less [-]

MFE 230K Dynamic Asset Management 2 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2015, Spring 2010, Spring 2009 This course reviews portfolio theory and pricing models. It includes: risk models for international portfolio returns, models of optimal allocation of funds, exchange rate uncertainty and criteria for judging the performance of managers and models; different types of portfolios/instruments, different types of applications, and strategies to achieve various investment objectives. Dynamic Asset Management: Read More [+]

Formerly known as: Business Administration 230K

Dynamic Asset Management: Read Less [-]

MFE 230M Asset-Backed Security Markets 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2015, Spring 2015, Spring 2010 This course extends the study of fixed income securities to advanced topics on mortage and other asset-backed securities. Topics will include basic mechanics of structuring deals for mortgage-related securities, credit cards, leases, and other debt markets and the risk management techniques employed in the securitization process for these assets. The valuation of pooled assets and derivative bonds using Monte Carlo and option pricing techniques , and trading strategies are also evaluated. Asset-Backed Security Markets: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: Business Administration 230D and 230I

Formerly known as: Business Administration 230M

Asset-Backed Security Markets: Read Less [-]

MFE 230N Applied Finance Project 0.0 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2015, Fall 2012, Fall 2008 Students will be required to complete an applied quantitative finance project that explores a quantitative finance problem that might be met in practice and involves the development or use of quantitative financial technique. Applied Finance Project: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: Participation requires prior approval of the supervising faculty

Summer: 7.5 weeks - 6 hours of lecture and 6 hours of lecture per week

Additional Format: Independent study. Independent study. Independent study.

Grading: Letter grade. This is part one of a year long series course. A provisional grade of IP (in progress) will be applied and later replaced with the final grade after completing part two of the series.

Formerly known as: Business Administration 230N-230O

Applied Finance Project: Read Less [-]

MFE 230O Applied Finance Project 1 - 3 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2015, Spring 2010, Spring 2009 Students will be required to complete an applied quantitative finance project that explores a quantitative finance problem that might be met in practice and involves the development or use of quantitative financial technique. Applied Finance Project: Read More [+]

Grading: Letter grade. This is part two of a year long series course. Upon completion, the final grade will be applied to both parts of the series.

MFE 230P Financial Data Science 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2015 This course proposes a guided tour through optimization models arising in practical finance. These problems include ones that are traditionally associated with optimization, including asset and liability management, asset pricing, and portfolio optimization. We also describe optimization models arising in model calibration, predication and estimation, and risk analysis. The course includes some recent approaches to the analysis of other kinds of financial data, such as text (financial news) data. Financial Data Science: Read More [+]

Summer: 6 weeks - 5 hours of lecture and 5 hours of lecture per week

Additional Format: Five hours of Lecture and Five hours of Lecture per week for 6 weeks.

Financial Data Science: Read Less [-]

MFE 230Q Stochastic Calculus with Asset Pricing Applications 2 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2018, Spring 2015, Fall 2007 The course introduces the students to techniques from stochastic analysis employed in mathematical finance. Topics include: stochastic processes, brownian motion, stochastic integral, differentials and Ito's formula; martingales. Stochastic Calculus with Asset Pricing Applications: Read More [+]

Summer: 8 weeks - 4 hours of lecture per week

Additional Format: Four hours of lecture per week for eight weeks. Four hours of lecture per week for eight weeks. Four hours of lecture per week for eight weeks.

Stochastic Calculus with Asset Pricing Applications: Read Less [-]

MFE 230R Advanced Computational Finance 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2008, Fall 2006, Fall 2005 This course builds on the techniques learned in 230D, Quantitative Methods for Derivative Pricing. The focus is to gain a deeper analysis of numerical and computational issues in pricing and calibration. The orientation of the course is hands-on, with heavy use of computational techniques applied to case projects. The primary objective of this course is to prepare students to tackle the latest challenges in quantitative pricing that they are likely to encounter in cutting-edge financial institutions. Advanced Computational Finance: Read More [+]

Summer: 8 weeks - 2-4 hours of lecture and 2-4 hours of lecture per week

Additional Format: Two to four hours of lecture per week for eight weeks. Two to four hours of lecture per week for eight weeks. Two to four hours of lecture per week for eight weeks. Two to four hours of lecture per week for eight weeks.

Advanced Computational Finance: Read Less [-]

MFE 230S Behavioral Finance 1 or 2 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2020, Spring 2019, Spring 2018 Over the last 25 years, psychologists have come to better understand the processes by which people make judgements and decisions. They have identified common judgement and decision heuristics and the biases associated with these. An understanding of one's own decision biases and those of others is an important tool for managers. Behavioral Decision Theory has also contributed to our understanding of financial markets. This course will discuss the common biases and heuristics. Behavioral Finance: Read More [+]

Fall and/or spring: 8 weeks - 4 hours of lecture, 4 hours of lecture, 1 hour of discussion, and 1 hour of discussion per week

Additional Format: Four hours of Lecture, Four hours of Lecture, One hour of Discussion, and One hour of Discussion per week for 8 weeks.

Behavioral Finance: Read Less [-]

MFE 230T Topics in Financial Engineering 1 - 5 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2015, Summer 2013 10 Week Session, Fall 2012 Advanced study in the field of finance engineering that will address current and emerging issues. Topics will vary with each offering and will be announced at the beginning of each term. Topics in Financial Engineering: Read More [+]

Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes.

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 1-6 hours of lecture per week

Summer: 8 weeks - 2-12 hours of lecture per week

Additional Format: Two to ten hours of lecture per week for eight weeks. Two to ten hours of lecture per week for eight weeks. Two to ten hours of lecture per week for eight weeks. Two to ten hours of lecture per week for eight weeks.

Grading: The grading option will be decided by the instructor when the class is offered.

Topics in Financial Engineering: Read Less [-]

MFE 230V Credit Risk Modeling 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2008, Fall 2005, Fall 2004 Focuses on the techniques currently used to model credit risk. The course will cover default probabilities, loss given default, correlation, credit portfolio analytics, bond valuation, loan valuation, and credit derivative valuation. Emphasis will be placed on model building, model validation, and interpreting model output. Students will be required to do some high-level programming in a package such as Matlab. Some empirical testing exercises will also be part of the project work. Credit Risk Modeling: Read More [+]

Summer: 8 weeks - 4 hours of lecture and 4 hours of lecture per week

Credit Risk Modeling: Read Less [-]

MFE 230VA Credit Risk: Economic Concepts 1 Unit

Terms offered: Spring 2010, Summer 2006 10 Week Session Introduction to credit risk modeling and conceptual overview of current techniques. Covers default probabilities, loss given default, correlation, credit portfolio analytics, bond valuation, loan valuation, and credit derivative valuation. Prepares students who are interested in a second course that will focus on model building. Students not interested in the technical details of modeling but who desire an understanding of how credit risk modeling is used in practice will benefit from taking this course. Credit Risk: Economic Concepts: Read More [+]

Fall and/or spring: 6 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 3 hours of lecture per week

Additional Format: Four hours of Lecture per week for 8 weeks. Three hours of Lecture and Three hours of Lecture per week for 6 weeks.

Credit Risk: Economic Concepts: Read Less [-]

MFE 230VB Credit Risk: Quantitative Modeling 1 Unit

Terms offered: Fall 2006 Focuses on the techniques currently used to model credit risk. The course will cover default probabilities, loss given default, correlation, credit portfolio analytics, bond valuation, loan valuation, and credit derivative valuation. Emphasis will be placed on model building, model validation, and interpreting model output. Students will be required to do some high-level programming in a package such as MATLAB. Some empirical testing exercises will also be part of the project work. Credit Risk: Quantitative Modeling: Read More [+]

Summer: 6 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 3 hours of lecture per week

Additional Format: Three hours of Lecture and Three hours of Lecture per week for 6 weeks.

Credit Risk: Quantitative Modeling: Read Less [-]

MFE 230W Accounting and Taxation of Derivatives 1 Unit

Terms offered: Fall 2007, Summer 2007 10 Week Session, Summer 2006 10 Week Session This course provides a framework to allow students the understanding of the accounting and tax issues related to derivatives and hedging. It also fulfills the needs of students seeking jobs in the corporate sector and/or seeking securities-structuring assignments in the financial services sector. A basic understanding of financial accounting is required. Accounting and Taxation of Derivatives: Read More [+]

Summer: 8 weeks - 2.5 hours of lecture and 2.5 hours of lecture per week

Additional Format: Two and one-half hours of Lecture and Two and one-half hours of Lecture per week for 8 weeks.

Accounting and Taxation of Derivatives: Read Less [-]

MFE 230X High Frequency Finance 1 or 2 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2015 This course introduces basic concepts of high frequency finance and discusses recent developments in market microstructure, electronic trading, and high frequency data modeling. Topics include trading basics and price discovery, distributional properties of financial time series, tick data analysis, trade direction algorithms, trading benchmarks, sources of risk, and trading strategies (including back-testing challenges, benchmark and hedging strategies, and arbitrage and program trading). High Frequency Finance: Read More [+]

Fall and/or spring: 10 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week

Additional Format: Three hours of lecture per week per unit. Three hours of lecture per week per unit. Three hours of lecture per week per unit. Three hours of lecture per week per unit.

