University of California, Los Angeles - Master of Financial Engineering

University of California, Los Angeles - Master of Financial Engineering

UCLA MFE is a 15-month, full-time program under UCLA Anderson School of Management

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Location
Los Angeles, CA 90095
Application deadline
December 31 (Round 1), March 1 (Round 2), April 30 (Round 3)
Overview
The Master of Financial Engineering (MFE) Program at UCLA Anderson School of Management merges mathematical and statistical tools with finance theory to equip our students for highly rewarding careers in quantitative Finance. Graduates of the UCLA Anderson MFE Program apply these concepts to build models, solve problems and evaluate opportunities in areas such as risk management, asset management, derivatives trading, corporate finance and data analytics.


Academics
As a fully-integrated part of the UCLA Anderson School of Management, the MFE Program is based on the business school paradigm of merging theory and principle with up-to the-minute business practice. The UCLA Anderson finance faculty is among the best in the world. Consistently top-rated, they are leaders in cutting edge financial engineering research, as well as the practical implementation of current theory.

In 2017 UCLA Anderson revised and expanded the MFE curriculum. The full-time program now begins in September and lasts for 15 months (up from 13 months in 2016), with graduation in December of the following year. The newly revised and expanded curriculum integrates mathematical, statistical, and computer science tools with finance theory as applied in industry settings. The curriculum consists of 10 core courses, 4 electives (chosen out of 7 offerings), a corporate sponsored Applied Finance Project and a summer internship.


Admissions
MFE students have comparable levels of quantitative skills but varying professional and academic backgrounds. To connect with Admissions Ambassadors who can give a student's perspective, please click HERE.

Applications are available online, and the application period is divided into three rounds/deadlines. The application cycle begins in mid-September. To learn more about the admission requirements, please visit our Admissions Page.


Career Services
The UCLA Anderson MFE Program has a strong career support team solely dedicated to assisting MFE students with their career search, communication skills and resume development, as well as interviewing and negotiating skills.

Through “Conversations on Finance”, on-campus networking events, various workshops/seminars/panels, and a networking trip to Wall Street, San Francisco and Chicago with the Career Support team, MFE students have an opportunity to foster relationships with professionals in the field.

The MFE Program has been very successful in helping its graduates find summer internships and full-time positions with prominent financial services firms. The Class of 2020 was fully employed 6 months after graduation. 100% of the MFE students participate in a summer internship. Average total compensation is currently $112K.

View our Employment Report

Alumni

The UCLA Anderson network is one of the world’s largest and most renowned alumni networks with members in all 50 states and more than 100 countries. MFEs will become members of this network and have access to the alumni database. UCLA Anderson MFE alumni actively participate in academic seminars, speaker events, and host field study projects at their respective organizations. The MFE Program also has regional alumni chapters, through which graduates can expand personal and professional networks, meet with visiting faculty and connect with local business leaders.

Contact Information
For more details, visit the UCLA Anderson MFE website at www.anderson.ucla.edu/mfe. For answers to frequently asked questions please visit the Admissions FAQ page. You may also reach out to the MFE office via e-mail at mfe.admissions@anderson.ucla.edu.
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2024 Ranking Data
Rank
12
Total Score
76
Peer Score
3.4
% Employed at Graduation
89%
% Employed at 3 months
94%
Salary
125,727
Cohort Size
94 FT
Tuition
89,539

Author
Andy Nguyen
Views
79,146
First release
Last update

Ratings

4.43 star(s) 42 reviews 5.00 star(s) Students Quality 4.00 star(s) Courses/Instructors 4.00 star(s) Career Services
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Latest reviews
  • Anonymous
  • 5.00 star(s)
Headline
Decent program covers everything you should know
Just graduated last December, working in asset management now. UCLA MFE is definitely a good program. The courses covers everything you should know for quantitative finance. Definitely comprehensive knowledge and top-class professors! The only downside might be the homework, which make my life during job search a bit more stressful (because need to take care of both side). Career service is nice, I always learn sth from my conversation with Amber. Resume book sending out to employers is very helpful, I actually got my internship through resume book. Alums are helpful and nice, most of them are willing to connect and share their experiences! Our opportunities is not limited to west coast, there are a bunch of people from my class working in NY or Chicago as well.
Recommend
Yes, I would recommend this program
Students Quality
5.00 star(s)
Courses/Instructors
4.00 star(s)
Career Services
4.00 star(s)
Upvote 0 Downvote
As a nerd focusing on techniques and taking courses, UCLA's MFE brings me a different experience, reshaping my mind. Students in this program usually come from very different backgrounds. And we are required to finish almost all the coursework as a study group. In the process, I realized my advantages and learned how to work with people from different backgrounds. Such practice is helpful since it simulates the real working environment in financial institutions.

The career office provides guidelines for job searches and many networking events. They hold workshops regularly to give suggestions based on students' personal experiences in job searching. They also build a brand in the financial industry, which enables me to find my internship and current job. Although they don't appear in the referral directly, I can feel the connection during the interviews.

