NYU Courant MS in Math or Columbia APAM MS in Applied Math?

[flapjackery]

Hi there,

I was recently accepted into the general MS in Math at NYU Courant and MS in Applied Math at Columbia APAM. These are the schools' non-finance specific programs.

While I'm not tied to a career in finance (which is why I applied to the general mathematics programs), I would certainly be interested in one upon graduation assuming I don't go the phd route. Does anyone have an opinion on which offer I should accept or which has better career prospects inside and outside finance?

Best,
flapjackery

 

[glyvin]

I am an alumnus of APAM at Columbia. You definitely have access to lots of math finance and quant courses as you can take classes in the IEOR department (restrictions do apply) and you can generally take almost all of the MAFN courses in the math department too. I can't speak to career prospects directly, as the APAM department doesn't have a dedicated career service per se, but Columbia has a phenomenal career service center which has lots of opportunities in all industries looking for people with math credentials. I definitely enjoyed my time at Columbia, and would recommend the program. It is extremely flexible, and you can kind of almost tailor it to any industry you like, while still acquiring a general applied mathematics background.

 

[flapjackery]

I am an alumnus of APAM at Columbia. You definitely have access to lots of math finance and quant courses as you can take classes in the IEOR department (restrictions do apply) and you can generally take almost all of the MAFN courses in the math department too. I can't speak to career prospects directly, as the APAM department doesn't have a dedicated career service per se, but Columbia has a phenomenal career service center which has lots of opportunities in all industries looking for people with math credentials. I definitely enjoyed my time at Columbia, and would recommend the program. It is extremely flexible, and you can kind of almost tailor it to any industry you like, while still acquiring a general applied mathematics background.

Thanks for your detailed and thoughtful reply. If you don't mind me asking, what did you end up doing after the program? Did you make use of career services?

One of my issues is that the program is course-based and doesn't incorporate any kind of masters thesis or research component -- and I am also potentially thinking going down the phd route. Did you find that most students were looking for jobs immediately after the program? If you had to guess, what would you think the placements rates are like for MS APAM alum?

 

[RubyCFA]

Hi there,

I was recently accepted into the general MS in Math at NYU Courant and MS in Applied Math at Columbia APAM. These are the schools' non-finance specific programs.

While I'm not tied to a career in finance (which is why I applied to the general mathematics programs), I would certainly be interested in one upon graduation assuming I don't go the phd route. Does anyone have an opinion on which offer I should accept or which has better career prospects inside and outside finance?

Best,
flapjackery

Hello,

Although I do work in Finance, I see myself preferring a general math program. Would love to learn more about your background as I'm interested in these two schools as well.

 

[flapjackery]

Hello,

Although I do work in Finance, I see myself preferring a general math program. Would love to learn more about your background as I'm interested in these two schools as well.

Hi RubyCFA,

I work in finance as well. My intention is to keep my options open upon graduation, which is why I chose the general mathematics degree. I graduated in the US with a degree in computer science at a well-known and highly-ranked private university. If you're looking for actual statistics, I had a 3.7 UGPA and my GRE scores were 163Q/167V/5.5AW. Hope that helps you.

Best,
flapjackery