High Frequency Finance: Read Less [-]

MFE 230Y Ethics and Regulation in Financial Markets 1 Unit

Terms offered: Prior to 2007 This course is an introduction to the legal rules which govern financial markets and institutions in general but also, specifically related to derivatives. The main purpose of legal rules and regulations is to ensure a smooth functioning of financial markets, as well as the safety and soundness of the overall financial system. We will examine the main areas of law and regulation, as they pertain to the centralized exchanges and the over the counter markets and the role of regulatory arbitrage. We will specifically focus on Dodd-Frank and Basel III and how these rules came about as a response to the financial crisis. We will also explore the role of ethics in filling in the gaps that the law fails to fill. Ethics and Regulation in Financial Markets: Read More [+]

Fall and/or spring: 6 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week

Summer: 6 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week

Ethics and Regulation in Financial Markets: Read Less [-]

MFE 230ZA Deep Learning and Applications I 1 Unit

Terms offered: Prior to 2007 Topics include supervised, unsupervised, and reinforcement learning industry tools to develop machine learning systems. Data collection and processing (APIs, web scraping, and Hadoop, MapReduce, Spark), multilayer perceptron (deep neural nets, training deep neural nets, convolutional, neural networks, recurring neural networks, Word2Vec). The course will end with a session on solving practical problems with deep learning. Deep Learning and Applications I: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: MFE 230P or equivalent

Fall and/or spring: 4 weeks - 4 hours of lecture per week

Additional Format: Four hours of lecture per week for four weeks.

Deep Learning and Applications I: Read Less [-]

MFE 230ZB Deep Learning and Applications II 1 Unit

Terms offered: Prior to 2007 Topics include spectral representation, long memory processes “shallow models”: ARMA, filter banks, SVR/SVM, random forests and Probabilistic graphical networks; deep models: RNNs and CNNs for sequential modeling, attention networks deep learning frameworks, basic models and causal loss functions for financial time-series prediction. Distributed representations of discrete entities and applications in Natural Language Processing data and model fusion strategies , irregular time series low cost modeling strategies (model compression, cascades and low rank modeling). Deep Learning and Applications II: Read More [+]

Deep Learning and Applications II: Read Less [-]

MFE W230A Investments and Derivatives 2 - 3 Units

Terms offered: Prior to 2007 The course discusses the basic theories of asset pricing. It begins with the standard discounted cash flow analysis, and generalizes this approach to develop the No Arbitrage Pricing Technique for security valuation. Topics will be fixed income securities, derivatives, contingent claims, basic principles of optimal portfolio theory, models of equilibrium asset pricing, including CAPM and related Factor Models. Investments and Derivatives: Read More [+]

Credit Restrictions: Students will receive no credit for MFE W230A after completing MFE 230A . A deficient grade in MFE W230A may be removed by taking MFE 230A .

Fall and/or spring: 8 weeks - 4-6 hours of web-based lecture per week

Summer: 8 weeks - 4-6 hours of web-based lecture per week

Additional Format: Four to six hours of web-based lecture per week for 8 weeks. Four to six hours of web-based lecture per week for 8 weeks.

Online: This is an online course.

MFE W230D Derivatives: Quantitative Methods 2 Units

Terms offered: Prior to 2007 This course emphasizes the pricing of derivatives in continuous time, from the formulation of the pricing problem to the implementation of computational and numerical solution techniques. Derivatives: Quantitative Methods: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: MFE 230A , MFA 230E, MFE 230Q . Co-requisite MFE 230I

Credit Restrictions: Students will receive no credit for MFE W230D after completing MFE 230D . A deficient grade in MFE W230D may be removed by taking MFE 230D .

Fall and/or spring: 8 weeks - 4 hours of web-based lecture per week

Summer: 10 weeks - 3 hours of web-based lecture per week

MFE W230E Empirical Methods in Finance 2 - 3 Units

Terms offered: Prior to 2007 This course reviews probability and statistical techniques commonly used in quantitative finance. It includes a review of normal, lognormal, CEV distribution, estimation and nonparametric techniques commonly used in finance (MLE, GMM, GARCH). Students will be introduced to financial databases and estimation application software to estimate volatilities and correlations and their stability. Empirical Methods in Finance: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: MFE 230A -230B

Credit Restrictions: Students will receive no credit for MFE W230E after completing MFE 230E . A deficient grade in MFE W230E may be removed by taking MFE 230E .

Fall and/or spring: 8 weeks - 4-6 hours of web-based lecture and 1-2 hours of web-based discussion per week

Summer: 8 weeks - 4-6 hours of web-based lecture and 1-2 hours of web-based discussion per week

Additional Format: One to two hours of web-based discussion and four to six hours of web-based lecture per week for 8 weeks. One to two hours of web-based discussion and four to six hours of web-based lecture per week for 8 weeks.

MFE W230G Equity and Currency Markets 2 Units

Terms offered: Prior to 2007 This course reviews various aspects of equity and currency markets and their relative importance. It provides models of and historical evidence on the average returns and volatility of returns on equities, on the trade-to-trade equity price behavior, on trading volume and patterns, and primary financial risks. Determination of spot and forward rates and volatility, volume, high frequency dynamics and dealer behavior are examined. Equity and Currency Markets: Read More [+]

Credit Restrictions: Students will receive no credit for MFE W230G after completing MFE 230G . A deficient grade in MFE W230G may be removed by taking MFE 230G .

Fall and/or spring: 7 weeks - 4 hours of web-based lecture per week

Summer: 7 weeks - 4 hours of web-based lecture per week

Additional Format: Four hours of web-based lecture per week for seven weeks. Four hours of web-based lecture per week for seven weeks.

MFE W230H Financial Risk Measurement and Management 2 Units

Terms offered: Prior to 2007 This course examines risk measurement and management including market risk, credit risk, liquidity risk, settlement risk, volatility risk, kurtosis risk and other types of financial risks. Topics will include risk management techniques for different types of contracts and portfolios such as duration, portfolio beta, factor sensitivities, VAR, dynamic portfolio analysis and extreme value analysis and other risk management techniques. Financial Risk Measurement and Management: Read More [+]

Credit Restrictions: Students will receive no credit for MFE W230H after completing MFE 230H . A deficient grade in MFE W230H may be removed by taking MFE 230H .

Fall and/or spring: 7 weeks - 4 hours of web-based lecture per week 7 weeks - 4 hours of web-based lecture per week

MFE W230I Fixed Income Markets 2 - 3 Units

Terms offered: Prior to 2007 This course provides a quantitative approach to fixed income securities and bond portfolio management. Topics include fixed income security markets, pricing and uses for portfolio management or for hedging interest rate risk, bond mathematics, term structure measurement and theory, immunization techniques, and the modern theory of bond pricing, and derivative instruments. Fixed Income Markets: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: MFE 230D or MFE W230D

Credit Restrictions: Students will receive no credit for MFE W230I after completing MFE 230I . A deficient grade in MFE W230I may be removed by taking MFE 230I .

MFE W230J Financial Innovation with Data Science Applications 1 - 2 Units

Terms offered: Prior to 2007 This course will stress financial innovation in the traditional financial markets, and innovation opportunities in the newer disciplines of long and short term economic markets. Some examples of the later include livelihood insurance, home-equity insurance, inequality insurance, intergenerational social security, international agreements, and individual pension investment strategies. Financial Innovation with Data Science Applications: Read More [+]

Credit Restrictions: Students will receive no credit for MFE W230J after completing MFE 230J . A deficient grade in MFE W230J may be removed by taking MFE 230J .

Fall and/or spring: 7 weeks - 2-6 hours of web-based lecture per week

Summer: 7 weeks - 2-6 hours of web-based lecture per week

MFE W230K Dynamic Asset Management 2 Units

Terms offered: Prior to 2007 This course reviews portfolio theory and pricing models. It includes: risk models for international portfolio returns, models of optimal allocation of funds, exchange rate uncertainty and criteria for judging the performance of managers and models; different types of portfolios/instruments, different types of applications, and strategies to achieve various investment objectives. Dynamic Asset Management: Read More [+]

Credit Restrictions: Students will receive no credit for MFE W230K after completing MFE 230K . A deficient grade in MFE W230K may be removed by taking MFE 230K .

Additional Format: Four hours of web-based lecture per week for seven weeks.

MFE W230M Asset-Backed Security Markets 2 Units

Terms offered: Prior to 2007 This course extends the study of fixed income securities to advanced topics on mortage and other asset-backed securities. Topics will include basic mechanics of structuring deals for mortgage-related securities, credit cards, leases, and other debt markets and the risk management techniques employed in the securitization process for these assets. The valuation of pooled assets and derivative bonds using Monte Carlo and option pricing techniques, and trading strategies are also evaluated. Asset-Backed Security Markets: Read More [+]

Credit Restrictions: Students will receive no credit for MFE W230M after completing MFE 230M . A deficient grade in MFE W230M may be removed by taking MFE 230M .

Fall and/or spring: 7.5 weeks - 4 hours of lecture per week

Additional Format: Four hours of lecture per week for seven and one-half weeks.

MFE W230O Applied Finance Project 1 - 3 Units

Terms offered: Prior to 2007 Students will be required to complete an applied quantitative finance project that explores a quantitative finance problem that might be met in practice and involves the development or use of quantitative financial technique. Applied Finance Project: Read More [+]

Credit Restrictions: Students will receive no credit for MFE W230O after completing MFE 230O . A deficient grade in MFE W230O may be removed by taking MFE 230O .

Fall and/or spring: 7 weeks - 3-6 hours of web-based lecture per week

Summer: 7 weeks - 3-6 hours of web-based lecture per week

MFE W230P Financial Data Science 2 Units

Terms offered: Prior to 2007 This course proposes a guided tour through optimization models arising in practical finance. These problems include ones that are traditionally associated with optimization, including asset and liability management, asset pricing, and portfolio optimization. We also describe optimization models arising in model calibration, predication and estimation, and risk analysis. The course includes some recent approaches to the analysis of other kinds of financial data, such as text (financial news) data. Financial Data Science: Read More [+]

Credit Restrictions: Students will receive no credit for MFE W230P after completing MFE 230P . A deficient grade in MFE W230P may be removed by taking MFE 230P .

Summer: 5 weeks - 6 hours of web-based lecture per week

Additional Format: Six hours of web-based lecture per week for five weeks.

MFE W230Q Stochastic Calculus with Asset Pricing Applications 2 Units

Terms offered: Prior to 2007 The course introduces the students to techniques from stochastic analysis employed in mathematical finance. Topics include: stochastic processes, brownian motion, stochastic integral, differentials and Ito's formula; martingales. Stochastic Calculus with Asset Pricing Applications: Read More [+]

Credit Restrictions: Students will receive no credit for MFE W230Q after completing MFE 230Q . A deficient grade in MFE W230Q may be removed by taking MFE 230Q .

