Masters' in Applied or Computational Math

Question

I've been looking at various applied masters' in math programs, but the tuition of many of the best programs in the US is prohibitively expensive given a lack of information about student placement (only a mention of where the best students have gone, spotty statistics about where the median student ended up).

Where are the well-respected yet less expensive programs? Are there any good programs in Canada or Europe that place well into industry (whether it be industrial math, finance, insurance, etc.)?

Edit: To clarity, I am mainly interested in the financial industry post-graduation, but I'm to other scientific applications of applied math. I don't want to get a financial math degree because I feel it is too niche.

Answer 1

Have you considered data science?

http://www.scs.northwestern.edu/grad/mspa/

http://radar.oreilly.com/2011/12/data-science-carrieriq-datasift-twitter.html

Usually a degree in Math or Computer science is necessary, but this article features an Anthropology PhD

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/06/technology/06stats.html

Answer 2

At my graduate school in the U.S. (in mathematics, where you could do pure or applied), almost all students are offered an assistantship. If you're not offered one, it's because you're not good enough to go there but they're happy to take your own money if you want to pay. The assistantship pays around \$14K (U.S.) per year, and it goes up as you get closer to graduating. For a masters student, half of tuition is paid, but not fees. For a PhD student, 100% of tuition is paid, but not fees. Either way, you also get free health insurance. For this, you are going to do recitations, teaching, or grading. I guess a few people get short term (1 or 2 semesters) research assistantships. It takes 10-20 hours a week, depending on the job and your experience. Also, you have the opportunity to work during the summer for another \$2500-\$3500, depending on the job.

I believe the situation is going to be somewhat similar no matter where you go. That is, if you don't get an assistantship, you're not really good enough to go there. And, your assistantship will probably cover tuition and pay you and give you health insurance. So, the cost of the school isn't all that important.

UPDATE: I forgot to mention something. At my school which is a state school, if you're a masters student who has to pay half of tuition, you will get the in-state rate, which is less than half as much as non-resident tuition, even if you're not from that state. If you're not on assistantship at all, you won't get that rate unless you are from that state. So, a masters student at my school would pay only around \$4000 in tuition, plus \$1000 in fees perhaps. And, you're making \$17000 or so, plus free health insurance. So, it's not terrible. And, again, I think this is probably pretty standard as far as state schools in the U.S. That is, you'd pay the in-state tuition.

Answer 3

In Germany you wont pay any tution fees. But 1- If you will be able to get accaptance? 2- If you are able to talk in German? these are the main questions that you need to answer. I think the level is quite good here. It varies not much among universities although there are some favourite ones such as Aachen, Munich, Darmstadt, Berlin, etc.. I can also suggest you to search some English programs in daad.de. There you can also apply for a scholarship. I guess there should be very few programs in English but I guess there should be. All the best of luck..

Answer 4

It is very difficult to quantify where a student "ends up" after completing a program. It is easy enough to determine what percentage of undergraduates move on to graduate school, but for post-graduate work, where do you draw the line? Immediately after graduation? 5 years? 10? Do you quantify the percentage that attempt to stay in academia? Does it have any relevance if the person gets a job after getting their degree, hates it, and quits 6 months later to open a surf shop in Cabo?

Regardless of those issues, there are some other things to consider. Many schools accept students into Master's programs only on "special case" bases, such as when an employer is paying for the degree, or the student is attending school part time prior to formally applying for a PhD program. This is not always true, but in general, it has become more difficult and expensive to fund PhD students; the cost of supporting a Master's student is in fact worse (most graduate students do not provide the university/their advisor with a return on investment in the first two years; the real gain only comes after the student is mostly done with coursework and can spend time actually doing things). Consequently, finding funding for Master's students is even more increasingly difficult.

This, combined with extremely high inflation in tuition and fees in the US, makes Master's programs quite expensive. Adding to these frustrations are the fact that some Master's programs are not optimally-designed for your objectives; as an anecdote, the university where I am studying puts more stringent course requirements on a student for the M.S. program than the M.A. program, meaning that if I wanted to do an M.S., I am essentially limited to an algebra program -- it is otherwise financially and temporally unfeasible to attempt an analysis program or topology program with the coursework requirements imposed on the M.S. degree. The M.A. degree, which requires no thesis, leaves more options open, and so I can actually specialize in the M.A. program more, despite my interest in completing a thesis in line with my job-oriented work.

So, in order to measure expense vs. quality-of-education, you truly have to consider many, many factors:

• Does the university have a program for you in-name-only (as in, they may offer the program on paper, but is it really something designed for what you want to use it for)?

• Are you able to qualify for loans, in-state tuition, scholarships, or other support?

• Do you intend on going to school full-time?

• You are concerned with industry placement. Which industry?

• How do you intend to leverage your Master's degree for career gain? (This question is particularly important to understand, since you are explicitly looking to enter industry). Do you intend to do so through contacts, publications, experience, original research, or ...?

So in short, there are many good programs everywhere. Without knowing where you are from or what you can qualify for, it is impossible to give a proper valuation of a university that suits your needs. What you should really be looking at is first: what's the best university that suits your interests; second: how do you intend to pay for it AND support yourself during that time (after all, food is very important to mathematicians); third: what do you intend to do after completing the program.