Graduate Programs arrow Masters Programs arrow Quantitative Financial Economics (MSQFE)


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Welcome to the Oklahoma State University Master of Science in Quantitative Financial Economics website.

We are glad you have taken the time to visit us and think you will find our Master's program provides unique value enhancing opportunities. The Master of Science in Quantitative Financial Economics (MSQFE) offers an interdisciplinary course of study in Finance, Economics, Mathematics, and Statistics. The program's coursework and learning opportunities are designed to prepare students for exciting career opportunities in the field of Quantitative Financial Economics.

While our program is relatively new, our faculty are renowned in their fields of expertise and our campus facilities provide a unique learning environment. Please explore our website to find what we have to offer.

Program Mission Statement:

Preparing students for successful professional careers in quantitative financial occupations is the mission of the Masters of Science in Quantitative Financial Economics Program. The MSQFE Program is a unique interdisciplinary environment recognized externally for the quality of our graduates and curriculum.  

Program Objectives:

The goal of the MSQFE Program is to offer a “finishing school” to two distinct streams of students.  For each stream the Program offers access to the applications of quantitative finance.  Quantitative Finance includes the activities necessary to value financial assets and derivatives, manage price, credit and operational risks, evaluate and select appropriate investment strategies, examine complex issues requiring data analysis, model estimation and strategy formation.  Students entering the Program from engineering, physics, mathematics and statistics have highly developed analytical abilities and seek to gain insight into the financial applications of these skills.  Students entering the Program from business and economics backgrounds tend to have a better understanding of the context of financial applications, yet seek additional refinement of their analytical abilities.  The Program’s curriculum is sufficiently flexible to meet the needs of both streams.

Program Clientele:

Students enrolled in the MSQFE Program on the Stillwater and OSU-Tulsa campus come from diverse backgrounds.  The Program offers access to quantitative financial applications for those from the analytical disciplines; engineering, mathematics, physics and offers opportunities to improve analytical abilities for those coming from business and economics.  Students enrolled in the MSQFE Program have varied levels of academic achievement.  Some enter having already completed a graduate degree; others enter having completed only bachelors’ degrees.  Students also have varying degrees of work experience; some enter the program directly after earning their preceding degree, while others join the Program from the workplace. 

The MSQFE Program develops skills and knowledge in the discipline of quantitative financial applications through interdisciplinary coursework in Finance, Economics, Mathematics and Statistics.  The Program consists of 33 hours of coursework beyond a bachelor’s degree and usually requires four academic semesters to complete.  The Departments of Agricultural Economics, Economics, Finance, Mathematics and Statistics provide required coursework for the Program.

The Program admitted the first class of students in Fall of 2001 and now has 53 alumni.  A sample of the positions held by MSQFE alumni:

Bank of Oklahoma Fixed Income Portfolio Manager
Deloitte and Touche, NY
 Equity Risk Management Services
The South Financial Group, SC
 Quantitative Portfolio Analyst
Federal Home Loan Bank of Des Moines
 Mortgage Risk Analyst
Tractabel, MA
 Transaction Risk Analyst
University of Arizona
 Phd. Finance
Risk Metrics, OK
 Model Development
Dominion, VA
 Trading Group
Citigroup, NY
 Fixed Income Support
Koch Industries, TX
 Trading Group
Oklahoma Gas and Electric, OK Corporate Finance
CITGO, TX  Market Analyst
Williams Companies, OK Risk Analytics Group

The MSQFE Program Committee has maintained consistent admission standards seeking to admit a cohort of students with average graduate entrance exams scores in the 60th percentile or higher among all graduate entrance exam test takers.

Spring 2008 the MSQFE Program has enrollment of 23 students;  10 second year students graduating in May/August 2008 and 13 first year students who were admitted Fall 2007.

 
Highest degree attained prior to MSQFE admission
Country of origin
 
Bachelors
Masters
Doctorate
Domestic
International
Fall 2007
9
4
0
5
8

Selected Comments from the 2006 MSQFE Alumni Survey:
“My experience was worthwhile … plenty of challenging courses to choose from let me pick up quantitative skills that will be useful in my career.”

“The quantitative skills in various areas that I gained from the MSQFE Program gave me the ability to solve problems in a more efficient way.  … Thou our credit portfolios do not include derivatives, knowledge of derivative instruments enables me to do further research in applying derivative instruments to our risk control function.”

“The MSQFE Program provided me with a great educational experience. …. Most important to me were the people I got to interact with on a daily basis.  I formed great relationships that I value today and will far into the future.”

Core MSQFE coursework consists of combinations (8) of the following with appropriate substitutions considering student’s transcripts and professional objectives
Finance Statistics/Econometrics

FIN 5223 Investment Theory and Practice

STAT 4043 Applied Regression Analysis

FIN 5883 Quantitative Financial Applications

ECON 5213 Econometric Methods
FIN 5773 Financial Engineering STAT 5123  Probability Theory
FIN 5763 Derivative Securities STAT 4203 Mathematical Statistics
Mathematics Economics
MATH 3013 Linear Algebra ECON 5223 Mathematical Economics
MATH/CS 4513 Numerical Mathematics AGEC 5103 Mathematical Economics

 

ECON 5123 Micro Economic Theory
Partial listing elective MSQFE course work consists of combinations (3) of the following or other suitable courses chosen from graduate course offerings at OSU
FIN 5053 – Financial Management
FIN 5243 – Financial Markets
FIN 5550 – Risk Management
FIN 5550 – Fixed Income

ECEN 5193 – Power Systems and Regulation

MATH – 5543 Numerical Analysis for Diff. Eq.
MATH – 5143 Real Analysis

STAT 5053 Time Series Analysis
STAT 5133 Stochastic Processes

AGEC 5113 Applications of Math Prog.
ECON 5213 Econometric Methods


The flexibility of the MSQFE  plan of study allows students from two streams, Engineering/Mathematics/Physics and Business/Economics, to tailor their studies to provide access to applications in quantitative finance. Elective coursework of recent graduates includes courses in data mining, neural networks and other topics offered at the graduate level.

MSQFE students may design their plan of study targeting three identified areas of specialization (tracks) or tailor their studies to meet their own professional objectives.  Plans of study for the following tracks were recently implemented in the Program.

Financial Engineering Emphasis:  Embodies the multifaceted skill set required to design and implement derivative valuation and hedging models.  MSQFE alumni who specialized in this area currently have positions as:
  • Derivative Pricing Specialist at Deloitte & Touche LLP, Capital Markets Group, ERS
  • Trading Group, Koch, Ind.
  • Senior Consultant, Quantitative Services, Deloitte & Touche LLP.

Risk Management Emphasis:  Embodies the breadth of skills identified by The Global Association of Risk Professionals (www.garp.com) and Professional Risk Managers' International Association (www.prmia.org). MSQFE alumni who specialized in this area currently have positions as:
  • Mortgage Risk Analyst, Federal Home Loan Bank of Des Moines
  • Credit Risk Management, Aegon USA Investment Management, LLC
  • Market Data Analyst, RiskMetrics Group

Investment Management Emphasis:  Embodies the breadth of skills identified by the CFA Institute, relevant for the Chartered Financial Analyst professional certification. MSQFE alumni who specialized in this area currently have positions as:
  • Fixed Income Advisor, Yield Book, Inc, Citigroup, NY
  • Senior Analyst, KSF Capital Group, LLC
  • Fixed Income Portfolio Manager, Bank of Oklahoma
 
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