Ian Kaplan

“I am a computer scientist who had previously worked in finance at the Prediction Company where I learned some aspects of quantitative finance. The University of Washington’s online M.S. degree program in Computational Finance and Risk Management, offered by the Department of Applied Mathematics, has given me a great gift: it has taught me how much I still have to learn. My professors have challenged me, supported my learning and recognized my effort. They have helped lay the foundation that I will build on for many years to come. I will always be grateful that I had the chance to be a student in this M.S. degree program.”

Frank Dooley

“As an employee of a global banking and financial services firm seeking a highly quantitative finance program, I had the very good fortune of enrolling in the UW Computational Finance Certificate Program in 2011. This superbly designed program of four courses taught by amost distinguished faculty turned out to be an amazingly powerful learning experience for me, providing me with tools to unlock the mathematics of current financial articles as well as exposing me to "cutting edge" coding techniques presented mostly in the context of the R programming language. The great care taken in the design and delivery of this program became evident to me as the courses proceeded. As a person with a strong actuarial background, I really appreciated the mathematical knowledge I gained, especially as regards areas such as Expected Tail Loss, portfolio optimization and futures mathematics. With the theoretical (which definitely includes philosophical) knowledge there was balanced a lot of practical applications through great and varied R programming exercises.

But one of the greatest experiences for me as an online student was the very pleasant experience of working with a group of faculty, staff and students who genuinely went out of their way to offer help and discussion. Professors and teaching assistants took great time, effort and care to help students who were working through tough problems. These professors and teaching assistants were of the very highest quality I have ever seen. Special homework sessions were made available for online participants. Students used a discussion forum to work through problems which led me personally to success on some problems that initially seemed intractable for me, which I believe falls under the rubric of "mind-stretching".

And that leads to me to a comment on what are often deemed the all-important but hard to define "intangibles" that make something not just good, but exemplary . These involve a culture or "spirit" of folks working together to create a great environment for learning as well as an emphasis on ethics and integrity. Call it "good will" or whatever you'd like, the UW has it and I am very glad to be a part of it.

Because of the quality of my experience with the Computational Finance program, I applied for and was accepted for admission as a candidate for the M.S. in Computational Finance and Risk
Management. So the certificate program turned out to be a great opportunity for me to pursue the Master's degree.”

Lou Grothaus

Sr. Biostatistician, Group Health Research Institute

"I highly recommend the UW Computation Finance Certificate program. The courses provided a good mix of the theory and mathematics underlying quantitative finance and the practical, including real-work investment examples and R computing exercises. The instructors were extremely knowledgeable and both had worked applying the techniques for investment firms. They provided very clear coverage of how to use quantitative methods to construct optimal portfolios and manage and control risk. Anyone with a strong background in math or statistics, an aptitude for programming, and an interest in investment science or finance would find this program both enjoyable and worthwhile."