November 25, 2020
As of Fall 2020, the MS Quantitative Finance (MSQF) program became an affiliate of the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Institute, which means that the MSQF program can now offer the CFA Student Exam Scholarship to qualified students. This scholarship greatly increases access to the exam by waiving the one-time $450 program enrollment fee and reducing the exam registration fee to $350, which at full price can be up to $1,000.
Through three levels of exams, individuals can become CFA chartholders, one of the most prestigious achievements in the field of investment management. The CFA Institute’s mission is “served by generating value for core investment management professionals and engaging with the core investment management industry to advance ethics, market integrity, and professional standards of practice, which collectively contributes value to society” (CFA Institute).
While the exam is open to the public, the CFA Student Exam Scholarship is reserved for students in affiliated programs. The MSQF program was recently awarded this affiliate designation following a comprehensive application process in which the program demonstrated that its curriculum relates to the CFA’s core practice of investment management; as MSQF Academic Director Jeffrey Wurgler shared, “The CFA certification is recognized worldwide in investment management and a variety of related disciplines, and the MSQF curriculum introduces students to the intellectual concepts being evaluated in the CFA exams.”
To apply for one of the designated scholarships, interested MSQF students submit a detailed application, outlining their interest in the CFA exam and how it relates to their career goals post-program. MSQF Professor David Yu, who serves as the CFA Principal Contact for the MSQF program and is a CFA charterholder himself, expressed his excitement, “This rigorous certification process will aid our students in both supplementing their classroom learning with other tools of the trade and their progress towards the designation will provide positive signals in a highly competitive job market. "
Xinyu Li, one of the MSQF students selected for the scholarship this year, previously completed Level I of the exam, so will use the scholarship to complete Level II this spring, “CFA builds the foundation for my future work. My career goal is to become a financial analyst. CFA Level 2 enables candidates to systematically master asset pricing technology, be familiar with bond tools, stock valuation tools, in-depth financial analysis tools, and have the necessary knowledge framework for international investment. Further study of the CFA could not only broaden my understanding of the financial industry, but also make me competitive for the job market.”
Xujian Han, who also received the scholarship, explained that the CFA chartholder is significant to him because of how studying for the exams will provide an international perspective on finance that “will certainly play a great role in my future career development.” He sought out the scholarship because of the added value of the CFA charterholder on top of his MSQF degree, “CFA can also improve my logical ability and understanding of finance, and can provide me with a lot of help in my future development. CFA's more than ten subjects on finance and other aspects of the examination can help me learn and understand finance systematically, and can help me better use it in my work.”
To learn more about the CFA exam, please visit https://www.cfainstitute.org/en/programs/cfa/exam.