Program Overview

Master in Financial Engineering

The Master in Financial Engineering (MFE) is a highly selective two-year program that provides financial education at the forefront of both academic thinking and industry practice.

MFE Program Overview

The program serves students seeking comprehensive technical knowledge of derivatives pricing, asset management, market design, and risk management. It will open the door to a variety of career opportunities in the sectors such as: Banking, Hedge funds, Consulting firms, Commodities Company, Asset management, Insurance, and Fintech.

Why Join Our Master in Financial Engineering?

• Academic excellence: High-quality education from renowned professors experts in their fields.
• Building competences: The program serves students seeking comprehensive technical knowledge of derivatives pricing, asset management, market design, and risk management.
• Unlock career opportunities: It will open the door to a variety of career opportunities in the sectors such as: Banking, Hedge funds, Consulting firms, Commodities Company, Asset management, Insurance, and Fintech.
• A selective program: Approximately 50 students join the program every year.
• A multicultural environment: The MFE program welcomes students from +10 nationalities (Europe, Middle-East & Africa, the Americas, and Asia).
• A diverse students’ background: Students in MFE come from different backgrounds such as Mathematics, Engineering, Physics, Computer Science, Economics, Electrical Engineering, Statistics & Communication systems.

MFE Program Structure

Foundations Courses (29 credits)

The compulsory foundation courses provide students with in-depth coverage of the key concepts and topics with which every finance professional should be familiar. They also serve as a firm foundation for the advanced and elective courses. Most of the foundation courses are taught in the first semester of coursework.

• Introduction to finance
• Accounting for finance
• Introduction to econometrics
• Convex optimization
• Probability & stochastic calculus

Advanced Courses (38 credits)

In the second and third semester MFE students have to follow a number of advanced compulsory courses that cover important aspects of finance and financial engineering.

• Derivatives
• Investments
• Ethical behavior in the financial industry
• Interest rate and credit risk models
• Machine learning in finance
• Macroeconomics and monetary policy
• Advanced derivatives
• Quantitative risk management

Electives (23 credits)

In the third semester, MFE students are free to choose a number of electives in order to tailor the program to the requirements of their career of choice.

• Financial applications of blockchains and distributed ledgers
• Financial big data
• Financial intermediation
• Venture capital

Master Project in Industry (30 credits)

The curriculum of the MFE is completed by a 6-month internship in the financial industry. During this period, each student must write a master thesis under the joint supervision of their internship advisor and one member of the MFE faculty acting as an academic advisor.

The MFE Experience

The MFE offers a great diversity in its curriculum, allowing one to fully take a grasp of how mathematics are used in finance. With a strong alumni network and being an EPFL master, the MFE allows its students to start their careers with a strong and robust basis in their bags.

Student Testimonials

• Alexandra Dupart, MFE Alumnus 2019: Choosing EPFL and the MFE after my French engineering school has allowed me to set a foot in the world of finance. The high quality courses in both mathematical aspects, computer based analysis and corporate finance have trained me well for banking jobs, giving me a broad horizon of what finance has to offer for young professionals.
• Daniele Rocchi, MFE Alumnus 2020: During the MFE, I could really challenge myself and learn a great amount of useful skills which eventually made possible to land a job I like. The learning environment is extremely stimulating and, combined with the high level of internationalization, I could empower my soft-skills as well.
• Lucas Armada, MFE Alumnus 2021: The MFE offers a great diversity in its curriculum, allowing one to fully take a grasp of how mathematics are used in finance. With a strong alumni network and being an EPFL master, the MFE allows its students to start their careers with a strong and robust basis in their bags.

Admission

• Applications have to be filled online only.
• The application period is from:
  • The beginning of November to December 15th
  • December 16th to 31st of March
• To learn about eligibility conditions, the application process and the important deadlines, check out the Master admission criteria & application page.

FAQs

• How to apply: Applications have to be filled online only.
• When to apply: The application period is from:
  • The beginning of November to December 15th
  • December 16th to 31st of March
• What are the requirements to be eligible for the MFE program: To learn about eligibility conditions, the application process and the important deadlines, check out the Master admission criteria & application page.