Choosing undergraduate thesis advisor

[drawar]

Hi,

I'm a final year student majoring in Quant Finance and Stats from a relatively well-known university in Asia. I've decided to take up a Honors degree by working on a project in my final year but I'm still on the fence about choosing an advisor, because one of my 3 LORs is gonna be coming from said advisor. So let's say I can choose to work with either A, B, or C.

- A is a tenured prof at one of the top US universities (but he is on a sabbatical leave to work here) and an active researcher among FE community. The thing is his proposed thesis topic is not even remotely related to my areas of interest, nor whatever courses I have ever taken. (And it's strange because I have done my homework and seen that a majority of his published papers are what I'm really interested in, only to find out later that for this very academic year he decides to do something new.) He only teaches postgraduate courses.

- B is a tenured prof at my local university. He used to be an active researcher back in the 90s but not now anymore, plus most of his publications were on those topics of applied maths that have little application in finance (wavelets and image processing?), but maybe I'm wrong about this. His proposed topic is one that I'm interested in, but since I'm taking one of his courses this fall, there's still a chance of getting his LOR without him being my thesis advisor.

- C is a senior lecturer at my local university. He completed his PhD in the 90s but has barely published any papers ever since so I guess he isn't much into research. His proposed topic is one that I like too. Like A, his courses are only available for postgraduate students.

If I have to choose on my own, I would work with C since I believe I would do a great job on a topic that I have genuine interest in but I'd be greatly appreciated if you could offer your opinion on this. Thanks!

 

[Daniel Duffy]

An undergraduate 'thesis' and you need an advisor??

A PhD and MSc is a thesis IMO but undergrad not. It's a project... How long does it last?


Looks like B is your only choice.

 

[pingu]

what are the proposed topics?

 

[mhy]

Just FYI. You don't need a researcher in the relevant field to write your recommendation to get into a top MFE. I had my undergrad thesis advisor do mine (plus one of my ex-bosses) and had no issues. Sure it might help a bit but choose what you like best.

 

[drawar]

Hi all, thank you for the replies.

Sorry for the confusion, an undergrad paper is indeed called a 'project' and not a 'thesis'. It lasts one academic year (, which translates to two consecutive semesters.)

The proposed topic by each advisor is
- A: spatial econometrics and real estate finance ( spatial CAPM, spatial APT, ...)
- B: numerical methods in derivative pricing
- C: risk measures and portfolio optimization

I should also mention that there are other 2 advisors to choose from, let's call them D and E. Their topics are Lévy processes in financial modelling and extreme value theory in risk management, respectively but I'm hesitant about working with them since they're still quite new in the faculty; one of them just completed their PhD two years ago.

I'm wondering if the recommender's reputation plays an important part in your letter, cause if it does then A has to be the choice, despite my lack of knowledge in the topic.

 

[Daniel Duffy]

I would say that Levy might be a bit too esoteric for an undergrad project. Do you have the math background?

For option B, which programming language.

 

[drawar]

I would say that Levy might be a bit too esoteric for an undergrad project. Do you have the math background?

For option B, which programming language.

I've taken courses in multi variable calculus, linear algebra, real analysis, ODE, discrete time stochastic processes. I also learned a little bit of stochastic calculus when I took a module in derivative pricing.

For B, Matlab/C++ is preferable.

 

[Daniel Duffy]

I've taken courses in multi variable calculus, linear algebra, real analysis, ODE, discrete time stochastic processes. I also learned a little bit of stochastic calculus when I took a module in derivative pricing.

For B, Matlab/C++ is preferable.

Sounds good IMO.
Maybe these MSc theses will spar some some ideas?

http://www.datasimfinancial.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=198&t=1198

 

[drawar]

Sounds good IMO.
Maybe these MSc theses will spar some some ideas?

http://www.datasimfinancial.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=198&t=1198

Thanks for the extremely helpful resources, I really appreciate it.

So it looks like I should go with B then, but before I make a move and contact him, I'd like to know why C isn't an option?

 

[Daniel Duffy]

I'd like to know why C isn't an option?

I just don't have enough to go on. I would say approach C directly and see which way the wind is blowing as it were. good luck.

 

[mhy]

I'm wondering if the recommender's reputation plays an important part in your letter, cause if it does then A has to be the choice, despite my lack of knowledge in the topic.

Not really. What matters is how well they know you.

 

[C S]

Hi all, thank you for the replies.

Sorry for the confusion, an undergrad paper is indeed called a 'project' and not a 'thesis'. It lasts one academic year (, which translates to two consecutive semesters.)

The proposed topic by each advisor is
- A: spatial econometrics and real estate finance ( spatial CAPM, spatial APT, ...)
- B: numerical methods in derivative pricing
- C: risk measures and portfolio optimization

I should also mention that there are other 2 advisors to choose from, let's call them D and E. Their topics are Lévy processes in financial modelling and extreme value theory in risk management, respectively but I'm hesitant about working with them since they're still quite new in the faculty; one of them just completed their PhD two years ago.

I'm wondering if the recommender's reputation plays an important part in your letter, cause if it does then A has to be the choice, despite my lack of knowledge in the topic.

I used to think like this (thinking only one step ahead), but nowadays I really regret not thinking two steps ahead. Are you thinking of advisors like disposable tissue, one use and throw away?

A good advisor will not just be a mentor for the future but a source of connections and opportunities later. A person more familiar with what's going on in the global research community will also be more exciting to be around. Being exposed to a bigger world is a good thing.

 

[Daniel Duffy]

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/41+7Y+I2kTL._UY250_.jpg

 

[drawar]

Hi, thank you all for the valuable insights and helpful suggestions. In the end I decided to ask A to be my supervisor, but then he said my GPA (4.34/5.00 -- my school mandates a curve-grading policy with a GPA of maximum 5) was a bit low and thus I was on waiting list. I was a little upset at how he only looked at my total GPA and not at my performance on related math and stat courses, but he really has a point though. I've seen folks having GPA near 4.80 so it's true that I'm not one of the brightest bulbs in the box , which only means I haven't worked hard enough.
Anyway, if things don't work out with A, I will probably go with C. I'm gonna take a module with B on derivative pricing this coming semester so there's still a chance of getting a LOR from B if I perform well enough on that module.

 

[TehRaio]

Hi, thank you all for the valuable insights and helpful suggestions. In the end I decided to ask A to be my supervisor, but then he said my GPA (4.34/5.00 -- my school mandates a curve-grading policy with a GPA of maximum 5) was a bit low and thus I was on waiting list. I was a little upset at how he only looked at my total GPA and not at my performance on related math and stat courses, but he really has a point though. I've seen folks having GPA near 4.80 so it's true that I'm not one of the brightest bulbs in the box , which only means I haven't work hard enough.
Anyway, if things don't work out with A, I will probably go with C. I'm gonna take a module with B on derivative pricing this coming semester so there's still a chance of getting a LOR from B if I performed well enough on that module.

lol, excuse my language but fuck him if he only looks at your gpa.
don't start devalorizing yourself. my 2 cents: you wanna go with people who really want you.