Boston University - MS in Mathematical Finance and Financial Technology

I graduated from the Boston University’s Mathematical Finance program in January 2015 having studied Economics in Undergrad.

As an overview:
The program’s duration is 3 semesters. The first was the hardest in terms of the workload and was focused more on building a theoretical background. The courses of the next semesters built on the knowledge that was (should have been) obtained throughout the first and got gradually more applied.

There was a considerable effort from the director, Dr. Namini, to educate us about the different career paths and connect us with industry professionals. He kept an open door policy and students could spend a lot of time on one on one conversations with him discussing about suitable careers. As an example, I asked him about a particular career path and he spend some time explaining me what I would need to know and where to focus in order to be successful. He even gave me some contacts he had from that specific industry so that I can have informational interviews.

The program also tries to utilize its alumni. I personally found my job through the alumni connections.

It is a professional degree. During the third semester all courses were during the evenings giving me the opportunity to work part-time during the mornings.

As for the difficulty of the program, it was VERY difficult. It was the most stressful experience of my life. The moto of the program (you will hear it from the first day) is “If you are sleeping, you are doing something wrong”. I used to be one of the best students in undergrad but in BU MSMF I was average. I personally think that this is a plus for the program because if you are to spend so much money and valuable time (1.5 years in your twenties is quite valuable) you should be pressured to gain as much as possible.

I would recommend this program to anyone who is driven, ambitious and willing to work hard.

I am a recent graduate from Boston University’s Mathematical Finance program.

My background is in industrial engineering. Studying operations research and optimization led me the quantitative finance world.

My class at BU MSMF included around 60 students, and most had an internship during summer and started a full-time position within 3 months upon graduating.

The program consists of three semesters.
The first semester is about learning fundamental math/statistics and having an introduction to quant finance. The 1st semester is divided into 2 parts to fit in different necessary courses, and I personally liked this way of organizing. From the second half of the 1st semester, students are required to use computer programming for their assignments. R is recommended. No course is provided for learning R but C++ course is offered in 2nd semester.

The coursework gets deeper as you move into the 2nd semester. Courses are tougher students have 2 and more projects. Subjects include fixed income, computational finance, C++ and advanced stochastic calculus. Lecture contents and quality are great. Lots of assignments and ridiculously difficult concepts will keep you in school everyday.

Some of the more experienced students and those who get lucky at information interviews get their summer internship offer during the 1st semester. Landing an internship this early is relatively rare, though. Starting from the 1-month winter vacation, students really get started on internship hunting. What is nice about the program is that its alumni network and staff’s efforts are very helpful. Students usually get information about 10-30 job openings through the staff, exclusively working for the program, and the program director. Speaking of the director, Dr. Namini is a valuable asset of the program with his alumni management and corporate networking. His experiences at Wall St. are very beneficial to students.

I also got an internship through alumni, who held information sessions about their company on campus. The Boston area has many opportunities regarding asset management and commercial banking.

Third semester is the full-time job-hunting season. Courses are still intense but don’t require too much. During the 3rd semester all courses are scheduled 6pm - 9pm so students can work part-time (international students can CPT for this).
Some students get full time offers from their internship employers. Like internship opportunities, many offers come from the Boston area thanks to the program’s close alumni network and tight connection with local companies.

I landed a job in a prestigious investment management firm here in Boston, working for the quant analytics team. I am very happy that my position closely relates to research-oriented responsibilities.

Here’s a summary of key facts about BU MSMF:

1. Very nice curriculum (quality, materials, depth, lecturers and the overall structure)
2. STEM OPT extension eligible for international students (29-month OPT will be very helpful, given high demand of H-1B visa applications)
3. Living in Boston is quite fun. Not as crazy as New York, but still a lot of opportunities in the finance industry (If you are a big sports fan, this is the best place to live)
4. The director, faculty and staff really care about the students, their job search and their life in general. They’re very good at fetching jobs too.
5. You need to put extra efforts on computer programming outside of class
6. Coursework is VERY difficult. You will find yourself taking classes with PhD students.
7. Not a very high reputation of the school, especially with Harvard and MIT right across the river.
8. If you are thinking about working in investment banking, Boston is not the best city, but many good asset management/advisory firms can be found here. But still, you can always find a job in New York if you want to work in investment banking.

In conclusion, I highly recommend this program. I had awesome, talented classmates, high-quality courses and many impressive job opportunities I had chances to explore. Also, I feel that the program is continuously improving. The program is carefully listening to the feedbacks from graduates to upgrade its value.

I just begin my second semester in BU.This program is very difficult and tough!You have to learn hard the whole semester.Based on job placement history,it is not hard to get a job if you can survive.The knowledge you learn here is very useful and important for your career.
what is more,we have career preparation session every week,cris is a very good and helpful lady who teach us how to make a phone interview,30 seconds interview,etc. You can feel that you are not fighting alone,a team back you up!!
Dr.Namini is a very charming man who has a lot of experience in Wall street,he always use analogy to explain us trading and finance knowledge which make us understand better.
Although the program is so hard that gonna to kill me, i feel every penny i paid is totally worthy!