I have a 4 year MSci in maths 1st class from Imperial. I'm looking into doing a masters in financial engineering/mathematical finance/whatever you want to call it but I'm looking for a course that offers me the ability to do a year long project. I have the idea for the project already and have done background work on it, so really I would just be doing the Msc to showcase my project and also pass whatever modules I have to complete.Does anyone know of a respected masters that has this structure? The masters I have seen so far seem to all offer short 2-3 month long projects at best.There is nothing to stop me working on the project now I suppose but it doesn't seem as professional as compared to submitting it for academic credit. Any thoughts?

fact is, your "masters project" does not merit academic credit because it's student debauchery. if you want to do a professional project, do a phd.

QuoteOriginally posted by: KackToodlesfact is, your "masters project" does not merit academic credit because it's student debauchery. if you want to do a professional project, do a phd. +1

I find 3 years too long which is why I rule out the Phd.If anyone knows of a respected masters with a substantial project component please do post and let me know.

You're far more likely to find a masters which offers a one year long project in continental Europe, they're not very common in the UK.In Switzerland, you've got EPFL Lausanne and ETH Zurich who offer such projects I believe. They are both (mostly) taught in English so well worth considering.What are your reasons for wanting to do a longer project? Make it more of a challenge? Or because you think it would give you an advantage over other MFE students? The latter would be a bad reason as it would provide no advantage whatsoever.

QuoteOriginally posted by: Orientalist666In Switzerland, you've got EPFL Lausanne and ETH Zurich who offer such projects I believe. They are both (mostly) taught in English so well worth considering.Also the Netherlands, e.g. UU (Utrecht), UvA (Amsterdam), Twente... All have MSc programs with 1-year research projects and are entirely in English.

QuoteOriginally posted by: twiceasniceI find 3 years too long which is why I rule out the Phd. any project that can be done by a newbie within a year is not worth the paper it's written on. it's like never having played soccer before, and then thinking you can compete professionally by practicing for only 1 year. No chance.

QuoteOriginally posted by: KackToodlesQuoteOriginally posted by: twiceasniceI find 3 years too long which is why I rule out the Phd. any project that can be done by a newbie within a year is not worth the paper it's written on. it's like never having played soccer before, and then thinking you can compete professionally by practicing for only 1 year. No chance. Similarly a phd without 1.5 years course work and 2 to 3 years research is pretty much worthless.Acquisition of knowledge is not well suited to instant gratification.

QuoteOriginally posted by: kiwimanQuoteOriginally posted by: Orientalist666In Switzerland, you've got EPFL Lausanne and ETH Zurich who offer such projects I believe. They are both (mostly) taught in English so well worth considering.Also the Netherlands, e.g. UU (Utrecht), UvA (Amsterdam), Twente... All have MSc programs with 1-year research projects and are entirely in English.I went onto the websites of those universiities and as far as I can see the Msc programs all have short projects not 1-year research projects?QuoteOriginally posted by: Orientalist666You're far more likely to find a masters which offers a one year long project in continental Europe, they're not very common in the UK.In Switzerland, you've got EPFL Lausanne and ETH Zurich who offer such projects I believe. They are both (mostly) taught in English so well worth considering.What are your reasons for wanting to do a longer project? Make it more of a challenge? Or because you think it would give you an advantage over other MFE students? The latter would be a bad reason as it would provide no advantage whatsoever.Same with ETH as above.I wanted to a longer project because I did a year long project at Imperial and I learnt so much from it. QuoteOriginally posted by: KackToodlesQuoteOriginally posted by: twiceasniceI find 3 years too long which is why I rule out the Phd. any project that can be done by a newbie within a year is not worth the paper it's written on. it's like never having played soccer before, and then thinking you can compete professionally by practicing for only 1 year. No chance. So the 3 month projects aren't worth the paper they are written on either then according to your logic. Nobody said anything about competing professionally after only 1 years practice, you are very presumptious.Thanks for the responses all.

QuoteOriginally posted by: twiceasniceSo the 3 month projects aren't worth the paper they are written on either then according to your logic. righto, three months are not worth crap. i used to grade 3 month student papers and gave them all A's so the students have instant gratification. But it's gratification withOUT education, just like masterbation is gratification without sex.

QuoteOriginally posted by: twiceasniceI went onto the websites of those universiities and as far as I can see the Msc programs all have short projects not 1-year research projects?I assumed that by 1 year you meant 1 academic year, not 12 months fulltime which you'd be hard pressed to find anywhere.QuoteOriginally posted by: twiceasniceThe masters I have seen so far seem to all offer short 2-3 month long projects at best.At ETH it's 3-8 months. At Twente it's a 2 year program where the entire second year is for a Masters thesis project and that's the same for the other Dutch Unis. In many places they are a bit flexible if you'd like more time in order to deliver a larger project.

Same with EPFL: http://sif.epfl.ch/page83173.htmlTheir masters program is two years long and you can do a 6 month thesis as part of an internship, but I guess you could start working on it during the summer between the first and second year.

twice, Even though your masters thesis might only be 2-3 month long in the academic calender, you could always start working on it earlier. I'm starting an MSc this fall which has a 2-3 month thesis, but I've been shopping for a topic for over a month now, I plan to nail something down by the time school starts in August, so I'll be working (part time of course) throughout the academic year. While I agree with kack that a master's thesis could never be as substantial as a PhD, I can't imagine that there's anything to stop me(or you) from doing some interesting work that might be slightly useful.