Program Choice Question (FSU PhD vs LSE Master's)

[ioAhm]

I am an international student and I have been admitted into the Financial Mathematics PhD program at Florida State University, and also the MSc Financial Mathematics program at LSE. I want to weigh both of my options career-wise. The program at FSU is fully-funded so I would not have to go into any debt for it, and the LSE program is very expensive. I want to know if it is 'worth it' to spend that much money at LSE since I am having some difficulty getting information about the quality of the program compared to other's in the UK. I also have a similar difficulty with FSU (things like employment statistics). I want to know what is the smarter decision to make (most people I have talked to about this think the PhD at FSU is a way better option), given that I can stick it out for 5 years for a PhD? Plus, if instead I was admitted to the Imperial Math Finn program, would that change anything, as it is almost equally as expensive?
I am not sure if I have posted this in the right place, but any advice would be appreciated.

 

[Arbitrary]

For me I would clearly take the PhD program. LSE is a great university for Investment Banking / Consulting, but has pretty much no credibility for quant. There's very few programs in the UK that I would actually consider for quant careers: Imperial MathFin, Oxford MCF, Cambridge MPhil Finance. A major question you should also ask yourself is where you want to work, if you want to work in the US, where there are more opportunities and higher salaries, then you have to go to a US university (visa wise), if you want to work in the UK, you should study in the UK. The cost difference is also pretty clear in FSUs favor, taking a loan rn is harsh in this interest rate climate.

All these things aside there is also a clear difference between the degrees you are getting: PhD vs. Masters. Especially in quant research PhDs are sought after, although I am unsure how much prestige of your university plays into hiring at PhD level - I would guess it is not as important than on masters level. Having a PhD is a great credential that will open up doors, much more than a masters I would assume. The only other important factor to consider is the timeframe, 5 additional years of studying is not a small amount, so make sure you are confident you are okay with that. If you enjoy academia i'd say there's less to worry, if you can't wait to start working then you should weigh that into your decision.

 

[weab]

phd is great

 

[ioAhm]

For me I would clearly take the PhD program. LSE is a great university for Investment Banking / Consulting, but has pretty much no credibility for quant. There's very few programs in the UK that I would actually consider for quant careers: Imperial MathFin, Oxford MCF, Cambridge MPhil Finance. A major question you should also ask yourself is where you want to work, if you want to work in the US, where there are more opportunities and higher salaries, then you have to go to a US university (visa wise), if you want to work in the UK, you should study in the UK. The cost difference is also pretty clear in FSUs favor, taking a loan rn is harsh in this interest rate climate.

All these things aside there is also a clear difference between the degrees you are getting: PhD vs. Masters. Especially in quant research PhDs are sought after, although I am unsure how much prestige of your university plays into hiring at PhD level - I would guess it is not as important than on masters level. Having a PhD is a great credential that will open up doors, much more than a masters I would assume. The only other important factor to consider is the timeframe, 5 additional years of studying is not a small amount, so make sure you are confident you are okay with that. If you enjoy academia i'd say there's less to worry, if you can't wait to start working then you should weigh that into your decision.

Thanks a lot! This was very helpful.
I was also recently admitted to the UCL Financial Mathematics program. Would this change any of your advice?
Thanks again!

 

[jarryds]

Yeah it's smart to think about the money, but you are missing a huge part of this. Do you want a PhD? I'm sure you have learned that PhD's are great for Quant Finance, but going for a PhD with the sole intent on leaving academia for industry is a misuse of the degree. A PhD is a HUGE commitment - if your mindset going in is "I just need to get through this 5-8 years and then I can go into quant finance", it will be a grueling process.

And we unfortunately can't answer this for you. Do you want to work towards a PhD -> FSU. No -> LSE. Simple.

 

[arohan]

I am not sure why other comments on this post seem to indicate that LSE isn’t well regarded in the quant space as it’s drastically opposed to my personal experiences.

For context, I work as a QR at a European AMC and my team is primarily (> 90% based out of London) and LSE is a school quite well represented and held in high regard. When I was having a conversation with my recommenders (all very senior quants) LSE was something they had recommended very strongly as a program I should consider if I apply to the UK. I am not entirely sure about how good/well regarded their MSc in Financial Mathematics program is but, as a school, LSE is very well regarded within the quant space imo, at least in the UK.

Also, saw that you got into UCL as well. Most people I’d talked to had told me to stay away from UCL’s Computational Finance program. It was Oxford, LSE, Imperial for quant fin programs otherwise things like stats/data science at UCL, Edinburgh, Warwick etc.