Whats the difference between Columbia's programs?

[roaxas]

I'm a senior in high school and i am extremely interested in pursing a career in quant finance. I am hoping to do undergrad studies at a liberal arts college with my prospective majors being mathematics and economics (Double Major). I was browsing the website for Columbia University when i noticed that they had a graduate program for M.S. in Financial Engineering and a M.A in Mathematics of Finance. Through my investigation of the field of quant finance i have come to understand that the names 'Financial Engineering' and 'Mathematics of Finance' are used interchangebly. My question to you is "What is the difference between Columbia's M.S in Financial Engineering and their M.A. in Mathematics of Finance?"

 

[Sanket Patel]

Good question. I think the financial engineering program is more applied and the financial mathematics program is more theoretical but that's just me speculating.

 

[Uncle Max]

If you use search on this forum you will find several threads about two Columbia programs. Here is one of the threads:

Columbia OR vs Math - QuantNetwork - Financial Engineering Forum

 

[doug reich]

There are some excellent threads on Columbia programs from students. Use the tag cloud on the front page to find them, and also look in the education forum.

 

[roaxas]

Thank you ^_^

i really appreciate your replies. I am new to the forum and i didn't do much surfing i was specifically look for information on Columbia and since i couldn't find it fast enough i just decided to create a thread...it saved me a load of time^_^

 

[IlyaKEightSix]

O_O...my trademark smiley got hijacked! >_<.

From what the "director" of Lehigh's "MFE" program told me:

There are three programs:

The finance-based program
The OR-based program
The math-based program

Essentially they run from very business-oriented to very theoretical, going down that list.

FYI: Emanuel Derman himself heads the middle one. Unfortunately, it is long too late to apply there.

 

[financeguy]

I just finished the MSOR program and know a lot about the other two, MSFE and MAFN. First of all, they're all pretty much the same, but I'll fill you in on the minor differences.

MSFE: Master of Science in Financial Engineering
This degree is 36 credits, with a large amount of required coursework and then electives you must choose from a short list. Everything you do will be extremely applied and will be very, very quant. The other benefit here is that when you put the MSFE tag on your resume, everyone knows exactly what you did because the program is so specific.

MSOR: Master of Science in Operations Research
This degree is 30 credits, with a small amount of required coursework and lots of space for electives. In short, this degree lets you tailor the masters to your liking. Of course, you have to fulfill certain requirements, but some of your electives can range from the most quant FE courses to the most qualitative business school or international affairs courses. The reason I liked this program is because I wanted to have a solid quantitative edge, but I didn't want to be a pure quant. For this program, you would need to list an area of specialization or your relevant coursework on your resume. Specializations could be anything from optimization to applied probability to financial engineering.

MAFN: Master of Arts in Financial Mathematics
This degree is 30 credits. This program is more based in statistics than the other two. You'll be doing time series, regression, and numerical methods a bit more than in the other programs. Other than that, it's just about the same except that courses are offered through the math department rather than the engineering department.

I hope my message is clear: it doesn't really matter which one you do at the end of the day. It just depends on what you want. If you want more statistics and you don't like engineering departments, do the MAFN. If you want a very regimented quant program, do the MSFE. If you want a flexible program you could tailor to FE in a way of your choosing, do the MSOR. There aren't any differences in hiring statistics for finance jobs. It's a bit easier to go into i banking or consulting from MSOR (assuming you take corporate finance or strategy courses), though, if that's what you want. Otherwise it's all the same.

 

[ezbentley]

Hi financeguy,

Thanks for the detailed insider info.

Do you know anything about the placement of these 3 programs? Some other threads were saying that MSOR and MAFN are just MFE-wannabes and MFE is still most sought-after when it comes to jobs. That would make me think twice about applying to the other two programs, even if the difference is only in the brand name.

 

[vikramsj]

Each program at Columbia has its strong and weak points. I do not know about the other programs, but the MAFN is very much a "do it yourself" sort of deal. You will be informed about companies that come to campus for recruiting, but they are usually targeting a general audience not just Masters students. There is limited assistance as far as placement goes.

MAFN courses are open to the general public, and you need not neccessarily be a MAFN student to take them. Courses from other programs that are affiliated with the School of Enigneering can only be taken by those under that particular field of study.

If you are going to do MAFN , it would probably be wiser to do it partime while already working. That way, once you have already established good contacts in the industry you can leverage off them. For most fulltime students it is quite difficult to build these connections yourself.

 

[Chr]

Columbia MAFIN

I applied to the MAFN program for two reaons: 1- offered PT program whereas other Columbia programs didnt. 2-was given waiver for gre/gmat.

I got accepted this week (PT). turnaround time was about 2 months.

Also was accepted to NYU Poly MS FE (PT). not sure which to choose from. any thoughts?

 

[torogirl]

prospective columbia mafn student

I just finished the MSOR program and know a lot about the other two, MSFE and MAFN. First of all, they're all pretty much the same, but I'll fill you in on the minor differences.

MSFE: Master of Science in Financial Engineering
This degree is 36 credits, with a large amount of required coursework and then electives you must choose from a short list. Everything you do will be extremely applied and will be very, very quant. The other benefit here is that when you put the MSFE tag on your resume, everyone knows exactly what you did because the program is so specific.

MSOR: Master of Science in Operations Research
This degree is 30 credits, with a small amount of required coursework and lots of space for electives. In short, this degree lets you tailor the masters to your liking. Of course, you have to fulfill certain requirements, but some of your electives can range from the most quant FE courses to the most qualitative business school or international affairs courses. The reason I liked this program is because I wanted to have a solid quantitative edge, but I didn't want to be a pure quant. For this program, you would need to list an area of specialization or your relevant coursework on your resume. Specializations could be anything from optimization to applied probability to financial engineering.

MAFN: Master of Arts in Financial Mathematics
This degree is 30 credits. This program is more based in statistics than the other two. You'll be doing time series, regression, and numerical methods a bit more than in the other programs. Other than that, it's just about the same except that courses are offered through the math department rather than the engineering department.

I hope my message is clear: it doesn't really matter which one you do at the end of the day. It just depends on what you want. If you want more statistics and you don't like engineering departments, do the MAFN. If you want a very regimented quant program, do the MSFE. If you want a flexible program you could tailor to FE in a way of your choosing, do the MSOR. There aren't any differences in hiring statistics for finance jobs. It's a bit easier to go into i banking or consulting from MSOR (assuming you take corporate finance or strategy courses), though, if that's what you want. Otherwise it's all the same.

Hey there, do you know regarding placement and reputation regarding the three programs?