Stevens Institute of Technology - MS in Financial Engineering

I graduated with a Master's in Financial Engineering from Stevens Institute of Technology, and it has been instrumental in shaping my career in the finance industry. The program's curriculum is exceptionally well-designed, integrating theoretical knowledge with practical applications. Core courses like Stochastic Calculus for Financial Engineers (FE 610), Pricing and Hedging (FE 620), and Portfolio Theory and Applications (FE 630) provided a robust foundation in quantitative finance and risk management, crucial for my role as a Credit Risk Analyst and Quantitative Analyst.

The professors at Stevens go above and beyond to support their students, combining academic rigor with real-world industry experience. Their mentorship has been invaluable, offering personalized guidance that helped me navigate the complexities of the finance sector. Courses like Advanced Derivatives (FE 680) and the Project in Financial Engineering (FE 800), which often involve industry collaborations, were particularly beneficial in applying classroom concepts to real-world scenarios.

Stevens Institute of Technology is renowned for its strong connections to the finance industry, especially given its proximity to New York City. This location advantage, combined with excellent career services, facilitated numerous networking opportunities, internships, and job placements with top-tier firms. The university's reputation as a leading institution for financial engineering is well-deserved, providing a platform that effectively bridges academic learning with industry practice.

I would like to extend a special thanks to Professor Emmanuel Hatzakis, Industry Professor and Director of Finance & Financial Engineering at Stevens. His dedication to his students is truly remarkable. Professor Hatzakis consistently went above and beyond, offering invaluable support and guidance tailored to each student’s individual needs. His commitment to fostering a nurturing and challenging learning environment has made a profound impact on my educational journey and professional development. I am incredibly grateful for his mentorship and unwavering support.

The Financial Engineering Master’s program at Stevens Institute of Technology is founded on academic excellence and personal growth. From the very beginning, my admissions process was incredibly personal and attentive with the dedicated efforts from Dr. Emmanuel Hatzakis. His guidance and support made my admission into this program seamless and welcoming!

The curriculum provided an in-depth exploration of subjects including advanced derivatives, algorithmic trading, and stochastic calculus. These core subjects were taught with a level of detail and clarity that not only enhanced my understanding but also sparked a passion for the intricacies of quantitative finance. The program's focus on these advanced topics ensured that I gained a comprehensive understanding of the financial markets and the quantitative techniques used within them.

Moreover, the hands-on learning experiences and real-world applications of theoretical knowledge significantly helped prepare me for the professional world. The program's emphasis on cutting-edge financial engineering practices equipped me with the tools and confidence needed to excel in the fast-paced and ever-evolving field of quantitative finance.

The Master of Science program in Financial Engineering at Stevens is an academic endeavor that paves the way for a successful and fulfilling career. Overall, the combination of having a personal admissions process, exceptional teaching, and practical experience sets graduates up for professional success as leaders in the industry.

What’s great about the program at Stevens is that it’s highly customizable to what you want to focus on in your career in finance. They have paths to be more computer science focused, algo trading focused, analytics focused, mathematics focused and more. You still get a bit of everything in the day to day curriculum to really help you decided where to focus and the majority of the staff is fantastic and has real world experience. The knowledge I gained has really helped to get me to where I am on the street today.

The admission process was accommodating and I received a scholarship of 17000$ with my offer. The courses are on the cutting edge, flexible, and are designed to be highly practical. I selected around 16 courses in machine/deep learning, algo trading, and risk management areas, including some at the Ph.D. level. Professors are exceptional with excellent industry relations. Stevens is renowned for its location, just 10 minutes from Manhattan. The COPA team provided thorough support for my career with my program director and professors offering recommendations and conducting mock interviews for me.

Applying for a PhD within the Stevens FE program is also a great option, as it includes a dedicated two-semester PhD thesis FE900 project. PhD professors will work with you one-on-one to revise your thesis and assist you in publishing papers.

I worked in different hedge funds and Securities firms before Stevens. During the program, I interned at Jefferies and worked on different Capstone Projects from BOA. This rigorous FE program helped me find my full-time quantitative position in Transamerica. You will get a big bang for the buck in the Stevens FE program if you are pursuing a career path in quantitative finance.

The FE program curriculum is set up very professionally, with sub-branches in different domains such as risk management and algorithm reading etc. This structure allows each student to choose their area of interest and delve deeply into learning relevant skills. The courses are designed practically, ensuring that the skills acquired are applicable in industry and not outdated.

