Program Guide.c2.3.indd - Master of Financial Engineering Program

Master’s in Financial Engineering“One very important aspectof the Haas MFE is the overallemphasis on teamwork.”Yousuf AbbasiMFE 230Q – Introduction to Stochastic Calculus (andNumerical Methods in Finance). This course presents theconcepts and tools of stochastic calculus as requiredfor effective pricing of complex financial derivatives incontinuous time, and introduces the fundamentals ofelementary numerical analysis. The course stressesthe practical applications of stochastic differentialequations, Ito integrals, and measure transformationsas required for advanced financial engineering practiceand understanding of asset pricing theory.MFE 230R – Advanced Computational Finance. Thiscourse is a deeper analysis of numerical and computationalissues in pricing and calibration, and buildson the techniques learned in Derivatives: QuantitativeMethods. Emphasis is on hands-on case projects withheavy use of computational techniques.MFE 230S – Behavioral Finance. This course coverselements of behavioral decision theory and its implicationin financial markets. Focus is on the psychologicalprocesses by which people make judgmentsand decisions, and the heuristics and biases associatedwith these decisions.MFE 230V – Credit Risk Modeling. The course providesexposure to the practical challenges associated withbuilding and testing credit risk models for use bybanks and asset managers. Emphasis is placed onmodel building, model valuation, and interpretingmodel output.MFE 230W – Accounting and Taxation of Derivatives. Thebroad purpose of this course is to help financial engineersunderstand the implications of the innovativefinancial instruments that they construct on firms’financial statements and tax liability.Practice Seminars I and II. These weekly seminars featureguest speakers from financial services firms todiscuss the work of financial engineers in their firmsand the kinds of skills and personal attributes theyare seeking for this work, trends in the provision offinancial services, the information and computingsystems being adopted, new product developments,regulatory issues, and similar topics.Interns, CitigroupYousuf Abbasi(left)Previous degreeBS, MathematicsUniversity of Central ArkansasMFE internshipHybrid analystFixed Income Strategy and Analytics (FISA)“One very important aspect of the Haas MFE isthe overall emphasis on teamwork. The manyteam projects assigned in the curriculum giveyou the opportunity to interact and collaboratewith some of the brightest classmates, and theopportunity to develop relationships that willlast a lifetime.”Haochuan Zhang(second from left)Previous degreesB.Eng., Engineering MechanicsTsinghua University, ChinaMS, Aerospace EngineeringGeorgia TechPh.D., Mechanical EngineeringUniversity of California at BerkeleyMFE internshipAssociateFixed Income Strategy and Analysis“Having strong intuition is critical for a successfulcareer in financial engineering. TheBerkeley MFE program strikes a perfect balancebetween building this intuition and furtherdeveloping your quantitative skills.”Amit Goyal, MFE 07(center)Previous degreesB Eng, M. Eng., Biochemical Engineeringand BiotechnologyIndian Institute of Technology, DelhiMS, Environmental EngineeringCarnegie Mellon UniversityPh.D., Environmental EngineeringCarnegie Mellon UniversityMFE internshipAssociateFixed Income Strategy and Analysis“One of the most important features, indeed,the feature that sets the Berkeley MFE apart,is the curriculum. It adapts very quickly to thelatest financial innovations, providing not onlynecessary exposure, but also helping studentsto develop proficiency in cutting edge tools andtechnologies used in practice.”Peng Gong, MFE 07(second from right)Previous degreesBS, Polymer Science and EngineeringUniversity of Science and Technology of ChinaPh.D., Physical ChemistryPurdue UniversityMFE internshipAssociateFixed Income“I am pleasantly surprised by the networkingopportunities available through the MFE program.Choosing Haas has allowed me to benefitfrom an alumni network that will be priceless inmy future career.”Swaroop Yalla(right)Previous degreesB.Eng, Civil EngineeringIndian Institute of Technology, New DelhiPh.D., Mechanical EngineeringUniversity of Notre DameMFE internshipAssociateFixed Income Strategy and Analytics“From hurricanes to financial ‘earthquakes,’ virtuallyevery business function is tied to assessingrisk, a trend that will precipitate increasinglycomplex structured products in the financialmarkets. The Haas MFE program places itsgraduates right in the midst of this innovation; italso provides them with a solid knowledge base,allowing the students to roll up their sleeves anddevelop products from the ground up.”David Dickson(not pictured)Previous degreesBS, MathematicsUniversity of Warwick (UK)MFE internshipAssociateForeign Exchange“Haas MFE students are increasingly beingplaced with top-tier institutions that provide greatplatforms from which to forge your career pathwithin the industry. Searching for alpha froma high-frequency database on Citigroup’s FXtrading floor has been one of the highlights andchallenges of my internship. Clearly, this programhas far exceeded my expectations. I am now ableto quantify my financial ideas in a very profitableway. I recommend that all quantitatively mindedpeople in the industry take advantage of whatthe Berkeley MFE has to offer.”11