MS-QA Curriculum < MS-QA < Graduate < Academics

MS-QA Curriculum

The program is designed to provide a strong foundation in all the areas of Quantitative Analysis, while allowing considerable flexibility so that students can tailor the course work and research project individually according to interest or career plans. There are 48 credit hours required in total (beyond any needed courses under Prerequisite Requirements), including 4 credit hours for the Research Project.

The program consists of three main components:

Prerequisite Requirements, divided into Mathematics Foundations and Basic Business Knowledge. Depending on your background, you may need to take anywhere from none to all of these courses; you may count all relevant prior undergraduate or graduate courses taken at UC or another university toward meeting these requirements, with the Program Director's approval. The credit hours in these courses do not count toward the 48 credit hours for the MSQA Program Requirements themselves. You may take some of these courses concurrently with the Program Requirements after you've been admitted and begun the program; again, this decision is made in consultation with the Program Director.
Program Requirements, consisting of 28 credit hours (7 courses) of required QA courses, 16 credit hours of Focus-Area Elective courses (chosen in consultation with the Program Director), and 4 credit hours for the Research Project. You may transfer at most 2 prior graduate-level courses taken as a graduate student at another university, up to a total maximum of 8 UC credits, with the Program Director's approval; a minimum of 45 credits in residence at UC are required. You may use an unlimited number of relevant and appropriate prior graduate-level courses taken as a graduate student at UC (excluding the Research-Project credits) toward the Program Requirements, with the Program Director's approval; students already holding or completing another master's degree at UC need to be aware that a minimum of 90 credits in total across the two master's degree programs are required.
Research Project, counting for 4 credits hours, including a written paper and an open oral presentation/defense.

Each student is responsible for downloading the MSQA Program Form, printing it, and filling it in, and then getting the Program Director's initials as courses are completed. When the program is complete (including the Research Project), the Program Director's signature is required.

In addition to the formal coursework above, all students are required to attend an orientation shortly before classes start in September, plus a special non-credit session in the Autumn quarter (typically on a Friday afternoon) to learn about the research interests of QAOM faculty. Further, students are invited to (and expected to attend) the QAOM Department Seminars, as well as the annual Arnoff Lecture.