Rutgers to Offer Mathematical Finance Option in Master's Degree Program; Focus on Financial Modeling for Investment, Insurance Fields

October 24, 2005

NEW BRUNSWICK/PISCATAWAY, N.J. – To help meet the growing need for financial modeling experts in the investment and insurance fields, the mathematics department at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is introducing an option for students to specialize in mathematical finance as part of its Master of Science degree program. The option will be offered in partnership with the statistics department.

The new option will equip graduates with the skills needed to create and implement mathematical models, to price financial instruments, assess trading risks, and manage portfolios. According to Paul Feehan, associate professor of mathematics and director of mathematical finance, the graduates’ skills will be in demand at investment banks and insurance firms with major operations in New Jersey and New York City.

The option, which students will be able to pursue starting in the fall of 2006, will include course work in mathematics, statistics, computer science, electrical engineering, operations research, business and economics, reflecting the increasing use of mathematics in financial fields.

“We’ve designed this option to bridge the gap between the sales and strategy roles typically filled by business school graduates and the theoretical financial modeling roles performed by Ph.D. scientists,” Feehan said. “I foresee our graduates taking on some of their model creation roles while also managing implementation and support.”

Feehan, who has been working with doctoral students in mathematical finance at Rutgers since 2003, examined master’s level finance offerings at other universities nationwide and felt there was a need at Rutgers for a stronger mathematics and computer science foundation, which would include subjects such as partial differential equations, numerical analysis, and C++ programming. He expects the offering to appeal to students and graduates in technical fields who want to pursue financial careers and to those working in finance as programmers who want to broaden their skills.

Students will benefit from faculty who teach and do research in mathematical finance, and who have experience working in and consulting for leading investment banks. The National Research Council ranks Rutgers’ graduate program in mathematics among the top 20 in the United States.

Students and professionals may visit Rutgers’ mathematical finance Web site at www.finmath.rutgers.edu for further information and application procedures.

Contact: Carl Blesch
732-932-7084, ext. 616
E-mail: cblesch@ur.rutgers.edu