The FE program boasts a powerful lab (Hanlon Lab) where students can experiment within a virtual industry environment, with only a few minutes lag from the real market. The lab staff, mostly PhD students, are always helpful in providing instruction when questions arise.

The professors in the FE program set a high standard. Many of them have Wall Street experience and adeptly transfer their knowledge to students. As a student and adult learner, one must be self-motivated and collaborate with professors to maximize the learning experience. Additionally, as a source of connecting to real industry, the program invites external experts or industry leaders to give webinars or tech talks to students.

During graduation and job hunting seasons, numerous large companies visit the campus for on-site hiring, including Morgan Stanley, EY, JP Morgan, and Two Sigma etc. It is highly recommended to be well-prepared to seize these opportunities.

Overall, I highly recommend the Financial Engineering program at Stevens Institute of Technology. I am always grateful for the experience I had at Stevens from 2014 to 2015, which has contributed significantly to my present-day success.

As a recent graduate of the Master of Financial Engineering program, I am pleased to share my experience and the practical knowledge I gained. The curriculum is comprehensive, blending theoretical foundations with real-world applications, which prepared me for the dynamic field of quantitative finance. The faculty, who are educators and industry professionals, provided invaluable mentorship and guidance, ensuring that we, as students, were industry-ready upon graduation. The program's emphasis on practical skills, such as programming and model building, directly contributed to my ability to secure a position in the field. Moreover, the advisors were instrumental in my professional development, offering personalized advice and support throughout my studies. Overall, the MFE program has been a pivotal step in my career, and I am confident that it will continue to foster new talent in the financial engineering community.

Completing my Master's in Financial Engineering in 2022 was a significant milestone. The program was challenging, covering topics like risk management and algorithmic trading, and was taught by experienced professionals from the finance sector. Learning alongside a diverse group of peers enriched the experience, enabling us to tackle complex financial problems together. The administration and the people are genuinely helpful. This education didn't just equip me with technical skills; it also sparked a genuine enthusiasm for exploring the intricacies of the finance industry.

The Financial Engineering program at Stevens is a high-level challenging program that provides more than enough expertise for a junior level candidate to become competent in- any branche of Quantitative Finance work. It will prepare you in the branche of pricing derivatives, in the branche of financial risk management, algorithmic trading, and as well as giving you all of the necessary mathematical attributes, all while learning to conduct all of your work using high-level languages such as Python and R. The Career center holds plenty of campus events, and financial industry alumni's are always prepared to reach out and assist you.

My Master's in Financial Engineering at Stevens has been an incredibly rewarding experience.The curriculum, enriched by faculty with significant industry experience at renowned firms such as Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, and JP Morgan, is truly exceptional. Stevens' professors are not only experts in their fields but also passionate mentors dedicated to student success. The small class size allows for personalized interactions, creating a supportive learning environment.


Stevens' program ensures graduates are industry-ready from day one, covering essential topics like options, stochastics, and portfolio theory. This foundation proved invaluable in excelling as both an intern at a hedge fund and a full-time employee at a major bank. The Fe800 course played a pivotal role in instilling confidence to create comprehensive financial projects from scratch and present them effectively to professors and classmates weekly. This skill proved indispensable during interviews. Although FE program is very demanding but if you are feeling more adventurous then the flexibility to take courses from the Computer Science department, such as deep learning courses, provided me with a well-rounded skill set. In my final semester, I opted for a course on applying Machine Learning in industry, proving instrumental in my career transition.

The career support at Stevens is commendable, with professors boasting high-quality industry connections facilitating interviews at reputed firms. Financial conferences and the high-frequency trading lab provide additional avenues for gaining knowledge about the broader finance landscape. The proximity to New York City enhances access to financial firms, job opportunities, and conferences.

While Stevens excels in many aspects, I suggest the institution focus on strengthening the alumni network and enhancing quant-specific interview preparation. This would further contribute to the overall success of graduates, ensuring they are well-prepared for the intricacies of the financial industry. Overall, my Master's in Financial Engineering at Stevens has been a transformative experience, equipping me with the skills and confidence needed to thrive in the finance sector.

I would highly recommend Stevens to anyone who is passionate about applying sensible innovation in their daily job through the application of finance, mathematics and coding. I was able to apply this developed skillset from the MFE program into the workforce immediately on senior levels and to think strategically and efficiently through financial systems to get the job done.

