A Decade of Financial Mathematics at NC State
The fast-growing professional science master’s degree program celebrated its 10-year anniversary this spring.
The Master of Financial Mathematics program at NC State marked a major milestone this spring — its 10-year anniversary.
To celebrate, about 85 administrators, alumni, current students and friends of the program gathered at SAS Hall on April 25 for a reception and dinner. The event also featured a panel of speakers that covered hot topics related to the profession.
“I felt that the panel hit on a number of really important topics in current finance and the panelists were quite knowledgeable,” said Matt Jayne, a 2012 graduate of the program. “However, the best part was the social afterwards, where I could speak and network with the panel in person.”
The Financial Mathematics program — a collaboration between the mathematics, statistics, industrial and systems engineering, economics, and agricultural and resource economics departments at NC State — launched in 2004 with support from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and Progress Energy. The program helps students learn how to value financial derivatives and complex investments, assess associated risks, and better understand how the financial markets around the world operate.
The program has seen tremendous growth during the past 10 years. While four students formed its first graduating class in 2004, there were 30 students enrolled in the program in 2013. The program’s reach is also expanding, attracting several students from China each year.
“The program is growing by leaps and bounds,” said Leslie Bowman, director of career services for the program. “Our overarching goal for the event was to show that Financial Math at NC State is now a decade-old program with a reputation for helping its graduates get great jobs in the field.”
Students and graduates have gone on to work and intern for companies such as Bank of America, Credit Suisse, SAS Institute, Financial Risk Group, BB&T, Duke Energy and the Agricultural Bank of China.
Alumni panelists at the event shared their views on big data, financial regulations, market trends and financial risk management. Employers in attendance included representatives from Genworth, Duke Energy, Credit Suisse, SAS, Progress Software and Andrew Davidson.
Jayne said his degree from the program helped him obtain his current job at SAS in Cary.
“This program helped me figure out that financial modeling is what I love to do,” Jayne said.
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