About Computing and Financial Management | Computing and Financial Management

Computing and Financial Management (CFM) is the only undergraduate program of its kind in Canada that offers a specialized degree with majors in both computer science and finance. Combined with real-life work experience offered through cooperative education, CFM prepares students to work in the technology, finance, or financial technology industry (FinTech).

Founded in 2006, CFM is a relatively new program at the University of Waterloo with just over 180 graduates from 2011 and beyond. Learn how the CFM program came to be and take a look at the recurring success of our students and graduates with a recap of our history.

CFM: A History

2003 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023

Collection of old CFM marketing material

2003

December > Professors Peter Forsyth and Mark Giesbrecht from the Faculty of Mathematics at the Cheriton School of Computer Science and Professors Duane Kennedy and Ken Vetzal from the Faculty of Arts at the School of Accounting and Finance begin discussing notable trends in the banking and financial industry that demonstrate a strong shift toward the use of technologically-based tools and practices to support businesses. With this shift, they confess to having many talented graduates from finance or computer science programs who can support these changes but lack the formalized education to combine both areas of thought for future development. Connecting with their industry partners, the professors reaffirm this gap and the need for qualified professionals with combined computer science and financial skills. Throughout these conversations, they start working together to build the framework for a double-major degree known as Computing and Financial Management (CFM). Here begins the lengthy development of a curriculum that combines financial and computer science studies under a single Bachelor of Computing and Financial Management (BCFM) degree.

Proposals for the CFM program are submitted to the Undergraduate Academic Plan Committee (UAPC) and the Computer Science Council in the Cheriton School of Computer Science; the Undergraduate Affairs Committee in the Faculty of Mathematics; the Arts Undergraduate Affairs Group (UGAG) and the Arts Faculty Committee (AFC) in the Faculty of Arts.

2005

March > After multiple discussions and the review of drafts for the CFM program, the proposal is approved by UGAG in the Faculty of Arts.
April 14 > The CFM program is approved by the Arts Faculty Council and the Math Faculty Council.
May > The CFM program is officially approved following a decision by the Senate Undergraduate Council (SUC) in its final stages of review. It becomes the first and only program in Canada to offer a combined degree in computer science and finance. Professors Peter Forsyth (May 2005 to June 2008) and Duane Kennedy (May 2005 to December 2009) are appointed to serve as the first CFM Co-Directors for the program.

2006

March > A part-time CFM Program Manager is hired to oversee the administration of the program. The position of CFM Program Manager is first held by Colleen Morrow (March 2006 to September 2008).
August > Program brochures and flyers are developed to start promoting CFM to future students. The Co-Directors attend the Ontario Universities’ Fair (OUF) for the first time.

2007

September > Forty-four students are admitted as part of the first incoming class of CFM. The School of Accounting and Finance Living-Learning Community is offered to CFM students, allowing them to share a floor with their program peers in Village 1 residence while receiving support from a Peer Leader.

2008

March > A program review of CFM is conducted to ensure that degree expectations are matched with career needs.
May > The first co-op work term begins for CFM's first class of students.
July > Professor George Labahn is appointed CFM Co-Director (July 2008 to June 2011).
September > Bonnie Bishop serves as the Interim CFM Program Manager (September 2008 to September 2009).

2009

September > Tracy Hilpert is hired as the new CFM Program Manager (September 2009 to June 2011).

2010

January > Professor Ken Vetzal is appointed CFM Co-Director (January 2010 to June 2014).

2011

June > The CFM program welcomes its first class of 17 graduates. Bonnie Bishop begins serving as the Interim CFM Program Manager.
July > Professor Yuying Li is appointed CFM Co-Director (July 2011 to June 2013).
August > Professor David Ha is hired as the new full-time CFM Program Manager (August 2011 to June 2015).

2012

August > The Middleton Family Scholarship is awarded to its first student recipient in CFM.
September > The CFM Mentorship Program is first established to connect upper-year students with first-year students, giving the younger students a chance to receive academic guidance and discuss experiences.
December > CFM is accredited through the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) University Affiliation Program.