I was impressed by the faculty's openness of their academia perceptions being challenged within the classroom. Because of this, I was able to transfer this well-known skillset into corporate America very easily so that the status quo can be challenged as well.

I met intelligent classmates from every walk of like which suffice that the program highly values diversity in their program.

I was able to land a job offer in the field of my desire - Model Risk very quickly after graduation due to the risk management skillsets that were taught to me by faculty in the program and applied within my summer internship.

The MFE program is very intense and fast-paced which requires one to have solid coding skills from undergraduate or certificate program and financial mathematics skills to succeed. My favorite part of the MFE program was deciphering the concepts in well-known research papers and coding them through appropriate coding packages to great a final outcome.

I would recommend Stevens to anyone who has a passion for learning financial pricing of derivatives. I was impressed by some of the faculty who had industry experience in New York at well-known companies (Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, JP Morgan, .. ). These faculty also hold PhD’s in complex fields such as Physics, Mathematics, Operations Research & Financial Engineering.

Every student I met who was a US citizen received a job offer in New York at a well-respected company (Citadel, Capital One, UBS, Prudential). It’s possible to attend Stevens and receive a quant related job offer! Stevens also has a strong reputation. If you talk to anyone, and mention the name Stevens, the response will be the same: “Wow, Stevens is a great school!”

The MFE program is very fast paced! If you’re considering attending Steven’s here’s my advice:
- Enroll in this program if you’re familiar with Python & R programming. Most of the classes are applied, which is amazing! You’ll create Python programs to solve real problems, but if you don’t know the basics of Python, then you’ll be over your head.

- Enroll in this program if you have a strong math background (Calculus 1, 2 & 3, and Theory of Probability). The Stochastic Calculus class is difficult. The program is very accelerated, so there isn’t time to ask questions about calculus. I personally struggled in this class, and there aren’t many great resources online. Many students struggle in this class too. The TA’s aren’t available to help students, and the faculty are very busy teaching class.

- If you’re a US citizen, especially if you’re native to the New York area. Then there’s strong chance you’ll get a quant job offer.

- If you’re NOT a US citizen, then getting a job after graduation, could be difficult. Most employers do not want to sponsor visa. This isn’t a reflection of Stevens, but it’s a consideration for any potential student.

- If you’re NOT a US citizen, then strongly consider attending the MFE program, which could be a stepping stone into a PhD program! The PhD students at Stevens have a high success rate for internships, and job offers, because the jobs they are applying for more advanced jobs.

I joined the MFE (Master's in Financial Engineering) program in the Fall of 2021. I strongly recommend this program to anyone wanting to break into the Quantitative Finance landscape while possessing a strong quantitative background (Engineering, Mathematics, Computer Science). But beware, it is a highly demanding degree program if you want to do it the right way (all by yourself without plagiarism). Expect to get lost in the complexity of the concepts taught. Most of the course instructors are helpful in answering any questions that could assist in finding your way back. Get ready to conduct lots of self study to fully understand and comprehend the material.

FE610 Stochastic Calculus for Financial Engineers taught by Prof. Thomas Lonon is undoubtedly the most challenging and intellectually rewarding courses I have ever taken. It is a mathematically rigorous treatment of Stochastic Processes, Ito Calculus, Pricing Theorems and their applications. Prof. Lonon is very diligent, meticulous and precise in his pedagogical approach. Regardless of whether you are going use Stochastic Calculus in your professional life, it is one brainteaser of a subject that drills and trains your mind to become capable of understanding any complex idea that comes its way. It makes you a remarkable learner.

FE620 (Pricing and Hedging) and FE621 (Computational Methods in Finance) are two other great courses that complete your Financial Engineering education. Taking a programming lab course concurrently should assist you in finishing them.

Personally, I thought that some of other core courses- FE680 Advanced Derivatives and FE630 Portfolio Theory and Applications could have been made optional. Other optional courses offered on Time Series Analysis, Statistical Learning, Market Microstructure and C++ Programming in Finance that are highly sought after in the industry should be made compulsory.

Career services needs a lot of work. It is understandable given the complexity of the field and subject. The Program Director was extremely helpful in my job seeking journey giving various suggestions and organizing networking events. Overall, a very underrated program that is very intellectually rewarding and career defining given that you are willing to put in the tremendous effort while demonstrating patience and resilience.

