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Maximize your potential with Lehigh’s Accelerated 4+1 MS in Financial Engineering (MFE) Program.
About the Program
Acceleration
The 4+1 program offers Lehigh undergraduate students a pathway to complete the MFE degree within one year after earning their bachelor’s degree.
Undergraduate students with available space in their schedules can take and reserve up to 12 graduate-level (or equivalent) courses during their undergraduate studies, helping them finish the master's degree and join the workforce within one year!
Tuition Savings
Lehigh University undergraduate students can reserve up to 12 graduate-level courses towards a master's degree, which can provide significant tuition savings by reducing the number of credits taken during your your graduate studies.
Undergraduate students who do not reserve graduate-level courses will be awarded a 20% tuition discount on the graduate tuition only. This award will be disbursed in equal installments across the period of graduate study. Additional merit-based scholarships may be available for top performers.
Flexibility
Undergraduate students can enter the Accelerated 4+1 MFE program at any time during their undergraduate degree pursuit. However, early adoption of the accelerated program is more likely to guarantee completion of the master’s degree in Financial Engineering in a one-year timeframe.
Ready to start your journey?
1. Admission to the 4+1 Program
All Lehigh undergraduate students interested in the accelerated program must submit the 4+1 form.
After submission, the College of Business Graduate Program Office will contact you to answer any questions and help guide you through the next steps.
Once you are formally accepted in the 4+1 program, a faculty advisor from within the program will be assigned to help you navigate the course requirements.
2. Coursework
This program is open to all Lehigh undergraduate majors and prospective undergraduate students that incorporate the following coursework into their undergraduate degree.
Required Prerequisite Courses
All prerequisites must be met prior to starting the program.
- Calculus I
- Calculus II
- Probability and Statistics
- Investments
Strongly Recommended
Other highly recommended, but not required, coursework includes Calculus III, Linear Algebra, Financial Accounting, Corporate Finance, and Optimization. Note that students with equivalent courses from an undergraduate degree program that is part of the required MFE coursework will be given credit for fulfilling the field requirement and will be permitted to replace the credits from the list of approved electives. The program director(s) must approve courses for each student’s choice of electives. The MFE Program will still require 36 credit hours.
Typically, students studying in the following BS/BA disciplines would qualify:
- Economics
- Engineering (all types, but especially Industrial and Systems Engineering)
- Finance
- Mathematics (all types, but especially Applied Mathematics or Statistics)
This list of BS/BA degrees is not meant to be exhaustive. Other disciplines would be considered on a case-by-case basis.
Pathways for Qualified Majors
IBE Students: contact your IBE Program Director
Choose your major below to view your 4+1 pathway to a master's in Financial Engineering.
Follow the Finance Major Requirements:
Calculus Sequence requirements
- MATH 021 Calculus I and MATH 022 Calculus II (MATH 023 Calculus III is recommended)
OR
- MATH 081 Calculus with Business Applications I and MATH 082 Calculus with Business Applications II
OR
- MATH 031 Honors Calculus I and MATH 032 Honors Calculus II (MATH 033 Honors Calculus III is recommended)
Statistics requirements
- ECO 045 Statistical Methods is required as part of the BSBU core
- MATH 231 Probability and Statistics is required. This course serves as a prerequisite for entry into the M.S. in Financial Engineering program. The course may be used as a stand-alone elective for BSBU students or may be used to fulfill the requirements of the finance major (see below). Prerequisites: MATH 022 Calculus II or MATH 082 Calculus with Business Applications II, Sophomore Standing)
Finance Major Foundation Coursework
The prerequisite for the two foundation courses below, FIN 323 and FIN 328, is FIN 125 Introduction to Finance (FIN 125 prerequisites are ACCT 151 Introduction to Financial Accounting and (ECO 045 or MATH 231 or ISE 111) and (MATH 021 or MATH 031 or MATH 081). Can be taken Concurrently: ACCT 151)
- FIN323 Investments (Required prerequisite for entry into the MFE)
- FIN328 Corporate Financial Policy
5-Course Elective Requirement (bold denotes recommended)
- FIN 324: Security Analysis and Portfolio Management
- FIN 330: Financial Markets and Institutions
- FIN 333: Global Finance
- FIN 334: Derivatives and Management of Risk
- FIN 335: Advanced Topics—Financial Management (various topics) Note: Course offered with a different topic can be repeated.
- FIN 336: Real Estate Finance
- FIN 377: Advanced Topics—Investments (various topics) Note: Course offered with a different topic can be repeated.
- ACCT XXX: (Any 300-level Accounting course of at least 3 credits [except ACCT 371 and 372].)
- ECO XXX: Any 200-level (or higher) Economics course of at least 3 credits [except ECO 201, 259, 273, 274, 300, 362, 371, and 389].)
- REAL XXX: (Any 300 Real Estate course of at least 3 credits [Can only count 1 REAL course if also taking FIN 336].)
- IE 316: Optimization Models and Applications
- IE 339: Stochastic Models and Applications
- MATH 205: Linear Methods
- MATH 231: Probability and Statistics
- MATH 241: Applied Linear Algebra
- MATH 263: Introduction to the Theory of Probability
- MATH 310: Random Processes and Applications
Follow the Math Major Requirements:
- Calculus requirements are automatically included.
