Master of Science degree program in Quantitative and Computational Finance (QCF)
On-campus/Full time Program
The Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering
Programme Description
The Master of Science degree program in Quantitative and Computational Finance (QCF) is interdisciplinary between three of Georgia Tech's most prestigious units: the Scheller College of Business, the H. Milton Stewart School of Industrial & Systems Engineering, and the School of Mathematics.
What is QCF?
Quantitative
A strong foundation of quantitative skills for complex mathematical modeling.
Computational
Computational skills to implement these models using multiple statistical techniques and programming languages.
Finance
A solid, practical understanding of Finance theory and institutional details.
The QCF program admits for both the spring and fall semesters, with start dates in January and August respectively. Decisions are typically released 8-12 weeks following the deadline by which you apply.
Academic Requirements
We take a holistic approach when reviewing applications, with each component evaluated carefully. This allows us to gain a "big picture" glance of each candidate's profile and admit those we know will be successful leaders. Additionally, since communication skills are so essential to a successful career, candidates may be invited to interview in person or by Skype, depending on location.
Work Experience 工作经历
Work experience is not required to be admitted to the QCF program. Internship experience is strongly preferred. 全职工作不是必须，但强烈推荐实习经历
Academic Pre-requisites 先修课
Each candidate for the QCF program must have a strong undergraduate quantitative academic history. Through transcripts, applicants must demonstrate a working knowledge of: calculus, including differential and integral calculus of one variable and multivariate calculus, fundamentals of linear algebra and linear systems of equations, differential equations, and probability and statistics. We also prefer that candidates have a working knowledge of a programming language, such as C, C++, R, SAS, etc.
本科量化基础，成绩单上许包括以下科目的持续学习：微积分 线性代数 概率和统计。申请者有编程知识的优先：C, C++, R, SAS。
Students seeking admission to a Master’s degree program must complete an application using Georgia Tech's online application system, accessible via the Graduate Studies website. Students may apply for admission in Fall semester only, with exceptions approved by the Associate Chair for Graduate Studies. 必须使用在线申请系统进行申请。只能申请秋季学期。
All applicants to our Master’s degree programs: 一般要求
- Must have an undergraduate Bachelor of Science degree or the equivalent. 理科本科学位或者等同
- Must complete the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) General Test (except MS Analytics applicants) and provide official scores to Georgia Tech. MS Analytics applicants may substitute Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) scores as a substitute, although the GRE is preferred. GRE/GMAT GRE优先
- Should describe any relevant work experience in the personal statement. 个人陈述 工作经历
- Must demonstrate proficiency in the English language. Georgia Tech requires all international students from countries where English is not the primary native language to take the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), except international students who have attended a college or university in the United States for at least one academic year (two semesters or three quarters). No other language test may be substituted. Currently, Georgia Tech requires a minimum score of 90 on the TOEFL iBT, and a minimum score of 20 in each of the four subject areas (reading, writing, listening, speaking). 托福最低总分90 单项20 不接受其他语言成绩
Admissions decisions are based on: 录取决定取决于：
Performance in all prior degree programs (earned GPA, field(s), institution(s). 之前所就读学校 成绩
GRE scores, especially the quantitative and analytical/analytical writing portions. GRE成绩 尤其是数量和分析写作
Credible letters of reference. 推荐信
Application Process申请流程
- Submit responses to application questions and essays online. The online application enables you to create a username and password to save your work and return at a later time to complete. 在线申请
- Short-answer Questions 短答题
There arethreeshort-answer questions we would ask you to complete.
1. Academic Course Work
Please list the courses you have taken in the following areas:
• Mathematics
• Probability and Statistics
• Finance and Economics
• Programming
2. Motivation & Goals
Describe your motivation, both personal and professional, to pursue the QCF degree. What are your goals once you receive the MS-QCF degree? Limit of 1,500 characters (including spaces)
3. Additional Information
Discuss any unique aspects of your application that would give the Admissions Committee insight into your background. Limit of 1,500 characters (including spaces)
- GRE or GMAT Scores
Official GRE or GMAT scores are required of all applicants to be considered for admission to the program. Test scores are considered valid if submitted within five years of the date the exam was taken. We will consider your highest overall score if multiple are submitted to us.
- Letters of Recommendation
Within the online application, there will be a page for you to input the email addresses of three recommenders. At the time you submit your application, an email will be sent to the addresses you have specified with instructions for how to complete the recommendation form electronically.
- We would prefer to have all materials, including recommendations, by the posted deadlines. Please keep in mind these forms will not go out until after you have submitted your application. Be sure to leave your recommenders enough time to complete the forms by the posted deadline.
- Application Fee
There is an application fee of $75 for domestic candidates and $85 for international candidates, due at the time of application. The payment may be made by e-check (US bank account only) or credit card.
- Admissions Interview
As part of the online application, you will be asked to submit a video answering the following questions:
1) Why are you interested in studying and working in the financial industry?
2) What makes you a unique candidate for the program and what do you think would be your greatest challenge, if admitted?
You will have 4 minutes to record your answers to the two questions. You may re-record the videos as many times as you would like before submitting the version you are most satisfied with.
