The University of Denver Masters in Applied Quantitative Finance degree is the replacement for the older Masters in Finance that the university used to offer, something I realized while checking in on the program. The website has a good amount of information for the degree and it looks pretty impressive. Denver has a growing and rather strong finance scene and I would imagine this program will continue to grow in popularity.
Overview
This is a full or part time degree that can be completed in just under a year for well motivated students. The program starts in the fall or spring and students have the ability to specialized in Corporate Finance, Investment Banking or Asset Management. Because of the number of electives, you can effectively create your own focus as well. The MSAQF degree is STEM Certified as well, incredibly important for international students.
The program is part of the CFA Institute University Affiliation Program, something I think it very highly of. It requires a degree to incorporate at least 70 percent of the CFA Body of Knowledge material into the program as well as sponsoring students for the CFA scholarships.
Admissions
The admissions process is straight forward. Transcripts, resume, and essays are required. GMAT/GRE and recommendations are not. Deadline for the Fall 2022 is currently on a rolling basis. Applicants for a Spring 2023 program start have an October 15th deadline. There are merit awards and graduate assistantships available for qualified applicants.
Base tuition is $69,075. This might come in higher depending on prerequisites required. The university also mentions the typical scholarship range (% of tuition) of 10-65%. This is not guaranteed, but provided more directionally. I would consider this when comparing tuition costs between programs.
Career Information
The schools webpage mentions a handful of firms that have hired MSAQF students before. These include Goldman Sachs, Credit Suisse, S&P Global, CoBank, Partners Group, Heartland Financial and Thoroughbred. They also include a mention average starting salary of $78,000 for the class of 2018.
I will reach out to try and get some additional information on this. Denver is a very strong job market right now and there is a lot of finance either in the city and surrounding area or moving there. If you were angling to work in the finance community in the Denver area this program would be on the top of my list.
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The University of Denver has been offering specialized degrees in finance for a long time now and it is exciting to see that they are still committed to the degree. There are student ambassadors for the program as well in case anyone is interested in reaching out to them. I’ve been noticing more schools do this and I really like it. As always, I will try and connect with the school and find out a little more. Denver is an amazing city and Colorado is beyond beautiful. This program will be popular.
Here is a link to the University of Denver Masters in Applied Quantitative Finance Program
