Newly Admitted Students

Sample Schedules

Below are sample schedules for programs ranging from one year to two years, with the total number of credits per semester indicated in parentheses. The choice of electives will vary from student to student and the indicated elective choices are for the sake of example only - please carefully read the very important notes on course registration and program planning further below.

One Year

One and-a Half Year

Example 1

Example 2

Example 3

Two Years

Example 1

Example 2

Example 3

Course Registration Advice

First-semester course choice

Students are free to select anywhere from a one-year to a two-year program. We recommend that students planning a one and half year program take four required three-credit courses in their first semester to ensure that they have the prerequisites for elective courses of interest to them in later semesters.

Fulfillment of English language or undergraduate course prerequisite admission conditions

We encourage students to complete any English language or undergraduate course prerequisite admission conditions prior to their first Fall semester at Rutgers. Students who elect to complete those admission conditions at Rutgers are required to do so within their first year at Rutgers, with the first Fall semester required for students taking 9 or fewer credits. However, students may defer completion of admission conditions to their first Spring or Summer semester if they are already taking 12 or more credits during their first Fall semester.

Strongly recommended electives

Students who are certain of their future career path and financial industry specialization may choose electives to best suit support those goals. However, most students will find ECE 503 (C++) provides a strong foundation for the broadest choice of financial industry careers. Almost all financial industry firms require applicants to take their C++ tests as part of their screening procedure. ECE 503 is required for many summer internships, so we especially recommend taking this course in the first Fall semester.

Awareness of changes in the financial industry and making informed course choices

When selecting course choices, students should be aware that the financial industry is continually changing and, moreover, that our degree program provides a solid foundation in applied mathematics and hence a good introduction to a range of industry careers beyond finance. Opportunities in risk management, energy, and commodities are likely to grow and remain strong worldwide for the foreseeable future while opportunities in the larger banks in more traditional areas of quantitative finance are subject to periodic contraction due to economic pressures or regulatory changes. Most industry careers require a solid foundation in econometrics, numerical methods, programming, and statistics, just as the core courses in our program providers, and those core skills can be further strengthened by choosing suitable electives.

Availability of courses and minimum enrollment

The semesters in which core (required) courses are offered change rarely change. While some courses, such as Econ 607 or Econ 608, may be offered in other semesters, the semesters indicated are when MSMF students are required by those departments to take them.

Our industry elective courses, Math 625 (Portfolio Theory and Applications), Math 626 (Fixed Income Securities and Derivative Modeling), are offered subject to the availability of a qualified industry instructor, which can change from year to year, and enrollment.

It is very important that when we ask you to register that you do so promptly, as courses with below minimum enrollment are subject to cancellation. Tuition payment deadlines can usually be deferred on request until less than a month before the start of classes.

Courses offered by other departments (ECE - Electrical and Computer Engineering and Econ - Economics) will have space reserved for MSMF students and their own students. It is essential that you register early for those courses or else you risk losing your place to a student from another program. Enrollments in courses are subject to caps imposed by the room size and we cannot help place students in a course that is already full.

Course scheduling

Not all elective courses are offered every year, because of instructor availability or the need to ensure minimum enrollment. The semesters in which electives are offered below are typical but subject to change.

ECE 503 (Fall and Spring), Math 623 (Spring) are normally offered every year, in the indicated semesters.

The scheduling and availability of elective courses offered by other departments (Business, Computer Science, Economics, and Electrical and Computer Engineering) is outside our control and subject to the priorities of those departments.

If you have any concerns, questions, or suggestions about our courses and program, please do not hesitate to contact our Senior Program Coordinator Supervisor, Ana Mastrogiovanni, or the program Director, Triet Pham. We welcome your feedback.