Baruch’s Master of Financial Engineering (MFE) program is on a winning streak.
For the third year in a row, QuantNet— whose MFE program rankings are eagerly awaited by the quantitative finance community—rated Baruch’s program number one in the United States, topping rival schools including Princeton, UC Berkeley, and Carnegie Mellon. Though many of these universities typically charge twice as much in tuition, Baruch alumni report the highest compensation among QuantNet’s top 10 programs.
This singular achievement led to a major headline from Bloomberg, which in December published an article titled “School of Quant: At $29,000, a Public NYC College Outclasses Princeton.”
The article notes: “Princeton has its Gothic spires, MIT its Great Dome. But for a no-frills lesson in 21st-century finance, head to…Bernard Baruch Way.”
“QuantNet’s latest #1 ranking reflects the continued success of our students in launching their postgraduate careers at top financial engineering firms,” said Dan Stefanica, PhD, co-director of Baruch’s MFE Program since its inception in 2002. “These outstanding outcomes would not be possible without the enduring commitment of our alumni, who year after year provide significant career support to our students. Alumni engagement remains the program’s core strength and is a harbinger of even greater achievements yet to come.”
In recognition of his innovative leadership, Dr. Stefanica received the Distinguished Faculty Award at this year’s Bernard Baruch Dinner, held on April 26.
The program’s three-year run topping the QuantNet rankings is not its only winning streak. Students from the program—coached by Professor Jarrod Pickens, PhD—once again claimed victory at the Rotman International Trading Competition (RITC), finishing in first place and, this year, establishing a new all-time scoring record. This year’s achievement continues Baruch’s impressive string of wins, here on the global stage.
The innovative leadership of Dr. Stefanica and Professor Warren B. Gordon, PhD, chair of Baruch’s math department, has been instrumental in achieving this unprecedented run of victories. Baruch’s recruitment of instructors from throughout the private sector, such as Andrew Lesniewski, PhD, the MFE program’s curriculum coordinator, has also been a boon.
“A lot of people wouldn’t understand the complex models of probability that we work with,” said Dr. Lesniewski, who spent 16 years in the financial industry formulating innovative methodologies for valuation and risk management that are widely used by investment banks and hedge funds across the world. “The whole economy, the fate of finance, countless jobs—they all rest on mathematics.”
And between the MFE program’s expert faculty, successful alumni, and competitive students, the winning shows no signs of slowing down any time soon.
—Daniel Jacobson