Advice for Undergraduate

[GabrielHouston]

Hello all,

Ive been following this community for a month,reading FAQs, reviews etc..
this is my first time posting. I would appreciate some suggestion for aiding my decisions.
I am currently completing a BS in Applied Statistics/Mathematics at a public state university in Texas. Projected grad date is Fall 2011. My interest lie in Financial Mathematics, Options Pricing Theory.

My situation is as follows:
I have been employed by a large retail financial institution for the last 5 years while completing my Undergrad. I've realized that the B.S is not sufficient to gain an entry level position. My near future plan is to give up my full time job in Retail Banking in order to join a Graduate program.
However, the choices are a bit overwhelming as I am not sure which option would be best suited for me: MSFE, MSFM, MSCF. I have not been exposed to programming a great deal, only introductory courses to C++, VB

The ideal outcome would allow me to secure a position in Houston, TX related to the Energy Industry. However, the lack of mentions for University of Houston's MSAM FMO leads me to believe the program is not worth applying to. Please correct me if I am wrong.

Any feedback is appreciated, thanks to all.

 

[TBeas]

This might help.
http://www.quantnet.com/forum/threads/pay-53k-for-purdue-or-only-3k-oklahoma-state.6000/#post-51372

 

[Connor]

UH isn't well known outside of Texas and generally does poorly in rankings. But their placement in Houston is pretty good and they have recently become a tier 1 research university so it is moving up. UH would be a good safety school depending on your profile.

Other Texas universities to consider for an eventual energy position in Houston are UT, A&M, and Rice. Look at Tulane in New Orleans, I believe they have a pretty decent masters in finance that has a risk focus.

 

[GabrielHouston]

Thank you, I appreciate your opinion, below is an outline of the program:

• Completion of a minimum of 30 credit hours (with a 3.0 GPA overall and no more than 3 grades at or below C+).
• Completion of the following courses with a grade of C or higher:
  MATH 6382, 6383: Probability and Mathematical Statistics
  MATH 6366, 6367: Optimization (linear programming, nonlinear programming, stochastic programming, dynamic programming and optimal control, some experience in use of computer software for numerical optimization)
• Completion of the following two courses in the core of finance mathematics
  MATH 63XX: Mathematical Finance in Discrete Time
  MATH 63XX: Mathematical Finance in Continuous Time
• Completion of two more courses from the following list:
  MATH 6397: Numerical Method for PDE
  *MATH 63XX: Special Topics in Mathematical Finance (The subject varies from semester to semester; possible topics: Value at Risk, Real-Option Valuations, Valuation of Energy Derivatives, and Energy Risk Management)
  *MATH 73XX: Time Series Analysis
  *MATH 73XX: Computational Statistics (Markov Chains Monte Carlo, and Bayesian Statistics)
  *MATH 73XX: Numerical Methods in Finance
  *MATH 73XX: Econometrics of Financial Markets
  Other MATH courses at 6000 level or higher with the approval of the FMO Program Director
  FINA 7320: Fixed Income Securities
  FINA 8388: Seminars in Financial Management I
  ECON 7331: Econometrics I
• Completion of a Master's Tutorial Project under the supervision of a Mathematics Department faculty member. The tutorial requirement may be replaced by taking two regularly scheduled classes, if this is the decision of the student and advisor.