University of California, Berkeley - Master of Financial Engineering

Admission process was fairly easy. Just a technical with an alumni. Instructor quality is distributed. Most are good. Few were horrible. Was surprised to see such poor quality professors in such a reputed program. Career services are non existent. The MFE program has no current director and no career services head. Administrative staff is entirely running the program. Consequently, no companies are coming. Anyways, Berkeley MFE has a bad reputation among employers. They have literally let anyone in. Some students are smart tbh. But at some students you will feel how did they even cross the bar to enter. In short, avoid joining the Berkeley MFE unless you just want it as a visa ticket. Expect no help in placement and minimal learning in this tightly compressed program.

Although there was a little bit of turmoil going around the staffing issue, I still find the MFE program at Berkeley amazing. Fiona and the MFE office still maintained the connections with the top companies, and that definitely helped me land a decent job. As long as you keep working on honing your interview skills, you'll be successful.

I have seen lots of very positive reviews pop up lately which seem a bit suspicious so I am leaving one because of that.

This is a program with a lot of potential but there are many flaws that it seems they have not bothered fixing despite students complaining for a long time. I find that the previous reviews don't mention problems students actually have with the program and don't give appropriate info for incoming students to make a decision that is best for their career.

Pros:
- Professors are world class researchers and very prominent in their fields
- helpful and responsive alumni network
- rigorous and in depth courses that focus on very relevant material to what is actually done in industry


Cons:
- World class research doesn't translate into world class teaching, some professors are not great lecturers, they are only made even more ineffective by long lectures. All lectures are at least 2 hours long, some classes have lectures up to 4 or even 6 hours long.

- The curriculum is very rigorous but only 1 year long. This translates into a very large amount of work for students. There has been quite little outings and socializing in our batch since the start of the program because everyone is busy even during weekends. The only down time you get is after finals which is usually filled with interviews and OAs. Slowing down the pace, even a little, would greatly benefit the students.

- You are graded on a curve, there is a lot to this so there are 3 parts.

Part 1: The maximum allowed GPA in any class is a 3.5, so half of the class will have below a 3.5 (at best). This creates a competitive environment between students. This has ugly side effects mainly exams that are made harder than they should be to spread the curve, often the difficulty comes by adding content only briefly covered in class greatly benefiting students who have a better background. TLDR your grade doesn't reflect what the professor taught you but what you know relative to your peers.

Part 2: Everyone gets full marks on homework (you still have to do everything correctly, its not free points), which is very time consuming, this means that doing the homework is bare minimum for any class. That also means that the homework weight is irrelevant since the spread comes from exams. If your homework is 60% and everyone gets an A, then effectively the final exam is 100% of your grade. TLDR: Poor test takers are brutally punished by this program.

Part 3: Cheating. The vast majority of the class is honest and doesn't cheat.
Having spoken to alumni who over graduated over 10 years ago, the cheating is still a problem (I was extremely surprised when they complained about the exact same issue we have now). The issue is there is a very well established flow of Chinese students for a fixed set of universities. They have exams and solutions passed on from previous years, and the exams change little year over year. So they effectively have the answer key to the exam which is 100% of your grade, and you are graded on a curve. Similarly, some students have past years' homework solutions meaning they spend much less time on work and have time to interview, and prepare better. In a way I can't blame them for cheating, but the fact the program has not fixed this in over a decade is upsetting to both me and alumni. We have already had this happen on a few exams this year, even with evidence no punishments were given to anyone.

- Many students feel somewhat mislead on the internship availability. We were told not to worry about finding internships in the beginning and many didn't apply for summer opportunities because of that (since we are forced to study full time alongside the internship in the summer). However, it turns out that we should have been quite worried. This year there have been virtually no postings for fall internships on sites, there are very few opportunities and we are completely reliant on the program to bring us the ones there are. There were actually very many opportunities, but it was offset by the second point. To compound the problems, firms chased after the top students who rejected many offers, in turn this causes those firms to take no interns at all and leave, screwing over other students. The program should have been much more strict with this behavior. Why are students who get top summer internships still allowed to stay in the fall pool and out compete other students?

Conclusion:
Overall, I somewhat regret attending this program to be honest. So far it has been very stressful and expensive. I am learning a lot, that is true, I feel like I have a good grasp of the concepts I am being taught and the classes are very interesting, but getting high marks is very difficult. I feel that my deflated GPA has hurt my chances at finding a job more than a masters degree on my resume will help.

The bad market and fall internship cycle have made searching for internships very difficult.

