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Columbia MAFN VS UCB Fin tech

codebreaker

Joined
2/20/20
Messages
32
Points
18
Could anyone provide any suggestion in comparing these two programs？I would like to work in quant finance, and get accepted by both. It is really hard for me to make the decision. I really appreciate if anyone could say something! Thanks.
 
It takes a long time for a program to build connections to the street. I suspect the MFE has those connections, and this one does not. MFE is in Haas, this is coming from operations research. It seems like one of the Berkeley money grab programs (like the online data science one they were pushing a few years back).

they write: “The FinTech also differs from a Master of Financial Engineering program by being more quantitative and shorter in length.”

I would do a serious comparison there; looking over the required courses, I do not find a lot of evidence supporting this claim.

As far as jobs, These are more middle office / non finance jobs (except the blackrock). Nothing wrong with that - I learned a lot in such a role and am grateful for the opportunity. But it’s not something people typically target coming out of a quantitative masters program.
  • Alpha Strategy Researcher, BlackRock
  • Credit Risk Data Analyst, Prosper Marketplace
  • Data Scientist, Business Analytics, Facebook
  • Data Scientist, CircleUp
  • Portfolio Analytics Analyst, BlackRock
  • Risk Analyst, Prosper Marketplace
 
Onegin said:
It takes a long time for a program to build connections to the street. I suspect the MFE has those connections, and this one does not. MFE is in Haas, this is coming from operations research. It seems like one of the Berkeley money grab programs (like the online data science one they were pushing a few years back).

they write: “The FinTech also differs from a Master of Financial Engineering program by being more quantitative and shorter in length.”

I would do a serious comparison there; looking over the required courses, I do not find a lot of evidence supporting this claim.

As far as jobs, These are more middle office / non finance jobs (except the blackrock). Nothing wrong with that - I learned a lot in such a role and am grateful for the opportunity. But it’s not something people typically target coming out of a quantitative masters program.
  • Alpha Strategy Researcher, BlackRock
  • Credit Risk Data Analyst, Prosper Marketplace
  • Data Scientist, Business Analytics, Facebook
  • Data Scientist, CircleUp
  • Portfolio Analytics Analyst, BlackRock
  • Risk Analyst, Prosper Marketplace
Click to expand...
Thank you a lot for your reviewing! I believe the UCB fintech is a newly established program less than 3 years, and I will take more consideration to make the decision.
 
Fintech program is newly established so it has few connections now with financial firms, if you stick with quantitative finance (quant) roles, choose Columbia.
If you choose to seek positions in silicon valley that has some relationship with finance, then the UCB program has advantages.
 
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