Summer: 8 weeks - 4 hours of web-based lecture per week

MFE W230S Behavioral Finance 1 - 2 Units

Terms offered: Prior to 2007 Over the last 25 years, psychologists have come to better understand the processes by which people make judgements and decisions. They have identified common judgement and decision heuristics and the biases associated with these. An understanding of one's own decision biases and those of others is an important tool for managers. Behavioral Decision Theory has also contributed to our understanding of financial markets. This course will discuss the common biases and heuristics. Behavioral Finance: Read More [+]

Credit Restrictions: Students will receive no credit for MFE W230S after completing MFE 230S . A deficient grade in MFE W230S may be removed by taking MFE 230S .

Fall and/or spring: 8 weeks - 2-4 hours of web-based lecture and 1-1 hours of web-based discussion per week

Additional Format: One hour of web-based discussion and two to four hours of web-based lecture per week for 8 weeks.

MFE W230X High Frequency Finance 1 - 2 Units

Terms offered: Prior to 2007 This course introduces basic concepts of high frequency finance and discusses recent developments in market microstructure, electronic trading, and high frequency data modeling. Topics include trading basics and price discovery, distributional properties of financial time series, tick data analysis, trade direction algorithms, trading benchmarks, sources of risk, and trading strategies (including back-testing challenges, benchmark and hedging strategies, and arbitrage and program trading). High Frequency Finance: Read More [+]

Credit Restrictions: Students will receive no credit for MFE W230X after completing MFE 230X . A deficient grade in MFE W230X may be removed by taking MFE 230X .

Fall and/or spring: 10 weeks - 3-6 hours of web-based lecture per week

MFE 293 Individually Supervised Study for Graduate Students 1 - 5 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2015, Spring 2015, Fall 2012 Individually supervised study of subjects not available to students in the regular schedule, approved by faculty adviser as appropriate for the students' programs. Individually Supervised Study for Graduate Students: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: Graduate standing

Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit without restriction.

Summer: 8 weeks - 1-5 hours of independent study and 1-5 hours of independent study per week

Additional Format: One to Five hour of Independent study and One to Five hour of Independent study per week for 8 weeks.

Individually Supervised Study for Graduate Students: Read Less [-]

Contact Information

Haas School of Business

Phone: 510-642-4417

Program Director

Jacob Gallice

Berkeley-Haas MFE

[email protected]

Graduate Student Affairs Officer

Sonia Moctezuma

Print Options

When you print this page, you are actually printing everything within the tabs on the page you are on: this may include all the Related Courses and Faculty, in addition to the Requirements or Overview. If you just want to print information on specific tabs, you're better off downloading a PDF of the page, opening it, and then selecting the pages you really want to print.

The PDF will include all information unique to this page.

• Skip to Content
• Bulletin Home

• This Is MIT >
• Research and Study >

Laboratory for Financial Engineering

• Around Campus
• Academic Program
• Administration
• Arts at MIT
• Campus Media
• Fraternities, Sororities, and Independent Living Groups
• Medical Services
• Priscilla King Gray Public Service Center
• Religious Organizations
• Student Government
• Work/​Life and Family Resources
• Advising and Support
• Digital Learning
• Disability and Access Services
• Information Systems and Technology
• Student Financial Services
• Writing and Communication Center
• Major Course of Study
• General Institute Requirements
• Independent Activites Period
• Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program
• First-​Year Advising Seminars
• Interphase EDGE/​x
• Edgerton Center
• Grading Options
• Study at Other Universities
• Internships Abroad
• Career Advising and Professional Development
• Teacher Licensure and Education
• ROTC Programs
• Financial Aid
• Medical Requirements
• Graduate Study at MIT
• General Degree Requirements
• Other Institutions
• Registration
• Term Regulations and Examination Policies
• Academic Performance and Grades
• Policies and Procedures
• Privacy of Student Records
• Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab
• Art, Culture, and Technology Program
• Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard
• Center for Archaeological Materials
• Center for Bits and Atoms
• Center for Clinical and Translational Research
• Center for Collective Intelligence
• Center for Computational Science and Engineering
• Center for Constructive Communication
• Center for Energy and Environmental Policy Research
• Center for Environmental Health Sciences
• Center for Global Change Science
• Center for International Studies
• Center for Real Estate
• Center for Transportation &​ Logistics
• Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory
• Concrete Sustainability Hub
• D-​Lab
• Deshpande Center for Technological Innovation
• Division of Comparative Medicine
• Haystack Observatory
• Initiative on the Digital Economy
• Institute for Medical Engineering and Science
• Institute for Soldier Nanotechnologies
• Institute for Work and Employment Research
• Internet Policy Research Initiative
• Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change
• Knight Science Journalism Program
• Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research
• Laboratory for Information and Decision Systems
• Laboratory for Manufacturing and Productivity
• Laboratory for Nuclear Science
• Legatum Center for Development and Entrepreneurship
• Lincoln Laboratory
• Martin Trust Center for MIT Entrepreneurship
• Materials Research Laboratory
• McGovern Institute for Brain Research
• Microsystems Technology Laboratories
• MIT Center for Art, Science &​ Technology
• MIT Energy Initiative
• MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative
• MIT Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research
• MIT Media Lab
• MIT Office of Innovation
• MIT Open Learning
• MIT Portugal Program
• MIT Professional Education
• MIT Sea Grant College Program
• Nuclear Reactor Laboratory
• Operations Research Center
• Picower Institute for Learning and Memory
• Plasma Science and Fusion Center
• Research Laboratory of Electronics
• Simons Center for the Social Brain
• Singapore-​MIT Alliance for Research and Technology Centre
• Sociotechnical Systems Research Center
• Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research
• Women's and Gender Studies Program
• Architecture (Course 4)
• Art and Design (Course 4-​B)
• Art, Culture, and Technology (SM)
• Media Arts and Sciences
• Planning (Course 11)
• Urban Science and Planning with Computer Science (Course 11-​6)
• Aerospace Engineering (Course 16)
• Engineering (Course 16-​ENG)
• Biological Engineering (Course 20)
• Chemical Engineering (Course 10)
• Chemical-​Biological Engineering (Course 10-​B)
• Chemical Engineering (Course 10-​C)
• Engineering (Course 10-​ENG)
• Engineering (Course 1-​ENG)
• Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (Course 6-​2)
• Electrical Science and Engineering (Course 6-​1)
• Computation and Cognition (Course 6-​9)
• Computer Science and Engineering (Course 6-​3)
• Computer Science and Molecular Biology (Course 6-​7)
• Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (MEng)
• Computer Science and Molecular Biology (MEng)
• Health Sciences and Technology
• Archaeology and Materials (Course 3-​C)
• Materials Science and Engineering (Course 3)
• Materials Science and Engineering (Course 3-​A)
• Materials Science and Engineering (PhD)
• Mechanical Engineering (Course 2)
• Mechanical and Ocean Engineering (Course 2-​OE)
• Engineering (Course 2-​A)
• Nuclear Science and Engineering (Course 22)
• Engineering (Course 22-​ENG)
• Anthropology (Course 21A)
• Comparative Media Studies (CMS)
• Writing (Course 21W)
• Economics (Course 14-​1)
• Mathematical Economics (Course 14-​2)
• Data, Economics, and Design of Policy (MASc)
• Economics (PhD)
• Global Studies and Languages (Course 21G)
• History (Course 21H)
• Linguistics and Philosophy (Course 24-​2)
• Philosophy (Course 24-​1)
• Linguistics (SM)
• Literature (Course 21L)
• Music (Course 21M-​1)
• Theater Arts (Course 21M-​2)
• Political Science (Course 17)
• Science, Technology, and Society/​Second Major (STS)
• Business Analytics (Course 15-​2)
• Finance (Course 15-​3)
• Management (Course 15-​1)
• Biology (Course 7)
• Chemistry and Biology (Course 5-​7)
• Brain and Cognitive Sciences (Course 9)
• Chemistry (Course 5)
• Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences (Course 12)
• Mathematics (Course 18)
• Mathematics with Computer Science (Course 18-​C)
• Physics (Course 8)
• Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
• Institute for Data, Systems, and Society
• Chemistry and Biology
• Climate System Science and Engineering
• Computation and Cognition
• Computer Science and Molecular Biology
• Computer Science, Economics, and Data Science
• Humanities and Engineering
• Humanities and Science
• Urban Science and Planning with Computer Science
• African and African Diaspora Studies
• American Studies
• Ancient and Medieval Studies
• Applied International Studies
• Asian and Asian Diaspora Studies
• Biomedical Engineering
• Energy Studies
• Entrepreneurship and Innovation
• Environment and Sustainability
• Latin American and Latino/​a Studies
• Middle Eastern Studies
• Polymers and Soft Matter
• Public Policy
• Russian and Eurasian Studies
• Statistics and Data Science
• Women's and Gender Studies
• Advanced Urbanism
• Computational and Systems Biology
• Computational Science and Engineering
• Design and Management (IDM &​ SDM)
• Joint Program with Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
• Leaders for Global Operations
• Microbiology
• Music Technology and Computation
• Operations Research
• Real Estate Development
• Social and Engineering Systems
• Supply Chain Management
• Technology and Policy
• Transportation
• School of Architecture and Planning
• School of Engineering
• Aeronautics and Astronautics Fields (PhD)
• Artificial Intelligence and Decision Making (Course 6-​4)
• Biological Engineering (PhD)
• Nuclear Science and Engineering (PhD)
• School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences
• Humanities (Course 21)
• Humanities and Engineering (Course 21E)
• Humanities and Science (Course 21S)
• Sloan School of Management
• School of Science
• Brain and Cognitive Sciences (PhD)
• Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences Fields (PhD)
• Interdisciplinary Programs (SB)
• Climate System Science and Engineering (Course 1-​12)
• Computer Science, Economics, and Data Science (Course 6-​14)
• Interdisciplinary Programs (Graduate)
• Computation and Cognition (MEng)
• Computational Science and Engineering (SM)
• Computational Science and Engineering (PhD)
• Computer Science, Economics, and Data Science (MEng)
• Leaders for Global Operations (MBA/​SM and SM)
• Music Technology and Computation (SM and MASc)
• Real Estate Development (SM)
• Statistics (PhD)
• Supply Chain Management (MEng and MASc)
• Technology and Policy (SM)
• Transportation (SM)
• Aeronautics and Astronautics (Course 16)
• Aerospace Studies (AS)
• Civil and Environmental Engineering (Course 1)
• Comparative Media Studies /​ Writing (CMS)
• Comparative Media Studies /​ Writing (Course 21W)
• Computational and Systems Biology (CSB)
• Computational Science and Engineering (CSE)
• Concourse (CC)
• Data, Systems, and Society (IDS)
• Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences (Course 12)
• Economics (Course 14)
• Edgerton Center (EC)
• Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (Course 6)
• Engineering Management (EM)
• Experimental Study Group (ES)
• Global Languages (Course 21G)
• Health Sciences and Technology (HST)
• Linguistics and Philosophy (Course 24)
• Management (Course 15)
• Media Arts and Sciences (MAS)
• Military Science (MS)
• Music and Theater Arts (Course 21M)
• Naval Science (NS)
• Science, Technology, and Society (STS)
• Special Programs
• Supply Chain Management (SCM)
• Urban Studies and Planning (Course 11)
• Women's and Gender Studies (WGS)

