Admission to the Financial Engineering MS Program at Baruch College is available to qualified applicants who have the potential to become successful graduates of our program.

The Baruch MFE Program does not have a target number for enrolled students. We are committed to admitting and educating all the students who meet our admissions standard. No application is denied because of a lack of seats in the program, and no applicant is accepted to the program to fill a quota.

Fall 2012 Admission Information

Application Deadline: April 1, 2012.

Apply online here: Baruch MFE Fall 2012 Application

In an effort to simplify the application process to the Baruch MFE Program, we only require the submission of official transcripts once an admission offer is made. The transcripts from ALL the school you attended should be scanned in one file and uploaded in Step 3 Documents/Essays of the online application, on page 6.

Applicants are encouraged to submit their application early. Admission decisions are made on a rolling basis. Applications are evaluated beginning on December 1.

While all the applications are evaluated based on the same admission standard, applying before March 15 allows enough time for the candidate to be contacted by the MFE Admissions Committee should further details be required to clarify certain areas of the application.

Applications that are not complete by April 10 will not be evaluated. All admission offers will be made by April 15.

Prerequisites. Applicants are required to have taken the following minimal set of courses in finance, mathematics, and computer science, before being admitted into the MFE program:

• Knowledge of Finance, as demonstrated by one undergraduate class or work experience
• Calculus (two semesters)
• Probability (one semester)
• Linear Algebra (one semester)
• C++ programming skills at the level of one undergraduate class, or by completing a certificate degree

In order to qualify as a prerequisite, each course must have been passed with a grade of B or better.

The Financial Engineering Program at Baruch College offers the following three seminars in the Pre-MFE Program at Baruch College for prospective financial engineering graduate students:

• Advanced Calculus with Financial Engineering Applications
• Probability Theory for Financial Engineering
• Numerical Linear Algebra for Financial Engineering

The seminars emphasize financial applications, and as such have a significant programming component. Successful completion of a seminar satisfies the corresponding requirement for admission.

Taking the Pre-MFE seminars is NOT required for admission to the Baruch MFE Program, although it is meant to build a strong basis for future graduate studies in financial engineering.

More details on the Pre-MFE Program can be found here.

The Application Evaluation Process. The standard for admission into the Financial Engineering MS Program is the same for applications for part-time and for full-time study, as well as for applications from international and US-based applicants.

The Baruch MFE Program only offers admission in the Fall semester. (Every student must take at least one core math course in the first semester of study, and that is only possible in the Fall semester. See this link for more details.)

An interview (in-person or over the phone) is part of the admission process before an admission offer to the Baruch MFE Program is made. Selected applicants will be contacted by the Admissions Committee by email to arrange an office or phone interview. Applicants cannot request to be interviewed.

Successful applicants have strong undergraduate quantitative credentials that demonstrate mathematical ability, as well as interest and commitment to the field of finance. The applicants may have earned degrees in any discipline, provided that they demonstrate by way of test scores, undergraduate transcripts, and letters of recommendation that they are prepared for a demanding course of quantitative study. All applicants must have a baccalaureate degree from a regionally accredited four-year college in the United States or its equivalent in another country.

Test Scores: Every applicant must take either the General Test of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) or the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT). The scores must be sent directly to Baruch College using the code 2012.

TOEFL scores are not required. The ability to communicate in English is assessed at the time of the admission interview.

Personal Essay. Applicants should touch upon the following topics:

• Why are you interested in Financial Engineering?
• Why do you want to study in the Financial Engineering MS Program at Baruch College?
• What career path do you envision after graduating from the MFE Program?

Letters of Recommendation. Every applicant should include three letters of recommendation with the application. The recommenders should be individuals who can comment on the relevant skills that would make the applicant successful in the MFE program. There is no requirement that at least one letter come from an academic recommender. If the applicant has significant work experience, it is advisable that at least one letter touch on that.

The Admissions Committee may require admitted students to take refresher seminars in C++, Advanced Calculus, Probability and Linear Algebra before the start of the program offered by the Baruch MFE Program. These advanced seminars are closed to people not admitted in the MFE program, and cover a number of challenging financial applications.

Should students want to opt out of some of the required seminars, assessment tests for each of the seminars will be administered in May.

More information can be found here.

Mailing address:

Office of Graduate Studies
Weissman School of Arts and Sciences
Baruch College
One Bernard Baruch Way, Box B8-211
New York, NY 10010-5585

Contact for application information: Cathy.Levkulic@baruch.cuny.edu

Contact for more program information: baruch.mfe@baruch.cuny.edu

Baruch College is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action institution. The College does not discriminate on the basis of age, sex, sexual orientation, alienage or citizenship, religion, race, color, national or ethnic origin, disability, or veteran or marital status in its student admissions, employment, access to programs, and administration of educational policies. Questions concerning this policy may be addressed to the affirmative action officer. The Board of Trustees of The City University of New York reserves the right to make changes of any nature in the academic programs and requirements of The City University of New York and its constituent colleges. All programs, requirements, and courses are subject to termination or change without advance notice.