Next program starts January 27, 2027; two cohorts a year (January and June); fees shown for the January 2027 cohort. source
A six-month, part-time online certificate run by Fitch Learning, priced at roughly $23,000 to $25,000 for US applicants. It suits bank and asset-management staff whose employer pays and who want a recognized derivatives and risk credential; it is not an interview-prep course for Jane Street or Citadel Securities. Before paying, get the installment contract and the refund terms in writing, since the public fees page lists neither.
The facts
| Category | Quant and trading prep, Breaking into finance tech |
|---|---|
| Website | cqf.com |
| Based | London, UK · founded 2003 |
| Format | online-live, online-self-paced |
| Programs | Full CQF (Level 1 + Level 2), Level 1 (primers + modules 1-3), Level 2 (modules 4-6 + lifelong learning) |
| Length | 26 weeks (Six months part-time for the full program, or two three-month levels; six core modules, two advanced electives, three exams and a capstone project.) verified |
| Tuition | $22,995 to $24,995 US fees for January 2027: full program $22,995 before Oct 1, 2026; $23,995 before Dec 3, 2026; $24,995 after. Level 1 or Level 2 alone: $12,695 / $13,095 / $13,495 on the same schedule. verified |
| Financing | upfront, installments, scholarship, employer Fees page: full program 24-month plan (deposit plus 23 monthly installments); single level 11-month plan (deposit plus 10 installments); 'student scholarships are also available'; details via a 'Learning Manager'. No refund terms on the fees page. |
| Admission | basic assessment Application with a Learning Manager; online primers in math, Python and finance before the start. No formal prerequisites listed on the public pages. |
| Stack | Python, stochastic calculus, derivatives pricing, portfolio and risk, machine learning, deep learning, quant strategies |
Outcomes
This program does not publish job-placement or salary outcomes. Treat any number you hear from admissions as unverifiable.
Interview-prep depth
1 / 5
Public pages describe resume clinics and career events; the syllabus is derivatives, risk and ML theory, not interview drills.
Job support: light. Site: 'tailored career support, exclusive job, and resume clinics', career events, and CQF Institute membership after graduation. No mock interviews or placement figures published.
Whatever the program covers, the interview itself is free to prepare for here: coding patterns, system design, practice prompts, company guides.
What a careful reader should know
Founded by Paul Wilmott in 2003; awarded by the CQF Institute, part of Fitch Learning (Fitch Group). Site claims 11,500+ delegates and alumni. The $23,000 to $25,000 US fee is in the range of a one-year master's at a public university, with no degree at the end. r/quant threads on whether it is worth it are skeptical about its weight with top-tier trading firms; it is most often described as a credential for people already in finance.
Third-party signals: Reddit sentiment mixed. Graduation-time star ratings are collected by the schools; weigh them accordingly.
Sources (4)
This directory takes no lead fees or placement payments from any program. Where a program runs an affiliate scheme we say so on its page and mark the link. Facts carry a badge: verified means we read it on a primary source on the date shown, reported means a third party said it, unknown means nobody we trust has published it.
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