The MIT Laboratory for Financial Engineering (LFE)  is a research center focused on the quantitative analysis of financial markets and institutions using mathematical, statistical, and computational models and methods. The goal of the LFE is to support and promote academic advances in financial engineering and computational finance that can be directly applied for the betterment of the world. To do that, LFE faculty, students, and staff engage with industry professionals, regulators, policymakers, and other stakeholders to develop and apply new financial technologies to practical and socially important settings.

The LFE’s research projects fall into five areas, all focused on the interplay between financial markets and society.

• Healthcare finance.  Driven by questions about how financial engineering can help cure cancer, LFE researchers are working to promote and develop new business models and financing structures for raising and deploying funds to support biomedical research and therapeutic development in a scalable and profitable manner. The work has grown beyond cancer to look at rare diseases, central nervous system disorders, vaccine programs, and other social challenges—like fusion energy and climate change—where transformative progress is only possible through public–private partnerships that combine fundamental scientific research with the right financial models and appropriate public policy.
• Foundations of financial behavior and adaptive markets. The LFE is working to understand the impact of human behavior on financial markets and policy through research that explores the psychophysiology and behavioral biases of market participants. In taking an interdisciplinary approach to understanding financial markets, the LFE aims to reconcile human behavior with the Efficient Markets Hypothesis, which serves as the basis for much of modern investment theory and practice today.
• Financial technology and artificial intelligence. Drawing upon computer science and artificial intelligence, research in this area applies techniques like machine learning and natural language processing to large datasets to develop real-world solutions to common industry challenges. As part of this research, the LFE also explores the positive and negative aspects of big data and financial technology, including privacy concerns and cybersecurity threats, and new technologies for addressing these issues.
• Asset-market dynamics. Explores quantitative models for portfolio management, trading, and asset allocation, including industry-level studies of the hedge fund industry, indexation and smart beta algorithms, and the impact of technology such as high-frequency trading on financial market dynamics.
• Risk management.  Development of new methods for measuring and managing risks of various types, including systemic risk, in the financial system. A priority is to construct and test early warning signs for instabilities, and to understand the interplay between policy and the financial industry and its impact.

Students are encouraged to participate in current research projects, which include developing evolutionary and neurobiological models of individual risk preferences and financial-market dynamics; developing new approaches to financing biomedical innovation as well as analytics to better measure the risks and rewards of therapeutic development; developing models of investor behavior; measuring illiquidity risk in hedge-fund returns; and examining the public policy implications of this research.

The LFE is a research lab for MIT faculty and students and does not offer any degree programs.

Professor Andrew W. Lo is the director of the laboratory. For further information, please  visit the LFE website or contact Jayna Cummings , 617-258-5727.

Print this page.

The PDF includes all information on this page and its related tabs. Subject (course) information includes any changes approved for the current academic year.

The Mathematical and Computational Finance Program at Stanford University (“MCF”) is one of the oldest and most established programs of its kind in the world. Starting out in the late 1990’s as an interdisciplinary financial mathematics research group, at a time when “quants” started having a greater impact on finance in particular, the program formally admitted masters students starting in 1999. The current MCF program was relaunched under the auspices of the Institute for Computational and Mathematical Engineering in the Stanford School of Engineering in 2014 to better align with changes in industry and to broaden into areas of financial technology in particular. We are excited to remain at the cutting edge of innovation in finance while carrying on our long tradition of excellence.

The MCF Program is designed to have smaller cohorts of exceptional students with diverse interests and viewpoints, and prepare them for impactful roles in finance. We are characterized by our cutting edge curriculum marrying traditional financial mathematics and core fundamentals, with an innovative technical spirit unique to Stanford with preparation in software engineering, data science and machine learning as well as the hands-on practical coursework which is the hallmark skill-set for leaders in present day finance.

The Master of Science in Financial Engineering (MSFE) provides only part of the training experts will need as they work to analyze, price, and invent the innovative products that modern personal, corporate, and global finance will demand. Training in financial engineering that can lead to creation of new knowledge in the field is appropriately achieved through the depth and breadth of study undertaken in the pursuit of the doctoral degree (PhD). 

Admission and enrollment in the doctoral program is limited to students already enrolled in the MS in Financial Engineering degree program.  Application decisions are based upon the MS in Financial Engineering application file, evaluation by the admissions committee of the student’s performance in the MS program, and a determination of the student’s potential for success in the doctoral program.  The department does not provide assessments of the likelihood of admission to the PhD in advance of the formal application. Students interested in formally applying to the doctoral program in Financial Engineering should follow the Change of Degree procedures outlined in the current Policies and General Information Bulletin.

Degree Requirements

Coursework.   A total of 72 units of coursework are required, including directed research and independent study activities.  Two advanced 300-level mathematics courses are required as electives.

Upon completion of the two written examinations, 24 units are completed in advanced coursework, independent study, and directed research in mathematics and finance.  In addition to the core MSFE courses, mathematics courses  which must be completed included the following.

• MATH 368 - Advanced Numerical Analysis or MATH 362- Numerical Partial Differential Equations
• MATH 358B - Advanced Stochastic Calculus with Financial Applications
• MATH 351 - Time Series Analysis or ECON 384 - Econometrics

Written Exams.   Students are required to successfully pass four written examinations.  The last two of these exams are taken while the student is enrolled in the last 24 units of advanced coursework described above.  The written exams cover the materials described below.

• Mathematics of finance, based upon the four MSFE core courses in mathematics
• Advanced finance, based upon the four MSFE core courses in finance
• Mathematics, based upon advanced coursework in mathematics
• Finance, based upon advanced coursework in finance

Advancement to Candidacy and Dissertation.  Upon completion of all required coursework and written examinations, students prepare for and take the oral qualifying examination. The oral qualifying examination is administered by the qualifying committee to examine the student’s preparation for research in his or her chosen area of financial engineering. Upon successful completion of the oral qualifying examination, the student is advanced to candidacy. At this time, the student forms a dissertation committee and, under the direction of the committee, carries out the research outlined in the oral qualifying examination. The completed dissertation is defended before the dissertation committee.

Satisfactory Academic Progress.  The University’s policy on satisfactory academic progress    applies.  The program expects students to complete the 48 units required for the MSFE with a grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 (B) or better.  In addition, students must maintain a minimum 3.0 GPA in all coursework to qualify for the doctoral degree. Students whose GPA falls below 3.0 or who do not make satisfactory progress toward completion of the degree are placed on academic probation and subject to dismissal from the program. Grades below B- are considered unsatisfactory, requiring of remedial action, academic probation, or dismissal from the program. 

Transdisciplinary Course Requirement.   All students who enter the doctoral program after the fall 2004 semester are required to complete the transdisciplinary course requirement within the first two years of their program. For details regarding this requirement, refer to Academic Policies - Doctoral Degree Regulations    section of the Bulletin.

University Policies. Policies detailed in the current Policies and General Information Bulletin apply.

Admission. Admission requirements are detailed in the Admissions section of the current Policies and General Information Bulletin .

Financial Engineering

Financial engineering program area.

Discover the tools of quantitative finance and financial technology (fintech) used across a wide range of institutions, from commercial banks to hedge funds. Learn the methods of asset pricing, market efficiency, arbitrage, and derivative analysis. Prepare for a career in fintech through rigorous analytic exploration and examination of financial markets, and related mechanisms, including techniques for risk assessment and management.

Key Topics: Financial markets, arbitrage-free pricing, stochastic calculus, Black-Scholes theory and extensions, derivative pricing, portfolio hedging, and complete and incomplete markets.

Area Lead: Romesh Saigal

Foundation Courses

IOE 510 Linear Programming I

Advisory Prerequisites : MATH 217, 417, or 419. (3 credits)

Formulation of problems from the private and public sectors using the mathematical model of linear programming. Development of the simplex algorithm; duality theory and economic interpretations. Post-optimality (sensitivity) analysis application and interpretations. Introduction to transportation and assignment problems; special purpose algorithms and advanced computational techniques. Students have opportunities to formulate and solve models developed from more complex case studies and to use various computer programs.

IOE 515 Stochastic Processes

Prerequisites: IOE 316 or Stats 310. (3 credits)  

Introduction to non-measure theoretic stochastic processes. Poisson processes, renewal processes, and discrete-time Markov chains. Applications in queueing systems, reliability, and inventory control.

