University of California, Berkeley - Master of Financial Engineering

This program is perfectly suited for students that want to start their quant career without necessarily having lots of experience.
Compared to other MFEs I heard about (Columbia MFE, MIT MFinance, …), the career service has an impressive number of companies that directly reach out if they are interested in Interns / Full Time graduate students. This makes this MFE so special, - even if there had been some problems recently with the director leaving during the year - most of MFE students across the country have to apply by themselves and hence struggle more to get resume screenings.
Concerning classes, the quantity of the courses is heavy, so students that are tired of enjoying the sunny weather in California shouldn’t worry.

As a recent graduate of the UC Berkeley Master of Financial Engineering program, I feel compelled to share my experience for those considering this path. While the program offers a rigorous curriculum and access to a network of professionals, there are aspects that could be improved.

Curriculum and Instruction: The academic rigor is undeniable, but the practical application of the coursework sometimes falls short. Theoretical knowledge is abundant, yet opportunities to apply these concepts in real-world scenarios were less frequent than I expected.

Career Services and Placement: The career support services were not as robust as I had hoped. A significant turnover in the placement team during my tenure led to a disorganized job search process, leaving many of my peers and myself feeling unsupported in our career aspirations.

Cost and Value: The financial investment in the MFE program is substantial. While I understand the prestige attached to the Haas School of Business, the return on investment is a crucial factor that seems to be glossed over during the admissions process. Prospective students should carefully consider the cost-benefit ratio of this program.

Overall Experience: While I value the knowledge gained and the connections made, the program's execution did not fully meet my expectations. Future improvements in career support, practical application of skills, and a more inclusive culture could enhance the experience for upcoming cohorts.

I’m a student just graduated from the class of 2024. I would say that this program is not worth it after Linda leaves. The new executive director quitted halfway and the former associate was promoted. But she has no idea about the quant industry and limited career connection. The whole career office provides limited support and service with the current students because their lack of industry experience and understanding towards the knowledge required in the financial markets. Everything becomes even worse when the job market performs bad in recent years. The only thing that the new director is doing is to seek jobs via LinkedIn and Handshake then email the students to apply for such positions. I would say anyone that holds a high school degree can do this job. When students approached her regarding the employment data she just bullshits. I really hope Linda to be back and save this program.

I am from the 2024 graduating batch and hence, my opinion will be biased by the way that year was:

Good:
1. Good and diverse peer group - engineers, statisticians etc. 1 had a PhD as well - for many it was their 2nd masters
2. Faculty knowledge - faculty is great, Lettau, Walden, Wallace are GOATs in their fields
3. Great Californian weather
4. Courses are very hands on - if you do all the assignments yourself, you're leaving this program as a very well equipped quant
5. Linda is the queen - she will help you in every way possible - it is very unfortunate that she is no longer leading the program

Bad:
1. Very unprofessional placement team: the director left in the middle of the program, when more than half the batch was unplaced. he did not even wait till a replacement was hired and as a result the placement season was very bad. I thought these actions were very unprofessional. They just got a new director - 7 months after- and she was the old directors deputy. If you're not in her good books, she is not very helpful and can prove to be counter-helpful too
2. 1 year is simply too compressed - each term is 8 weeks and it is simply not feasible to learn graduate level coursework in a good manner in such a short period
3. Grade deflation - the median/mean GPA at Haas MFE is 3.4 which is substantially lower as compared to other MFE prpograms. This is a problem while interviewing with firms that focus on GPA

Berkeley MFE is a perfect program for students who are going to pursue a job in the financial engineering industry. The curriculum design, the career support, and the reputation of this top MFE program are quite impressive.

I believe the program is quite effective for those who have clear goals in terms of the Asset class they want to work in or the kind of strategies they would want to implement. It's a rigorous program and not a place where you can throw everything on the wall to see what sticks. Regarding the Director's departure, it's actually beneficial for the program, as it was struggling under his inexperienced leadership. Although placements have been challenging this year for everyone, securing a job is much more comfortable with this program as compared to other MFE's.

I graduated from this program in 2024 and I have to say that I was very disappointed with the career services. The program director left the MFE program in the middle of placements (sometime in November iirc) and there was no replacement hired. Afaik there is no replacement yet. This was very unprofessional and made a tough job environment even tougher. Apart from 2-3 professors, others dont put effort in teaching. Subject matter taught in the courses is very superficial which is expected since each course is not even taught for 2 months

The MFE is one of the top financial engineering programs and has been since it was started by quant finance legend Mark Rubinstein. The program has maintained its pedigree by employing world class faculty and updating its curriculum to keep up with rapid innovation in the industry. In addition to its traditional quant classes, the MFE has expanded its course catalog to incorporate deep learning, AI, and even a crypto class that straddles the boundary between finance and tech. Due to its location and course catalog, the MFE is well equipped to provide various skill sets depending on each individuals career interests. Between the world class faculty and my diverse cohort of students attracted to the MFE, I had countless opportunities to learn from both my professors and my classmates. The program is incredibly well designed to encourage as much collaboration as possible to encourage you to get to know your classmates and to replicate the experience of working in a professional environment.

The only part of the program that I found less than ideal was that the timeline was a bit awkward. The program starts in March and ends in March with a winter internship period which is fairly atypical. I arrived the first week and found myself immediately applying for internships over the summer and during our winter internship period before I had covered any of the coursework. Despite this, the career advisers have managed to convince firms to create winter internships cycles specifically for this program. It’s not as robust as the traditional summer timeline but it does mitigate some of the opportunities missed from the misaligned timeline. That being said, this timeline isn’t without its perks; it’s only one year long and limits the opportunity cost of spending time in school in lieu of earning a salary and therefore makes it financially more reasonable in the long run than some of the alternatives.

