Finance
The MS Finance program at IIT Stuart occupies a sweet spot between the case study methodology of managerial finance and the theorem/proof formalism of mathematical finance. With its emphasis on concepts like stochastic calculus, optimization, simulation, and forecasting, the program is definitely quantitative, but the focus is on quantitative techniques that are widely employed in modern financial markets. In support of this focus, the program features access to many state of the art software applications [Bloomberg, Trading Technologies, Townsend Analytics, etc.]. Some of these applications are only available to our program participants through the Stuart computer labs. MS Finance classes are taught by a team of full-time and adjunct faculty who combine excellent academic credentials with real world industry experience. The program’s physical location adjacent to the Chicago financial district is an important feature of the MS Finance experience because it provides access to adjunct faculty, opportunities for internships, and oversight by industry leaders.
In the Fall of 2008, the MS Finance and MS Financial Markets programs will combine under the MS Finance title. The program will also change from a quarter to a semester system. The revised program will allow participants greater flexibility in their course of study, and it will also permit more integration with other IIT programs like Applied Mathematics and Electrical and Computer Engineering that are already offered on a semester basis. The new program will consist of a total of 11 semester courses of three credit hours each. Participants will typically take 6 core courses and 5 elective courses. Students may substitute additional elective courses for core courses if they can demonstrate prior expertise in the core course. Students may also select elective courses from other programs like management science or mathematical finance with the consent of the program director. The majority of finance students will attend the program full time for the first two semesters. International students then have the opportunity to work in related fields under programs offered by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. These programs also offer international students the opportunity to work in the United States for a year following the completion of the MS Finance degree.
The goal of the MS Finance faculty is to provide each student with the skills and knowledge required to work as a quantitative analyst in the financial services industry. Our work towards this goal begins with the important task of selecting candidates for admission from the large pool of applicants. In 2007, the Finance programs enrolled a total of 120 students our of an initial application pool of approximately 400. We require all entering students to score above 600 on the GMAT or 1200 on the GRE, and our average score is comparable to those of first tier MBA programs. However, our students are significantly different from traditional business students because their prior academic experience primarily comes from technical fields like engineering, computer science, and hard science. While modern business students are comfortable with addition and multiplication, our students excel at integration, simulation, and matrix inversion. We also require incoming students to have excellent written and verbal English language skills. While we do not require prior work experience, work experience is considered positively in the evaluation process.
The MS Finance program is based upon six core courses. All students are expected to take the core classes in their first two semesters in the program. Students who have a substantial background in a core class from their previous studies may substitute an elective course for the core class with the permission of the program director. Students who plan to continue on to the PhD degree will be required to take a qualifying exam based upon the core courses during the summer break following their first year in the program. The core classes are:
• MSF 501 Mathematics with Financial Applications
• MSF 502 Statistical Methods with Financial Applications
• MSF 503 Financial Modeling
• MSF 504 Valuation and Portfolio Management
• MSF 505 Futures, Options and OTC Derivatives
• MSF 506 Financial Statement Analysis.