IOE 453 Derivative Instruments

Prerequisites: IOE 201, IOE 310, IOE 366. (3 credits)

The main objectives of the course are first, to provide the students with a thorough understanding of the theory of pricing derivatives in the absence of arbitrage, and second, to develop the mathematical and numerical tools necessary to calculate derivative security prices. We begin by exploring financial markets and the implications of the absence of static arbitrage. We study, for instance, forward and futures contracts. We proceed to develop the implications of no arbitrage in dynamic trading models: the binomial and Black-Scholes models. The theory is applied to hedging and risk management.

IOE 500 IOE MS Seminar

Advisory Prerequisites: IOE master’s student or permission of instructor. (1 credit)

Seminars presented by academic speakers and industry leaders to describe contemporary applications of industrial and operations engineering models and techniques to master’s students in IOE. The focus is on applications but research challenges are addressed as needed. Many speakers also address potential career opportunities for MS students in IOE.

Suggested courses to further explore the financial engineering program area

Related courses

IOE 452 Corporate Finance

IOE 552 Financial Engineering I

IOE 553 Financial Engineering II

Math 506 Stochastic Analysis for Finance

Math 623 Computational Finance

Mathematical tools

IOE 511 Continuous Optimization

IOE 512 Dynamic Programming

IOE 516 Stochastic Processes II

IOE 565 Time Series Analysis

Math 625 (or Stat 625) Applied Probability and Stochastic Modeling

Math 626 (or Stat 626) Probability and Random Processes

Stat 500 Applied Statistics

Stat 620 Theory of Probability

Applications-oriented classes

IOE 460 Decision Analysis

IOE 517 Game Theory and Operations Applications

IOE 561 Risk Analysis I

IOE 473 Advanced Data Analytics

IOE 570 Experimental Design

EECS 492 Introduction to Artificial Intelligence

EECS 561 Machine Learning

USC and Capital One Establish New Center for Responsible AI in Finance

Housed under the usc school of advanced computing, the center aims to advance responsible ai for financial services.

The USC-Capital One Center for Responsible AI and Decision Making in Finance (CREDIF) is the first center launched under the auspices of the USC School of Advanced Computing (SAC), a unit of the USC Viterbi School of Engineering.

USC and Capital One announced today the USC-Capital One Center for Responsible AI and Decision Making in Finance (CREDIF) . Supported by a $3-million gift from Capital One, the joint research center will focus on advancing foundations for algorithmic, data and software innovations for artificial intelligence (AI) and its applications to finance.

Combining USC’s world-class research with Capital One’s domain expertise, it is the first center launched under the auspices of the USC School of Advanced Computing (SAC) , a unit of the USC Viterbi School of Engineering .

A cornerstone of USC President Carol Folt’s Frontiers of Computing “moonshot,” the SAC serves as a nexus for advanced computing research and education across the university. The center will stand as its inaugural beacon, said Gaurav Sukhatme , director of the SAC and executive vice dean of the USC Viterbi School of Engineering.

Professor Petros Ioannou will lead the new center.

“This new center is emblematic of the fast-moving and far-reaching impact of computing today,” said Sukhatme, a professor of computer science and electrical and computer engineering. “Responsible, human-centered decision making—a cornerstone of the USC School of Advanced Computing—is at its very heart.”

Home to some of the world’s leading minds in advanced computing, the center will explore how emerging technologies in AI and analytics can be applied to financial systems and services at scale, advancing cross-disciplinary knowledge between finance and technology.

Prem Natarajan , chief scientist and head of enterprise AI at Capital One, who spearheaded the idea for the center with Sukhatme, said the new center will help Capital One leverage the immense resources within the SAC to address complex challenges and opportunities in the financial sector.

“At  Capital   One , we believe multidisciplinary partnerships and initiatives like CREDIF can advance the state of the art in AI while also ensuring diverse perspectives and equities when developing, testing, and deploying AI capabilities,” said Natarajan. “USC’s leading-edge faculty, students, and research resources in combination with  Capital   One ’s mission-driven focus and world-class industry talent create a unique opportunity to leverage AI to solve some of the most challenging problems in financial services and provide differentiated value to millions of customers.”

Amongst its goals, the center will support research projects focused on the development of cutting-edge technology and approaches to improve business and finance innovation. Each year, USC faculty members will be invited to submit proposals for faculty-led research efforts. An annual fellowship for doctoral students, named Capital One Fellows, will equip students with the skills and knowledge needed to excel in the field of AI in finance. In addition, USC and Capital One will also host annual joint research symposium and workshops to share insights with the wider community.

“USC’s leading-edge faculty, students, and research resources in combination with Capital   One ’s mission-driven focus and world-class industry talent create a unique opportunity.” Prem Natarajan.

“We are thrilled to partner with Capital One to advance responsible AI and decision making in finance,” said Yannis C. Yortsos, dean of the Viterbi School of Engineering. “Our talented USC Viterbi students and faculty will use their outstanding technical computational competence to provide human-and societal- centric financial decision making. Such strong partnerships allow the development of extraordinary new solutions to real-world problems that help advance innovation, productivity and the pursuit of human flourishing.”

Petros Ioannou, a professor of electrical and computer engineering, aerospace and mechanical engineering, and industrial and systems engineering, will serve as the center’s inaugural director.

Ioannou, the director of the Center for Advanced Transportation Technologies , holds the A.V. ‘Bal’ Balakrishnan Chair in Engineering and was recently appointed as a University Professor, USC’s highest academic honor. In 2008, Ioannou developed USC’s Master’s of Science in Financial Engineering program in collaboration with the Marshall School of Business , one of Viterbi’s most successful master’s programs.

“I am delighted to be part of this important research center, where cutting-edge computing and AI techniques will be applied to solving complex financial problems,” said Ioannou. “My priority is to motivate and attract researchers and PhD students and strengthen our capabilities in financial engineering. The potential for solving complex financial problems using computational techniques and AI is enormous.”  

A member of the USC faculty community since 1982, Ioannou is a leading authority in control systems neural networks, nonlinear systems, and intelligent transportation systems . He was recently inducted into the National Academy of Engineering and made a Fellow of the European Academy of Science. He is also a member of the Academia Europaea and a Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors. He has published 9 books, more than 170 journal articles and book chapters, nearly 250 conference papers, and holds 3 patents.

“With his rich history of contributions to the applications of engineering to many disciplines including networks and transportation, and his experience establishing and directing the successful master’s program in financial engineering, Professor Ioannou is well-positioned to serve as the inaugural director of this multidisciplinary center,” said Sukhatme.

Published on April 11th, 2024

Last updated on April 11th, 2024

Share This Story

Related Stories

ABOUT THE SCHOOL

• 115 Year Celebration
• About Andrew Viterbi
• Diversity Equity & Inclusion
• Facts and Numbers
• Faculty Directory
• Ginsburg Hall
• USC Michelson Center

FROM THE DEAN

• Dean's Message
• Dean's Report
• Initiatives and Priorities
• Engineering +
• Strategic Plan

NEWS | MEDIA | EVENTS

• Keynote Lecture Series
• Media Contact & Press Releases
• Media Coverage
• Public Image Archive
• Publications
• Social Media
• Viterbi News Now

SCHOOL OF ADVANCED COMPUTING

• Thomas Lord Department of Computer Science
• Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
• Division of Computing Education (DCE)
• Information Technology Program (ITP)
• Interdisciplinary Data Science (IDS)
• Information Science Institute (ISI)
• Institute for Creative Technologies (ICT)
• More to come soon

DEPARTMENTS AND ACADEMIC PROGRAMS

• Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering
• Astronautical Engineering
• Alfred E. Mann Department of Biomedical Engineering
• Mork Family Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science
• Sonny Astani Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
• Daniel J. Epstein Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering
• Engineering in Society Program
• Information Technology Program

EXECUTIVE AND CONTINUING EDUCATION

• Aviation Safety and Security Program
• Corporate and Professional Programs

ONLINE ACCESS

• Graduate Programs - DEN@Viterbi

SPECIALIZED GRADUATE PROGRAMS

• Financial Engineering Program
• Green Technologies Program
• Data Science Program
• Progressive Degree Program
• Systems Architecting and Engineering Program

RESOURCES AND INITIATIVES

• Academic Integrity
• Accreditation
• Awards Office
• John Brooks Slaughter Center for Engineering Diversity
• Division of Engineering Education
• Globalization
• K-12 Outreach
• USC Experts Directory
• Women in Science and Engineering

FIRST YEAR APPLICANTS

MASTER'S APPLICANTS

PHD APPLICANTS

TRANSFER APPLICANTS

RESEARCH ENVIRONMENT

• Search Faculty Research Areas
• Departments, Research Institutes and Centers
• Research Infrastructure
• Research Initiatives
• Research Vision
• Student Research
• Summer Undergraduate Research Experience

TECHNOLOGY INNOVATION AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP

• NSF I-Corps Hub: West Region
• Office of Technology Innovation and Entrepreneurship
• USC Stevens Center for Innovation
• Viterbi News Network
• Diversity Equity Inclusion
• Dean’s Message
• Dean’s Report
• Media Contact & Press Releases
• More to Come Soon
• Biomedical Engineering
• Informatics Program
• Graduate Programs – DEN@Viterbi
• First Year Applicants
• Master’s Applicants
• PHD Applicants
• Transfer Applicants
• Competitions
• Entrepreneurship
• I-Corps Node
• Viterbi Startup Garage
• Viterbi Student Innovation Institute (VSI2)
• Viterbi Venture Fund

McKelvey Engineering offers graduate certificate in financial engineering

Graduate students in the McKelvey School of Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis now can earn a graduate certificate in financial engineering. While a second major in financial engineering already was offered for undergraduate students, this is WashU’s first graduate certificate in the specialty.

A collaboration between the McKelvey School of Engineering and Olin Business School, the certificate program is administered by the Preston M. Green Department of Electrical & Systems Engineering and led by Vladimir Kurenok, director of the second major in financial engineering program. Faculty from a variety of McKelvey Engineering programs along with Olin finance faculty will teach the courses.