All in all I was extremely thrilled with my experience (despite the whole COVID restrictions and limitations while I was in school) and would strongly recommend to any potential applicant.

Just graduated from UC Berkeley. Excellent professors, seamless exposure to industry gaints, abundant career resources make it one of the wisest decisions for me to choose Berkeley MFE program.

Joining and completing the MFE at UC Berkeley is a challenging and greatly rewarding experience. The program will give students all the tools they need in order to succeed in the quantitative/data industry in a short, intense time. Career services make themselves available at all times and provide valuable advice and great interview opportunities.

I have just graduated from Berkeley's MFE and I can honestly say it has been one of the best decisions of my life.
The teachers are great, the students are competitive and the MFE office is always there for you.
Jacob Gallice, who replaced Linda Kreitzman last year, is extremely efficient to help you find a job and makes every effort possible to find you a job that suits you.

I am the current student at the Berkeley MFE program (class of 2019). This program is great! Linda Kreitzman, the director of our program, is extremely helpful and dedicated, knowing everyone on the wall street. The program is intense, fast-paced, offering state of the art skillsets both in buy-side and sell-side.

I graduated from this program and found it to be outstanding. Linda Kreitzman, the director of the program, is extremely dedicated and her outstanding effort to place students is truly remarkable. The program provides a foundation for careers on the buy side and sell side and several students have gone on to work as data scientists at technology firms. The program is extremely intense and fast-paced, so be ready. The only weakness of the program is that it is relatively far from NYC, although places just as well as other programs there and is well recognized in international financial centers (London, HK, etc.).

I was graduated from this program in 2013. I think It is a great program offered me with systematical training in Quantitative methods, financial knowledge, analytical skills and market intuitions. The career service is helpful to ensure everyone's internship and full time placement.

I am a graduate of this program (class of 2015). This program is outstanding. The faculty are excellent, and the dedication of the program office to the students is inspiring. My background before the MFE was in analysis of PDE, and I came to the program to build that skill set into one that is applicable in a wide variety of settings in the financial services industry.

I am a current student at the Berkeley MFE program. Joining this program has been one of the best decisions in my life so far. This program brings excellent professors, courses, students under one roof in a intensely packed program. The three terms I have taken till now have brought out the best in me (and has made me so tired as well). I did not know I could do so much. I have learnt a lot and feel confident that with a brand like Berkeley Haas MFE, the amazing learning opportunities, the efforts that I have put in and with the career service that one gets here - I will get job offers that I would like to take up. Most people in my batch do feel this way. Having said that its important to stress that this is a very very intense program and apart from technical abilities and intelligence having the right attitude is also very important to do well in the program. Its very easy to get demotivated because you are tested day in and day out ( whether its assignments, exams or interviews) and its not possible for somebody to do well in everything at all point in time. Accepting the fact that its ok to do average or less than average in some or multiple facets is a fact that many students here feel difficult to deal with.The program is competitive but not as much as I thought before joining. Classmates are very helpful. Further though one competes with classmates for jobs one competes with only a subsection for a particular job because people bring different skills are of varied experience and age in here.

I attended the program in 2014. The curriculum structure is amazing. Great balance between academic vs profesional courses. You get chance to meet and taught be some of the reverred name from industry and academia.
Support from MFE office is very helpful. They keep in touch even after you graduate and make sure that you are happy with your current job. They provide us with feedback on our interview skills and resume even before we reach Berkeley. From day one we get seminars from different organizations telling us what they do.
Other than MFE life at Berkeley in general is awesome, and I am very happy that I decided to do MFE from Berkeley.

Excellent professors, career services and alumni network. First and foremost, the alumni network is incredible, and this leads to better collaboration and better job opportunities. I've had countless cases where alumni of the program from prior years (who I don't even know) have taken the time to discuss their positions with me and assist me with potential job opportunities. There is a dense group of alums at the highest tier IBs in NYC, which makes it far more likely that job applications will be well received. In general, career services are top notch, and Linda's team work late into the evenings and weekends to make things happen for you when it comes to internships as well as full time positions. Finally, the caliber of professors is very high, with many being influential practitioners in their fields or famous academics who basically invented whole areas of the quant discipline. You feel like you're in good hands, and you are.

This is a great program. The program director is awesome; she puts in 200% for the students. The placement record is great. The class is great mix of fresh graduates, PhDs and experienced professionals. There is huge learning from great professors and fellow classmates.

Joining this program was honestly the best decision I've ever made. People ask me all the time what sets it apart. First and foremost, the job placement is unmatched thanks to the program director who apparently never sleeps. She's the kind of person who knows your strengths better than you do, and knows how to sell you to your employer while pushing you in the exact direction you need to be truly prepared. And obviously, it never hurts to also have the extensive alumni network that the Berkeley MFE has built over years and years being one of the first programs.

Beyond that, the program really crams your brain with experience, and not just via the internship (which boasted 100% placement when I was there). Most of the curriculum is group work, and you really learn how to work with people, and more specifically, with the types of people you'll be working with in quant finance or data science.

It's not an easy program. It's really geared for those that are thirsting for the challenge of their lives, but it's a challenge that will transform you. Any Berkeley student will tell you a different way their life was changed. For me, beyond all the skills, it was really understanding my strengths-- how I stood out in the context of all these brilliant minds, both in the program and during the internship.

Overall, it's the program that will test your limits, raise them, and set the course for rest of your life.