MS in Quantitative Finance

A master’s program based on field data and measurable results.

What else would you expect from a bunch of quants?

When we set out to create a Master of Science in Quantitative Finance (MSQF) program, we left nothing to chance.

After interviewing managers at 20 leading finance firms to identify the skills they were looking for, Gabelli School program directors created a series of new courses specifically designed to satisfy those needs.

By continually optimizing our curriculum in consultation with industry experts, we’ve achieved remarkable results: 85 to 90% of our graduates find jobs within three months of graduation. Within six months, that figure approaches 100%.

MSQF overview

The Gabelli School MSQF degree prepares students to capitalize on the financial industry’s growing reliance on quantitative analysis. By mastering skills in data management, modeling, finance theory, and computer programming, students position themselves to land some of the financial world’s most sophisticated and competitive jobs.

The rigorous curriculum develops skills in:

• Derivative instruments and valuation
• Econometric modeling
• Fixed income and interest-rate modeling
• Large-scale data management
• Quantitative portfolio management
• Risk management
• Simulation applications
• Stochastic modeling

The Gabelli School edge

Have lunch with a hedge fund manager. Take a seminar from a stochastic modeling expert. Hand your résumé to a senior quant trader. Thanks to our Manhattan location and deep connections within the financial industry, Gabelli School students are uniquely positioned to network with the world’s top experts in quantitative finance. In such a highly competitive, quickly growing field, those connections are indispensable for anyone who wants to be working soon after graduation.

Of course, networking is only part of the story. Our students also develop finely honed skills and an ability to perform under pressure. Gabelli School MSQF students have won the Nationwide VETR stock-picking competition in 2015, as well as the University Trading Challenge two years in a row: 2014 and 2015. Our students also perform extremely well in the annual Institutional Investor Student Analyst Competition—Fordham ranked in the top five schools nationwide in 2013, 2014, and 2015.

The Gabelli School MSQF program is STEM-approved, offering international students the ability to work for a longer period without immediate need of sponsorship.

Ideal candidates

The Gabelli School MSQF program is designed for students attracted to the pace and rigor of a career in quantitative finance. If you’re proficient in calculus, linear algebra, and computer programming, this degree would be a good fit.

Our students typically have an undergraduate degree in mathematics, physics, engineering, economics or computer science, and they’ve already studied statistics, differential equations, real analysis, probability theory, econometrics, micro- and macroeconomics, accounting, corporate finance, and computer programming.