The Top 10 Quant Schools Of 2012
Carnegie Mellon University
Where will the next generation of quantitative engineers come from? According to Wall Street pros, these are the elite quant programs.
Degree: Master of Science in Computational Finance (M.S.C.F.)
Program Description: The M.S.C.F. program was the first computational finance master's degree in the world, and it established Carnegie Mellon as a leader in the discipline. The university's program is offered jointly by the Department of Mathematical Sciences, the Tepper School of Business, the Department of Statistics, and the H. John Heinz III College; students apply through the Tepper School of Business. The curriculum includes instruction in probability, statistical analysis, numerical methods, computation and simulation methods, stochastic processes, and economics, and their application in the financial markets. Applicants should hold an undergraduate degree in mathematics, computer science, engineering or economics. Students may enroll full- or part-time, or work toward the degree online.
Location: Campuses in Pittsburgh and Manhattan; professors move between the two campuses and stream lectures live, though the Pittsburgh campus hosts more live lectures.
Program Established: 1994
Number of Applicants/Acceptances: 146 students accepted from among 1,125 applicants.
Program Term: 25 courses/16 months/three semesters of study; most students also complete a summer internship.
Class Size: 40 students in Pittsburgh and 40 in New York.
Professional Placement: 92 percent of the class of 2011 was employed within three months of graduation. Hiring firms include AXA Equitable, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Barclays, BNP, BNY Mellon, Boston Consulting Group, Chicago Trading Co., Citi, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, Ernst & Young, Fannie Mae, Fidelity, Goldman Sachs, Infinium Capital Management, JPMorgan Chase, Latin American Reserve Fund, Nomura, RBS, S&P, UBS and USAA and Volant Trading.
Website: tepper.cmu.edu
Program Director: Rick Bryant joined the Tepper School of Business in 1999 as executive director of Carnegie Mellon's computational finance program. An adjunct professor of industrial administration, he previously served in H. J. Heinz Co.'s corporate M&A and treasury areas, as treasurer at Reebok, and as CFO at broker-dealer Hefren-Tillotson. Bryant earned an M.B.A. from Carnegie Mellon in 1980.
Program Highlights: Bloomberg terminals are available to M.S.C.F. students. The annual Deutsche M.S.C.F. Trading Competition challenges students to manage fictional positions in the U.S. equity and equity futures markets using real data feeds. Top student traders are awarded cash prizes at a reception hosted by Deutsche Bank.
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