Financial Engineering at Cornell University

Financial Engineering at Cornell extends from the Ithaca Campus to Wall Street. © Emmanuel Sharef

The first academic meeting in Financial Engineering took place at Cornell on May 29, 1989 bringing together many of the most prominent national and international researchers in the field of computational finance.

Two very significant events came out of this meeting:

• Mathematical Finance, the first research journal in the field was born;
• Cornell's program in financial engineering, was developed establishing Cornell as a pioneering leader in a young and emerging field

Together, Robert Jarrow and David Heath advised students for several years before formalizing the program in 1995, making Cornell one of the very first universities to have a graduate program in Financial Engineering, and arguably the oldest such program in the world.

Cornell continues to retain its leadership in the maturing field of Financial Engineering. Today, a highly active research group in mathematical finance and financial engineering spans the campus. Cornell’s strong tradition of interdisciplinary study plays an important role in Financial Engineering and includes members of the School of Operations Research & Industrial Engineering, the Johnson Graduate School of Management, the Department of Economics and the Department of Applied Economics and Management. Coursework is offered at all levels: undergraduate, masters, and Ph.D.

The School of Operations Research and Industrial Engineering is closely aligned with a variety of firms in Manhattan who sponsor research projects at Cornell, and also internships for Master of Engineering students. In December 2005, the School opened OR Manhattan, with offices at 55 Broad Street, located in the heart of the Wall Street Financial District, across from the New York Stock Exchange.  Programs and activities in Manhattan have become increasingly vibrant, leading to an extension of our Ithaca-based financial engineering programs through our “Wall Street Campus," Cornell Financial Engineering Manhattan (CFEM).

Both renowned and young researchers work in Financial Engineering. The Economics Department, the Statistics Department, the Johnson School, Applied Economics and Management, and the Center for Applied Mathematics have active researchers and Ph.D. students working in the area; resources are shared between departments. The Mathematics Department also supports the community and typically has Ph.D. students working in the area, in cooperation with Operations Research. A wealth of scholars and industry leaders present their expertise in Financial Engineering through Seminar Programs and Colloquia.

Cornell’s involvement in financial engineering extends beyond research faculty in various areas of mathematical finance. Faculty and students work closely together creating an exciting and stimulating environment.