The Department of Mathematics at Columbia University offers a Master of Arts program in Mathematics with specialization in the Mathematics of Finance (MAFN). It is co-sponsored by the Department of Statistics, and it draws on the diverse strengths of the university in mathematics, statistics, stochastic processes, numerical methods, and financial applications.
Ranking
The MAFN program is ranked as number five worldwide in Risk.net’s Quant Finance Master’s Guide 2019. The guide covers 46 programs in the US, Europe, and Asia Pacific.
Admissions
The program attracts students whose academic background is in quantitative areas such as mathematics, statistics, physics, economics, computer science, or engineering. Most have previous work experience or internship experience in finance.
Application Procedures
Admissions Statistics
Full Time and Part Time
The program may be followed either full-time or part-time. International students on F-1 or J-1 visas must register full-time. Full-time students complete the program in two or three semesters, while part-time students typically take 2-3 years. In the past, most full-time students graduated after two semesters, but now most of them take advantage of the three semester option.
Mathematics Hall
In the past, we have made a commitment to make sure that all required courses have at least one evening section in either the Fall or the Spring semester, in order to accommodate part-time students with day jobs. Because the number of part-time students has fallen, this commitment may no longer be in effect for students who enter the program in September 2020 or later. It will continue to be honored for all part-time students who have registered in the program in September 2019 or earlier.
Governance
The program is overseen by a Steering Committee consisting of faculty from the departments of mathematics and statistics, including the two department chairs.
The director of the program is Lars Tyge Nielsen.
Curriculum
We strive for a balance between rigorous theoretical courses and cutting-edge applied courses, the latter in many cases taught by professionals from the financial industry. In addition to the finance, mathematics and statistics course offered by the program, the students can take courses from all over the university.
Mandatory MAFN Courses
Elective Course Examples
The number of finance semester-courses offered directly by the program as electives has grown from 3 per year to around 12 per year currently. The latest course added is “Math GR 5420 Modeling and Trading Derivatives”, which is offered in the fall semester.
Placement
Firms such as Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Citigroup, J.P. Morgan, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, UBS, Credit Suisse, Barclays Capital, Deloitte Consulting, Ernst & Young, Societe Generale, Credit Agricole CIB, various hedge funds and asset management firms, and many others have recruited graduates of the program.