Graduate Program Combines Computer Science and Business Courses

Just as electronic trading has changed the financial paradigm that many financial institutions, banks and hedge funds operated upon in the past, it is also changing the desired skill set for those working in the financial realm. More frequently, computer algorithms and mathematical models are playing an increasingly relevant role in the financial markets. Yet many traditional MBA and finance degrees do not provide the technical expertise to bridge this gap, nor do traditional computer science programs provide the financial understanding to do so.

To help remedy this underserved market, DePaul University introduced a master of science degree in computational finance this fall, a joint degree offered by the university’s Kellstadt Graduate School of Business and the School of Computer Science, Telecommunications and Information Systems (CTI). The new program aims to produce quantitative financial analysts with the ability to solve complex problems in such fields as portfolio management, risk management and financial engineering.

Massimo DiPierro, assistant professor at DePaul CTI, explained the need for the new degree in terms of a language barrier.

"At many financial institutions, you have investors, traders and analysts that speak the language of business but cannot implement the new technology, and you have IT personnel that can implement the technology but have zero instincts toward finance. There was always a translation problem there," he said.

The 13-course program in computational finance seeks to balance the two fields to help produce a well-rounded skill set for those working with the new trading technologies. Seven courses from Kellstadt Graduate School of Business are required, including financial accounting, economic decision-making, financial management, valuation, investment analysis, options and futures and portfolio management. This is augmented with six technology courses from CTI, including data analysis and regression, time series analysis, numerical analysis, algorithms and applications, and a master’s project or graduate internship.

"Workers in the financial industry need to be able to process information quickly on a statistical basis," DiPierro said. "Having a broad skill set that includes backgrounds in technology and finance will help them to progress more quickly into management positions."

More information can be found on the new computational finance masters degree at: http://www.cti.depaul.edu/programs/2006/gradCSFIN2006.asp.

DePaul CTI is one of the most innovative and wide-ranging computer science programs in the country. The undergraduate program enrolls 1,200 students and offers 11 different degrees. More than 2,130 students are enrolled in its 17 graduate programs. CTI also features a doctoral degree program in computer science. For more information, visit www.cti.depaul.edu.

DePaul’s College of Commerce offers students an extraordinary opportunity to study all aspects of business and commerce in one of the world’s leading commercial centers. It was recently ranked as one of the nation’s top 13 entrepreneurial colleges, according to Entrepreneur Magazine. DePaul’s Kellstadt Graduate School of Business features a part-time MBA program that has been ranked among the nation’s top ten by U.S. News and World Report for the past 11 years.

DePaul is the largest Catholic university in the nation and the eighth-largest private university in the United States. A richly diverse population of 23,570 students attends classes on two city and four suburban campuses.