- Headline
- A rigorous primer in both theory and industry
- Class of
- 2025
I joined the program in 2023. My undergraduate background was in Mathematics.
The University of Washington runs on a quarter system, meaning there are 3 academic terms in a school year of 10 weeks each. This allows you to hit the ground running and broaden your exposure for more courses and topics. At the same time, it is very easy and straightforward to register as a part time student to allow for more flexibility in your time commitment.
One aspect I really want to applaud of the program is the academic rigor and quality. At least two members of my cohort thus far have gone on to pursue doctoral study. This program is not only technical coursework as a means for a career, but instills a standard of theory expected to produce novel work. A close peer of mine pursued the undergraduate major from this program. He remarked his new graduate program now has been admittedly easier than his CFRM curriculum. Matt Lorig, a faculty member, has written his own course notes for a number of courses, and they are very intuitive and elegant. (I wish I had his LaTeX template)
Another phenomenal aspect of the program is the chance to pursue the thesis option. Students are given the opportunity to propose a research project and pursue independent study directly under a faculty member, to then form a thesis committee and defend it. You will have the chance to present a new R library or dive deeper than the coursework to answer other questions in the field.
Seattle is admittedly geographically distanced from the main centers of quantitative finance, yet the career services support remains strong and effective. There is a dedicated career services manager for the program specifically. I had the chance to intern at Parametric Portfolio Associates, which is a Seattle-headquartered subsidiary of Morgan Stanley Investment Management. I had a general question about my internship while I was still incoming, and the career manager actually took it upon herself to reach out to my talent acquisition team on my behalf to get full clarity. This level of attention is extended to all students, and it is up to you to take full advantage of it. While an intern, I noticed I saw a CFRM mug on desk as I was walking through the office. I thought, huh, that's pretty neat, there's an alumnus here, too. I then saw five more mugs across other desks in the office. I then realized that was no coincidence. The City of Seattle also takes on graduate financial research interns, where the last two at least have been program students.
The career services manager prepares weekly workshops and seminars offered for students to attend. These have ranged from local guest speakers and panel discussions, as well as resume building and interview preparation. Every year, the program has about three dedicated tables reserved at the CFA Society Seattle Economic Forecast Dinner. I have had the chance to attend two, they were phenomenal opportunities to meet others and represent the program.
By far my favorite class in the program, and likely ever, was CFRM 523: Advanced Trading Systems, taught by Dr. Ben Hansen. Rather than just teaching you a skill or concept as a means to an end, the focus of this course was to understand how to rigorously apply an academic approach to quantitative finance, treating trading strategies as a scientific and repeatable process. I not only got to learn derivatives pricing or credit risk management, but also the level of scrutineering that I should have when conducting this work.
On that note, one point of improvement that I have is the elective offerings. Naturally, a majority of the cohort gravitates towards choosing a single elective each quarter. This makes it difficult to offer a more diverse pool of course selections, given student interest and course section minimums. Another strong CFRM employer in Bellevue does power and energy trading, it would have been nice to see an energy markets course offered. I now do research at a single-family office and its venture affiliate designing synthetic exposures and liquidity provision, and would have enjoyed taking the course on blockchain. While admittedly niche topics, these industries remain prevalent in the Seattle area, and instructors from them would strengthen the depth of the program. That said, there are a number of approved electives you are allowed to take from other schools and departments.
There is so much to do outside of the classroom. For UW's Graduate & Professional Student Senate, the Department of Applied Mathematics has two seats, and they give the chance to offer one to a CFRM student. This is an additional leadership opportunity that led me down an entirely separate rabbit hole and gave me a year of on-campus employment. Jane Street has run their Estimatathon competition here, and I have attended a number of their presentations on-campus. There is also the algorithmic trading club, a registered student organization dedicated to quantitative finance.
Overall, I found the program to position me well from both an industry and academic perspective. Seattle may be far from these industries, but they make up for this through the care and attention from the faculty, career, and advising support. There is a very cordial atmosphere in the program and department.
- Recommend
- Yes, I would recommend this program
- Students Quality
-
4.00 star(s)
- Courses/Instructors
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5.00 star(s)
- Career Services
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4.00 star(s)