Carnegie Mellon University - MS in Computational Finance

Carnegie Mellon University - MS in Computational Finance

Providing the skills you need to succeed in the financial services industry

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Location
New York, NY 10005 | Pittsburgh, PA 15213
Application deadline
Round 1: Dec 2024 | Round 2: Mar 2025
Overview
The Master of Science in Computational Finance (MSCF) program at Carnegie Mellon University is a 16-month financial engineering degree developed through the joint venture of four Carnegie Mellon colleges - Department of Mathematical Sciences, Department of Statistics and Data Science, Heinz College of Information Systems and Public Policy and the Tepper School of Business.

Recognized as the first financial engineering program of its kind, we offer an integrated curriculum that will prepare you with the skills necessary for the evolving financial industry. MSCF alumni attribute their success to our commitment to dedicated faculty, relevant curriculum and a full-service career center. Our staff is committed to helping you succeed by responding to inquiries, enhancing the student community and making you feel at home during your time in our program.


Careers – December 2021 Graduates (Class of 2022)
There is no common standard for reporting placement information among professional financial engineering master’s programs, and the reports of such programs are not audited. MSCF is administered by the Tepper School of Business, and we follow the rigorous business school standards set by the MBA Career Services & Employer Alliance for specialty master’s programs; see mbacsea.org/standards.
  • $117,513 mean base salary (excludes bonuses)
  • 100% of full-time MSCF students obtained summer 2021 internships
  • 98% of full-time MSCF students received full-time offers within three months of graduation
  • 80% of December 2021 graduates secured full-time employment in the U.S.
For more information, visit MSCF Careers & check out our Alumni Profiles. You can find our Class of 2020 Employment Report here.

Fall 2022 Entering Class Profile
  • Total Full-Time Students: 96 (New York – 50; Pittsburgh campus – 46)
  • Selectivity/Acceptance Rate: 22.1%
  • Average GMAT: 735
  • Average Quant GRE: 169
  • Average Verbal GRE: 161
  • Average GPA: 3.81
  • Female: 39%
For more information, view our Class Profile.

Apply to MSCF
The MSCF program offers 2 application deadlines for the Fall 2023 entering class: December 5, 2022 and March 5, 2023. Applications are reviewed in batches and released in accordance with our posted application dates.

For more information on the application process, required materials and deadlines, visit the MSCF admissions page.
Each year, 25% of incoming MSCF students receive fellowships. All admitted students are considered for an MSCF Fellowship.

Learn More
Sign up to receive valuable free resources about the MSCF program and stay up-to-date on MSCF news and events.

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2024 Ranking Data
Rank
3
Total Score
95
Peer Score
4.3
% Employed at Graduation
92%
% Employed at 3 months
97%
Salary
$160,336
Cohort Size
95 FT
Tuition
$97,061

Author
Andy Nguyen
Views
86,182
First release
Last update

Ratings

4.64 star(s) 45 reviews 5.00 star(s) Students Quality 5.00 star(s) Courses/Instructors 5.00 star(s) Career Services
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Latest reviews
Headline
MSCF Review
Class of
2024
Hi, I graduated from this program recently. My experience has been very good.

The best thing about this program is that the curriculum is very thoughtfully tailored to meet industry needs, staying current with frequent updates that reflect the latest developments.

The faculty, particularly the professors specializing in Quant, are true legends in their field and they go above and beyond in creating the assignments and teaching the concepts.

On the career front, the availability of career services has been a game-changer. The continuous support provided in recruiting activities has been instrumental, ensuring that I had access to opportunities to the fullest extent possible.

In summary, it has been a great experience. I have learnt a lot, gained a lot of new skills and also secured a good job in line with my career ambitions and I would whole-heartedly recommend this program to anyone pursuing a career in quant finance.
Recommend
Yes, I would recommend this program
Students Quality
5.00 star(s)
Courses/Instructors
5.00 star(s)
Career Services
5.00 star(s)
Upvote 1 Downvote
Headline
Rigorous academics w/ an emphasis on ML and above and beyond career services
Class of
2024
I graduated from undergrad at UC Berkeley studying Math and Economics in 2022 and was looking for a graduate program where I could apply a lot of the technical skills I learned to quant finance. The MSCF program at CMU did all that and more for me. I was initially drawn to it due to the ML emphasis in the course load and the elective offerings (NLP, ML capstone project, Blockchain, etc) as well as the buyside placements it boasts compared to similar programs.

The opportunities I was afforded simply from being part of such a cohesive program and larger alumni community were unparalleled. There were very few companies I wasn’t passing initial resume reviews with and I had a plethora of opportunities that came directly through the career office (who are very supportive and help guide you through any technical or behavioral practice/tips you may need).

As for the academics, I got a well rounded education in traditional finance (options, investment theory, portfolio management), stats, and CS. The condensed course load was certainly challenging as we had 7 weeks or so to master material that could have been given double that time to learn. However we had a very strong community in the NY campus that would routinely study together and were highly motivated by intellectual curiosity and ambition. That sort of culture certainly influences and pushes you to get the most out of the program and prepares you well for the reality of the industry.

All in all, I felt the program exceeded my expectations all around and I learnt a lot, both in terms of hard and soft skills.
Recommend
Yes, I would recommend this program
Students Quality
5.00 star(s)
Courses/Instructors
5.00 star(s)
Career Services
5.00 star(s)
Upvote 1 Downvote
Headline
MSCF Review
Class of
2024
I graduated from MSCF NY in December 2023.

Prior to the program, I graduated from a French engineering school and I worked as a quant trader for a little under a year.