- Linear Algebra requirement is automatically included.
- MATH Electives must include:
- MATH 263 – Intro to the Theory of Probability
- MATH 264 – Intro to Statistics
- We recommend that Math electives include:
- ISE 316 – Optimization Models & Applications
- Any of the following courses would satisfy a requirement of MFE and will be allowed to be replaced by another course:
- MATH 310 – Random Processes
- MATH 312 – Statistical Computing
- MATH 365 – Statistical Machine Learning
- Elective courses must include:
- ACCT 151 – Intro to Financial Accounting
- FIN 125 – Intro to Finance
- FIN 323 – Investments
- We recommend that Elective courses include:
- FIN 328 – Corporate Financial Policy
Follow the Math Major Requirements:
- Calculus requirements are automatically included.
- Linear Algebra requirement is automatically included.
- Probability & Statistics requirement is automatically included.
- The following Statistics core courses will satisfy a requirement of MFE and will be allowed to be replaced by another course:
- MATH 310 – Random Processes
- MATH 312 – Statistical Computing
- MATH 365 – Statistical Machine Learning
- We recommend that Major electives include:
- ISE 316 – Optimization Models & Applications
- Elective courses must include:
- ACCT 151 – Intro to Financial Accounting
- FIN 125 – Intro to Finance
- FIN 323 – Investments
- We recommend that Elective courses include:
- FIN 328 – Corporate Financial Policy
Follow the ISE Major Requirements:
- Calculus requirements are automatically included:
- MATH 21 – Calculus I
- MATH 22 – Calculus II
- MATH 23 – Calculus III
- Linear Algebra requirement is automatically included:
- MATH 205 – Linear Methods
- ISE 240 – Introduction to Deterministic Optimization Models in Operations Research (in which additional Linear Algebra concepts are covered)
- Optimization requirement is automatically included:
- ISE 240 – Introduction to Deterministic Optimization Models in Operations Research
- Probability and Statistics requirements are automatically included:
- ISE 111 – Engineering Probability
- ISE 121 – Applied Engineering Statistics
- Accounting requirements are automatically included:
- ACCT 108 – Fundamentals of Accounting
- Recommended Stochastic Processes knowledge is automatically included:
- ISE 230 – Introduction to Stochastic Models in Operations Research
Additionally, follow the next requirements and consider the next recommendations:
- Elective courses must include (using six (6) out of the ISE nine (9) free elective credits):
- FIN 125 – Intro to Finance
- FIN 323 – Investments
- We recommend that Elective courses include (using three (3) out of ISE nine (9) free elective credits):
- FIN 328 – Corporate Financial Policy
- We recommend that one (1) of your ISE Technical Electives be in the area of Machine Learning or Computational Statistics (using one (1) of your required two (2) ISE Technical Electives). For example:
- ISE 364 – Introduction to Machine Learning
- ISE 365 – Applied Data Mining
- ISE 367 – Mining of Large Datasets
Acceleration During Undergraduate Studies
Undergraduate students with room in their schedules may have the opportunity to take and reserve graduate-level (or equivalent) courses during their undergraduate study. A maximum of 12 graduate-level credits is permitted to be reserved toward the 36 credits required in the MS in Financial Engineering curriculum. The catalog page provides details on how undergraduate students may petition to enroll in graduate-level courses. These courses are then to be reserved by submitting a petition for the graduate degree. Graduate-level courses may NOT be used to fulfill ANY undergraduate requirement.
Important Information for Spring Entrants to the MFE Program
In order to complete the MFE program in one year, Lehigh undergraduates who are applying to start the MFE program in the spring term must enroll in ISE 426 and reserve it towards the MFE graduate degree while they are still undergraduate students. ISE 426 is a prerequisite for ISE 447, Financial Optimization, and ISE 447 is only available in the spring semester. If ISE 426 can not be taken during your undergraduate study, the length of study for the MFE program will be 18 months.
Information on GA/TA Positions
Due to the increased number of credits per semester within the accelerated one-year master's track, undertaking half-time (20 hours per week) Teaching Assistantships and Graduate Assistantships may not be possible. Quarter-time positions (10 hours per week) may be possible by petition. Other options for allowing more assistantship hours would include extending the length of study or reducing the number of graduate credits enrolled in each term by reserving courses that will count towards the MFE degree during the undergraduate work.
3. Guaranteed Admission to the MFE Program
Any Lehigh undergraduate student graduating with a GPA of 3.0 or higher and who has taken the minimum prerequisite courses would automatically be admitted into the MFE Program for the start of the next semester after completing the requirements for an undergraduate Lehigh degree
Undergraduate students must upload a resume in the graduate application portal, confirming their intention to continue into graduate study. The admissions deposit is waived.
Please note that the program of study and availability for the master's program may change prior to your transition to the graduate program, and you will follow the requirements of the catalog year in which you formally become a graduate student. Should the program of interest become unavailable, you will be provided advising and options to pursue further academic work with Lehigh in your area of interest.
Questions? Contact our staff.
Graduate Programs Office
Email: business@lehigh.edu
Phone: 610-758-4450