Fordham Business School will offer a new Master of Science in Quantitative Finance (MSQF) degree, focused on applied finance theory and quantitative financial techniques. The first class will enter in September 2007. The one-year program was approved on Dec. 13 by the New York State Department of Education. John D. Finnerty, Ph.D., professor of finance, is the director of the program and Gautam Goswami, Ph.D., associate professor of finance, is co-director.
“Our new MSQF Program is market-driven. We interviewed 20 leading firms in developing the program. We have designed the MSQF to meet the need for professionals who are skilled in both finance and quantitative methods,” Finnerty said. “Our graduates will have the financial and quantitative tools to solve the complex problems that financial services firms tackle on a daily basis, such as asset pricing and risk management. M.B.A. programs are not meeting this need. A sharper focus on finance and quantitative methods is required, and that’s exactly what the Fordham MSQF will provide.”
The Fordham MSQF program will graduate professionals with the quantitative finance skills to value securities, develop and price derivative instruments, manage portfolios using the latest techniques, and manage the wide variety of risks to which financial firms are regularly exposed. An integral part of the program is a full-term internship for its students at leading institutions in the New York City-based financial services industry. Students accepted for MSQF will have undergraduate degrees in quantitative disciplines, such as mathematics, physics, engineering, or economics.
“The MSQF reflects the collective effort of the entire Finance Area at the Schools of Business,” said Howard Tuckman, Ph.D., dean of Fordham Graduate Business. “The Economics Department at Rose Hill and members of the accounting, management, and communications areas at the Schools of Business have also contributed their expertise. It truly is a University program.”
Finnerty has been a professor of finance at Fordham since 1987. He also has extensive experience in finance, including service as a partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers, and as a director at Houlihan Lokey Howard & Zukin. Goswami has been a consultant to the ABB Group on corporate strategy issues, and to Chase Bank.
Students who have earned an M.B.A. and who would like a deeper understanding of finance and have strong quantitative skills will find the MSQF program a valuable complement to their degree, or as excellent preparation for a Ph.D. program in finance. For more information about the program, see theMSQF web page at Fordham Business.
“The MSQF Program will enhance Fordham Business School’s position in the New York market,” Tuckman said. “Its development is one of the important initiatives in Fordham University’s strategic plan, and we are committed to making it a great success.”
