École Polytechnique and HEC Paris launch a Data & Finance double degree

Taught in partnership by École Polytechnique and HEC Paris, the Data Science & Finance program offers a dual expertise combining data science and finance. It is aimed at students from all over the world who have studied engineering, management, economics, or science and mathematics, and who wish to widen their skills and expand their professional opportunities. For the start of the 2023 academic year, 20 students will be selected.

This double degree, taught entirely in English, is scheduled over two years. The first year takes place at École Polytechnique and focuses on data science, with courses in statistics, probability, regression, and classification, as well as more focused modules on optimization, machine learning, and in particular deep learning, with hands-on training in hard skills using the programming languages Python and R. Financial markets and the digital processing of financial data are also beginning to be covered.

In the second year, students join the Master in Finance (MiF) program at HEC Paris. After a generalist first semester, designed to train on all areas of finance, both corporate finance and financial markets, the second semester offers an optional specialization dedicated to data and finance, with courses covering new frontiers such as Blockchain, algorithms and artificial intelligence applied to finance, as well as technological regulation in the financial sector.

The Data & Finance program provides excellent training: the HEC-X association has already proven its worth with the MScT Data Science For Business, which is ranked 1st in Europe and 3rd in the world in the QS Business Masters ranking, while the HEC Paris MiF has been at the top of the Financial Times world rankings for over a decade.

This double degree also offers students personalized courses, corresponding as closely as possible to their professional aspirations and combining not only theoretical courses given by researchers, but also practical courses thanks to the interventions of professionals.

« "This new program is further proof of the excellent complementarity of École Polytechnique and HEC Paris. The dual expertise in data science and finance, which is unprecedented in the world of higher education, will be an asset for our students and will enable them to develop skills that are highly sought after by employers," said Erwan Le Pennec, professor in the Department of Applied Mathematics at École Polytechnique.

"We are very proud to launch this ambitious program jointly with our partners at École Polytechnique. It combines the technical expertise and academic excellence of the best engineering School in France and the best master's degree in finance in the world," added Olivier Bossard, professor of finance and director of the MiF at HEC Paris.