Financial engineering combines applied math, statistics, computer science, financial theory and economics to analyze financial markets.

“We already have a second major in financial engineering that was established in 2017,” Kurenok said. “The wish has been to expand this successful program to graduate students because many of them have expressed interest in having such a program.”

Read more on the McKelvey Engineering website.

Comments and respectful dialogue are encouraged, but content will be moderated. Please, no personal attacks, obscenity or profanity, selling of commercial products, or endorsements of political candidates or positions. We reserve the right to remove any inappropriate comments. We also cannot address individual medical concerns or provide medical advice in this forum.

You Might Also Like

Latest from the Record

Announcements.

Parking shares April update

Public university directory being phased out

Apte honored with macular degeneration award

Thompson named director of pediatric neurosurgery

Naming Review Board at-large members named

Philip Needleman, emeritus trustee, longtime benefactor, 85

Amarnath Ghosh, student in Arts & Sciences, 34

Philip E. Cryer, former director of endocrinology division, 84

Research Wire

Buder Center grant to bolster training, support

Ding receives Michelson Prize for advancing human immunology

Skin pigmentation bias in pulse oximeters to get closer look

The View From Here

Washington people.

Kim Thuy Seelinger

Antonio Douthit-Boyd

Katharine Flores

Who Knew WashU?

Who Knew WashU? 1.27.21

Who Knew WashU? 1.13.21

Who Knew WashU? 12.9.20

Online Students

For All Online Programs

International Students

On Campus, need or have Visa

Campus Students

For All Campus Programs

Is a Doctorate Degree Worth It?

Know before you read At SNHU, we want to make sure you have the information you need to make decisions about your education and your future—no matter where you choose to go to school. That's why our informational articles may reference careers for which we do not offer academic programs, along with salary data for those careers. Cited projections do not guarantee actual salary or job growth.

Earning a doctorate takes time, money and discipline. Like many things worth doing, the process is challenging but also rewarding. Becoming an expert in your subject area and immersing yourself in your chosen area of study makes the process of earning a doctorate important to many people. Certain professions require or value a doctorate for promotion potential.

In fact, career advancement, love of the subject matter and personal satisfaction are three of the top reasons why Dr. Bridgitte Kiprop '23 , Dr. Jennifer Barry ’23 and Dr. Torialyn Draper Crook earned their doctorates.

• For Kiprop '23, part of her motivation for earning a doctorate in International Business was setting an example for her six children.
• For Barry, ’23, who earned a doctor of education degree in educational leadership, part of her motivation was to prepare for success in meeting her long-term career goal to become a university president.
• And for Crook, earning her doctorate in education was a commitment that she undertook to honor her family’s legacy of valuing education.

How Difficult is Earning a Doctorate?

For Kiprop, time management was her key to success. With six children, she had to make the most of any time in the day that she could find. “If I had … five minutes, I would use the five minutes,” she said. “Other times, I was luckier (and had) two hours.”

Despite the time-management  challenges of earning an advanced degree while raising her family, Kiprop feels that the process of earning that degree was a way to inspire her children to work hard to meet their own goals.

“I really hope that my children will ... know that whatever it is they feel called to do, whatever their ambitions, their goals are achievable,” she said.

To manage the challenge of advanced studies, having the right people around you as you work on your degree is essential, according to Crook. “Surround yourself with family, friends, colleagues and mentors who can provide encouragement during challenging times,” she said.

Crook stresses that everyone’s journey to earning their doctorate is unique. She recommends being prepared for the unexpected, and remaining flexible in adjusting your path as you work toward completing your degree.

How Long Does a Doctorate Take?

Students may have family commitments, health challenges or need to work full or part-time while attending school . Many students face all of these circumstances. Crook managed to complete her doctorate in 5 years, though it wasn't easy for her. She faced a significant personal health challenge and was raising two children while also attending school.

For Barry, earning her doctoral degree is part of an educational path that started with her bachelor’s degree at SNHU (formerly New Hampshire College) in 2000. She then continued her education to earn a master's degree throughout several jobs and geographic moves.

Barry views her entire educational journey as part of the process that led to meeting her ultimate goal of earning a doctorate.

What Skills Are Needed to Earn a Doctorate?

While every academic program is different, Crook finds certain skills and competencies necessary for success, regardless of field. These skills include:

• Building relationships
• Organizational skills
• Self-motivation
• Writing skills

Crook finds building relationships particularly important. While working on her degree, the strong relationship that she developed with her dissertation chairperson proved essential. She also built positive relationships with other doctoral students, which led to a strong peer support network throughout her program.

Kiprop echoes the importance of building relationships in her field as well. For her, building new relationships is a way to open your mind to new experiences and opportunities.

Find Your Program

What types of jobs can you get with a doctorate.

While a doctorate is helpful for working in leadership roles at colleges and universities, there are many opportunities for doctoral degree holders to work at the highest levels in their profession outside of higher education as well.

Some of the top professions that require a doctoral or professional degree and have a faster-than-average predicted growth rate, according to the BLS, are:

• Astronomers* (SNHU does not currently offer graduate degrees in astronomy or physics)
• Biochemists and biophysicists* (SNHU does not currently offer graduate degrees in biochemistry or biophysics)
• Clinical and counseling psychologists* (SNHU does not currently offer doctorates in psychology, but you could start with a bachelor's in psychology , followed by a master's in psychology )
• Higher education teachers and professors — particularly business, computer science and engineering teachers*

Two more examples of areas where a doctorate can help prepare you for advancement in your career are educational leadership and international business.

A doctorate in educational leadership can be a Doctor of Philosophy degree, known as a PhD, or a Doctor of Education degree, known as an EdD. The PhD in Education Leadership  typically leads to higher education roles in teaching and research. The EdD in Educational Leadership , which Barry earned, typically leads to leadership and strategy roles in an education setting that may be at the higher education or secondary school level.

A PhD in International Business  may include addressing a gap in an existing body of knowledge by conducting research. Kiprop, who earned her doctorate at SNHU, plans to use her degree to research entrepreneurship in small business finance.

Motivated by being from a developing country — Kenya — she has a personal interest in helping grow small businesses in similar developing areas. “I can also use that same knowledge at the New Hampshire level because the issues there perhaps are different but still … relevant,” she said.

Regardless of your program field, the process of earning a doctorate can help you explore ways of applying your newfound and existing knowledge that you may not have considered prior to starting your program.

Is it Better to Have a Master’s or Doctorate?

Both a master’s degree  and a doctorate offer opportunities for career advancement. Choosing which to earn, or whether to earn both, is a highly personal decision based on your personal and professional goals and aspirations, according to Crook.

Before deciding which degree is right for you, consider your goals. Speaking with a career counselor  or graduate admissions counselor to learn about career options and pathways toward earning the degree can be a helpful step toward making this decision.

In many fields, a master’s degree is enough  to move forward in your career. But, earning a doctorate is an opportunity to take your career a step further, according to Crook. That step “gives one the opportunity to direct their career trajectory specifically through research and other specialized skills and knowledge,” she said.

How Valuable is a Doctorate?

A doctorate isn’t for everyone, but it can be right for you depending on your chosen field and career path.

For many people, earning a doctorate is just as important as a personal accomplishment as it is a professional one. “I (always) understood the significance of progressing in my career and staying connected to my field of higher education,” Crook said. “My doctoral journey was worthwhile as it aligned with my career goals  and personal aspirations,” she said.

For Barry, the doctorate was worth it because she believes strongly in the power of education . “You see how (education) transforms people’s lives and … gives people opportunities that they didn’t see before,” she said.

She has seen many people earn degrees only for their family members to then continue in their footsteps. “I just think that generationally, (education) is creating pathways for people,” she said.

Deciding whether to pursue a doctorate is ultimately a very personal decision, but one that can lead you to build new relationships and a new knowledge base while helping you reach or exceed your career goals.

A degree can change your life. Find the SNHU doctorate degree  that can best help you meet your goals.

*Cited job growth projections may not reflect local and/or short-term economic or job conditions and do not guarantee actual job growth. Actual salaries and/or earning potential may be the result of a combination of factors including, but not limited to: years of experience, industry of employment, geographic location, and worker skill. 

A former higher education administrator, Dr. Marie Morganelli  is a career educator and writer. She has taught and tutored composition, literature, and writing at all levels from middle school through graduate school. With two graduate degrees in English language and literature, her focus — whether teaching or writing — is in helping to raise the voices of others through the power of storytelling. Connect with her on LinkedIn .

Explore more content like this article

How to Survive High School and Prepare for College

How Long Does it Take to Get an Associate Degree?

How to Get a Master's Degree

About southern new hampshire university.

SNHU is a nonprofit, accredited university with a mission to make high-quality education more accessible and affordable for everyone.

Founded in 1932, and online since 1995, we’ve helped countless students reach their goals with flexible, career-focused programs . Our 300-acre campus in Manchester, NH is home to over 3,000 students, and we serve over 135,000 students online. Visit our about SNHU  page to learn more about our mission, accreditations, leadership team, national recognitions and awards.

MSc in Financial Engineering

Our mscfe offering is where programming and data science meet the .css-8mrw1d{position:relative;display:inline-block;}.css-8mrw1d:after{content:'';position:absolute;top:calc(100% - 6px);left:0;right:0;height:0.5em;width:100%;background:url(/_next/static/media/underline.2495bd54.svg) no-repeat;z-index:2;} .css-169zhyd{position:relative;z-index:3;} future of finance..

• Completely Online
• 100% Free of Cost
• Rigorous Focus on Applied Learning

Interest in Financial Engineering is on the rise as innovation across the globe drives demand for analytics and data science training.

From evaluating statistics to econometric modeling, WQU educators teach advanced skills that can be applied to most industries. Graduates are prepared for sought-after positions in securities, banking, and financial management and can also apply their skills at general manufacturing and service firms including consultancies, insurance companies and more, as quantitative analysts. Building on this foundation, the comprehensive Program also provides students with the skills needed to succeed in presenting ideas and concepts in a professional business setting. Applicants who complete the University’s application requirements can complete their MSCFE entirely free of cost.

