The UC Berkeley Haas Master of Financial Engineering (MFE) is a one-year, full-time quant finance degree at the Haas School of Business in Berkeley, California, and classes start in January, with no fall entry. For the next class, labeled Spring 2028 and starting in January 2028, you apply in one of four rounds from December 1, 2026 to July 1, 2027, and you'll need a GRE or GMAT score unless you'll hold a PhD before you start or have a four-year US bachelor's with a GPA of 3.70 or higher.
I'm Fiona Taft, founder and CEO of QuantMinds, former Executive Director of UC Berkeley's MFE program and former Associate Director at Stanford University. Program details come from UC Berkeley's official pages, checked October 2026. For the advice that applies to every program, start with my guide on how to choose a quant master's program.
Berkeley MFE at a glance
| Detail | Berkeley MFE |
|---|---|
| Degree | Master of Financial Engineering, from the Haas School's Fong MFE Program |
| Length and format | One year, full-time and on campus, or two years in the Flex option, online or on campus |
| Start | January. Spring 2028 entry starts in January 2028 |
| Class size | 84 students in the class entering 2025 |
| Spring 2028 rounds | December 1, 2026, January 27, 2027, April 1, 2027 and July 1, 2027 |
| Tests | GRE or GMAT required, with two exceptions |
| Application fee | $275, non-refundable |
| Cost | $98,036 in program and university fees for the class entering January 2027 |
Deadlines and when you'd start
Each round closes at 9 a.m. Eastern time, says Berkeley's admissions page. Late applications are taken until July 15, 2027 if space is left, decisions are posted about nine weeks after each round's deadline, and Berkeley's FAQ says spots fill up as each deadline passes.
You'd start in January 2028 because the application for the class beginning January 12, 2027 has already closed, and the academic calendar doesn't list dates for the January 2028 class yet. Berkeley says it'll reopen the application later this year, so the form may not be live when you look.
What Berkeley asks for
You need the equivalent of a four-year US bachelor's degree, finished before the program starts, and Berkeley usually expects at least a 3.0 in upper division work. A three-year bachelor's from India needs a two-year master's on top.
Prerequisites
The prerequisites page suggests these courses.
- Calculus, two courses, through multivariable calculus
- Linear algebra, one course
- Partial differential equations, one course
- Statistics, two courses in advanced statistics or econometrics
- Numerical analysis, one course
- Finance, two courses or equivalent work experience
- English writing or speech, one course or equivalent work experience
- Programming, with hands-on C++ or Python experience from a job or academic projects
Each course should earn a B or higher. You can apply with a clear plan to finish them before the program starts, and the application asks which ones you'll take. Some applicants are admitted on condition they complete recommended courses first.
Tests
Berkeley requires the GRE or GMAT, with scores valid for five years. It's optional only if you'll hold a PhD before you start or have a four-year US bachelor's with a cumulative GPA of 3.70 or higher, not rounded up, and even then the committee can ask for a score.
If your degree is from a country where English isn't the official language, you'll need a TOEFL iBT of at least 90 or an IELTS overall band of at least 7, and Berkeley doesn't accept Duolingo. A year of full-time study at a US university with grades of B or better exempts you.
Letters, essays, video and interviews
Berkeley's application process page sets out the rest.
- Letters. Two, from a supervisor, project leader or instructor who can speak to how you apply your quantitative skills. Letters from co-workers, tutors, friends or family aren't accepted, and your file isn't reviewed until both arrive.
- Essays. Essay questions plus Supplemental Information questions, and you answer them all. They must be your own work, prepared without help from third parties, and Berkeley screens them with anti-plagiarism software.
- Video essay. Up to two minutes, with two attempts to record it.
- Interviews. By invitation only, so don't ask. The interviewers aren't on the admissions committee and don't decide your admission, and they may ask about any prerequisite or anything on your resume.
What's distinctive about the program
Curriculum
The MFE sits inside the Haas School of Business, so you learn computational finance in a business and economics context. After a one-week orientation, you take four eight-week terms and complete 28 units. The curriculum covers stochastic calculus, derivatives, empirical methods, fixed income, financial data science in Python, and risk management, plus electives such as Deep Learning for Finance. In the Applied Finance Project, your team takes on a real finance problem with faculty guidance and writes and presents a paper on it.
