Research Thesis vs. Work Ex?

[mathboy]

Hi all!
I am confused between choosing to do a mathematical finance focused research thesis or gaining some work experience by doing a finance internship (quant/strats) for my last semester in college (Jan '24 to June '24).

Background: I am an Econ-CS dual major undergrad at a tier 1 Indian university, and plan to apply for MFE programs in Fall 2024 or 2025. I don't have prior work experience in Finance, but have some coursework (Econ and Finance focused). Among math courses, I only have calculus, differential equations, linear algebra, probability and statistics (no numerical analysis, PDE, optimization, etc), so I was wondering if doing a math-finance focused research thesis would be more beneficial for my profile? I have a 9+/10 GPA and have strong coding credentials (C/C++, Python, Java) as well.

 

[zephyrus]

Facing a similar dilemma. Though I believe since most of the MFE programs are not overly research oriented but rather are terminal degrees full of coursework, I guess work experience in quant domain would count more. Thesis could be more beneficial for math finance/CS masters programs.

 

[MikeLawrence]

Definitely go for work experience, hands down.