Learn more about the field of Financial Engineering in this post .

June 25, 2024

July 2, 2024

Entirely Free

• Bachelor’s Degree
• Proof of English proficiency
• Passing score on Quantitative Proficiency Test (75% or higher)

20-25 Hours a Week

• Master of Science in Financial Engineering Degree
• Sharable Credly Certification

Designed by industry experts, WorldQuant University’s accredited Program integrates mathematical, statistical, and computer science tools with finance theory and professional business skills in a completely online and collaborative setting. Graduates are positioned to excel in today’s highly collaborative, fast-paced, professional environments.

The two-year Program consists of nine graduate-level courses and a Capstone Course during which students complete a culminating project. The courses are sequentially taught and build on one another. Taking one course at a time allows you to earn your degree without disrupting your life. All students accepted into the MScFE Program will complete the Program free of cost.

All courses are delivered in an online group setting and focus on applied projects.

Along with their diploma, students who successfully complete the MSc in Financial Engineering Program receive a sharable, verified version of their WQU degree issued by Credly .

WQU offerings are completely free for prospective students who successfully complete the Program application and entrance requirements as a commitment to the belief that talent is equally distributed globally, but opportunity is not. This allows qualified, admitted students to build their skills and advance their careers within a supportive global community, without the common barrier of financial commitments.

Course Descriptions

The MSc in Financial Engineering Program comprises nine graduate-level courses and a culminating Capstone course. Students take one course at a time in a prescribed sequence.

There is a two-week break between courses: one week for the grading process and one week for subsequent course registration.

In this pilot course for the MScFE Program, students are introduced to the world of professional finance: markets, products, participants, and regulation.

The activities within financial markets will be discussed, including trading, financing, brokering, pricing, hedging, optimizing, and managing risk. Throughout the course, students identify a list of significant factors that affect the financial industry. Students will be able to interact with web apps that illustrate these concepts. Understanding the asset classes, activities, and influential aspects of the financial landscape will provide a solid foundation on which students will build mathematical and computational tools to develop models for financial engineering. No background in finance is required.

This course introduces students to financial data: the source of energy for financial models. Students will learn how to apply Python to properly select, import, filter, structure, visualize, summarize, and analyze financial data for interest rates, equities, cryptocurrencies, ETFs, securitized products, and other asset classes.

Students will also learn how to prepare data to be used in models for financial markets, from which decisions can be made, and how to accomplish fundamental analysis with accounting data, technical analysis with trading data, statistical analysis with transformed data, and sentiment analysis with textual data. Software engineering, visualization techniques, probability and statistics, linear algebra, and presentation skills will be developed throughout the course.

The ultimate goal of this course is to build foundational skills that enable students to understand the type of data needed depending on their goals, how to source it, structure it, shape it, build with it, and discover what it tells. At their best, financial engineers turn data into empirically based, well-calibrated financial models whose output provides investors and risk managers with sound decisions in the uncertain world of finance.

This course provides a comprehensive introduction to financial econometrics. Students will learn how to model probability distributions of returns, including graphical, Bayesian, and non-parametrical methods. They will also learn how to model univariate time series, focusing on their moving average, autocorrelations, and volatilities, including GARCH models.

Students will build additional tools to see how two financial series can relate to each other, using correlation, vector autoregressions, and cointegration. Further, they will build the statistical foundation and Python coding skills to run econometric models to apply in financial decision making. Finally, they will see how the ideas of bias, variance, and overfitting apply to machine learning.

Derivative Pricing is a hands-on course focused on pricing options. Students will build a conceptual background that deepens their understanding of why classical calculus is not sufficient for detecting rates of change in stochastic processes. Course content focuses on the concept of no-arbitrage and perfect replication using the world of stochastic calculus, including the Black-Scholes Model.

Students will be able to construct pricing models such as binomial trees and finite difference methods to price an array of vanilla and exotic options. They will also measure sensitivities of the price to variables, such as the underlying price, volatility, time, interest rates, and carry costs. Finally, some extensions to classical models, such as the Heston Model and jump models will be addressed. Much of the course will include Python illustrations to build practical skills.

In this course, students increase their knowledge of modeling stochastic processes. Students will investigate advanced volatility models that upgrade Black Scholes parameters to variables, increasing their stochastic modeling skills to address heteroskedasticity and variable costs as well as jump diffusions.Students will dive into Markov processes, including hidden Markov process and Markov decision process to financial applications, and will build a mathematical foundation for deep learnings, a tool they will use for machine learnings. Overall, students will be able to evaluate the assumptions, benefits, and difficulties associated with stochastic models.

This course addresses the fundamentals of machine learning. It continues the topics from the Financial Econometrics course whereby students will be able to apply algorithms to learn from data. Students will cover the mathematical and computational foundations of both the supervised and unsupervised machine learning problems, and they will use Python modules and a Tensorflow framework to predict, explain, or compare outcomes across different financial series. Students will apply machine learning techniques to determine if financial models are overfit, and use methods of regularization, cross-validation, and resampling techniques to mitigate it. In addition, students will develop a theoretical and practical background in deep learning models to improve the power of their financial model predictions.

Directly building on their skills from Machine Learning, students will further explore neural networks in Deep Learning for Finance. Students will build mastery in Python with TensorFlow to build and train neural networks and apply them to real life financial examples. They will expand their toolkits to perform regularization. During this course, students will use various algorithms to tune hyperparameters, including classical, Bayesian, and stochastic methods.

Different neural network architectures will be addressed, particularly CNNs (Convolutional Neural Networks), RNNs (Recurrent Neural Networks), LSTMs (Long Short-Term Memory), and GRUs (Gated Recurring Units). These neural networks will be built from scratch, then illustrated in financial examples such as predicting stock prices, discovering investment factors, and back-testing trading strategies. Students will apply state-of-the-art techniques such as transfer learning and data augmentation. These methods will be used to improve the learning capability and performance of the networks, resulting in better predictions. In addition, students will learn the theory behind these tools, as well as richly exploring how to combine architectures with optimization techniques applied to real world data for comprehensive intraday trading strategy development.

This course provides students with methodologies and skills to perform portfolio optimization. From the previous coursework, students will have a solid foundation on which to engage in the portfolio management process.

In the first two modules, students will review classical methods of portfolio theory, including Markowitz portfolio optimization. Subsequent modules address more modern versions of the portfolio optimization process, including Black-Litterman, probabilistic scenario optimization, prospect theory, Kelly criterion, and risk parity. In addition, advanced econometrics and machine learning methods will be applied to the classical techniques, including the use of neural networks, genetic algorithms, information theory, and reinforcement learning.

The course requires students to engage with the mathematical foundations, code implementation, and practical applications of portfolio management across many asset classes.

This course provides students with both classical and modern methods of modeling and managing risk. The course begins by reviewing metrics and models for market, credit, and systemic risk, and applying these ideas to multiple asset classes, including derivatives.

Machine learning methods will be integrated with both classical methods like VaR and GARCH and with robust methods like Extreme Value Theory. Then a comprehensive review of Bayesian methods will be given that builds towards a Bayesian network of modeling systemic risk. By taking the course, students will be able to synthesize a complex network and scenario analysis for both portfolio risk and systemic risk.

The Capstone Course is designed to put the students’ knowledge of financial engineering to the test. Students practically apply their understanding of the Program content by accomplishing project milestones from developing a problem statement, identifying the required technology to find a solution to the problem, submitting multiple drafts for peer review and instructor feedback, and finalizing and presenting their fully developed project.

The goal of the Capstone Course is to ensure that students have met the Program outcomes and are able to apply their knowledge and skills to real-world scenarios.

Program Outcomes

Computational skills.

Build proficiency with Python modules, data structures, and machine learning algorithms as applied to financial engineering.

Mathematical Skills

Apply probability, linear algebra, and stochastic calculus techniques to solve pricing, hedging, prediction, and optimization problems.

Statistical Skills

Build hands-on skills summarizing and modeling structured and unstructured financial data and using the data for modeling in econometrics, machine learning, and deep learning.

Financial Skills

Develop a quantitative and computational toolkit of methodologies to address financial challenges of credit risk, volatility, liquidity, leverage, regulation, and model breakdown with ethical principles in mind.

Collaborative & Critical Thinking Skills

Analyze and solve financial problems by engaging in practitioner-oriented group work assignments and project-oriented problems, applying collaborative and critical thinking skills.

Communication Skills

Create clear and concise technical and non-technical reports that explain and interpret model results and recommend courses of action using various physical and digital media.

How can I use my degree?

Financial engineers pursue professional roles such as quantitative researchers, quantitative developers, quantitative traders, algorithmic traders, and portfolio managers for financial institutions and in related service industries.

Many WQU graduates focus on public policy, working for governments, developing state and federal financial policies, or conducting research at think tanks. Others focus on industries such as agriculture, healthcare, and emerging technology.

There is tremendous fluidity between different financial engineering careers and transferable skills that allow professionals to move between these opportunities easily.

Learn more about the field of Financial Engineering in this post.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is financial engineering.

Financial Engineering is a field where mathematical techniques are used to solve financial problems. It is an interdisciplinary specialty that leverages skills and tools from computer science, statistics, economics, and applied mathematics, enabling practitioners to address financial challenges and opportunities, and in some cases, develop new products and services. As more businesses and organizations become data-driven, there are growing opportunities for financial engineers outside of the financial industry, including healthcare, the supply chain, agriculture, and more.

For a more detailed breakdown of how this field emerged, what it takes to become a financial engineer, and what kinds of jobs financial engineering graduates pursue, head over to the WQU blog and check out the Guide to Financial Engineering.

How can I prepare for the Quantitative Proficiency Test?

