Admission Requirements

In order to apply for the MSc Quantitative Finance you have to fulfill the requirements for application and to prove your aptitude for the program. In case one or more of the required proofs are missing, your application has to be rejected.

If you are interested in more than one program you must apply for all programs at the same time and order your preferences according to first choice, second choice, etc. Please note that individual program applications may require different information and documents.

Please note: It is not necessary to have completed your first degree program at the time of application, proof of completion of your program is not required until actual enrollment. Nevertheless, the requirements listed below have to be documented within the uploaded documents.

1. Relevant Bachelor's program:

Completion of or enrollment in a relevant degree program at a recognized Austrian or foreign post-secondary institution. Prerequisites for the Master’s Program include:

• The program must comprise at least 180 ECTS credits (corresponding to three academic years).

• Business administration / economics / finance, worth a minimum of 60 ECTS credits OR

• Mathematics / statistics / computing, worth a minimum of 45 ECTS credits

The Bachelor Programs in Business, Economics and Social Sciences (BAWISO) and Business and Economics (BBE) at Vienna University of Economics and Business fulfill the prerequisites.

2. Achievement potential
(how to show your achievement potential below):

• Mandatory: Statement of purpose (see paragraph 3 ("Guidelines on how to write a statement of purpose")

• Valid GMAT Exam / valid GMAT Online Exam (Please allow enough time for test registration and evaluation. The official confirmation of your result, which you must upload, takes up to twenty days.) and/or

• Valid Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) and/or

• Letters of recommendation in a relevant field such as Math/Stats/Economics written by a course teacher, a supervisor of an academic thesis, or the educational institution at which the course or courses were attended or the academic thesis was written, detailing your achievement potential (e.g. letters from a course teacher in Marketing does not make any sense).

• Letter of reference from your employer (only if you're currently working in a program-related field or internship)

• Please do not provide any other reference letters.

3. Guidelines on how to write a statement of purpose (please note that a SoP is mandatory in addition to your other documents)

Please answer the following questions at least in your SoP (max. two (2) pages):

• What is your main motivation factor for the program?

• Why are you qualified for the Quantitative Finance program?

• What previous knowledge have you already gained in the field of finance/economics?

• What previous knowledge have you already gained in the areas of mathematics/statistics?

• Give at least one example where you were able to demonstrate your soft skills (e.g. at university, at work).

• How would you resolve a problem when one of your teams colleagues participates less in group works?

• How do you cope working with someone you are not compatible with?

4. Sufficient proficiency in English:

• English as first language

• A full English-taught bachelor’s program (at least 3 years) or master’s program (at least 2 years); a confirmation from the university is required to prove that the completed program was taught in English. Please note that only an exchange semester or year in an English speaking country or with courses taught in English is not sufficient.
  To be considered official the document has to be stamped and signed by your university.

• Full master's program done in English (at least two years, university confirmation required)

• One of the following valid certificates (official or unofficial test report): TOEFL iBT 100 or higher, TOEFL IBT Home Edition 100 or higher, IELTS 7.0 or higher (academic or online indicator version), Cambridge English: CAE (Certificate of Advanced English), Oxford Test of English (minimum 150 points, C1), CPE (Certificate of Proficiency in English) or BEC Higher (Business English Certificate Higher), UNIcert III

• A certificate from a university language center confirming the applicant has achieved level C1 according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. The certificate has to prove that you took one or more tests to assess your reading, writing, listening and speaking skills. These skills should correspond to level C1 or higher according to the CEFR. Course transcripts or confirmations about your overall language skills or certain language courses will NOT be accepted as proof of your language skills. If you are not sure whether your language certificate fulfils these criteria, please submit one of the standardized tests mentioned above.

• Other documents equivalent to the forms of proof specified in items above

• Graduates of WU’s Bachelor´s program in Business and Economics; Bachelor´s program in Business Law and Bachelor´s program in Business, Economics and Social Sciences already fulfill this requirement.

5. Further skills and knowledge

• Skills and knowledge in business administration / economics / finance (proof of documents such as CFA)

• Skills and knowledge in mathematics / statistics (proof of documents such as programming courses (e.g. R), Data/Text Mining)