Career Track Electives
Students in our program must complete a minimum of 15 credit hours in electives. To help students seeking to build their knowledge and skills in a particular area, we can recommend one of five Career Tracks. Students are encouraged to use electives to customize their curriculum to best meet their career goals.
All tracks listed below are entirely optional. To fulfill a track, complete a minimum of three classes within that track. Students who customize their curriculum by completing a specific track will receive a certificate of completion for that track. Tracks are not specified in final transcripts. For those interested in a broader scope of study, we recommend reviewing our list of interdisciplinary electives by department.
Career Track Electives
Risk Management Track
The Risk Management track will give students critical decision-making tools that will help them develop better risk assessment techniques useful in a number of careers, such as risk manager, financial risk analyst as well as credit risk analyst.
| Course Name | Course Number |
|---|---|
| Financial Risk Analysis | FIM/MA 549 |
| Database Applications in Industrial Engineering | ISE 519 |
| Enterprise Risk Management | MBA 518 |
| Corporate Risk Management | MBA 527 |
| Advanced Corporate Finance | MBA 521 |
| Fixed Income Products and Analysis (Fall) | FIM 590-001 |
| Commercial Banking Risk Management (Fall) | FIM 590-004 |
| Machine Learning in Finance (Fall) | FIM 590-003 |
| Minimum track credit hours | 9.0 |
Data Science for Finance Track
We recommend this track for those interested in developing the tools to collect, analyze, and interpret large volumes of data and applying those skills, along with their financial mathematics masters degree, towards such careers as data analysis, credit risk analysis, fixed income analysis, model validation analysis and quantitative analysis.
| Course Name | Course Number |
|---|---|
| Database Applications in Industrial Engineering | ISE 519 |
| Fundamentals of Linear Models and Regression | ST 503 |
| Experimental Statistics for Engineers II | ST 516 |
| Applied Bayesian Analysis | ST 540 |
| Applied Time Series | ST 534 |
| Data Mining with SAS Enterprise Miner | ST 562 |
| Statistical Programming I | ST 555 |
| Financial Data Analytics (Fall) | FIM 590-002 |
| Machine Learning in Finance (Fall) | FIM 590-003 |
| Minimum track credit hours | 9.0 |
Portfolio Management Track
The Portfolio Management track is suited for financial mathematics students with strong analytical skills and a desire to develop effective and rewarding strategies that can translate to future careers as portfolio and investment managers.
| Course Name | Course Number |
|---|---|
| Introduction to Mathematical Programming | OR(ISE) 504 |
| Linear Programming | OR(ISE) 505 |
| Algorithmic Methods in Nonlinear Programming | OR 506 |
| Investment Theory and Practice | MBA 523 |
| Equity Valuation | MBA 524 |
| Dynamic Systems and Multivariable Control I | MA(OR,E) 531 |
| Database Applications in Industrial Engineering | ISE 519 |
| Fixed Income Products and Analysis (Fall) | FIM 590-001 |
| Investing in Financial Markets (Fall) | FIM 590 |
| Financial Data Analytics (Fall) | FIM 590-002 |
| Minimum track credit hours | 9.0 |
Actuarial Science Track
This track is recommended for students interested in analyzing risk by using statistics and math to make predictions about the future, with eventual opportunities in insurance, risk management and financial consulting.
| Course Name | Course Number |
|---|---|
| Microeconomics I & II | ECG 701 & 702 |
| Introduction to Econometric Methods | ECG(ST) 750 |
| Econometric Methods | ECG(ST) 751 |
| Time Series Econometrics | ECG(ST) 752 |
| Equity Valuation | MBA 524 |
| Microeconometrics | ECG(ST) 753 |
| Probability and Stochastic Processes II | MA(ST) 747 |
| Enterprise Risk Management | MBA 518 |
| Fixed Income Products and Analysis (Fall) | FIM 590-001 |
| Financial Data Analytics (Fall) | FIM 590-002 |
| Long Term Actuarial Models | MA 412 |
| Short Term Actuarial Models | MA 413 |
| Minimum track credit hours | 9.0 |
PhD Preparation Track
Financial mathematics students interested in a deeper understanding of advanced concepts in financial mathematics, econometrics and/or statistics, should consider the PhD Preparation track.
| Course Name | Course Number |
|---|---|
| Linear Programming | OR(ISE) 505 |
| Econometric Methods | ECG(ST) 751 |
| Time Series Econometrics | ECG(ST) 752 |
| Linear Transformations and Matrix Theory | MA 523 |
| Uncertainty Quantification for Physical Models | MA 540 |
| Probability and Stochastic Processes I | MA(ST) 546 |
| Probability and Stochastic Processes II | MA 747 |
| Bayesian Inference and Analysis | ST 740 |
| Applied Time Series Analysis | ST 730 |
| Minimum track credit hours | 9.0 |
Customized Curriculum
More About Career Tracks
- Career Track electives must be approved by the Financial Mathematics graduate program academic advisor.
- Courses in the Data Science Foundations Graduate Certificate Program also count towards the Data Science for Finance Track
- Only 2 MBA classes can be used as electives.
- Students following the actuarial track are encouraged to take MA(ST) 412 and MA(ST) 413, however these will not count towards the MFM degree.
- If a course does not appear on this list, seek approval from the Financial Mathematics graduate program academic advisor.
- Students can also take classes through the NCSU Exchange Program.
- Financial Mathematics masters students must request permission to enroll in non-FIM courses
Course Catalog
