Specialty Masters Program in Finance

Dr. Liu YangAssociate Professor in Finance

Academic Director, MFin and MQF Programs

Introduction• The Smith School offers two premier finance Masters

programs

• The Master of Finance (MFin) program started in 2009– Ranked #2 in the US by Financial Times in 2018

• The Master of Quantitative Finance(MQF) is a newer degree program starting in 2018– It serves a growing need in the finance industry for

professionals with sophisticated quantitative and computation skills

– It is STEM-eligible which gives students 24-month OPT extension

Master of Finance

• The program consists of 30 course credits– Individual courses are (mostly) 2 credits each

– 12 credits (6 courses) are required/core courses

– The remaining 18 credits (9 courses) are elective courses

The program can be completed in 12, 18 or 24 months

Term A Term B Term C Term D Term A Term B Term C Term D12-month CORE CORE CORE

CORE CORE CORE

18-month CORE CORE CORECORE CORE CORE

24-month CORE CORE CORECORE CORE CORE

Master of Quantitative Finance

• The program consists of 36 course credits– Individual courses are (mostly) 2 credits each

– 16 credits (8 courses) are required/core courses

– The remaining 20 credits (10 courses) are elective courses

The program can be completed in 18 or 24 months

Term A Term B Term C Term D Term A Term B Term C Term D18-month CORE CORE CORE CORE

CORE CORE CORECORE

24-month CORE CORE CORE CORECORE CORE CORE

CORE

Curriculum:Three Building Blocks

Corporate & Risk Management

Investments Numerical Methods

Corporate and Risk ManagementFinancial

Management*

Valuation*

Corporate Strategy

Corporate Restructuring

Venture Capital and Private Equity

International Investments

Enterprise and Credit Risk

Management

Financial and non-financial Risk Management

Financial Analysis and Modeling

Investments

Capital Markets*

Derivatives* Fixed Income

Fixed Income Derivatives

Portfolio Management

Quantitative Investment

Institutional Asset

Management

Market Microstructure

Risk Management

Numerical MethodsFinancial Data

Analytics*

Machine Learning in Finance*

Big Data in Finance

Financial Programmingq Textual Analysis

Financial Mathematicsq

Financial Engineering

Sample CurriculumTrack: Corporate and Risk Management

2 + 7 2 + 2 2

Financial Management Capital Markets Financial Analytics

Valuation Derivatives Machine Learning

Financial Analysis and Modeling Fixed Income

Corproate Strategy Institutional Asset Management

Corporate Restructuring

International

Enterprise and Credit Risk

Financial and Non-Financial Risk

Venture Capital and Private Equity

Sample CurriculumTrack: Asset Management

2 2 + 6 2 + 3

Financial Management Capital Markets Financial Analytics

Valuation Derivatives Machine Learning

Fixed Income Financial Math

Fixed Income Derivatives Financial Programming

Portfolio Management Financial Engineering

Quantitative Investment Textual Analysis

Institutional Asset Management Big Data

Market Microstructure

Sample CurriculumQuantitative Finance

2 2 + 6 4+ 4

Financial Management Capital Markets Financial Analytics

Valuation Derivatives Machine Learning

Fixed Income Financial Math

Fixed Income Derivatives Financial Programming

Portfolio Management Financial Engineering

Quantitative Investment Textual Analysis

Institutional Asset Management Big Data

Market Microstructure Fintech

Potential Job Titles

Corporate and IB

Consultant

Equity Analyst

CFO’s office

Risk Management

Risk Analyst

Credit Risk Modeler

CRO’s office

Asset Management

Portfolio Manager

Investment Manager

Financial Analyst

Quantitative Finance

Financial Engineer

Data Analyst

Algorithm Trader

Some of Our Employers

Corporate and IB

Risk Management

Asset Management

Quantitative Finance

International Students• You must take at least four (4) credits in each term to

maintain your visa status.– For example, you cannot take a heavy load in one term and then

take one or zero classes another term. The only exception is your final term.

• For MFIN students– To maintain your visa status over 20 months, you must choose a

career track and take pre-set course sequence.– If you do not choose a track, you have more flexibility in

choosing elective classes, but must graduate in 16 months (at most).

• MQF students who plan to stay for 20 months can register without a track.

Plus One Students

• Plus students who have already completed 10 graduate credits should generally aim to graduate in two semesters for MFIN and three semesters for MQF.

• If you start with fewer than 10 graduate credits, your load will need to be higher in some terms.

ELPs, Independent Study, and GEF

• Some students also take ELP’s (experiential learning projects), independent studies, and/or GEF (global equity fund) as elective credits.

• These opportunities require special approval, and admission is competitive.

• These classes may be for one, two, or more credits and count toward your 30/36 credits, so you must plan carefully to keep in line with your proposed graduation date.

GPA Requirements• The Graduate School requires that you keep a 3.0 GPA at

all times to maintain good standing.

• If you dip below a 3.0 cumulative GPA at the end of any semester, you will be on academic probation and can be reinstated upon improvement.

• If you ultimately do not get above the required average, you will not graduate. – The Graduate School will never make exceptions to this policy.

• A 3.0 cumulative GPA is also required for international students to be eligible for CPT.

Expectations• Be prepared. Participate. Eager to Learn.

– Check information on CANVAS and get ready for class.– Participate in classroom discussion and group studies

• Hard-working. Professionalism.– Always try your best– Be professional to your teachers, school staff and fellow

students

• Responsibility.– Plan travel around academic schedule. Be sure to check with

individual professors.

Academic Integrity

• Be aware of the Code of Academic Integrity– http://shc.umd.edu/

• If you are not sure what is allowed, ASK!

• Note: This is a very serious issue.– The recommended penalty for cheating in

graduate level classes is expulsion.

Academic Advising

• Elise Auvil in the Masters Program Office is your contact for academic advising and course selection.

• Advising appointments are available on Friday.

Questions?