Financial Engineering, M.S. | NYU Tandon School of Engineering

Financial Engineering, M.S.

Finance and Risk Engineering
On Campus
Financial Engineering

Sophisticated modeling and information technology now dominate the financial world. The theories and the practice of Finance are challenged today by complex financial and global systems and by dynamically changing regulatory environments and politics. A global world in transition creates both opportunities and challenges for financial engineers to adapt theoretical and financial constructs into profitable and innovative opportunities by creating innovative, custom-designed instruments in the marketplace.

At the NYU School of Engineering, we train our students to do exactly that: to engineer the future of finance and transform financial theory into practice. The MS in Financial Engineering program furnishes students with foundational knowledge in financial concepts. This knowledge then becomes a springboard to specialized fields where students can apply concepts to everything from derivatives risk finance to financial IT and algorithmic trading on Big Data.

About the Program

The Department receives a large number of applications every year. To be considered for admission into the MS in Financial Engineering program, students must have a Bachelor’s Degree from an accredited institution and proven proficiency in:

  • Linear Algebra
  • Probability Theory
  • Multivariable Calculus (Advanced)
  • Applied Statistics
  • Computer Programming

Admission Requirements

  • Official Transcripts
  • Resume
  • Statement of Purpose
  • 1-minute video
  • 2 Letters Of Recommendation
  • English Language Proficiency Testing, where applicable
  • Online application
  • $90 application fee

Learn more about Admission Requirements.

The average Quant GRE score of accepted students in Fall 2023 was 169.0/170, the Verbal GRE score was 158.3, and the GPA was 3.848.*

*Beginning in 2023, the GRE is optional and not required to be admitted to the NYU Tandon School of Engineering.

When applicable, applicants must also demonstrate English language proficiency to be determined by the TOEFL score.

The FRE department does not accept change-of-major requests. In all instances, students must formally apply to the program. Applicants must have demonstrated proficiency in the mathematical areas listed to be considered for admission. The Department offers both an online and an on-campus boot camp during the summer before formal coursework starts. For program highlights and a video regarding further details on FRE admissions requirements, visit our Prospective Students page.

Undergraduate students are not allowed to take courses in the MS in Financial Engineering program, except for those in a combined BS/MS program.

Contact the Graduate Center for questions about the application process, application status or to talk to an admissions counselor:

Office of Graduate Enrollment Management and Admissions
NYU Tandon School of Engineering
458 Pike Road
Huntingdon Valley, PA 19006

[email protected]
Phone: (646) 997-3182

Contact the Department of Finance and Risk Engineering with your academic questions, e.g., courses and curricula.

Department of Finance and Risk Engineering
NYU Tandon School of Engineering
1 MetroTech Center North, 10th floor
Brooklyn, NY 11201
[email protected]
Tel: 646.997.3279
Fax: 646.997.3355

Professor Barry Blecherman
General Advising
[email protected]

Ms. Zahra Patterson
Academic Planner, Degree Progress Report, and Graduation Audits
[email protected]

Professor Agnes Tourin
Capstone Advisement
[email protected]

Curriculum

Students enrolled full-time will complete the program in 4 semesters (May) although some may accelerate the course load and graduate within 3 semesters. Our program also offers flexibility to attend part-time and extend the number of semesters.

To earn a Master of Science in Financial Engineering, students must complete 33 credits to qualify for graduation. The structure of the program is as follows:

  • Bootcamp of 0 credits
  • 5 core courses, each 3 credits
  • General elective courses within FRE and closely related fields personalized by the student, totaling 13.5 credits
  • 1 required applied lab worth 1.5 credits
  • 1 capstone experience of 3 credits
    Read the Capstone Guidelines (PDF)
  • Capstone assessment of 0 credits
  • Bloomberg certification of 0 credits

Total # of credits: 33

There are also two options to participate in a Vertically Integrated Project (VIP) (0 credits).

Students must also complete the Bloomberg Market Concepts e-learning course and earn the Acknowledgement of Completion to qualify for graduation. The Department will support your efforts to complete the training program by providing many Bloomberg terminals and laboratory assistants to answer your questions. This is a zero-credit requirement, listed as FRE 5500.

In recent years, our MSFE students (100-150 students) have gone on to a variety of career paths with the help of our Career Placement Director. Most notably, these paths have included Desk Quant/Strategist, Risk Management Analyst/Associate, Trader, Quant Researcher, Technology/FinTech Analyst, Data Science Analyst, Quant Model Development/Quantitative Modeler, and Model Validation. 

Learn more about our employee outcome statistics.

CORE COURSES (15 CREDITS)

Required Courses:

FRE-GY6073: Introduction to Derivative Securities

FRE-GY6083: Quantitative Methods in Finance

FRE-GY6103: Valuation for Financial Engineering

Two of the following three courses:

FRE6023: Financial Economics

FRE6123: Financial Risk Management

FRE7773: Machine Learning in Financial Engineering

GENERAL ELECTIVES (13.5 CREDITS) 

Students may choose from any FRE courses to fulfill these focus areas* and general elective requirements. They may also elect to register for up to three (3) classes (maximum of one per semester) at select schools/programs at NYU. Courses outside FRE must be approved by the MS Financial Engineering academic advisor. Students may only enroll for courses at other schools of NYU that are not offered at the School of Engineering. Please review the NYU cross-school registration policy prior to submitting cross-registration requests.

View the complete list of FRE Courses

 

APPLIED LAB (1.5 CREDITS*)

Choose 1 lab from the following:

FRE-GY6811: Financial Software Laboratory

FRE-GY6821: 

FRE-GY6831: COMPUTATIONAL FINANCE LABORATORY (PYTHON)

FRE-GY6861: Financial Software Engineering Laboratory

FRE-GY6871: R in Finance

FRE-GY6883: Financial Computing

*For FRE-GY6883, 1.5 credits count as lab and 1.5 credits as elective.

FRE-GY6191: Advanced Topics in Financial Technology

Note: Waivers are possible.

 

REQUIRED CERTIFICATION (0 CREDITS)

FRE-GY5500: Bloomberg Certification

 

CAPSTONE (3 CREDITS)

Choose 1 capstone option:

I. INTERNSHIP

FRE-GY7021: Financial Engineering Capstone: Internship

Minimum 240 hours per semester; FRE-GY7021 must be taken twice in order to fulfill the capstone requirement; 1 report to the faculty is required

II. PROJECT

FRE-GY7043: Financial Engineering Capstone: Project

Project under faculty supervision

III. THESIS

FRE-GY9973: MS Thesis in Finance & Risk Engineering

IV. SPECIAL TOPICS

3.00 credits (two courses of 1.5 credit each or a single 3.00 credit course) of courses marked “topics” or “special topics” in the FRE section of the school course catalog, with a capstone paper submitted to the capstone advisor.

In addition, please see the Capstone Procedures and Requirements (PDF).

 

CAPSTONE ASSESSMENT (0 CREDITS)

FRE-GY5990: Capstone Assessment

Vertically Integrated Projects (0 CREDITS)

VIP-GY5000

Course Descriptions