Rutgers University - Master of Quantitative Finance

When looking at ratings and reviews of Quant programs on this site, you need to make sure to have the context behind the numbers in mind. Every program is designed to cater to a different incoming profile, so simply going off of the rating number will not give you a very effective indicator of whether a school is good for you, specifically or not. If you are someone who comes from a completely non-quant background, comparing a top 5 school to a 10-20 school is a waste of time. The top schools are mostly admitting students with heavy quant-like profiles, so if you don't fit that category, not taking a holistic approach is a big mistake. Secondly, from what I understand, the data submitted for these ratings is not standardized, i.e. different schools treat international, national (different parts of the country), missing, etc. in different ways, making the pure ranking number nothing but a popularity contest. These caveats need to be understood clearly so you don't decide your future based on lackluster/misleading information.

So where does Rutgers MQF stand in comparison to others and what is unique about this program? MQF is a program that takes a non-quant and makes a quant. That is, flat out the strength of the program. Students from many different backgrounds will be in your class and this will allow you to look at the subjects, projects, and understanding about topics from various perspectives. Another advantage of this is the lack of imposter syndrome as there will be many others who have not been exposed to many of the topics that are required and may seem difficult in the beginning. You should feel full personal freedom to ask questions and be as dumb as you need to be to fully understand what is needed. The available subjects cover, in my opinion, all the necessities of a quant who will be entering the industry. Check the curriculum for every program you're considering - it is the only thing besides the faculty that matters, everything else comes after. Besides the requirements, MQF offers Quantitative Risk Management, Machine Learning, Econometrics, Optimization Modes, Financial Time Series, Indexing & ETFs, and more. These are the electives I took when I was a student and I use pretty much all of them in my role - many times I have used my class notes and slides at work to understand something again. In terms of difficulty, it will entirely depend on your appetite for hard work and willingness to learn. If you are lazy and cruise by just copying from others, the negatives will come to you in the job search, the quality of your role, and/or how competent you will be at your workplace after graduating (you cannot escape the laziness to learn). The program offers more than enough guidance and support in terms of professor availability, intelligent TAs, other students who are willing to help, and quality of the homework/projects for you to be able to learn what is needed to succeed in your role and have the ability to learn beyond. I work with colleagues who went to the Top 5 programs and never have I felt that MQF did not give me the proper training to keep up or that I could not at the very least learn something that I do not know. Yes, my lack of real-world experience does show up but your workplace will have an understanding of this as expected from an industry beginner. MQF built me a strong enough blueprint and foundation to be good at my role (Quantitative Analyst - focusing on all Derivatives (Equity, Fixed Income/Rates, and FX) and be able to learn newer topics that extend from the school curriculum. You should be looking at the subjects and the topics a program offers with the highest weight and priority. Your knowledge is the main thing that will land you a good job, everything else is added after. Simply going to a top 5 school but not learning how to learn difficult things and work with other people will not help you in the practical world. School ratings vanish the moment you sit for an interview or start your job, so make sure you understand the curriculum and how it aligns with your current situation.

Lastly, the faculty, in my opinion, is the second most important factor to consider. MQF faculty is well equipped with theoretical knowledge and practicality of the topics to teach effectively. Of course, you will be a professor you do not like, this will be true anywhere you go, but overall the faculty is passionate about their subjects and understanding of the students and their backgrounds. As I said before, the strength of this program is the taking a non-quant and making a quant - the faculty's patience and ability to teach difficult topics like stochastic calc., numerical analysis, practicality of derivatives, risk management, and more in intuitive ways is the main driver of that strength. I never felt that I could not ask a professor even the most basic question (albeit you don't want to waste the class time either - use office hours). As a student, your main goal is to land a good job for which you need to truly understand what you're learning. To do that, having a faculty that allows you to feel like a student and ask questions to understand things intuitively is pertinent. My favorite professors at the program were as follows: Mariya Naumova (Econometrics, Numerical Analysis, and Risk Management) - extremely intelligent, logical, and willing to answer even the most basic questions to make sure you understand what is confusing. Andrzej Ruszczyński (Stochastic Calc. and Optimization Models) - a pioneer and well-known researcher in the optimization field who can answer any of your questions on pretty much any topic from many different angles. One of the most humble and knowledgeable people. Andrea Tamoni (Derivatives) - someone who understands derivatives from the most basic level to the highest complexity. This is the type of professor you want to make sure you utilize to the fullest to gain a good understanding of the topic. Every single thing in his class is important if you want to work in the derivatives field. His ability to connect traditional financial theories and models to the payoffs of options, credit derivatives, and the math behind pricing is impressive.

Hope that helps. Understand that your career is, for all practical purposes, only in your own hands. You should be crafting it purposefully and consciously at every moment. Work hard and good luck.

