2021 QuantNet Rankings of Financial Engineering (MFE) Programs

We are pleased to announce the publication of the QuantNet 2021 Rankings of Financial Engineering programs. Released during the covid pandemic, the 2021 rankings reflect the great difficulties and challenges many programs face. The pandemic's adverse effects are most evident in the huge drop in employment rate and average salary graduates reported by many programs. Due to travel and visa restrictions, many programs also saw an increase in deferral, resulting in lower class size.
On the other hand, the programs that top the rankings this year show a remarkable ability to deliver at a high level, even in the toughest market.
If you are a prospective student looking at programs to apply to, please keep in mind the ongoing challenges and short/long term outlook of each program.
The full 2021 QuantNet MFE ranking is here. For comparison, the 2020 QuantNet MFE ranking is here.

 

[Heidi Pickett]

Why has MIT been excluded?

MIT made the decision not to participate in rankings during COVID-19 so that all resources could go towards supporting our students. We look forward to participating in the QuantNet Rankings in 2022.

 

[noether-skolem]

Consider for the administration threatened for most of the year to curtail the H1B Visa program many MFE student rely on to pursue their careers.

Did the Trump admin not recently increase the min salary (in terms of percentiles within the sector) to qualify for H-1B? Speaking from experience I've had immediate rejections citing their inability to sponsor for H-1B, which may or may not be related to that.

 

[QuantQuestion]

Did the Trump admin not recently increase the min salary (in terms of percentiles within the sector) to qualify for H-1B? Speaking from experience I've had immediate rejections citing their inability to sponsor for H-1B, which may or may not be related to that.

I have seen more than a few companies saying no visa sponsorship as well, even for internship OPT

 

[Onegin]

I have seen more than a few companies saying no visa sponsorship as well, even for internship OPT

Did the Trump admin not recently increase the min salary (in terms of percentiles within the sector) to qualify for H-1B? Speaking from experience I've had immediate rejections citing their inability to sponsor for H-1B, which may or may not be related to that.

I'm far from an expert on this; the administration did seem to be targeting the program. It's likely the next administration will have a much more receptive view, which will hopefully reverse this apparent trend. Many of the best I've worked with were international, and I think the US loses something if we can't attract (and compete with) the best in the world.

 

[noether-skolem]

@Onegin Yes I'm hoping it was no more than the final struggle of the current admin to appeal for the populism sentiment (which, no matter how you put it, is a very powerful tool in politics). It may take some time before it gets overturned by the new government, but there is hope.

@QuantQuestion That makes sense because if they take an intern they probably have high hopes that they can eventually hire the good ones as full-time employees. So if they know it'd be hard/impossible to hire them down the line and sponsor them for H-1B, it makes sense to look for candidates that won't need that sponsorship.

 

[auroreaborealis]

How does this affect it from an admission standpoint

 

[IntoDarkness]

we may miss out some international talents but it is refreshing to have few batches of younger colleagues who can speak english and watch the same sports/shows as us

 

[noether-skolem]

How does this affect it from an admission standpoint

Not sure, I'd be curious to see what will happen too.

 

[sagarhenry]

Hello Everone How come stevens institute of technology under 20. This institute has poor placement and low-grade faculty and poor career service.
Admit people with a quant GRE score of 150. Not sure how quantnet has listed this institute in this forum.

 

[sagarhenry]

@Andy Nguyen It is my humble request you evaluate Stevens institute of technology. This institute has non -existence alumni not a single alumnus working in the field of finance.

 

[BoY]

lol nyu program employment rate at graduation only 20ish%??? lol
no nyu students jumping out to defend their program???

The only defense is that there are too many dishonesty going on in this ranking. If you ask around you will get very different number from the student base. A statistics like employment rate is misleading and easily manipulated when no strict definition is given, especially if you look side-by-side with base salary and assuming they are talking about the same group of people.

 

[alexzeng]

To be honest, the job placement data cannot tell the true story. There is a survivor bias. Many students wouldn't tell their salaries or job if they think it is not good enough. Also, usually, many programs only publish or include good cases and hide or ignore some cases that don't look great. As I know, the program usually would not consider cases where students get placed outsides U.S.

 

[Michsund]

In my own experience with the size of the mscf program it is the best. Everyone ends up getting a great job even though there is close to 100 students. They prepare you over the summer on many interview topics so by September your ready to apply.

 

[ifloresc]

sagarhenry I am not sure what your point is. Indeed 20 is too low for us, but our stats are real and always have been. We do indeed accept more people because we make the decision after we see the entire package and it is our opinion that anyone deserves a chance. Not everyone can graduate our program. Our classes are perhaps the most diverse as you can see here: Courses A great percent of my contacts are my students who all are working in the financial services industry. Can you please elaborate on your statements?

I apologize I do not normally view or answer these forums, but thanks to a friend I was made aware of the post.

 

[P. Carr]

@Andy Nguyen It is my humble request you evaluate Stevens institute of technology. This institute has non -existence alumni not a single alumnus working in the field of finance.

I have no connection to Stevens but I am tired of seeing reasonable FE programs like Stevens trashed on quantnet via lies. When Trump posts lies, Twitter flags it. Quantnet should be doing the same regarding zero alums in the financial industry. I know this is false, because I knew a Stevens grad at Morgan Stanley.

 

[Qui-Gon]

I think a nearly as effective way to discredit posts with seemingly incorrect information, such as the ones by @sagarhenry, on a smaller platform like QuantNet is to simply do what you have done, Dr. Carr. Twitter benefits from scale, unfortunately (or fortunately) on QN the ensuing discussion following a controversial post is likely the most surefire way to set the record straight. If @Andy Nguyen had a team of software engineers and data scientists under him, I'm sure building out the infrastructure to be able to flag potentially illegitimate posts would be feasible. Until we live in such a world, however, we have to accept QN is not Twitter and that baseless negative posts on this site will likely not translate into a decrease in the perceived reputation of a program.

 

[Michsund]

Saying it should rank higher is useless. What rank do you think it should be and what proof of that are you providing. Unless there's some substantial proof the rankings look fine to me. Who would it beat in the 19 schools which are ranked above it.

 

[P. Carr]

I think a nearly as effective way to discredit posts with seemingly incorrect information, such as the ones by @sagarhenry, on a smaller platform like QuantNet is to simply do what you have done, Dr. Carr. Twitter benefits from scale, unfortunately (or fortunately) on QN the ensuing discussion following a controversial post is likely the most surefire way to set the record straight. If @Andy Nguyen had a team of software engineers and data scientists under him, I'm sure building out the infrastructure to be able to flag potentially illegitimate posts would be feasible. Until we live in such a world, however, we have to accept QN is not Twitter and that baseless negative posts on this site will likely not translate into a decrease in the perceived reputation of a program.

Thanks, I like your point. I still think it's not that hard for the moderator of quantnet to flag obvious lies "like zero alums in industry"
for the benefit of those new to the industry. I'm not asking for every lie to be flagged - I'm asking for more than zero. If flagging an obvious lie is deemed too aggressive, then asking for a retraction or an apology in a pm would be fine. Again, I appreciate your comment.

 

[Michsund]

If quantnet would start regulating everything we said, I would leave the platform. If we just have other members keeping others accountable we should be ok. I believe censorship starts with good intention, but never ends well.

 

[P. Carr]

If quantnet would start regulating everything we said, I would leave the platform. If we just have other members keeping others accountable we should be ok. I believe censorship starts with good intention, but never ends well.

I'm just advocating for flagging obvious lies like the one I highlighted, but perhaps you are right, censors often go too far.