2024 QuantNet Rankings of UK Quant MSc Programs

[Andy Nguyen]

hi, just wanted to know which is better, university of glasgow, queens university of Belfast or new castle university.

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Which programs from each of those universities? Do you have link to them?

 

[Andy Nguyen]

I can always shine more light on what i know or my findings if anyone has any questions i guess.

Please do share as more discussion will be beneficial to everyone.

 

[gbm]

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Which programs from each of those universities? Do you have link to them?

Sure, here you go. its already late and i don't have a lot of college to apply for, so i narrowed down to these, It would help me a lot if you could help me sort this order of the best ones as first in the subject of quantitative analysis

University of Glasgow - Postgraduate study - Taught degree programmes A‑Z - Quantitative Finance

Find out more about the MSc Quantitative Finance in the Business School at the University of Glasgow, UK., This programme draws on recent developments in finance with a quantitative approach to help you understand the structure of financial markets in order for you to make optimal investment...

www.gla.ac.uk

Quantitative Finance and Risk Management MSc

Develop practical skills and knowledge in generalist finance, quantitative methodology and risk management. Apply to our Master's course now.

www.ncl.ac.uk

Financial Analytics (MSc) | Courses | Queen's University Belfast

www.qub.ac.uk

 

[Andy Nguyen]

Of the 3 programs above, only Queen's University Belfast MSc Financial Analytics program is listed in the 2024 UK ranking and it's unranked due to its lack of data.
I haven't heard about the other two programs, definitely not as popular as others.
I don't think rushing to get into any program because the deadline is approaching is the right way to start your graduate career.
If possible, spend a year to properly prepare your profile so you get a better chance at better ranked programs.

 

[Andy Nguyen]

By the way, the UK ranking now shows acceptance rate for the programs where the numbers are available.

 

[fufutoogud]

Of the 3 programs above, only Queen's University Belfast MSc Financial Analytics program is listed in the 2024 UK ranking and it's unranked due to its lack of data.
I haven't heard about the other two programs, definitely not as popular as others.
I don't think rushing to get into any program because the deadline is approaching is the right way to start your graduate career.
If possible, spend a year to properly prepare your profile so you get a better chance at better ranked programs.

I do agree @Andy Nguyen . Take your time with it understand the admission process and fall in love with seeing a pattern from what separates the great schools from the okay ones in this field. The courses you have shown bare no similarity with that of a reputable institution in this field aside the one from belfast which looks balanced . One thing i have noticed personally is i always tend to just dismiss a school if there's barely any math's content in its core modules available or one that dare i say it pushes CFA. I understand the need for this as if people don't get into the top schools they have to go somewhere and there has to be a pull factor offered by the universities. I was initially wowed by a lot of this as well but as i mentioned as someone in your shoe trying to chose a good school, its fairly easy to fall in that trap.

Just as a rule of thumb, for the universities that i am unsure of i always try to explore the modules at greater lengths and see if i can easily contact a professor and ask them questions around the doubts that i may have. I always tend to relate them and see how much of the content maps to those offered at Oxford, Imperial etc. The most expensive doesn't necessarily mean the best outside the usual top in the UK. Also, look at foreign universities and see their module structure, if you're keen on transferring to America or whatever, market structure aside picking a university with a balanced course content does come into it, as you want to have a strong foundation in Fin Math's so further knowledge can be easily expanded upon.

If it helps, i found this PowerPoint useful on the state of pricing MSc FM in the UK and why its that way(https://people.bath.ac.uk/ak257/msc.pdf). As usual, i will always say, this is how i understand the admission process to be and these are my views and understanding. I could be wrong but it took ages personally to finally decide once i realised i couldn't get into the top schools what the next options were ,hence my reasoning. Hopefully that helps. If not ask more questions.

 

[Andy Nguyen]

We implemented a table view on the UK ranking as well where you can sort by column header to compare between programs easily.

2024 QuantNet Ranking of Best UK Quant Programs

quantnet.com

Additionally, we provide the latest ranking data on the sidebar when you click the program's name.

Imperial College London - MSc Mathematics and Finance

Established in 1999, the Imperial College London MSc in Mathematics and Finance program, under the Department of Mathematics, is one of the oldest programmes of its kind. It combines rigorous mathematical training with practical financial...

quantnet.com

 

[FilippoRonzink]

Appreciate the work done for UK masters, would it be valuable to have rather than just UK an Europe category that merges the non-US masters?
E.g. ETH/EPFL/French schools etc. should compete against UK masters.

