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University of Waterloo - Master of Quantitative Finance

University of Waterloo - Master of Quantitative Finance

Waterloo MQF program is a 4 semester program
Overview Rankings Jobs Admissions Tuition Applications Reviews (5) Discussion
Location
Waterloo, Canada
Application deadline
Jan 6
Based in the Department of Statistics and Actuarial Science, this program is built upon the Finance program established in 1995 by founding director, renowned researcher Phelim P. Boyle.

The Master of Quantitative Finance (MQF) program focuses on the fundamental disciplines of mathematics, statistics, econometrics, machine learning, computer science and finance. It provides the analytical tools to solve practical problems in the complex and rapidly evolving world of today's financial industry.

Graduates from the Master of Quantitative Finance are equipped for positions with financial institutions, corporations and government regulatory organizations.

Director: Alexander Schied
Helen helenychen@uwaterloo.ca
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2025 Ranking Data
Cohort Size
22 FT
Acceptance Rate (%)
26.7%
Tuition
C$36,208
Views
17,322
First release
Last update

Ratings

3.80 star(s) 5 reviews 4.50 star(s) Students Quality 5.00 star(s) Courses/Instructors 4.00 star(s) Career Services
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Latest reviews
Headline
Excellent School - Great Academics / Professors
Class of
2025
Reviewed by Verified Member
The University of Waterloo Quant Finance Master's program is an excellent program for someone who is interested in learning rigorous maths. The program focuses on statistics, applied maths, and relevant coding skills required to succeed in industry.

At University Waterloo, in the 2 years that it took to do my Masters (you can normally do faster in just 4 trimesters), I've learned more hard skills than in my 4 years of undergrad in business school. Waterloo will really push you to your limit, but the result will be worth it. Classes start off with classes focusing on stochastic calculus, and advanced statistics. For many students without prior background, they will struggle at first because Waterloo doesn't hold your hand at all. My first trimester, I was just barely passing, and getting only around 6 hours of sleep a night. By the end of your time at Waterloo, you'll find that the classes get easier, because many of the same concepts will be retaught/built upon. I like this teaching philosophy, because this way, you'll be given many chances to really remember what you've learned.

In general, the professors at Waterloo are genuinely nice, and will go through the extra effort to help you. Of course, there are some professors who care mostly about their own research, and will make it known that they dislike teaching. However, the number of excellent professors greatly outnumbers the number of "mean" professors.

For job placements, Waterloo is the number 2 program in Canada for quant finance. However, the job market during the time I was there was not great. Don't expect that everyone will place at prestigious big 5 bank in Canada. In my cohort of around 18 people, only around 4 or 5 classmates interned at a big bank. The 100% placement rate for co-op is also a bit misleading. If you cannot find a co-op, you simply start writing your Master's Research Paper over the summer trimester.

I wouldn't recommend U Waterloo for someone is primarily focused on finding a job in the US. The alumni network is mostly Canada based, and students are largely responsible for finding their own co-ops.

Overall, for just the quality of the education, and at the unbeatable price (when compared to US programs), I would strongly recommend Waterloo.
Recommend
Yes, I would recommend this program
Students Quality
4.00 star(s)
Courses/Instructors
5.00 star(s)
Career Services
3.00 star(s)
Upvote 0 Downvote
Headline
Quality option at a low cost
Class of
2025
Reviewed by Verified Member
My experience with the program has been overwhelmingly positive. The coursework is comprehensive and prepares you very well for quant finance interviews. Furthermore there are plenty of events and opportunities to network with industry practitioners. Our professors are leading researchers in the field and it's a great privilege to work with and be taught by them. The program has a very strong reputation in Canada and will massively boost the resume of anyone looking to work here. The faculty is very well connected with the industry and provides you with opportunities to apply for roles that are not publicly available. Coming from a math background I don't think I would have been able to break into the industry without this program. Waterloo and UofT are considered the two best programs in Canada and Waterloo comes at a fraction of the tuition cost, so for me it was a clear winner. I recommend this program to anyone looking to work in quant finance in Canada.
Recommend
Yes, I would recommend this program
Students Quality
5.00 star(s)
Courses/Instructors
5.00 star(s)
Career Services
5.00 star(s)
Upvote 0 Downvote
I don't know MQF before. But right now Master of Quantitative program is the most terrible master program "in the world". The course design is not change for almost 20 years, yes, you can learn something if you work hard. But then what? you can not find a good job after you graduate. Because staffs in this program are not responsible for students and their connection to financial industry is really terrible. Connection is one of the most important for a graduate to find a good job. when you want to get help from staffs in this program, you will hope helpless, because they don't care about your study and problems you meet in this program. I heard from my friend that one previous director ask my friend to leave his office when my friend wanted some help from this director. He felt so disappointed for both this program and staffs in this program. Please remember: their ranking just represent for their previous reputation not now. Because all staffs changed, founder of this program even left university of Waterloo and coordinator has retired 1 year ago.

A director in MQF said: "I don't care about closing this program".
Upvote 0 Downvote
What more can I say. Lowest tuition, hard mathematics, 100% placement rate, excellent reputation in Toronto/Canada. Best program in Canada. If you just need a graduate degree and be familiar with some financial topics, go to UT MMF, if you want to learn quant skills and build a solid mathematical background, go to UW MQF.
Upvote 0 Downvote
I think it is true that if your goal is to work and live in Canada, this is the right school. Otherwise, I suggest go to US grad school directly. As a grad from mqf, I agreed the above opions and I think it is fairly objective. I asked the director last year, their roughly statistics on grads last year entry salary is 80k.

Pros: low tuition (12K cad for all); nearly perfect intern/fulltime placement rate; small class size, good reputation and network in Bay street
Cons: less likely to find a job in US when grad; entry salary is good but has small potential to increase usually no bonus.
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