I attended the Financial Engineering program at Stevens Institute of Technology and found it to be an excellent investment. The program’s comprehensive curriculum on Quantitative Finance, along with practical projects and assignments, has been invaluable in my career. Even after 5 years of graduation, I still showcase the skills I learned in job interviews.

I had a great experience completing the MFE program following my undergraduate degree in Quantitative finance at Stevens. The professors were very helpful and I enjoyed the courses taken. Not only were they knowledgeable about the material but they also provided me with career advice when asked which helped me when obtaining internships and my full time role. Overall, I really enjoyed my time at Stevens and would recommend the MFE program!

I visited 3-4 years ago and was extremely impressed with Prof. Hatzakis and Prof. Florescu. The direction of the program is built upon ethics, hard work, and honesty. I was able to work full time and complete the program part time. I was given access to all resources, industry practitioners, and important projects. Unquestionably, this degree changed the way I think to help propel my career.

My graduate experience at Financial Engineering at Stevens Institute of Technology has been great, nothing short of phenomenal. From the rigorous academics to the thriving sports, events and innovative teaching methods, this school truly has something for everyone.

My professors are the heart and soul of Stevens business school. They're not just experts in their fields, they're passionate mentors who are genuinely invested in your success. Some of them are from Ivy League, some of them are from one of the biggest firms in the industry such as Goldman Sachs, JP. Morgan,.. I've never felt like just a number in a lecture hall, my professors have always made themselves available for one-on-one guidance and support.

After graduation from Stevens, my friends and I received jobs offers such as quant research, trading, quant developer, data analyst, or financial consulting. The supports at Stevens is extremely valuable if you work hard and start your job search early. Your effort plus support from Stevens make you successful. In addition, if you are an international student, you have to find not only a job but also the sponsorship early while still being a student, allowing you to work in the US due to the short timeframe and issues might happen during extending your STEM. This will save time for you and your future employers. I believe each of us is unique and can always be successful in your own way. If you growing up favor topics in math, coding, and finance, then the quant program at Stevens will help you reach your fulfilment and be nearer to your career goals.

I had an excellent experience in this program. Coming in with a Mechanical Engineering Undergraduate Degree, also at Stevens, I was very worried about how I would be able to handle the transition into the Business school and was doubting my decision to do so. However, I found that I had excellent support from the professors and dean of the program, who helped me with anything I had trouble with from scheduling, course selection and content, all the way through to job search and opportunities upon graduation. The program was challenging and set me up very well for my career as a Data Analyst.

Disagree with the person leave 1 star review about Chinese students. This program lacks of diversity is true, mainly Chinese and Indian people here. I was graduated couple years ago, some Chinese are really hard-working students, few of us was able to get a job to stay in US. Most of my friends got decent job and one of my Chinese classmate even just got an offer with 500k salary+bonus just before 30-year-old. The program is worth to get in, but it will heavily depend on how you treat the time you spend here, you can choose to waste it or actually learn something benefit yourself for life. Choose your career and friends wisely.

The program is rigorous and heavy with stochastic calculus and probability and set theory. Make sure you have a solid back with math or stem and some coding will go al long way.

I would absolutely recommend the Stevens MFE program. It is top-notch in terms of flexibility, courses offered, and convenience to the city.

I chose this program in 2016 when I lived in Atlanta over other programs in large part because it allowed me to start remotely. I ultimately received a job in NY during my program, and finished the rest of the courses in person. I highly recommend taking as much as you can in person because it allows you to connect with students, faculty, and others in the industry.

The MFE program offered courses at night, which was critical to my ability to engage part-time. The campus is also about 45 min by train from midtown Manhattan - which is also really important to those working.

I thought that the majority of the faculty was well-credentialed, great tutors, and accessible. A few in particular still serve as valuable mentors. The administrative staff is also great, as is the career services office.

I also liked the design of the coursework. One is required to take the core classes as with every MFE degree (stochastic calc, derivatives, computational finance), but the elective tracks are categorized in sensible fashion. I chose to focus on time series/statistics, and the courses along this track were extremely helpful. I've found the content of several of the courses (Portfolio Theory in particular) as critical in my current role. I would encourage the faculty to continue to develop more courses, particularly in new areas of 'quant' like machine learning and data science.

I absolutely recommend this program.