Prospective Students

The University of Illinois MSFE degree is a three-semester program (fall, spring, summer internship, fall) offered by the Departments of Finance and Industrial and Enterprise Systems Engineering at the Urbana-Champaign campus. The curriculum is drawn from topics in stochastic modeling optimization, computing and computational methods, finance, and an applied practicum experience, and is taught by internationally recognized engineering and finance faculty. The program provides an opportunity to study with an international peer group at one of the premier research universities in the world.

The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign campus is located in the small cities of Champaign and Urbana 140 miles south of the Chicago loop. Chicago is easily accessible by train (Amtrak), automobile, commuter aircraft, and inter-city bus. Classes are taught on the engineering campus and the new Business Instructional Facility (BIF). The Market Information Lab within the new BIF, sponsored in part by the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, will provide students with state-of-the-art analytic tools and software products, enhancing their educational experience.

A key part of the MSFE program is the “practicum” course based on real-world projects provided by industry partners. In this course, teams of students will work on projects or problems posed by or developed in cooperation with an industry partner. Through these projects, students will be exposed to “real world” financial engineering and risk management problems.In addition, students will use state-of-the-art analytic tools and software products in the Market Information Lab, and have regular opportunities to listen to and interact with industry speakers brought to campus by the Financial Engineering and Risk Management Clubs and other organizations.Students also have an opportunity to complete an internship during the summer after the first year.

MSFE Career Services provides a suite of products and services for students and recruiting firms, including personalized coaching on job searches and access to recruiters, alumni, and career resources.

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