2024 QuantNet Rankings of Financial Engineering (MFE) Programs

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We are pleased to announce the publication of the QuantNet 2024 Rankings of Financial Engineering programs.
The full 2024 QuantNet MFE ranking will be released here
For comparison, the 2023 QuantNet MFE ranking is here.

New in 2024 QuantNet MFE ranking
  • New programs added: UC San Diego (Master in Finance)
  • Programs need a minimum of 15 students in their Fall 2023 incoming cohort and 10 students in their latest graduating class to be ranked.
  • Added more historical data on ranking, admission, employment. Contributors @MikeLawrence @marcusaurelius. This is an ongoing update with more to come.
 
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I also want to point out the very interesting new features: after clicking on tuition and cohort size for Baruch and Princeton, we are able to see new data such as the tuition changes over the years, if the given program offers scholarships, the # of applications/enrollments and above all the acceptance rates over the years ! I was wondering if the same type of information will be available for the other programs ? @Andy Nguyen
 
mr_spectre said:
I think MIT deservingly has gotten 9th place. Can't expect someone to pay 120k to get so little value.

Another surprise was GATech. I thought they would also improve along with UChicago. Everything seems great except for the peer score. Maybe there is some bias from competitors as they have improved massively on RiskNet. Still the #2 choice for me according to value for money after Baruch.
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With Uchicago's scholarships, it is easily the #2 by value. I guess if you want to get really picky and bring in cost of living and other things it's pretty close. But brand name I still say Uchicago wins. I think GATech mostly go to banks around that area, Uchicago gives more range I think.
 
MikeLawrence said:
Is it possible to know which employers were surveyed for that portion of the rankings methodology? That would be very interesting.
I'm guessing not, but might as well ask.
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The employers information are confidential as a condition for them to participate, of course.
I can only say that we survey a large number of employers, from the mega banks and hedge funds that everyone knows to boutique specialty shops. This year, the employers survey has been a huge success as we have a very high response rate from them.
 
yannten said:
I also want to point out the very interesting new features: after clicking on tuition and cohort size for Baruch and Princeton, we are able to see new data such as the tuition changes over the years, if the given program offers scholarships, the # of applications/enrollments and above all the acceptance rates over the years ! I was wondering if the same type of information will be available for the other programs ? @Andy Nguyen
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Yes sir. Keep checking back as we will update those info as often as we can.
I mentioned earlier that we are pressed for time this year so we couldn't get all of the new data available yet but they are coming and you will love it.
You can already see historical ranking data for each program on the Resources page.
 
Andy Nguyen said:
Yes sir. Keep checking back as we will update those info as often as we can.
I mentioned earlier that we are pressed for time this year so we couldn't get all of the new data available yet but they are coming and you will love it.
You can already see historical ranking data for each program on the Resources page.
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Loved the features @Andy Nguyen! Also kudos to contributors @MikeLawrence and @marcusaurelius!
 
MikeLawrence said:
With Uchicago's scholarships, it is easily the #2 by value. I guess if you want to get really picky and bring in cost of living and other things it's pretty close. But brand name I still say Uchicago wins. I think GATech mostly go to banks around that area, Uchicago gives more range I think.
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I just rechecked GATechs pricetag. UChicago easily wins, I've seen many scholarships that bring its cost under 40k. And many more than that which bring it in line with GATech. Nothing comes close (if you're a pretty good student) to the value of Baruch and Uchicago with scholarships.

Andy Nguyen said:
Congrats to the Chicago program. #6 is the highest rank they achieved over the past decade.
quantnet.com

University of Chicago - Master of Science in Financial Mathematics - Extra info

quantnet.com quantnet.com
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Or ever, for that matter. I would love to see them continue this trend.
 
Baruch average salary jumped by 50k, and Princeton by 40k? Is there a change in the metrics?
 
Baruch with a starting salary + sign on bonus of over 5 times their tuition, absolutely insane value.
 
Andy Nguyen said:
Nothing changed. Probably some of their top graduates got huge offers from top firms.
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Would there be a possibility to have the median starting salary + bonus as well ? I believe it might be more relevant in giving realistic expectations for students in that case
 
The programs report the mean (average) salary and bonus.
They should also have a more detailed report on their website which may have breakdown into median, sectors, years of experience which are what you are looking for.
If you don't see those numbers online, email them and they should have it ready and provide it to you.
 
yannten said:
Would there be a possibility to have the median starting salary + bonus as well ? I believe it might be more relevant in giving realistic expectations for students in that case
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Baruch median was 195k, as per @dstefan's LinkedIn post awhile back
www.linkedin.com

Dan Stefanica on LinkedIn: #baruchmfe #finance #mfe #financialengineering #quantfinance | 25 comments

Baruch MFE 2022-2023 - Full-Time and Summer Internship placement ____________________________ December 2022 - May 2023 Full-Time Placement: 25 of 25 (100%… | 25 comments on LinkedIn
www.linkedin.com www.linkedin.com

The other top programs medians are probably out there somewhere, but this one is always easy for me to remember and find for people.
 
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affine-quant said:
In light of the new rankings, would you apply to/ attend Columbia Financial Engineering or Columbia Mathematical Finance? I had planned Mathematical Finance but the new rankings suggest FE is cheaper and has better career outcomes.
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Strongly recommend that you reach out to alumni of both programs to hear their experiences. Our ranking just captures a snapshot of data which can't fully represent the experience you will have at each program. Use our ranking to shortlist the programs and use the resources and reviews page to learn more.
It's a big investment so take your time to ask around.
@ExoticArb can shed some lights on one of those Columbia programs.
 
affine-quant said:
In light of the new rankings, would you apply to/ attend Columbia Financial Engineering or Columbia Mathematical Finance? I had planned Mathematical Finance but the new rankings suggest FE is cheaper and has better career outcomes.
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The two programs are pretty comparable, but FE has historically been the better program with MFin only shooting ahead last year with a reasonable increase in salary outcome over FE. Up to you really, probably more of a coin toss decision. You should also consider the MSFE program as well, go read @Qui-Gon's review of it and maybe DM him.

Talk to those in both programs and see which one is the best fit for you.

[for continuity, it should be noted that I've edited the above based on @Andy Nguyen's comment below: he was right, I meant the MSFE.]
 
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MikeLawrence said:
The two programs are pretty comparable, but FE has historically been the better program with MFin only shooting ahead last year with a reasonable increase in salary outcome over FE. Up to you really, probably more of a coin toss decision. You should consider the IORE (might have butchered that ordering) program as well, go read @Qui-Gon's review of it and maybe DM him.

Talk to those in both programs and see which one is the best fit for you.
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Mike,
You probably meant the Columbia MSFE (Financial Economics) ran by Columbia Business School (CBS) that @Qui-Gon attended, not to be confused with Columbia MFE (Financial Engineering) program which is under IEOR department.
 
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