This program is basically a recruiting opportunity with classes, I wish it was better communicated that you must be completely ready to recruit for quant roles prior to enrolling the program. You will not have time to prepare once the program starts.

I truly believe Berkeley MFE is one of the top quant finance programs. It will help you launch a career in this highly competitive field. No program is perfect, but I believe Berkeley MFE comes very close.

Coursework:
Quant Finance is huge and it is impossible to teach everything. The coursework does a nice job of helping students build the ABC of quant finance and then tries to supplement it with more specialized courses. The coursework did an exceptional job at laying down a strong base (empirical finance/stochastic calc), which didn’t just help with interviews, but is absolutely necessary if you are going to work in a top QR/QT role. It did a good job of covering specific asset classes and advanced topics (Fixed Income/HFT/Active Portfolio Management). I would love to see more options in advanced coursework.

Students:
I loved being part of a diverse and talented cohort. The fact that most people enter the program with existing work experience makes getting to know everyone and working alongside a diverse skillset highly rewarding. Most people in the program were exceptionally talented and I made amazing friends here. You do compete with some of the best people in this field for a whole year, but you will appreciate the outcome.

Career Services:
The program office does everything under its control, to ensure you get the possible interns and full-time placements. They are proactive in interacting with the students, figuring out what is in their best interest, and reaching out to employers with the best opportunities. The job market wasn’t in the best shape in 2023-24, but the program office didn’t give up and did vastly better than most of the other programs. There were some changes in the team towards the end of 2024, but their dedication to the students didn’t change.

My verdict:
This program is no golden bullet for a best-of-the-best quant finance role. It gives you the right tools and support, to be able to shape your career trajectory. If you believe you are talented and ready to work hard, Berkeley MFE should be one of your top choices.

This is a great program as much in terms of curriculum, quality of teaching, and career support. I started the program with limited financial experience and developed a deep knowledge of various asset classes and some of the most complex topics such as Derivatives and High Frequency Trading, both of which are electives that you can take during the program.
Put in the good work, be humble, and use the many opportunities to learn. The career service is always available and you can book a time slot on their calendar. They post frequent job postings, monitor every student’s interview status, and leverage a large Alumni base and connections with recurrent employers, among which are the biggest names in the Banking, Asset Management, and Hedge fund space.
The program provides opportunities to gain experience, from academic and industry projects to multiple events and competitions throughout the year to help students stand out. You can also enjoy UC Berkeley’s resources, including in-person forums, and take classes from different departments (like DeFi, an EECS course organized by Christine Parlour), you simply have to be curious and proactive.
The classes are varied and cover different topics, from more math-oriented courses (Empirical Methods and Stochastic Calculus) to financial assets (Equities, Currencies, and Fixed Income) and Machine Learning. There are some extremely bright, motivated students with whom to do group projects, and the teachers are always happy to discuss course content and the industry in general. The grading is very fair.
Overall, it was an amazing experience, a career boost offering professional opportunities I would never have had otherwise, I learned enormously even on topics in which I already had experience, and on top of that it was a unique opportunity to make great memories and create long-lasting relationships.

The UCB Haas MFE program was the perfect preparation for my quant career. Although very intense, the program is equally rewarding.

One of the things I enjoyed was the breadth of electives, allowing you to tailor the program to your needs. This included both new topics such as DeFi and deep topics such as High Frequency Finance. We also got the opportunity to work on real problems early on in the program through industry projects.

Beyond from the content, the program boasts a great faculty. The nice blend of reputable academics and seasoned professionals ensures that the coursework was not only academically sound, but also practically relevant.

In my experience, the career service and program team, both old and new, did an excellent job. It's then also disappointing to see the negative reviews targeted towards them.

It's widely known that 2024 was a not so nice year to find a job in the quant world, but this did not change the relentless effort that the MFE team put into supporting us.

I still use what I learned in the program on a daily basis in my current job. I can only recommend this program to anyone who wants to break into the quant world.

Just graduated from UC Berkeley. It was certainly one of the most fruitful experiences of my life. Excellent professors who are industry experts, brilliant peers and amazing career service. Jacob and the career team were available 24 hours a day to help students get their preferred internships/jobs in reputed firms in the industry. Their guidance on networking and handling different situations was a great learning curve over what is taught in classrooms. The program encouraged a lot of teamwork and that set the tone for our personal development as well. The only part where the program could improve is the duration of the program. Longer duration would help students absorb the topics better and help them work on more projects though graduating in 1 year has its perks.
For people interested in quant roles this is definitely the right place to be.

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.).