Math Courses for PhD in Finance Question

[shootermcgavin7]

Originally Posted by xchopysueyz

one more question, does it make a difference where i take these math courses?

It can make a big difference; at least it did in my case.

[Ancalagon The Black]

Hmm... shooter, what do you mean?

I am taking math courses from IGNOU (Welcome::Indira Gandhi National Open University) It is a central Indian university for distance education, the largest university in the world (I think) and its known for its quality of distance education)

I don't really have a choice as the rigidity of the Indian education system prevents from taking any additional courses.

[shootermcgavin7]

Originally Posted by Ancalagon The Black

Hmm... shooter, what do you mean?

The original poster was asking about a Finance PhD; I said it would likely make a difference whether he took the courses at a community college vs. a well-known school.

I am not entirely familiar with the Indian system. But if you don't have a choice, that factor is out of your hands and it is one less thing to worry about.

Worrying about things that you can't affect in any way tends to cause undue stress

[Ancalagon The Black]

Heh, thats true... I am worrying about every nuance of my application and now I am thinking that I will not be taken in by any school at all ...

[constrainedoptimizer]

Here is a link to the prerequisite quantitative courses for a masters in financial engineering at Haas. While different from a PhD in Finance, most of the posters mentioned the same prerequisites, so I am sure that there might be some relevance. To sum up, if you can get through these courses, you should be more than ready. They leave out some courses, like Ordinary Differential Equations and Real Analysis, but they are subsumed as prerequisites for some of the aforementioned prerequisites.

Good Luck, as I have heard it rumored that admissions to Finance PhDs can be more competitive than Economics, probably due to the fact that most of the top schools only admit single digit first years (< 10 students). But this can be hearsay.

[chartreuse]

Originally Posted by xchopysueyz

one more question, does it make a difference where i take these math courses? For instance, will schools care if I took the courses at a local community college or at Berkeley?

Well, I think you should think about that question: local community college vs Berkeley? Look at the contents of the course - how rigorous it is, the types of students that enroll, the teachers, and the reputation of the school...

I understand that you are trying to ameliorate your chances of admission to the best school on your list but at this point, taking classes should be the purpose of enhancing your understanding of the material, which will be proved by good grades. If you can really commit to studying very hard and achieving good grades, then taking these classes are worth it. If the grades will not be too much better than the courses taken during your MBA, well, what would be the use, right? All this in the context of having taken courses at school XXXX.

Best of luck!

[parajulibharat]

I have a undergrad in Information system and MBA in Finance. If I want to get into the best schools for ph d in finance, are those math classes (calculus, multivariable, stocastic, probability etc.) a must? Please advise!

Also, what is the conclusion? Does the calculus taken at a community college have the same weight as calculus take at university from Ph d admission's perspective (assume you have A s on all)?

[xchopysueyz]

My 3.3gpa is my undergrad gpa at a top 12 undergraduate business program. I haven't started my masters yet (I'm still deciding between an MBA program, MS Finance, and MS Mathematical Finance). I would assume my graduate school gpa will be much higher than a 3.3. So basically, the math courses that are necessary would be:

Musts:
Calc I, II
Multivariable Calc
Linear Algebra
Math-based Statistics (at least 1 semester)

Highly Recommended:
Differential Equations
Math-based Statistics (2 semesters)
Econometrics

Recommended:
Stochastic Calculus
Real Analysis

[chartreuse]

Originally Posted by parajulibharat

I have a undergrad in Information system and MBA in Finance. If I want to get into the best schools for ph d in finance, are those math classes (calculus, multivariable, stocastic, probability etc.) a must? Please advise!

Also, what is the conclusion? Does the calculus taken at a community college have the same weight as calculus take at university from Ph d admission's perspective (assume you have A s on all)?

Parajulibharat - you should do the research yourself and be more proactive. Make a list of various factors that are important to you, and see whether the community one or Berkeley offers you the better deal. Then see which side weighs more.

[reactor]

You can also check courses in Stochastic Analysis and Brownian Motion and "work back" the prerequisities to your math level.