I believe Rutgers MQF program is one of the top Quant programs in the US for the following reasons :
1. The program prepares you to be a well-rounded quant. Equal importance is given to finance, maths, and programming through the 15 courses we study here.
2. Faculty: Rutgers MQF has one of the finest faculties to learn some of the most difficult subjects in any master's program from. We were taught Stochastic Calculus and Optimization Models by Andrzej Ruszczyński and I feel his lectures were a treat to listen to. He takes a lot of effort to explain some of the most difficult concepts out there and I have personally learned a lot in his class. Professor Mariya Naumova is another great professor from the program who teaches Econometrics, Numerical Methods, and Risk Management and she is one of the smartest professors I had the pleasure of learning from. We were taught Fixed Income by Priyank Gandhi who has done a quant master's and has worked in the industry before. His lectures were really important to set our base of fixed income which is vital for any quant.
3. Electives: The program offers 5 electives, and I feel I have learned a lot from the electives I took: Machine Learning, and Risk Management to name a few. Professor Serdar Dinc has designed the Machine Learning course in a way where we actually program in every class in front of the professor. ML assignments were challenging and if you do each assignment judiciously you will gain a lot of knowledge about data cleaning and preprocessing, variable selection, which is vital for machine learning.
4. Interviews: The concepts taught in classes like Econometrics, ML, Financial time series, and Stochastic calculus immensely helped me in my interviews. Professor Mariya, Professor Serdar, and Professor Alex helped a lot during my interview process and I believe I landed my job because of their guidance. Professor Alex has been in the quant industry for more than 25 years and we were lucky to have him during the job search process.
5. Career Fair: Rutgers MQF has 2 career management classes and the career fairs organized really help students to get placed for internships and full-time jobs. I have seen most students get an internship/ job with the help of the fintech career fairs. I personally gave a couple of internship interviews ( & the only interviews I got) through the career fair.
6. Administration: Thomas does a fantastic job as the manager of the MQF program. He is always available to solve your problems and you can reach out to him about anything related to the MQF program. He has been of great help to all the students and he makes the experience of the program worthwhile.

The best thing about the MQF program is the diverse background of students (finance, engineering, management, maths, accounting, etc.). Unlike most other programs Rutgers MQF doesn’t hire students who are already quants, but they work on making you a quant and I feel that’s more important. I believe to make the most out of this program, attend all the classes, talk to the faculties about the subject, participate in all the career fairs, focus on learning rather than easy grades, and be the best quant you can be :). All the best!

45 Credits in total compared 30 credits of most of the MFE programs. You could choose course in different area: math, programming, data analysis, system simulation, finance, accounting, etc. You also have many choices in New Brunswick. That means you have so many rooms to tailor the course with your career goal and interest.
The career services is excellent too. For example, this year, the career adviser bring several big name company to our program to conduct projects with students. Also many industrial people will be invited to give speeches in workshops.
The location also add great points to this program. 20 mins to WTC, 35 mins to mid town Manhattan, which makes to easy to participate in different events or interviews.

Background
BA in Economics
No full-time work experience before attending MQF program

Coursework

10 core courses plus 5 elective courses required to complete the degree, some core courses are substitutable with certain electives

Students are allowed to take certain courses under other departments

Some courses have very heavy workload, some are comparatively light; most courses are of high quality and easy to follow

As a student with little programming background, I was able to master multiple programming languages though homework and projects.

Career services

The new career adviser is very professional and helpful.

Before I attend MQF program, I had an education background of bioinformatics. I wanted to have a career switch at that time. So I chose the quant program at Rutgers. It turned out that it was the right choice. First, this program has diverse courses to choose. You can learn sophisticated math theory if you are good at it, or you can choose finance/economics/accounting courses if you like to explore finance. As far as I know, many other programs only offer or specialized in one side, but not both. Second, the professors are exceptional. The classes are well organized and they are extremely helpful in connecting the industry. I got my first internship in the first few months after attending this program. Third, there are many alumni working at wall street, which are the most powerful resources in job hunting and career development.

After working several years at different rating agencies/ banks, I am proud to say I made a right choice attending MQF program.

BS in Engineering

Cursory research of the program shows it provides a balance between math, finance, and programming that many other programs are skewed in. After attending here, I believe my assumptions to be true for the most part. While course offerings are not very diverse each semester, there is bound to be opportunities to take very interesting electives. Core classes are flexible enough where time is not an issue. Coursework is reasonable enough to get proper practice without being overwhelming. Teams are important, and building of teams is encouraged in and out of the classroom setting.

Career advisory was lacking the first year. Many company visits, but not many practical opportunities. New career advisor is excellent. Works hard to provide opportunities for all students. Very personal and hands on in assisting each and every student who asks for help.

The biggest issue with the program is the structure of the courses. While the time when classes are taken is flexible to arrange, the sheer number of core classes makes specializing very difficult. Also, some courses do not focus on application enough.

Overall, the program is a great experience. For the most part, professors are excellent. Even if a professor may not teach material or in a manner suited to one's needs, the professor is still very helpful in other aspects of academic and career development.