To be honest, without much finance background, it's hard for me to maintain GPA in a fast-paced program, search for internships/full-time jobs, and participate in many networking events at the same time. In the short 15 months, I made many mistakes and wanted to give up switching to the financial industry. However, gradually, I am more confident to face the difficulty. I owned it to my friends in the class and the good suggestions from them, alumni, and the career office. Compared with before, I already became a person with the confidence to solve all kinds of problems at work. In the end, I want to say, even though the whole process is somewhat suffering, you can gain what you want.
Upvote 1 Downvote
Some background: I just graduated in December, I had no finance background before the MFE program, and I’m a social person.

UCLA’s MFE program was my first choice when I was filling out applications and I’m convinced it’s still the best spot for quantitative people who also understand that having fun outside of class is important. My classmates were so much fun and are super smart. We had parties every week and became great friends. I doubt you’ll see the same level camaraderie at Berkeley, and I’ll bet anything you won’t see it at Baruch.

The program takes you from 0 to 100, giving you everything you need to enter the finance industry with a solid job. I just signed my full time offer letter and will be making 3x what I was making 18 months ago. The MFE staff/team is very responsive and they put in a lot of effort. Most of them have been there only a couple of years and have made great changes to the program (e.g. moving away from R to exclusively Python, getting more interaction with other programs in the business school, etc.).

You’re not going to leave this program an expert in any one field, nor should you expect to. Instead, you will leave with foundational knowledge in many fields that quants are typically interested in (ABS, equities, options, risk mgmt, ABS, data science, etc.). If you can handle a tough workload, learn fast, and work well with others, it doesn’t get much better than this. And when you’re done with class, you walk onto one of the most beautiful college campuses in the world with a bright, sunny day.

Good luck!
Upvote 1 Downvote
Attending the UCLA MFE program was one of the best decisions I’ve made.

In terms of academics, you'll be learning from highly regarded professors: Rossi, Longstaff, Chernov, Lochstoer (just to name a few), who are top-notch in industry and research.

In terms of structure: the 10-week quarters go by very quickly. Classes start with the basics, but pick up fast. I recommend getting good at R as you'll be doing a lot of your HW with it.

Career services: you'll receive regular emails for internships/jobs and you'll meet with the MFE career services staff to go over interview topics/questions you may have. Leanna, Olga, and Amber are a delight to work with!

Overall, it’s a great program. The coursework can get heavy at times. But the professors and staff are invested in their students’ success and want to see them succeed. And the weather in LA isn’t too bad either!
Upvote 0 Downvote
A great program, especially for someone without a rich quantitative background. I had a traditional finance background (wealth management) and gained many quantitative skills throughout the program (although it was a challenging program given my lack of quantitative skills). Had a challenging time finding a summer internship due to my lack of quantitative experience. However, I was able to land a quantitative job upon graduation. Most alumni I reached out to through LinkedIn were very friendly and helpful and some of them even offered to refer me to their company.
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2014 Graduate.
Easily the most valuable year+ of my life.
Professors and coursework align on learning skills that can be applied directly to the industry. Support staff is incredible, with a strong focus on ensuring you will have multiple job offers by the end of the program. Peers in the program are talented and driven. I still stay in close contact with several people from my cohort. Highly recommended!
Upvote 0 Downvote
A great program that teaches you theoretical knowledge and gives you applied opportunities. Amazing industry partners for the AFP project. A truly dedicated career office that is focused on providing tech skills, interviews, and resume workshops.
Upvote 1 Downvote
Curriculum:
This program would teach you all the fundamentals you need to succeed in the quant finance field with world-class faculties. I personally liked the courses for their nice balance between finance, coding, and mathematics. The first two quarters build up your fundamentals in finance and more, and the third quarter takes you deeper into different fields such as asset management, data science, pricing and valuation, risk and management, etc, where you may discover your skills and passion. The courses mostly use Python, with some using R, but there is no class that specifically teaches you how to code, which is something I strongly suggest adding. You will have to figure it out yourself and go deeper if you want to ace those coding interviews. There is also an applied finance project that gives you a sneak peek of what problems the industries are trying to solve. Depending on the company, you might be solving the most difficult or weirdest problems, but it would be fruitful and fun if you step up and see the project through.

Career:
The career service team is great and proactive. They help with behavioral/ technical interviews, resume/ CL, webinars to help you understand the industry, salary negotiation, etc. They also have connections to many companies that sometimes directly hire from the program (I got my internship this way). They also still keep in touch with me even though I already graduated.

Overall I really recommend this program. It helped me transition from a pure finance background to landing a quant research role. The program gives you everything you need and more, the rest is up to you. I also want to add that most students here are pretty laid back and you will probably meet the smartest and most accomplished students here.
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  • Anonymous
  • 4.00 star(s)
Awesome experience.

Education:
Excellent faculties with great knowledge. Teaching is mainly application based, So it is good for people with little less math background.
Concepts are explained in both ways mathematical and Economical.

Career:
Career service is excellent. Strong Alumni network. You can choose from many different career paths.
Upvote 0 Downvote
Great place. The classes are very practical and applicable-for me, I found the Derivatives Market and Computational Finance class most useful; the only caveat is the Quant Asset Management, as the professor does not teach the class in an easy-to-understand way. In terms of workloads, the Spring Quarter is going to be the heaviest, but that’s how you learn the practical staff. There are also a lot of helpful job searching resources-for instance, the workshops on quant interview and R/Python. In addition, the alumni network is also valuable-I find both my internship and full-time job thanks to its help!
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