In early February, following a break for Lunar New Year, the Class of 2022 began the final semester of their Master’s program with their first Stern courses.
First, during the three-week January term (J-Term), MS Quantitative Finance (MSQF) students completed Futures & Options with Professor Menachem Brenner, and MS Data Analytics & Business Computing (MSDABC) students completed Optimization Modeling with Professor (and MSDABC Academic Director) Jiawei Zhang; both courses were delivered via Zoom. Then following recess for the holiday celebrations and festivities, the spring semester for both programs kicked off with Business Communication, an intensive six-day course focused on students’ communications skills, including speaking, presenting, writing, and collaborating. To read more about the Business Communication course, click here.
In addition to Business Communication, students will complete 10.5 credits of Stern coursework during the spring semester: Emerging Market Finance, Climate Risk, Fundamentals of FinTech, and Stochastic Modeling for the MSQF program; and Revenue Management & Pricing, Operations Management, Fundamentals of FinTech, and Stochastic Modeling for the MSDABC program. Courses are delivered in 3-6 week modules.
The spring semester was originally planned to be fully in-person in New York City for all students. However, the sudden surge of Covid cases in NYC in December/January brought on by the Omicron variant, as well as the reduction in flights from China to the US and mandatory 2-3 week quarantine upon return to China, led program leadership to offer students the choice to stay in China and take courses remotely for those who did not want to travel to New York. As a result, all of the spring semester courses are designed to allow for synchronous remote learning and to accommodate the 12-13 hour time difference between New York and Shanghai. This hybrid setup enables all students to be able to engage with their classmates, course faculty, and guest speakers, and participate in live time whether they are in the physical classroom on West 4th Street or in the Zoom classroom. Faculty and teaching assistants are holding virtual office hours to accommodate students based in China, and both students and faculty have shared great feedback over the past few weeks. Despite the physical distance, students and faculty once again demonstrate their flexibility and commitment to teaching and learning.
Bowling at Bowlero Chelsea Piers
In Gould Plaza, right outside of Stern
In front of Washington Square Arch during a walking tour of Greenwich Village during Orientation
Outside of class, students located in New York City will have the opportunity to get to know the Big Apple. In addition to a walking tour led by Like a Local Tours through Greenwich Village during the first week, students will go bowling at Chelsea Piers, see various sites such as the Statue of Liberty, Empire State Building, Ellis Island and more atop the Circle Line boat cruise, and attend a New York Yankees baseball game.
Students based in China were also able to explore Greenwich Village on Zoom through a virtual walking tour, learning about the history of the iconic neighborhood in which Stern is located. Students in Shanghai will also have opportunities for social events in person. In addition to coffee and lunch gatherings with their classmates, students will also get to engage in team-building experiences at the Visual Reality Shanghai and through bowling and archery activities.
Though students are located on both campuses for the semester, they are all engaged in the same Stern courses, learning alongside each other whether in the virtual or in-person classroom, and partaking in team-building social activities to strengthen their bond and network over the final months of the program.