Carnegie Mellon | MSCF
Master of Science in Computational Finance

Introduced in 1994, Carnegie Mellon was the first to offer a degree in quantitative finance. Leveraging the strengths of Carnegie Mellon's stellar math and engineering schools, its renowned expertise in computer science, and home to one of the nation's top business schools, the Master of Science in Computational Finance program is regarded by many to be the top quantitative finance program in the world.
Read more about Carnegie Mellon University's Masters of Science in Computational Finance

Carnegie Mellon University's Masters of Science in Computational Finance

Carnegie Mellon's MS in Computational Finance (MSCF) is the joint venture between four colleges - the Tepper School of Business (in which the MSCF program is housed and administered), the Department of Mathematical Sciences, the Department of Statistics, and the Heinz College. Employing the full resources of these four colleges, MSCF's twenty-five course curriculum offers a highly integrated, custom-tailored financial engineering course of study designed specifically for the MSCF student.

We welcome your visit to the MSCF WEBSITE and encourage you to REQUEST A BROCHURE or APPLY

OVERVIEW

MSCF offers a full-time and part-time computational finance degree in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and in New York City. The full-time degree is a sixteen month, three-semester course of study (including a summer internship). The part-time program is half-load and takes thirty-three months to complete. Also offered in Pittsburgh is a five-semester dual MSCF/MBA degree.

The primary mode of instruction for the New York campus is live, interactive video. Faculty teach a minimum of twice every seven weeks in New York at which times students are invited to join the professor for a social event after class. Whether situated in Pittsburgh or New York, all lectures are "captured" and made immediately available to MSCF students via the internet.

CURRICULUM

Each of our courses has been designed specifically for the MSCF program. Students are taught traditional finance theories of equity and bond portfolio management, the stochastic calculus models on which derivative trading is based, computational methods including Monte Carlo simulation and finite difference approximations of partial differential equations, and statistical methodologies including regression and time series. Following a summer internship, students take courses in asset pricing, statistical arbitrage, risk management and dynamic asset management. In addition to VBA, Matlab and S+ packages, C++ is incorporated into the curriculum and students create software in several courses. The program concludes with a sophisticated financial computing course, an algorithmic trading competition, and a case-based presentation course in financial engineering. A "Presentations" course is included in the first year of the curriculum to develop our students ability to communicate their ideas in a public setting.

CAREERS AND EMPLOYMENT

MSCF students prepare for careers in sales and trading, structured products, research, quantitative portfolio management, and risk management. The Tepper School of Business's Career Opportunities Center has a dedicated staff serving the placement needs of MSCF students. Services include both nurturing deep recruiter relationships and helping students craft good resumes and develop strong interviewing and networking skills. Major recruiting events take place throughout the year, both in Pittsburgh and in New York.

Full Time Students Graduating December 2008 (of 63 seeking employment)
69% placed by graduation
83% placed within three months of graduation
$86,008 base salary (excludes stub bonuses and other compensation)
$24,294 mean signing bonus (72% receiving)
Sales & Trading 39%; Structured Products 11%; Research 21%;
Quantitative Portfolio Management 11%; Risk Management 18%

Summer Internships 2008 (of 68 students seeking internships)
99% placed
$7,021/mo.; $2,000/mo. min accepted; $9,167/mo. max accepted
$2,179 mean signing bonus (23% receiving)

ADMISSIONS - DEMOGRAPHICS

MSCF received 740 applications for the 2008-2009 year; 108 were enrolled: