U of Minnesota bum MFM RIP?

[bigbadwolf]

Not sure but it looks like the U of Minnesota's crud MFM program has bitten the dust. They're not maintaining the site:

http://www.math.umn.edu/finmath/

 

[Andy Nguyen]

What do you mean it's gone?
I talked to Scot Adams, the director last year and he mentioned Rina Ashkenazi and Laurie Derechin will take over management of the MFM in his place. And the MFM program has now been expanded to offer a post-baccalaureate certificate called FQF -- Fundamentals of Quantitative Finance.

So if anything, they are expanding it. There is an upcoming orientation scheduled for MFM students http://www.math.umn.edu/finmath/orientation/

 

[bigbadwolf]

Maybe. I don't know for sure. Click on my original link: it was last modified in June. The link to orientation doesn't work. No information on the courses to be offered in a few weeks time, or the instructors teaching them. No books in the university bookshop. All rather curious. Perhaps they're winding it down and will allow the part-time students who enrolled last year to finish. Something is not right.

 

[Andy Nguyen]

I do not see why any program would fold as long as the number of applicants outnumbers the available seats. These programs are generating revenue so they are not likely it is going to close.
I of course can give them a call or email but not because the website has not been updated since June. Going by the how often the website is updated, a lot of programs would look pretty dead.

 

[LaurieDerechin]

I do not see why any program would fold as long as the number of applicants outnumbers the available seats. These programs are generating revenue so they are not likely it is going to close.
I of course can give them a call or email but not because the website has not been updated since June. Going by the how often the website is updated, a lot of programs would look pretty dead.

Dear Andy and Broader QuantNet Community Forum:

Thanks so much for clarifying the incorrect commentary regarding the University of Minnesota's Master of Financial Mathematics (MFM) program. Contrary to what one of our forum members stated, Minnesota's MFM program is very much alive and expanding in terms of overall quality, coursework, career development/advancement services for our students and research. As you stated, we continually receive many more applicants than we can accept and the quality and capabilities of our applicants continue to increase.

• Last year we formed the Minnesota Center for Financial and Actuarial Mathematics (MCFAM) which houses both our undergraduate Actuarial program as well as the MFM. The strong insurance industry based here in Minnesota and the growing trend toward hiring investment actuaries is part of why we formed the Center.

• The University of Minnesota is a great place to get an MFM becuase of its relatively strong economy (6.7% vs. 9.1% nationally) and the very diversified financial services base we have in Minnesota. There is a relatively large hedge fund concentration in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis/St. Paul (including White Box Advisers, Pine River Captial Management and many more) , many large insurance company headquarters/co-headquarters including Travelers, Allianz Life of North America and United Health Group. The 90+billion dollar Agribusiness firm, Cargill, is based in Minneapolis as are CHS, and Land o Lakes, all of which are huge trading firms. Many other firms including Citibank Derivatives Markets Inc (CDMI), Ameriprise, US Bank, Ally Financial, Galliard Captial Management and Wells Fargo are either based here or have large offices in town. Finally, the Twin Cities is also home to at least 10 Fortune 500 firms. We have a very strong relationship with all of the companies I have noted here. They are on our MFM and Actuarial Advisory Boards, teach in our programs and regularly recruit and hire our students.

• The world renowned Institute of Mathematics and Its Applications (IMA) is right next door to the School of Mathematics, where many luminaries of Financial Mathematics have been in residence. http://www.ima.umn.edu/

• Lastly I will refer you to our MCFAM website and a summary on the MCFAM Advantage. www.math.umn.edu/finmath http://www.math.umn.edu/mcfam/advantage/I just don't want anyone to think that we are off the radar screen. Please feel free to contact me for further support. We are definitely open for business!

Sincerely,
Laurie A. Derechin
Executive Director, MCFAM - University of Minnesota, School of Mathematics
www. math.umn.edu/finmath; lderechi@umn.edu

 

[myampol]

Dress warm...

"Due to its location in the northern and central portion of the U.S., the Twin Cities has the coldest average temperature of any major metropolitan areas in the nation. Winters can be very cold..."​

"With no natural barriers to block cold air from pouring south from Canada, the Twin Cities is subjected to many arctic air masses throughout the winter months. These arctic air masses bring with them very cold temperatures and sometimes strong winds, resulting in dangerous wind chill values...."​

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_of_the_Twin_Cities