Beginning this fall the Viterbi School will offer a Master of Science program in Financial Engineering, along with short courses in special topics this summer.  The program is available both on the USC campus and online via the Viterbi School’s Distance Education Network (DEN).

“Engineers have been applying their mathematical and other skills to financial problems for years,” said Kelly Goulis, Viterbi School Associate Dean for Master’s and Professional Programs. “Viterbi will be the place to learn and teach these ’quant‘ disciplines.” The Viterbi School will partner with the USC Marshall School of Business on the curriculum.

Financial Engineering is the application of mathematical and engineering methods and software tools to the solution of risk management problems in finance.

The M.S. program uses tools from finance and economics, engineering, computer science, applied mathematics and statistics to address problems such as derivative securities valuation, strategic planning and dynamic investment strategies, and risk management, which are of interest to investment and commercial banks, trading companies, hedge funds, insurance companies, corporate risk managers and regulatory agencies.

In addition to the M.S. degree, MAPP will offer three short courses this summer and fall, in collaboration with the Institute of Industrial Engineers. Courses include “From Engineer to Manager” (July 20-22, 2009), “Financial Management for Engineers” (August 5-7, 2009) and “Lean Enterprise I” (October 26-28, 2009).

“We look forward to being a leader in this exciting application of the engineering discipline, “said Goulis. “The innovative delivery system that USC’s Distance Education Network (DEN) provides is ideally suited to respond to the needs of engineers who are fully employed and want to earn their M.S. degree at the same time.”

About the Viterbi Master’s and Professional Programs:
In 2006, the Viterbi School created a new division of Master’s and Professional Programs, making the continuing education of engineering professionals a top priority. This division’s is responsible for the implementation of Master of Science programs, short courses, specialized  custom courses, and certificate programs More information is available on the division homepage at http://viterbi.usc.edu/admission/graduate/mapp/