Financial Economics

Program Overview

The Department of Economics, in collaboration with the Rotman School of Management, offers a full-time professional Master of Financial Economics (MFE).

The four-semester (F/W/S/F) MFE program consists of three semesters (F/W/F) of cross-disciplinary graduate-level course-work at Rotman and the Department of Economics as well as a mandatory internship at a financial institution in the summer (third) semester. The MFE program’s unique academic-experiential curriculum means that MFE students:

1. Take MBA-level courses at Canada’s top Business School (such as: Corporate Financing, Options & Futures, Advanced Derivatives, Security and Portfolio Analysis)
2. Take graduate courses at Canada’s top Economics Department (such as: Financial Econometrics, Risk Management, Financial-Economics)
3. Gain real-life work experience at top financial institutions – all students must do a paid internship at a financial institution

For over two decades, the MFE program has consistently produced financiers renowned for their acumen, grit, and “fit” and has a solid track-record of placing students in a wide range of careers ranging from investment banking, corporate banking, sales + trading, private equity, and asset/portfolio management to economic/strategy consulting, hedge funds, public sectors, and risk management.

​The MFE program is best suited for students with strong quantitative background and undergraduate degree in finance, economics, commerce, math, or statistics. Due to the highly competitive applicant pool, the MFE program admits applicants on a rolling basis and strongly recommends that candidates apply as soon as possible.

Quick Facts

Master of Financial Economics​

Minimum Admission Requirements

• Applicants are admitted under the General Regulations of the School of Graduate Studies. Applicants must also satisfy the program's additional admission requirements stated below.

• Applicants must have completed or must be in the final year of an appropriate bachelor's degree program from a recognized university, with a B+ standing in the final year of that program.

• Strong preparation in economics, including full-year courses in intermediate-level micro and macro theory, and full-year university-level courses in each of calculus and statistics.

• Evidence of strong communication skills, both oral and written.

• Relevant work experience and/or previous training in finance is useful but not required.

Achievement of the minimum requirements does not guarantee acceptance into the program. Preference is given to students who have completed, with high standing, advanced-level courses in any or all of economics, mathematics, and econometrics/statistics.

Program Requirements

Students must complete:

• an intensive mathematics, statistics, and accounting review.

• 6.0 full-course equivalents (FCEs) or 12 half courses as follows:

  • 2.0 FCEs from the Department of Economics. These core courses are the same as those required for the MA degree in Economics plus ECO 2503H Financial Economics I.

  • 1.5 FCEs from the Rotman School drawn from the second-year MBA-level courses to provide students with training in key areas of finance. These core courses are: RSM 2306H Options and Futures Markets, RSM 2300H Corporate Financing, RSM 2302H Security Analysis and Portfolio Management.

  • 2.5 FCEs in electives from either the Department of Economics or the Rotman School, subject to the condition that at least 1.5 out of the 2.5 elective FCEs must be taken from the Department of Economics. Students may choose from a long list of elective courses offered at the graduate level in Economics or the second-year MBA level (or higher) from the Rotman School, subject to availability.

• a four-month summer internship.

Program Length

4 sessions full-time (typical registration sequence: F/W/S/F)

Time Limit

3 years full-time