Internship
An internship of 10 to 12 weeks, or an approved on-site project, is required to graduate. It runs either from late May to early August or from mid-October to mid-January, and you do only one. Berkeley doesn't guarantee internships, but the program office helps with career direction, your resume and interviews from orientation.
Flex option
The two-year Flex option lets you keep working, with 2 to 6 units a term, online or on campus. Flex students can't get an F-1 visa through Berkeley and must come to campus at least twice, for orientation and an in-person exam.
Pre-program courses
Berkeley runs three 30-hour online pre-program courses in math, statistics and Python, open to anyone. This fall's sessions began in early October 2026, at $1,995 a course or $1,595 for admitted students, and later dates aren't listed yet. Berkeley asks you to plan on taking all three on top of the prerequisites, and its FAQ says it looks at the results in admissions.
What it costs
Spring 2028 figures aren't posted yet. For the class entering in January 2027, the Haas Financial Aid Office's cost of attendance page lists program and university fees of $98,036, including $95,353 in tuition, and an estimated total of $126,510 with health insurance, books and living costs. The living estimate covers instruction dates only, not breaks or the internship, and Berkeley suggests budgeting up to $5,000 more for pre-program courses.
Funding is mostly loans, though every candidate is considered for a partial-tuition Merit Scholarship, with no application needed. For US citizens and permanent residents, Haas notes that Grad PLUS loans end for new borrowers from July 1, 2026, leaving federal Direct Unsubsidized Loans of up to $20,500 a year.
Where graduates go
Berkeley's employment report for the Class of 2025 shows 70 graduates looking for full-time jobs, and 67 received and accepted offers. The mean base salary was $148,318, the median $150,000 and the median signing bonus $40,000.
- Industries. 31% investment banking, 28% asset management, 19% hedge funds and 12% trading
- Roles. 55% in portfolio management, quant research and analysis, and 12% in trading
- Locations. 60% on the US East Coast, 10% in California and 13% outside the US
Recent hiring firms include BlackRock, Goldman Sachs, Jump Trading, Millennium, Morgan Stanley, Optiver, Point72 and Squarepoint.
How I'd approach a Berkeley application
Start with the job you want, not the school. Know whether you're aiming at quant research, trading or development and which firms, then read Berkeley's hiring list and role mix against them. If you're unsure of the path, read our guide to choosing between QR, QT and QD.
Then look hard at your math. Berkeley's list goes past calculus and linear algebra to partial differential equations and numerical analysis, and stochastic calculus starts in your first eight weeks. If you've never taken econometrics, I'd add it, since it counts toward the statistics line. There's more on the math you actually need to break into quant finance.
Berkeley prefers work experience but doesn't require it. If you're coming straight from undergrad, get at least one internship behind you, because programs want to see you're employable. And if you qualify for the test waiver but have a strong GRE quant score, I'd still send it, because it backs up your math.
Make the essays about Berkeley, naming the courses, the internship window you'd aim for and the career you want afterward, and write every word yourself. Practice the video, but don't script it, because reading off a screen shows.
Finally, apply in the earliest round where your application is complete. There's no prize for being early with a weak file.
Frequently asked questions
What GRE score do I need for the Berkeley MFE?
Berkeley doesn't publish a minimum. It expects its most successful applicants to score in the 90th percentile on the quant section, its class entering 2025 averaged the 91st, and it suggests a retake if you're well below its averages.
Is the Berkeley MFE STEM designated?
Yes. Berkeley's recruiter page says it's STEM-OPT eligible, so F-1 graduates can apply for the 24-month STEM extension of their post-graduation work permission, and a Berkeley International Office memo classifies it as Financial Mathematics, a field on the federal STEM list.
Can I defer my Berkeley MFE admission?
No. You'd reapply, and Berkeley keeps your scores, transcripts and letters for a year, though admission one year doesn't guarantee a place the next.
Get a second opinion
If you'd like another set of eyes on whether Berkeley fits your goals or which round to aim for, request a free Discovery Session, a Zoom session with one of our coaches, and we'll work through it together.
Header photo by John Loo, via Wikimedia Commons, licensed CC BY 2.0, cropped and with the UC Berkeley logo added.
