Europe vs. U.S. for Quant Finance

[kritindmadhavan]

Hi @Andy Nguyen ,

I’ve been going through some of the universities in Europe, but it seems quite rare to find programs specifically focused on Quant Finance or Financial Engineering. Only a few schools like ETH Zurich or Vienna School of Economics seem to offer these kinds of courses.

Is there a particular reason why this is the case?

Also, I noticed that most business schools — like HEC Paris or ESCP or IESE— mainly offer a Master’s in Finance with specialization tracks in areas like capital markets. What’s your feedback on these types of programs? Are they good alternatives for someone aiming for a quant or financial engineering path? These ranked the best in finance by financial times.

Their curriculum seems broader than the more technical U.S. programs, just a bit more generalist. And one more thing — why are these European universities often not ranked as prominently in quant finance or FE categories?

Would really appreciate your thoughts on this and feedback on these courses. Thank you

 

[Andy Nguyen]

We have a list of quant courses in EU and UK here

United Kingdom & Europe

quantnet.com

We also do a ranking on UK quant programs.

2025 QuantNet Ranking of Best UK Quant Programs

quantnet.com

In my opinion, Europe programs are so spread out over many countries unlike in the US. Their programs are also not as quantitative due to the fact that capital for all the quantitative financial products over the years has been in NYC.

What they have going for them is a relatively low tuition except some UK programs. Education is more like a public function there unlike it's a business function here. As a result, they don't put as much effort into marketing, outreach. This is why they are not as widely known, especially in a niche field like FE.

 

[kritindmadhavan]

Thanks a lot, @Andy Nguyen — that’s really insightful! Makes perfect sense now why the European landscape looks so different.

If you don’t mind, could you also share your feedback on the HEC Paris MiF and ESCP programs? How do they stack up in terms of quality and relevance for someone aiming toward the quant/financial engineering side?

And what’s your take on the European job market for these roles — especially compared to the U.S.? Is it still relatively limited, or do you see it growing?