Imperial, ETH, EPFL

[ilias.ayfanto]

Hello,
I would also like some information about these programs.
I have recently finished my studies at National and Technical University of Athens School of electrical and computer engineering with a 5-year diploma (GPA 7.32/10.00). During my studies I also attained a minor degree in Finance from The American College of Greece (GPA 4.00/4.00). After finishing my studies i did an internship in a famous Greek banks for 4 months relating to Quantitative projects (Mainly machine learning projects, Regression models and data analysis, and most of them using BQL). Now from July onwards i started working for an international commodity trading company as a Business Analyst. I am currently studying for GMAT and IELTS tests.

I am considering the following programs:
Imperial College Business School - MSc Risk Management & Financial Engineering
Financial Engineering, EPFL
Quantitative Finance, UZH & ETH
Quantitative Economics and Finance (MiQE/F), University of St. Gallen
Quantitative Economics, University of Aarhus
Advanced Economics and Finance, Copenhagen Business School
Quantitative Finance, Erasmus University Rotterdam

Thanks in advance!

 

[blrichard]

I applied to UZH/ETH's MScQF, and looked into EUR and HSG as well. I would think that EUR and UZH/ETH are the best on your list, and I'd think it's a good idea to consider some other Dutch programs as well (UvA and VU both have some relevant programs, and Amsterdam is a much better place for quant than Denmark for example).

UZH/ETH has an insanely theoretical program. I've been told it's certainly among the most theoretical in the world, and is more of an applied math master's than what you might think of as a quant finance masters. It's also very competitive to get in. They really want you to have done real analysis as I think some of the math courses jump into some advanced probability right away (so would be good to know measure theory as well). The big complaint I see is that you don't spend much time programming, and you don't learn much that ends up relevant in your job.

EUR's program is not anywhere close to as theoretical, but it is still somewhat theory heavy. It really is more of a financial econometrics program than mathematical finance like ETH's. It's similar in structure to VU or UvA's MSc in Econometrics. For mathematical finance type programs, the Stochastics and Financial Mathematics program at UvA and the Mathematical Finance and Actuarial Science program at TU Munich might be more similar (UvA also has a Math Finance/ActSci program that I know nothing about). Econometrics programs are heavily recruited for quant jobs in the Netherlands, along with math and computer science.

It'll also be a pretty big barrier depending on how much math and stats you did during your bachelors. European schools generally want you to have done multivariable calculus, linear algebra, and be good at proofs. It's a bit different in every country, but I wouldn't think that Aarhus or Copenhagen's programs are particularly good at placing into quant (I could be wrong). In the Netherlands, as long as you meet the admission requirements, you'll get in, but passing is a different story. So you might want to review some math and stats just to make sure.

 

[Daniel Duffy]

They really want you to have done real analysis as I think some of the math courses jump into some advanced probability right away (so would be good to know measure theory as well).

This is 3rd/4th year undergrad honours Maths degree level.

 

[blrichard]

They really want you to have done real analysis as I think some of the math courses jump into some advanced probability right away (so would be good to know measure theory as well).

This is 3rd/4th year undergrad honours Maths degree level.

I don't think it's too surprising that some programs want this level. For example, the University of Waterloo essentially autorejects if you haven't taken stochastic processes, mathematical statistics, and real analysis at the level of Baby Rudin (using them as an example since I'm pretty familiar with what they look for). The students in the MQF at Waterloo take the PhD courses for Stats and ActSci students. I'd imagine the level of the math courses in the ETH/UZH program are similar, since those courses are mostly taken with the students in the math and stats masters. A pretty big majority of people at the ETH/UZH program are from math undergrad degrees.