How a dual degree prepared me for a career in finance

Sponsored by Tsinghua University 

A dual degree allows students study their degree at more than one school. Students spend one year of their two-year programme at the main school, and the second academic year at a partner school, gaining two separate degrees at two schools. 

Tsinghua University in mainland China offers a range of dual degree programmes in partnership with prestigious universities around the world.  

Tsinghua alumnus Mingyu Zhang completed the dual degree to help him progress in his career as a derivatives trader. As part of the two-year programme, Mingyu Zhang achieved an MBA at Tsinghua University and a master’s in operations research at Columbia University in the US. 

TopMBA spoke to Mingyu about how the dual degree helped him in his career. 

Before deciding to study the dual degree programme at Tsinghua, Mingyu had already started building his career. He worked as a quantitative analyst in a hedge fund.  

Having completed a bachelor’s in engineering, Mingyu used his strengths in technology, quantitative analysis and modelling to progress his career in finance.  

However, Mingyu faced challenges when trying to explain complex, technical terms to some of his clients. He wanted to improve both his financial knowledge and soft skills to further his career.  

The dual degree at Tsinghua University was an obvious choice for Mingyu, who wanted to take advantage of the connections and opportunities offered by a top university in China but also wanted to experience studying abroad.  

Tsinghua University is one of the most renowned institutions in China with a century's history. Studying at Tsinghua means accessing the great students, reputed alumni, and top industry resources in China. The dual degree provided by The Tsinghua Global MBA program is partnered with the top universities worldwide such as Columbia University, MIT, and HEC.  

The dual MBA combined the management practice from Tsinghua’s MBA with the technical expertise in financial engineering at Columbia. This enabled Mingyu to enter the derivatives trading industry after graduation. 

What stood out to Mingyu is how students can engage with each other and integrate with the differences around them. Mingyu benefited from the diversity of Tsinghua’s global MBA, which boasts 80 students from 15 countries in one cohort.  

 “I opened my mind and got used to working with people from different countries and industries through intensive interaction and teamwork,” he said.  

The combination of the MBA at Tsinghua University and the master’s in operation research at Columbia meant that Mingyu was able to become a much more well-rounded professional. “In my daily work, I gained a competitive advantage based on combined strength of the technical expertise and general business,” he said.