University of California, San Diego - Master of Quantitative Finance

Rigorous! yet great program that instantly throws you into the fire. Very heavy on statistical methods, probability theory, and if you choose the right electives you basically end up getting a data science degree with a focus on finance, economics, and financial instruments. Great cohort, great resources like the bloomberg lab and all the trading challenges they offer you to take part of. Program makes you feel like you are actually at a quant shop doing rigorous work day by day. Lot of insanely smart faculty, if you pair this program with rigorous readings into linear algebra and difference equations for time series you'll become a polymath of stats, math, and coding logic. Program is also very research heavy, if you speak to the right professors you'll end up in some pretty cool rooms. Very good program for people who love the lore of financial mathematics and computational methods. Great time, friendly faces, and fantastic weather!

The faculty is excellent, with professors who are top-tier in their fields. Students can choose from a wide range of elective courses, from Stochastic Calculus to M&A, though the workload in the quant courses is extremely heavy. Most courses involve significant coding and students without prior coding experience often struggle to keep up.

The career services are not very strong, so you’ll likely need to find internships or jobs on your own. This might be because the program is relatively new and many employers aren't yet familiar with it. On the bright side, the infrastructure and facilities of the business school are excellent. Students have access to everything they need, from data sources like Bloomberg Terminals to student lounges and private study rooms.

The curriculum is excellently designed, offering a strong emphasis on programming and hands-on learning. All the quant courses involve intensive programming assignments, ensuring students gain practical skills. The program director, a former hedge fund manager at BlackRock, brings deep industry knowledge and connections, shaping the curriculum to meet current market demands. This program has strong ties to the investment and wealth management industry, featuring courses taught by practitioners and frequent seminars with fund managers and wealth management professionals. The capstone project challenges students to solve real-world problems from financial institutions, providing invaluable experience. Additionally, the program invites specialists, including math professors, practitioners, and machine learning scientists, to lead courses. The faculty includes experts across finance subdomains—ranging from behavioral finance, long-short strategies, and asset pricing to portfolio allocation and financial econometrics—ensuring a comprehensive education.