Financial Mathematics or Business Finance for undergrad

[nuraV]

I'm an undergrad at the Ohio State university majoring in computer science. My end goal is to get into a good MFE in the US. So, should I was wondering if I should double major with cs+math finance or cs+business finance.

I've attached the ciricullum for the math financial major track. Are the courses sufficient for MFE?

 

[Andy Nguyen]

I took a lot and I think it looks good for a double major. How many more semester it will take you to complete the degree?

 

[nuraV]

I took a lot and I think it looks good for a double major. How many more semester it will take you to complete the degree?

im an incoming freshman, so 4 years

 

[Andy Nguyen]

This gives you the option to pivot to SWE, FinTech or anything where coding skill is required.
The caveat is that we don't know how AI will change the job landscape in 5 years.

 

[nuraV]

This gives you the option to pivot to SWE, FinTech or anything where coding skill is required.
The caveat is that we don't know how AI will change the job landscape in 5 years.

so would you suggest I do cs+math finance path?
also, is the coursework for the math finance good enough for mfe prep?

 

[Andy Nguyen]

It would take you the same 4 years so why not. You plan this early is a good sign.
It appears you cover most requirements (calculus 1-2-3, linear algebra, statistics, probability, C++/Python) in the your degree.
Try to pick up a few interships during your undergrad, join clubs and competitions to make your profile more competitive.
If things go well, you may be able to break into finance after undergrad without the need for MFE program.

 

[nuraV]

It would take you the same 4 years so why not. You plan this early is a good sign.
It appears you cover most requirements (calculus 1-2-3, linear algebra, statistics, probability, C++/Python) in the your degree.
Try to pick up a few interships during your undergrad, join clubs and competitions to make your profile more competitive.
If things go well, you may be able to break into finance after undergrad without the need for MFE program.

ok thanks!
I ws just wondering if the time commitment for math finance major is worth it. I need to take some time-intensive courses, like diff eq, mathematical statistics, financial economies, etc. Is it worth it to take these courses for the skills and would it improve my mfe admission chances over just doing cs?

also, for internships, do they have to be purely quant/finance related, or can they be cs/ai related. also, is research good as well (related to finance or ai?)

 

[Andy Nguyen]

Only you can determine if the double major is worthy of extra work. As they say, time will tell.
I got my double major in Math/CS then a MS in CS, then a couple years in Math PhD before discovering MFE.
Sometimes, nobody knows what will work in the end and we need take our own journey to figure this out.
For internship, take a look at the QR AMA discussion by @qn_username . Lot of golden nuggets in there.

 

[nuraV]

Only you can determine if the double major is worthy of extra work. As they say, time will tell.
I got my double major in Math/CS then a MS in CS, then a couple years in Math PhD before discovering MFE.
Sometimes, nobody knows what will work in the end and we need take our own journey to figure this out.
For internship, take a look at the QR AMA discussion by @qn_username . Lot of golden nuggets in there.

I can't seem to access this Ama by @qn_username

 

[Andy Nguyen]

I can't seem to access this Ama by @qn_username

Q

Thread 'I'm a buy side Quant Researcher at a top hedge fund (Jane Street/Two Sigma/AQR/etc). AMA'

5/1/25

Hi all,

In the spirit of sharing and helping prospective students (I'm a senior buy side quant researcher. AMA), it's my honor to use this platform to interact with students who might be interested in this career path.

Who Am I: I'm a quantitative researcher working in systematic trading. I develop alpha signals to forecast the future prices of various financial instruments. I first learned C++ nearly 20 years ago, so I used QuantNet to refresh my knowledge on recent language features. I do not hold an MFE degree, but I have a master's degree in statistics and a PhD in...

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• Replies: 84
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