The Value of a Masters in Finance: A Deep Dive into Carnegie Mellon University’s Computational Finance Program
If you’re interested in a career in finance, one of the best ways to start it is with a masters in finance. And what better metric to judge your potential in the industry than by how much you could earn?
The employment report for Carnegie Mellon University’s Masters of Science in Computational Finance was released yesterday. It showed that the highest potential total compensation attained by graduates from the program this year was $550k – comprised of $200k in salaries, $100k in sign-on bonuses, and $250k in performance-related bonuses.
Although the $550k was the very maximum, median pay for Carnegie’s course graduates was around $194k, on average. It helped that more than half went into well paid jobs in quantitative research or development, and another 12% went into sales & trading. 5% went into portfolio management.
Employer Choice Matters
The choice of employer also helped. The most popular destinations for graduates from the program were Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank, and JPMorgan, in that order. More than half of the computational finance program who went to these banks were doing something quant-y, such as quantitative research or strategy.
Carnegie Mellon University charges $69k in tuition per year. It estimates that students will spend around $35k – $40k on other costs while attending. The tuition figure alone is much higher than rival programs such as Baruch’s master of financial engineering course, which charges local (New York resident) students just $29k per year in tuition, and out-of state (including international) students $42k per year. Baruch’s graduates earned $225k on average a year after graduation in 2025.
Although the best-paid graduates from Carnegie Mellon’s program are eye-wateringly well-paid, most are not, really. While the median graduate earned around $194k, that was below what a top MBA graduate earned. At Stanford, for example, the median finance salary for an MBA graduate was $200k. Average bonuses were around $150k on top of that.
Conclusion
Overall, pursuing a masters in computational finance from Carnegie Mellon University can lead to lucrative career opportunities in the finance industry. The program’s strong reputation, high earning potential, and top-tier employer placements make it a desirable choice for aspiring finance professionals.
For more information on the Masters in Computational Finance program at Carnegie Mellon University, visit here.