Is this in WIP already?

 

[Andy Nguyen]

Appreciate the work done for UK masters, would it be valuable to have rather than just UK an Europe category that merges the non-US masters?
E.g. ETH/EPFL/French schools etc. should compete against UK masters.

Is this in WIP already?

Do you mean a ranking for all European programs instead of just UK programs?
It would start with a list of good competitive EU programs which frankly I don't have the bandwidth at the moment.
If you are willing to put together that list, it probably has a higher chance of happening.
Are you up for it?

 

[blrichard]

Do you mean a ranking for all European programs instead of just UK programs?
It would start with a list of good competitive EU programs which frankly I don't have the bandwidth at the moment.
If you are willing to put together that list, it probably has a higher chance of happening.
Are you up for it?

I don't have anything close to an exhaustive list but I did look into Europe a decent amount, hopefully it is somewhat helpful

Netherlands
1. Universiteit van Amsterdam - MSc in Stochastics and Financial Mathematics
2. Universiteit van Amsterdam - MSc in Actuarial Science and Mathematical Finance

Note: - UvA also has MSc in Financial Econometrics and a quantitative finance specialization in their MSc Finance
- VU Amsterdam has a MSc in Financial Econometrics, a MSc in Operations Research - Financial Engineering, and a Quant Finance spec. in the MSc Finance

3. Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam - MSc in Quantitative Finance
4. Tilburg University - MSc in Actuarial Science and Quantitative Finance
5. TU Delft - MSc in Applied Math with Specialization in Financial Engineering

Switzerland
1. UZH/ETH Zurich - MSc in Quantitative Finance
2. EPFL - MSc in Financial Engineering
3. University of St. Gallen - MSc in Quantitative Economics and Finance

Germany
1. TU Munich - MSc in Mathematical Finance and Actuarial Science

Belgium
1. KU Leuven - MSc in Actuarial and Financial Engineering

France
1. Paris-Sorbonne/Ecole Polytechnique - MSc in Probability and Finance
2. Paris-Diderot - MSc in Random Modelling, Finance and Data Science
3. Paris-Saclay - MSc in Quantitative Finance

I think Italy has a few as well.

 

[Andy Nguyen]

Thank you @blrichard for putting together the list. The great journey starts with this baby step.
If you can help, we can create entries for these programs on our list with all the basic info (link, tuition, location, deadline, etc) and fill them over time.
I assume you keep on your notes on a spreadsheet ready to go?
Send me a DM if you want to take ownership on this.

 

[FilippoRonzink]

I don't have anything close to an exhaustive list but I did look into Europe a decent amount, hopefully it is somewhat helpful

Netherlands
1. Universiteit van Amsterdam - MSc in Stochastics and Financial Mathematics
2. Universiteit van Amsterdam - MSc in Actuarial Science and Mathematical Finance

Note: - UvA also has MSc in Financial Econometrics and a quantitative finance specialization in their MSc Finance
- VU Amsterdam has a MSc in Financial Econometrics, a MSc in Operations Research - Financial Engineering, and a Quant Finance spec. in the MSc Finance

3. Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam - MSc in Quantitative Finance
4. Tilburg University - MSc in Actuarial Science and Quantitative Finance
5. TU Delft - MSc in Applied Math with Specialization in Financial Engineering

Switzerland
1. UZH/ETH Zurich - MSc in Quantitative Finance
2. EPFL - MSc in Financial Engineering
3. University of St. Gallen - MSc in Quantitative Economics and Finance

Germany
1. TU Munich - MSc in Mathematical Finance and Actuarial Science

Belgium
1. KU Leuven - MSc in Actuarial and Financial Engineering

France
1. Paris-Sorbonne/Ecole Polytechnique - MSc in Probability and Finance
2. Paris-Diderot - MSc in Random Modelling, Finance and Data Science
3. Paris-Saclay - MSc in Quantitative Finance

I think Italy has a few as well.

Seems like a pretty comprehensive list, I would add:

Italy
1. Politecnico di Milano - MSc in Mathematical Engineering specialization in Quantitative Finance
2. Bocconi MANFRISK / Master in Financa with specialization in Quantitative Finance and Asset Management