The 2012-2013 on-site seminars in the Pre-MFE  Program at Baruch College will be offered on a November 2012 – March 2013 schedule.

Registration for the seminars will open on September 1, 2012. Information, including syllabi for the 2011-2012 Pre-MFE seminars, can be found below.

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The Financial Engineering Program at Baruch College offers a Pre-MFE Program for people interested in pursuing graduate studies in financial engineering, as well as for finance practitioners interested in studying the mathematical fundamentals behind financial models.

The Pre-MFE Program consists of three seminars:

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

Mathematical and financial concepts that are fundamental for a successful learning experience in financial engineering graduate programs are explained in detail in these seminars. The seminars emphasize financial applications, and as such have a significant programming component; students will be strongly encouraged, but not required, to program in C++.

Each seminar is offered on an eight week schedule, once a week, in the evenings, with weekly four hour sessions:

• Lecture from 6-9pm (taught by the instructor)
• Review Session from 9-10pm (taught by the teaching assistants)

Each seminar ends with a Final Exam.

The seminars are not offered online. They take place on location at Baruch College, in Midtown Manhattan.

The instructors are faculty with extensive teaching experience in the Baruch MFE Program. The teaching assistants are finance professional who are alumni of the Baruch MFE Program and have prior teaching experience.

Enrollment is limited to 40 people in each seminar. The application process for enrolling in the seminar is detailed below.

Certificates of completion will be issued upon passing the final exam and completing the seminar with a passing average; see below for details.

Upon request, the instructors will provide letters of recommendations detailing the performance of the student in each seminar.

Feedback from Pre-MFE seminars participants in previous years can be found here.

Advanced Calculus with Financial Engineering Applications

Dates: November 2 – December 21, 2012

Instructor: Dan Stefanica

Syllabus: download here

Tuition: $1,450

Registration will open on September 1, 2012.

Probability Theory for Financial Applications

Dates: January 31 – March 27, 2013

Instructor: Elena Kosygina

Syllabus: download here

Tuition: $1,450

Registration will open on December 1, 2012.

Numerical Linear Algebra for Financial Engineering

Dates: February 1 – March 28, 2013

Instructor: Dan Stefanica

Syllabus: download here

Tuition: $1,450

Registration will open on December 1, 2012.

Registration Process:

To apply for enrollment, send an email to baruch.mfe@baruch.cuny.edu with the following documents:

- a current version of your resume

- a one page statement detailing your career and educational goals, as well as how does taking seminars in the Pre-MFE Program align with those goals

- indicate which seminar(s) you intend to register for

If approved for enrollment, you will be contacted via email within a week of submission of the documents above with further information.

Certifications:

For each seminar, a Certificate of Completion will be issued upon passing the final exam and obtaining a 70% or higher average.

For each seminar, a Certificate of Completion with Distinction will be awarded to students with a 90% or higher average.

Upon successfully completing all three seminars of the Pre-MFE Program with a higher than 70% average, a Certificate of Completion of the Pre-MFE Program will be issued.

A Certificate of Completion of the Pre-MFE Program with Distinction will be awarded to students who achieved a 90% or higher average in each of the three seminars.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Do I have to enroll for all three seminars at the same time?

No, seminars are taken on an individual basis.

2. How do I reserve a seat in a seminar?

You have to submit your resume and a one page statement detailing your goals as explained above. Once your application to take the seminar is approved, you must pay the tuition in full, in order to reserve your seat.

3. What is the refund policy?

A 90% tuition refund is granted upon request up to one week before the beginning of the seminar. Thereafter, the tuition refund is 80% before the first session of the seminar, 60% after the first session of the seminar, and 30% after the second session of the seminar, with no refund thereafter.

4. Are the seminars solely for people interested in pursuing graduate studies in financial engineering?

No.  Practitioners enrolled in previous seminars have found value in the material presented.

5. Can I take the seminars online?

There is no online version for the Advanced Calculus with Financial Applications, Probability Theory for Financial Applications, and Numerical Linear Algebra for Financial Engineering Pre-MFE Seminars. The online C++ Programming for Financial Engineering certificate is currently taking pre-registration.

6. How difficult is it to pass the seminar, or to achieve Distinction?

On average, 54% of the people enrolling in a Pre-MFE Seminar receive the Certification, 22% with Distinction. (Only one student has, so far, completed all Pre-MFE Seminars with Distinction.)

7. Do you offer student visa support for taking seminars in the Baruch Pre-MFE Program?

We do not offer F-1 visa support for taking Pre-MFE seminars. As a US non-resident, you can nonetheless apply for enrollment in the seminars if you are located in the US already, or have a travel visa.

8. Will I be admitted to the Baruch MFE Program if I successfully complete the Pre-MFE Program?

The application process to the Baruch MFE Program is separate from the Pre-MFE Program. However, the instructors will write, upon request, letters of recommendations for your application, and they will have first hand knowledge of your strengths and abilities when doing so. As a matter of process, the application will be evaluated, and a decision will be made, by the members of the Admissions Committee who did not teach in the Pre-MFE Program, but will be based, in part, on the letters of recommendations from your application.

13 of the 30 students who enrolled in Fall 2011 in the Baruch MFE Program successfully completed seminars in the 2010-2011 Pre-MFE Program at Baruch College.