DO NOT READ OR MEMORIZE YOUR RESPONSES! It is good to practice your answers to the qustions, but you should speak candidly and not from a script. Videos which demonstrate reading from written answers instead of speaking naturally will not be considered.
- Admissions Decision
All admissions decisions will be communicated through email. We will do our best to have decisions out within 8-12 weeks of the deadline by which you apply, but please note that due to high volume, it could take longer. We appreciate your patience as we go through the review process.
Dates and Deadlines
M.S. in Industrial Engineering, Operations Research, Statistics, Health Systems, or Computational Science and Engineering: January 15
Course Description
A Rigorous Curriculum for Rewarding Results
具有活力的课程体系保证成效
Learn from a regimen designed to give you the tools for a successful professional career. The QCF curriculum pairs a comprehensive core to give you the foundation you will need, with flexible elective options, to customize the program to your specific career goals.
从一个为你提供成功职业生涯工具的课程中学习。QCF课程给予你基础的综合核心素质，提供你将灵活的选修选项，定制项目，以适应你的具体职业目标。
A smaller class size allows for more access to our renowned faculty and provides opportunities for practical, "real-world" projects.
班级规模越小，就越能接触到我们著名的教职员工，并为实际的“现实世界”项目提供机会。
Full-time or Part-time 全日制/非全日制
Students have the option of pursuing the degree by enrolling full-time and completing the program in as few as three semesters, or choosing to do the program part-time. It should be noted that there is no separate part-time or flexible evening/weekend schedule. All part-time students take classes with full-time students. This typically requires some employer scheduling flexibility, since many classes are held during traditional daytime hours.
Core Curriculum (18 Credit Hours) 核心课程（18学分）
The QCF core curriculum is well structured to not only cover the fundamentals needed to understand and model a wide variety of problems in finance, but to allow specialization to build expertise in specific approaches, techniques, and problem areas.
Six core courses make up the QCF core: 6门核心课程
• Finance and Investments
• Stochastic Processes in Finance I
• Design and Implementation of Systems in Computational Finance
• Derivative Securities
• Fixed Income Securities
• Numerical Methods in Finance
Capstone Course (3 Credit Hours) 毕设课程
The Practice of QCF is a practicum or project-based capstone course for QCF students. As such, the class is a project-based seminar involving student presentations of papers, methodologies, implementation and results.
Targeted Electives (6 Credit Hours) 目标选修课程
Targeted electives are offered to QCF students only, and are tailored to build upon the core curriculum.
Students choose two from a selection of three classes (for a total of 6 credit hours):
• Management of Financial Institutions
• Financial Optimization
• Financial Data Analysis
Free Electives (9 Credit Hours) 自由选修课程
Free electives provide the flexibility to design the remainder of your course plan to specialize in those areas that are of greatest interest to you and most relevant to your future career. These free electives may be comprised of graduate courses from any of our prestigious Colleges here at Georgia Tech, as long as they are relevant to the degree. Frequently, students will choose free electives in topics such as machine learning for trading, big data in analytics, time series or regression analysis, corporate restructuring, etc.
Class Profile
QCF Fall 2018 Entering Class Profile
Admission Statistics 入学统计
Class Size 54
Average GRE Score 322.4
Quantitative 168.4
Verbal 154
Average GMAT Score 696
Average Undergraduate GPA 3.6
Diversity 多样化
Women 33.3%
Domestic 20.5%
International 79.5%
Undergraduate Majors 本科专业
Mathematics/Statistics/Economics 28%
Computer Science/Computer Sci & Eng/Information Technology 12%
Engineering 41%
Business/Finance 16%
Other 3%
Fees and cost
QCF: 1-11 credit hours $1611/hr; 12 or more credit hrs $19323
Mandatory student fees: $1012
Fees:$18736
Total: 38711
Careers
QCF students pursue careers throughout the global financial marketplace. Example job functions include:
工作职能：
Derivatives Pricing and Trading
Risk Management
Structured Products
Portfolio Management
Research
Quantitative Analysis
Strategic Analysis & Modeling
Technical Consulting
Credit Reporting & Analytics
These job functions typically are for companies in financial industries including:
Hedge Funds
Financial Technology
Financial Services
Commercial Banking
Investment Banking
Asset Management
Insurance
Private Equity & Venture Capital
Government & Regulation
The QCF network of alumni and companies that recruited from the program extends to (partial list):
雇主公司：
A.T. Kearney
Amazon.com
Angel Oak Capital Advisors, LLC
AQR Capital
Axioma Inc.
Bank of America
Barclays Capital
Bayview Asset Management
BB&T
BBVA Compass
Bloomberg LP
BNP Paribas
Capital One
Citadel Investment Group
Citigroup
Corporate Advisory Associates
Covenant Capital Management
Credit Suisse
Deloitte
Deutsche Bank
Ernst & Young (EY)
eVestment
FactSet Research Systems
Fannie Mae
Federal Home Loan Bank
Goldman Sachs
HSBC Bank North America
VOYA (ING)
InterContinental Exchange, Inc
J.P. Morgan Chase
KPMG
McKinley Capital Management
Morgan Stanley
MSCI
Nielsen Company
Regions Financial Corporation
SAS
Securities & Exchange Commission
SunTrust
UBS