The Quantitative Proficiency Test consists of 60 questions covering advanced algebra, linear algebra, differential calculus, integral calculus, differential equations, discrete mathematics, probability, and statistics. A portion of the test is dedicated to measuring fundamental knowledge of Python programming and Python data structures. Make sure you prepare thoroughly for the test and for the successful completion of the Program. You can find a document with sample questions here . Use this list of (free!) online resources to strengthen your mathematical, statistical, and programming skills.

The minimum passing grade for the test is 75% . It must be completed in one sitting with up to a total of two (2) hours to finish. You have a maximum of two (2) attempts to complete the test.

How can I use my MSc in Financial Engineering?

Financial engineers pursue professional roles such as quantitative researchers, quantitative developers, quantitative traders, algorithmic traders, and portfolio managers for financial institutions. Some focus on public policy, working for governments developing state and federal financial policies, or conducting research at think tanks. There is a tremendous amount of fluidity between different financial-engineering careers, as well as transferable skills that allow professionals to easily move between these opportunities.

Inspired to apply?

University of South Florida

Lifelong Learning

Office of University Community Partnerships

Main Navigation

How to Finance Your Master's Degree or Continuing Education

• Leigh Perkins
• January 19, 2022
• Professional Development
• Text-based Story

Don’t assume grad school or continuing education is out of reach for your budget. Paying for your post-grad or professional courses can be a challenge, but it’s completely doable. Put a little research, creative problem solving, and our easy tips into the task, and you’ll figure out how to finance your master’s degree or continuing education .

Financing Higher Education

According to Sallie Mae, almost a quarter of school costs are paid by grad students’ earnings or personal savings. If you don’t have that kind of cash flow, though, consider other options for financing higher education.

Start With Free Money

Loans may need to be part of your equation, but it’s best to begin your calculations with financial aid that doesn’t have to be repaid.

An estimated $2.6 billion in financial aid was left on the table in 2018 because students failed to fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) from the U.S. Department of Education. And FAFSA is not just for undergraduates. It can help you land federal aid based on financial need for graduate school, too. The application is free, and there are several free-money options available to you when your FAFSA is complete, such as federal work study programs.

Grants and Fellowships

Federal aid is applicable to some continuing education programs, such as grants for medical residency or the Pell Grant for postbaccalaureate teacher certification, but federal aid in the form of grants does not apply to most graduate programs.

For graduate school, grants and fellowships are almost interchangeable terms, the main difference being what the institution bestowing the funding prefers to call it. There are government-backed grants, from organizations like the National Institutes of Health or the Department of Energy, and fellowships funded by private organizations, such as the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation or the American Economic Association. The best place to begin searching for grants and fellowships is through the websites of the schools you’re considering, in particular the programs you are targeting for grad school. You can also check out online scholarship search tools.

Most grants and fellowships are competitive, so do your homework, complete your applications carefully, and submit early. Preferably, you’ll be ready to hit send on your application the day you learn you’re accepted into your grad school program of choice.

Scholarships

Graduate tuition can cost tens of thousands of dollars each year. Because graduate students are considered independent, you will report your own income on the FAFSA, which could make you eligible for more need-based scholarships. Grad students can check out USF’s STARS Scholarship database to read about USF Foundation Scholarships and many other scholarships to students enrolling in master’s programs . There are millions of dollars available to grad students for national and niche scholarships .

Can you qualify for specific scholarships that take your background, interests, or undergrad degree into account?

• Your heritage: There are scholarships designated just for Hispanic grad students, Native Americans, Korean Americans, Pacific Islanders, and more.
• Your alma mater: You may qualify for a discount if you apply to graduate school where you earned your bachelor’s degree.
• Your area of specialization: Check into field-specific graduate scholarships, such as a master’s in education, women in technology, accounting scholarships, and MBA scholarships.

Assistantships

Graduate assistantships allow you to work in a support role at a university under the supervision of a faculty member. You may teach, be a research assistant, do clerical tasks, or help with grading. USF graduate assistants earn a stipend and are eligible for tuition payment and some additional benefits, such as health insurance.

Employee Benefits

Under U.S. tax code, employers may offer up to $5,250 per year in tuition reimbursement for college courses, which is deductible for your company and not counted as taxable income for you. More than half of employers are estimated to currently offer tuition assistance. If yours isn’t one of them, make a sales pitch. One possible incentive: Signing a contract to commit to working for the company for a minimum term after receiving your graduate degree.

College Savings Account

If you didn’t run through your entire 529 plan in undergraduate school, you can apply what’s left to your graduate school costs. Though the time horizon is shorter to save for graduate school, it is also possible to set up a 529 plan dedicated just for graduate school.

Take a Look at Loans

Although they account for only 25 percent of all students in higher education, graduate students account for nearly half of student debt . Because there is no cap for graduate school borrowing – up to the full cost of attendance charged by the college – nearly a quarter of graduate borrowers take out more than the lifetime limit for undergraduate borrowers in just a single year of grad school.

It is one thing to compare the average undergraduate debt ($28,950) to an MBA ($66,300). But it is a whole new level of payback stress for a law degree ($145,000) or a medical degree ($201,490). Add the fact that interest rates are higher for grad school than for undergrad, and the debt can turn into a long-term burden.

Wondering how to minimize the hit to your financial future when you really need a loan for graduate school? Take out only what is absolutely necessary, access every tax benefit available, and pull out all the stops to save pennies and earn cash while in grad school.

These are the types of loan programs available for graduate students:

• Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loans: Sometimes called Stafford Loans, these are not based on financial need and do not require a credit check. You are responsible for paying all interest on these loans, which begins accruing while you’re still in school and during your grace period or deferment. It is best to max out these loans before you sign on to PLUS or private loans.
• Federal Direct Graduate PLUS Loans: These loans are for expenses not covered by other financial aid offered by your school. They require a credit check and carry a higher fixed-interest rate than federal direct loans.
• Private Loans: Depending on your credit score or a co-signer’s endorsement, you could qualify for a competitive rate on a loan from a private bank or other lender, usually without the origination and processing fees associated with federal programs. The downside is they don’t offer long forbearance periods. If you are planning on law school, medical school or business school, it’s likely you’ll find a lender offering a loan specific to your degree.

Paying for Continuing Education

While there are not as many options to finance your continuing education, the upside is that career training, certifications, and continuing ed programs are much less expensive than graduate school.

Philanthropic organizations, private agencies, state education departments, and the schools themselves often offer scholarships for continuing education and certification programs. For example, there are specific scholarships available for paralegal students .

State societies, clubs, and professional groups often subsidize travel and attendance at conferences, CEU courses, and training programs. If you’re in a regional human resources group, for example, they might underwrite your tuition for SHRM certification .

Federal student loans only apply to full-time graduate students, so stand-alone certification courses or part-time professional development programs don’t qualify. However, several private lenders do offer loans for career training programs. Sallie Mae’s Career Training Smart Option Student Loan is designed specifically for nondegree-seeking students, professional certifications, and culinary and technical school students.

If you’re confident the return on your investment will be adequate (and fairly immediate), you can also consider paying for a course with a credit card, but do so cautiously. Interest rates and fees for credit cards are often triple or quadruple a student loan rate.

The good news is that the IRS allowance for employer tuition reimbursement applies to career training and continuing education. The bad news is that only about half of employers offer this in an employee’s benefits package. If yours does not include the $5,250 that can be deducted by your company for courses, make a suggestion to your boss and to HR to add it. If it’s not a formal perk but there is a program that will help you perform your job better, write a letter to your supervisor explaining the benefits to your business. In your letter, ask if the company would be willing to pay for the program or at least approve paid time off for instruction.

USF Can Help You Reach Your Next Goal

No matter where you’re headed in your career, USF Corporate Training and Professional Education is here to guide you. Thinking of graduate school? We offer exceptional GMAT and LSAT prep courses. Planning a big pivot? Navigate a career change with our business, technology, and leadership training. Browse our programs to see if they can point you in the right direction for continuing education.

Return to article listing

Explore More Categories

• Director's Corner
• Hospitality
• Human Resources
• K-12 Education
• Leadership and Management
• Process Improvement
• Project Management
• Sales and Marketing

About Corporate Training and Professional Education

USF Corporate Training and Professional Education empowers people to craft their future without limits through engaging professional growth learning and certification programs. Its programs focus on an array of topics – human resources, project management, paralegal, process improvement, leadership skills, technology, and much more.

Smart. Open. Grounded. Inventive. Read our Ideas Made to Matter.

Which program is right for you?

Through intellectual rigor and experiential learning, this full-time, two-year MBA program develops leaders who make a difference in the world.

A rigorous, hands-on program that prepares adaptive problem solvers for premier finance careers.

A 12-month program focused on applying the tools of modern data science, optimization and machine learning to solve real-world business problems.

Earn your MBA and SM in engineering with this transformative two-year program.

Combine an international MBA with a deep dive into management science. A special opportunity for partner and affiliate schools only.

A doctoral program that produces outstanding scholars who are leading in their fields of research.

Bring a business perspective to your technical and quantitative expertise with a bachelor’s degree in management, business analytics, or finance.

A joint program for mid-career professionals that integrates engineering and systems thinking. Earn your master’s degree in engineering and management.

An interdisciplinary program that combines engineering, management, and design, leading to a master’s degree in engineering and management.

Executive Programs

A full-time MBA program for mid-career leaders eager to dedicate one year of discovery for a lifetime of impact.

This 20-month MBA program equips experienced executives to enhance their impact on their organizations and the world.

Non-degree programs for senior executives and high-potential managers.

A non-degree, customizable program for mid-career professionals.

Finance Group

Finance is the study of markets for real and financial assets. The practical implications of modern financial theory are widely recognized and implemented by Wall Street and corporations. The PhD program provides students with an understanding of the theory on which the field is based and the tools they need to conduct theoretical and applied research.

Once required coursework in microeconomics and macroeconomics theory is completed, students are free to develop their programs of study and research with the guidance of faculty members. Often, faculty offer students an opportunity to participate in and expand on faculty research interests. Finance Faculty

More Information

Finance Graduates

Example Thesis Topics