I think the program was great in every aspect. On the academic side, all the courses offer an in-depth exploration of their respective subjects. The academic advisor was awesome – really helpful and always there when I needed advice.

On the professional side, the career services were great too, giving solid tips for getting into the finance world. I also think that one of the strengths of the program is the alumni network. I had the opportunity to meet a lot of former students, which was great for building my network and for getting insights into the industry.

Overall, I really enjoyed the program and I would definitely recommend it to anyone looking to get into quant finance.
Recommend
Yes, I would recommend this program
Students Quality
5.00 star(s)
Courses/Instructors
5.00 star(s)
Career Services
5.00 star(s)
Upvote 2 Downvote
I am proud to be part of the big MSCF family!
Thanks to all the amazing professors, alumni and staff, I managed to realize my dream of undertaking a career in the hedge fund industry in quantitative research. I did my undergraduate degree in computer science in Switzerland and I didn't hesitate a second to travel to the US to receive the great education the MSCF offers. In this program, I managed to round off my background and learn how to apply all the cutting edge methods to financial data. From advanced financial modelling to statistical learning, every single class I attended turned out to be extremely useful in industry. In my opinion, the MSCF provides the best education to train the new generation of quants.
Beside academics, I am honored to have met through the program very interesting classmates which I can now call my friends.
Upvote 1 Downvote
Short summary: The MSCF program is fantastic.

Alumni: If you join the program, it quickly becomes apparent how strong the MSCF alumni network is. We receive one-on-one resume advice, mock interviewing, and insights into our preferred job function (trading, research, development, …). A quick search on LinkedIn for your desired company will reveal alumni at various levels of seniority due to the program’s impressive staying power (since the mid 90’s).

Faculty: The professors are awesome - they really care about the students and how relevant their content is for internships/fulltime. You’ll frequently find them soliciting feedback and working with the equally great staff to ensure every voice is heard.

Employment: The two points above lead to very strong career opportunities. The vast alumni network allows for hiring managers to be educated on the skillset MSCF students possess, and the passionate professors ensure you have the technical skills needed to succeed. On top of this, and a personal favorite of many MSCF students, is the additional focus on communication. The business communication and presentation classes offer a much-needed reprieve from technical studies, and dive into the importance of all types of communication in the workplace. They make a (very) noticeable difference in student confidence in front of crowds, both for native and non-native English speakers.

The price tags on these programs are steep, but worth it. They have a high ROI, and you are surrounded by incredibly bright classmates who quickly become friends. Everyone brings their own strengths and subject matter knowledge to the program. Although I’m biased, I wholeheartedly recommend the MSCF.
Upvote 0 Downvote
As a recent grad of CMU MCSF, I would highly recommend this program to anyone who is considering to get a MFE degree and land a job in financial industry specialized in the quantitative direction.

The curriculum is well-rounded and trying to prepared students with not only necessary technical skills and financial knowledge, but also communication and presentation skills to perform in an actual business setting.

Despite that the COVID-19 pandemic has caused some difficulties in job searching, the majority of students have started careers with a bright outlook. The steering committee and staffs have been working hard to continue providing us support and career advices.

It's pity that we spent about a half year studying remotely at home and failed to interacts with professors or classmates in person. Studying from most experiences professors and taking courses with smartest students definitely made it an enjoyable journey in MSCF!
Upvote 0 Downvote
I graduated from the MSCF New York campus in December 2020. Prior to the program, I had been working as a research analyst for three years. The curriculum helped me build a stronger foundation in different mathematical financial modeling. The best thing I like is that almost every course involves some kind of coding (of course, some courses are dedicated to pure coding in python and C++). Since CMU is famous for its CS courses, it is one of the reasons why I chose CMU and I am definitely more confident about my programming skills in the workplace now.

It has been a hard year for everyone but we also received a lot of help from the program. Besides the prestige given by the school name in the street, professors and the career center also have put in a lot of effort and helped us secure placement for internships and jobs.

I highly encourage everyone to reach out to alumni on LinkedIn as well, especially those who share some similar background with you. We are all super nice people and would love to share our stories with you in detail. Cheers! :D
Upvote 0 Downvote
I join this program just for its so called well-known career service. But it turns out that the career service in MSCF is just homogeneous to other programs. Nothing special about the career service especially they recruit some new career staff this year. Being in this stage, I felt a bit hopeless about job-searching process.
Upvote -1 Downvote
David A Martell
After working for a few years in the financial industry, I was looking for a master’s program that could teach me the quantitative tools required to advance in this field. I recently graduated from the MSCF program in December 2019, and I am not disappointed to have chosen this degree. The program helped me develop the skill sets and industry connections required to succeed in the ever-changing and increasingly complex financial industry. I found all the support I needed to succeed, both in terms of academics and career development. The program has a great team of dedicated professors, career and academic counselors, classmates and student clubs. As the previous reviews mention, the program is worth the time and money invested in it.
Upvote 0 Downvote
Lily L
I graduated from MSCF in December 2019, and I highly recommend anyone who's considering an MFE program to apply for MSCF.

My favorite thing about MSCF is the curriculum. During my summer internship, I truly was using everything I learned in class. The curriculum is always up to date and practical to ensure the students' success in their careers. In addition, the career service is exceptional. The staff will do everything to help you secure a job.

MSCF is also highly selective so you'll take classes with some of the smartest and brightest students from all over the world. It takes a lot of effort to succeed in the program, but by the time you graduate, you'll be 100% prepared for your career and build friendships that will last life time!
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