FRE Industry-Hosted Capstone Projects

Every semester, eligible second-year MS students in the Financial Engineering program have the opportunity to fulfill their Capstone requirement through an industry-hosted project for academic credit. These projects are an important part of the curriculum and are designed to simulate the type of problem-solving and analytical work students will encounter in the field.
 

By partnering with companies and research-driven teams, students are able to:

• Apply advanced quantitative, programming, and financial modeling skills
• Tackle real-world challenges facing the finance and technology industries
• Develop professional communication and project management skills
• Strengthen their industry exposure in a setting that is academic in nature, yet highly applicable to career development

This model serves as a mutually beneficial opportunity—students gain hands-on experience, while companies benefit from fresh perspectives and analytical support on targeted projects.

Note to Students: You will receive the list of project options and details on how to apply, deadlines, and all other information via email by Sara Tomeo DeLusant ahead of each semester that you are eligible for a capstone. As with all capstone options, you will not be eligible to participate until you have completed 18 credits in the program.

• Projects should require approximately 100–120 hours of student work
• May be structured for individual students or small teams
• Hosts should be reasonably available to provide guidance throughout
• All work must be conducted on campus; no on-site work is permitted
• Students must not receive compensation of any kind
• Projects must align with the dates of the academic semester
• Students are not considered interns or employees under this arrangement
• Students receive additional guidance from the instructor of the capstone project course and are required to complete a report at the end.

Note: To ensure the project remains educational and not employment-based, companies must comply with criteria outlined by the Department of Labor. Please review the full guidelines on the Department of Labor website.

Please reach out to the Director of Career and Industry Relations, Sara Tomeo DeLusant, to propose a project at set11@nyu.edu.

In the project proposal, you should provide:

• the specific goals of the project
• a description of the methodology that will be used to achieve the goals
• a list of deliverables & milestones throughout the semester
• a commitment to meet the students weekly
• a list of data and technology resources that are needed for this project, in consultation with the capstone advisor, Agnes Tourin.