Additional Admission Requirements

In addition to the general requirements for admission to the Graduate School, the following are required for admission to the Master of Science in Mathematical Finance program.

1. A baccalaureate degree in a related field with a minimum GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale.
2. Acceptable scores on each portion of the GRE or GMAT.
3. For applicants from non-English speaking countries, a language requirement score of 557 on the TOEFL or 220 on the new computer-based TOEFL or 78% on the MELAB. Non-native speakers of English, may, at the discretion of either the Graduate School or the Program Committee for the MS in Mathematical Finance, be required to enroll in English as a Second Language (ESL) courses at the English Language Training Institute.
4. Specific coursework equivalent to the following: introductory course in the Theory of Finance; a standard three semester sequence in Calculus; Linear algebra; working knowledge of a suitable programming language; at least one upper-level course in Probability and Statistics. Students lacking this coursework may be admitted subject to the condition that they satisfactorily complete such coursework during the first two semesters that they are enrolled in the program and prior to their taking any program courses where prerequisites are missing.

Prerequisite Requirements

Students may enter this program from a variety of undergraduate backgrounds, including finance, mathematics, economics, computer science, actuarial science, statistics, information systems and engineering. As a result, many students admitted will not have the required background to immediately begin taking advanced courses from each of three areas of study. In such cases, the student may be required to take prerequisite courses prior to enrolling in advanced courses in specific fields. These prerequisites would be in addition to the advanced 30 semester hours required for the degree. In general students must have the following background in each field before taking advanced courses in that field:

1. Finance: Have earned an acceptable grade in an introductory course in finance from an AACSB- accredited business school at either the undergraduate or MBA level.
2. Economics: Have earned an acceptable grade in microeconomics and macroeconomics courses at either the undergraduate or MBA level.
3. Mathematics: Have earned acceptable grades in the equivalent of a three course sequence in calculus (differential and integral calculus), a course in linear algebra, and an upper-level course in probability and statistics.
4. Programming: Students should be familiar with at least one programming language, most preferably C or C++.

Again, students may be admitted to the program without meeting all of these requirements. The Program Director, in conjunction with the Departmental Graduate Coordinators, will evaluate each incoming student’s academic background to determine in which prerequisite courses the student will be required to enroll. A student who meets the prerequisites in a field may begin taking advanced courses in that field while still taking prerequisite courses in another field. A student must, however, be making satisfactory progress toward fulfilling his or her prerequisites in all fields to remain enrolled in the program.

Degree Requirements

A minimum of 30 hours of coursework beyond the bachelor’s degree is required to earn the M.S. degree. Students must complete the required six Program Core courses and four Concentration courses corresponding with the selected concentration.

Program Core Courses

• ECON 6203 - Financial Economic Theory (3) or
• FINN 6203 - Financial Economic Theory (3)

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• ECON 6113 - Cross-Section and Time-Series Econometrics (3) or
• STAT 6113 - Cross-Section and Time-Series Econometrics (3)

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• FINN 6219 - Financial Econometrics (3) or
• ECON 6219 - Financial Econometrics (3)

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• FINN 6210 - Financial Elements of Derivatives (3)
• FINN 6211 - Fixed Income Securities and Credit Risk (3)
• MATH 6203 - Stochastic Calculus for Finance I (3)

Concentrations

The degree program offers three concentrations leading to a M.S. in Mathematical Finance. Students who plan to pursue careers in quantitative modeling and pricing analysis are encouraged to elect the Computational Finance Concentration. Students planning to pursue a career in risk management and insurance are encouraged to pursue the program with the Risk Management Concentration. Students interested in a career in financial data analysis and applications are encouraged to elect the Financial Data Analytics concentration.

Admission to Candidacy Requirements

An Admission to Candidacy form listing graduate-level courses that apply to the degree must be submitted to the Mathematical Finance Program Director four weeks prior to the semester in which the student plans to complete the coursework for the degree.

Assistantships

A number of assistantships are available each year. In order to be competitive, applications should be submitted by March 15. Additional information is available from the Program Director.

Advising

Advising is done by the Program Director, in conjunction with the Area Coordinators of each of the participating Departments.

Transfer Credit

No more than 6 credit hours and only courses with a grade of A or B at an accredited institution. Requires the recommendation of the Program Director and approval of the Graduate School.

Comprehensive Examination

Student will be required to pass a comprehensive examination. An examining committee will be appointed by the program director and will be constituted from the program’s faculty. The exam may be, at the committee’s discretion, either written or oral.

Application for Degree

Each student should make application for his/her degree by completing the online Application for Degree through Banner Self Service no later than the filing date specified in the University Academic Calendar .