2013

March > Andrew George-Parkin (BCFM ’14) and his team win the Equity Research Challenge hosted by the School of Accounting and Finance. Their prize is to ring the bell in the opening ceremonies of the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) on Thursday, March 28.
May > The CFM program receives accreditation from Canada’s Association of Information (CIPS) as a University Accredited Program for I.T. professionals.
July > Linda Teng (BCFM ’14) and her team take home the winning prize of $2,000 at the inaugural Investment Research Challenge hosted by the School of Accounting and Finance. The first runner-up team is comprised of another group of CFM students (Dustin Fader, BCFM ’14 and Jing Xue, BCFM ‘18). Professor George Labahn is appointed CFM Co-Director (July 2013 to August 2018) for his second appointment term.

2014

July > Professor Alan Huang is appointed CFM Co-Director (July 2014 to July 2019). The Jim Colvin Scholarship in Computing and Financial Management is established to award one upper-year CFM student $1,200 in financial support in September of the same year.
December > Current CFM student Rongzhao and his team are selected among the 10 winning teams at Canada's largest hackathon, Hack the North, for their conceptual development of Botscape, a complex multi-player artificial intelligence game.

2015

January > A team of CFM students (Kam Dhaliwal, BCFM ’17; David Xia, BCFM ’17; and Daniel Wang, BCFM ‘16) step up to form the Investment Fund Team and showcase their financial expertise.
June > Priya Murali (BCFM ’18) and her team take home the winning prize of $2,000 at the 3^rd annual Investment Research Challenge hosted by the School of Accounting and Finance.
August > Jordyn Gray-McInnis is hired as the new CFM Program Manager (August 2015 to November 2016).

2016

November > Tian Kou begins serving as the Interim CFM Program Manager (November 2016 to May 2017).

2017

May > Tracy Hilpert begins serving as the Interim CFM Program Manager (May 2017 to July 2017).
July > Heather (Steinmetz) Shaw is hired as the new CFM Program Manager (July 2017 to December 2023).
December > The admissions target for CFM is officially increased to 45 students.

2018

January > CFM student and his team take home the gold at the Canadian University Chess Championship Competition held in Ottawa, Ontario.
May > The student-led Computing and Finance Student Association (CFSA) is formed under the Mathematics Society (MathSoc).
June > CFM student Jennifer Lo (BCFM ’18) and her team win first place at the Business Analytics Competition & Conference (BAC@MC), hosted by the O’Malley School of Business at Manhattan College in New York City.
September > CFM students and their teammates take home the $2,000 cash prize as the winners of the 2018 Investment Research Challenge. Professor Yuying Li is appointed CFM Co-Director (September 2018 to July 2019) for her second appointment term.
November > Upper-year CFM students host the first-ever CFM hackathon for first-year students as an introduction to hackathon culture and new programming languages.

2019

July > Professor James Thompson is appointed as the new CFM Co-Director (July 2019 to current). Justin Wan is appointed as the new CFM Co-Director for a two-year term (July 2019 to July 2021).

2020

March > A group of four first-year students wins the Best Mapping and Travel Hack Award at Hack the Valley. Three out of four team members are enrolled in CFM. Another CFM student, Tian, and his team take home the first place prize at the University of North Carolina’s Venture Capital Investment Competition (VCIC).
May > All students begin a fully-online academic term.
October > Senate Undergraduate Committee approves the creation of three new CFM-specific courses. CFM first-year students participate in the first-ever CFM Case Competition.
November > Upper-year CFM student, Johnson, and his team of students place first in the Schulich Strategy Discipline Case Competition.

2021

March > Heather Shaw takes a secondment in the Faculty of Math as an Undergraduate Recruitment and Admissions Officer.
May > Aziza Chaudhry takes over the CFM Program Manager role (May 2021 - March 2022).
July > Professor Justin Wan is appointed for another two-year term as CFM Co-Director (July 2021- August 2023)
September > The first CFM course is offered. CFM 101 (Introduction to Financial Markets and Data Analytics) is taken by 63 first-year CFM students and taught by Professor James Thompson both in-person and online.

2022

January > CFM 301 was offered for the first time.
May > Heather Shaw takes a 13-month maternity leave.
May > Kim Tremblay begins serving as the Interim CFM Program Manager (May 2022 to June 2023).

2023

March > CFM student Alex is named 2022 Co-op Student of the Year for the Faculty of Mathematics.
September > Professor George Labahn is appointed for another two-year term as CFM Co-Director (September 2023- present).
November > Robert Kitchen takes over as the Interim CFM Program Manager role.
December > Heather Shaw takes a 13-month maternity leave.