FAQ
Q: What is Financial Engineering?
Financial Engineering is a cross-disciplinary field which relies on computational intelligence, mathematical finance, numerical methods and computer simulations to make trading, hedging and investment decisions, as well as facilitating the risk management of those decisions. Utilizing various methods, practitioners of financial engineering aim to precisely determine the financial risk associated with different financial instruments.
Q: The Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) is becoming an industry standard and prerequisite for positions in the investment and portfolio management field, how does the training taken in the Financial Engineering program compare with the requirements for the CFA, with regard to both the content of the material taught and the rigour with which it is presented?
The Financial Engineering program will definitely help. The Financial Engineering program is more rigorous than the CFA and will cover some of the CFA exam material at a greater depth than required for the CFA exam while some topics will not be covered at all.
Q: What is the difference between the Financial Engineering Diploma courses and the Derivatives courses offered in the MBA program?
The course work for the Financial Engineering Derivatives courses is more rigorous and the teaching method of the Financial Engineering courses is different - ½ lecture and ½ hands on computer use.
Q: Are Financial Engineering courses offered at the downtown location?
No, not at this time.
Q: Is there a minimum GPA for the Financial Engineering Diploma? If there is a minimum, is the minimum GPA only for the 7 required courses or entire MBA?
To be accepted into this program you must be registered in a graduate program at York and you must be approved after completing the Eligibility Questionnaire. There is no minimum GPA to be accepted to the program. For more details of the programs and eligibility click here.
Q: How are the courses graded? What is the weight of exams and assignments/projects?
This may change from year to year so please check the current course outline for details.
Q: When can part-time students start taking Financial Engineering courses?
When all core courses have been completed OR with the approval of the Director of the Financial Engineering Program.
Q: What is the required scope of Java, C++ and Unix? What tasks are expected from these languages?
It is required that you have experience with a programming language so that you have an understanding of basic programming principles. The language does not have to be C++ or Java. There will be ongoing interactive instruction in two programming languages as part of the course work; these languages are Maple and Matlab and are used to provide concrete examples of the analytical work in the course.
Q: Will CSE 5910 give you a good background in computing before taking FNEN 6210 and FNEN 6810?
If you have a weak background in computing it is recommended that you take CSE 5910 before taking FNEN 6210 and FNEN 6810. However it is not necessary to do this.
Q: Recommend books or courses in basic computing to develop the necessary background knowledge of computer programming skills prior to taking the Financial Engineering courses?
If you take undergraduate programming courses they will not count as MBA credits. If you are going to do study on your own you could purchase a copy of Prof. Prisman's book and work through some of the programming code without studying the derivatives content. The book comes with Maple software, which is the programming language that will be used in the course, so you can use the software to practice some programming. You may also find the Maple tutorial and the MatLab tutorial helpful.
Q: What courses or knowledge base is required to take the CSE 5910 course as part of the Financial Engineering Program?
When the Director of the Financial Engineering Program evaluates your background from the Eligibility Questionnaire she/he will determine if you have sufficient knowledge to take CSE 5910 as well as the FNEN courses. The computer background required is an understanding of computer programming techniques and not specific computer programming languages as the required languages will be taught as part of the program. Approval to take Financial Engineering will be approval to take CSE 5910 as well. If you gain computer knowledge from sources outside the university that would be acceptable.
Q: Where is a description of computer courses offered at York and when are they offered?
Course descriptions can be found on York's Faculty of Pure and Applied Science, Department of Computer Science and Engineering: Graduate
Q: What help is provided for finding internship employment?
The Financial Engineering office works toward finding internship positions, however, the Program Director cannot guarantee that places will be found for all students. It is expected that each student will look independently for internship placement.
For York Career Centre click here.
For Schulich Career Centre click here.
Q: If I am not completing the Diploma program and I do not need to complete an internship, do you provide assistance for finding summer employment in the Financial Engineering field?
First priority will be to assist Diploma students to find an internship position. If there are other opportunities available all Financial Engineering students will be notified.