Baruch Repeats #1 Ranking as Nation’s Best Financial Engineering Program
Secured top position on QuantNet’s list in four of the last six yearsNovember 18, 2021
Baruch College earned the #1 ranking on QuantNet’s 2022 “Best Financial Engineering Programs” in the U.S for the second consecutive year.
This latest ranking underscores a remarkable trend of high rankings and recognition for the Master of Financial Engineering (MFE) program at the Weissman School of Arts and Sciences. Earlier this year, Risk.net ranked Baruch’s MFE program number #2 in the world. Moreover, the Baruch MFE Program won the RITC trading competition four times in six years since 2016 competing against 48 institutions from around the globe.
“The recognition our program receives both nationally and globally is tremendous for both Baruch, the students, and our alumni who have received their MFE degrees,” said Dan Stefanica, Co-Director of the MFE program at Baruch College. “We are grateful for the continued support from our alumni, faculty, and industry partners who support each cohort of students. The MFE community is proud to see the amazing skills of our students in the classroom, at prestigious trading competitions, and their overall professional success.”
Baruch’s overall score to secure the top position was five points—for the second straight year—more than the next school on the list. This represents the largest gap ever between first and second place for this ranking.
The program’s employment rate was a major factor for the #1 ranking. Every MFE student was employed at graduation—a 100 percent career placement rate. The average starting base salary plus sign-on bonus was highest in the country at $152,483.
“While this is remarkable, the top employment trend continues and strengthens, with the average sign-on compensation even higher for our graduates this year,” stated Stefanica.
Alumnus Yu Gan recently acknowledged the program’s positive impact on career success —especially his own. Gan, a quantitative portfolio manager for Schonfeld Strategic Advisors and the founder of AXQ Capital, LP, and his husband Bo-Xiao Zheng, the CIO and co-founder of AxiomQuant Investment Management made a major gift to endow the program’s directorship.
“We have long wanted to express our appreciation and give back to Baruch and the MFE program,” Gan previously stated. He described the Baruch MFE community as “a real family. It helps you a lot when you are a student in the program. And you still benefit from the community down the road in your career.”
The Financial Engineering Hub at Baruch College
Last May, Baruch announced the launch of a new, multidisciplinary collaboration between the Weissman School of Arts and Sciences and the Zicklin School of Business. Named the Financial Engineering Hub at Baruch College, the initiative will build on the school’s world-renowned MFE program, draw on the expertise of faculty in both schools, and grow to include new degree offerings and create a Center for Financial Engineering for corporate engagement and partnership.
About the MFE Program and the Ranking
The Baruch MFE Program is a STEM-designated program that produces competitive, successful, and highly skilled practitioners by promoting the study of mathematical and algorithmic models in finance.
Graduates of the program join some of the nation’s leading companies, including Bank of America, BlackRock, Citadel Securities, Goldman Sachs, Google, Jefferies, Microsoft, Morgan Stanley, State Street, TD Securities, UBS, and Wells Fargo.
QuantNet’s MFE ranking is considered the most authoritative and comprehensive classification in terms of determining the best financial engineering and mathematical finance programs in the U.S.
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