Applied Projects
Apply Your MQE Training Before You Graduate
As an MQE student, you’ll have the opportunity to apply your data analytics and economic research skills to help corporate partners solve business challenges. Under the guidance of a project coach and industry professionals, MQE students work in small teams to conduct research and analysis regarding a specific business problem and then present recommendations to company executives.
Applied projects give you the chance to put your classroom knowledge to work on real business challenges. You’ll collaborate with a team, engage with industry professionals, and apply tools like data analysis, forecasting, and research in a practical setting.
- Build hands-on experience with real organizations
- Strengthen your resume with project-based work
- Develop teamwork, communication, and problem-solving skills
- Explore potential career paths and industry interests
- Make connections with professionals in your field
Applied projects have covered a range of industries, including automotive, finance, clean energy, consumer packaged goods, and technology.
Inside an MQE Applied Project
Explore how MQE students apply data-driven analysis to real-world challenges through hands-on projects with industry partners. Below are two examples showcasing the scope, impact, and skills developed through our applied project experience.
Students partnered with Sustento Group to analyze the economic and social impact of expanding access to air conditioning. Using data-driven methods, the team evaluated how increased cooling access affects public health, productivity, and overall economic outcomes.
“Mitigating climate change is something I care about, and I really valued learning from Sustento. Seeing Sustento’s genuine passion for developing an impactful plan for Los Angeles’s vulnerable community, and being able to assist them with the research and data analytics skills I picked up from the MQE was deeply inspiring.”
– Shubheksha Khare – 2nd year MQE Student
Watch the Sustento Group presentation to see how students approached the project and shared their findings.
MQE partnered with Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LA Metro) on a project where students applied their quantitative training to real-world challenges with meaningful public impact, moving beyond theory and into hands-on, applied problem solving.
“Working with MQE students from UCLA has allowed Metro to advance an update to our transit data that will be helpful to both our everyday customers and those visiting for upcoming events like the World Cup and Olympics. It’s been great to have students who are both eager to learn and can apply their specialized understanding of data lifecycle processes.”
– Lauren Deaderick (she/her), Sr Director, Special Projects Customer Experience
What Students Are Saying
What I value most about the program are the applied projects. I have had the opportunity to participate in two projects, which have significantly enriched my resume and provided me with hands-on experience in data analysis and finance. One of these projects focused on cryptocurrency and introduced me to the world of blockchain technology, while the other project involves creating a location optimization model. These experiences have allowed me to leverage my statistical and data analytical skills, which I find extremely valuable.
- Hiba Farhan, MQE '2024
For our applied project, my team analyzed energy-use data from buildings throughout Los Angeles to present recommendations for sustainable retrofits. The company sponsor, Sustento Group, extended a job offer to me at the end of the project, and I will be joining them following my graduation. I encourage future MQE students to take advantage of this incredible opportunity.”
– Ben Graf, MQE '21
The applied projects are an invaluable experience that allow students to gain real-world experience in our field, and this was unique to the MQE which really made it stand out to me.
- Yusra Fayyaz, MQE '2024
Collaborating on the Applied Project with SumZero proved to be a great opportunity for me to work with my fellow classmates, use complex machine learning algorithms and practice my business presentation skills!"
- Aneri Patel, MQE '22
My applied project enhanced my overall MQE learning experience and led to an internship opportunity in Los Angeles. I highly recommend future MQE students take advantage of this important opportunity.”
– Mingyuan Li, MQE '22
In the applied project, my team constructed an ensemble model of ML to make a portfolio by analyzing data on a buyside investment platform. The project gave me the opportunity to enhance my data processing and data analysis skills, and utilize a more sophisticated machine learning method with real world data.”
- Zhixuan Li, MQE '22
For the applied business project, my team developed an empirical strategy to calculate the payoff of a new customer for a cybersecurity firm and presented business recommendations to increase the future win rate of sales. This has been a great experience for me to apply the technical skills and theoretical knowledge I gained during my study, to a real-world business problem."
- Roya Latifi, MQE '21
For the applied project, my team performed predictive analysis on 40,000+ buildings in Los Angeles to identify total cost savings and investment costs provided buildings comply under specific HVAC requirements. It was an invaluable experience that taught me many skills that I will carry into my professional career."
- Madelyn Caufield, MQE '22
My team analyzed a complex dataset to recommend strategies to increase ad revenue. I learned so much from my interaction with company executives and our faculty coach. I really appreciate this valuable opportunity to immerse myself in real-world business problems and make real impact."
- Yiheng An, MQE '22
Unlike more common time series analysis for stock return prediction, my team combined text engineering and machine learning to conduct portfolios that give a higher rate of return than the S&P. Rolling Window for Training and Testing split was used to ensure that the algorithms will work well in real-world. This applied project helped me step up my practical knowledge of Python, practice my business presentation skills and enhance cultural competence."
- Tanaporn Sriklay, MQE '22
Collaborate with MQE: Real Business Solutions for Your Organization
Our Diverse, Global Student Body Brings Data-Driven Thinking and Fresh Insights to Your Team
Partner with UCLA’s Master of Quantitative Economics (MQE) students on short-term applied research or business projects that address your organization’s unique needs. Under the guidance of a project coach, student teams can support:
- Data analysis & visualization
- Competitive & market research
- Risk assessment
- Forecasting & modeling
- Strategic insights based on your business question
Open to organizations of all sizes and sectors. No cost to participate.
How it Works
Intro Call
Discuss your organization’s challenge and explore fit
Project Scope
Define scope, data needs, and deliverables
Engagement
Student team works on project & present deliverables at the end of the term
Checkpoints
Meet at project kickoff, midpoint, and final presentation
What We Ask from You
To support a successful experience, we ask partners to:
- Share a clear business challenge or applied research question
- Offer insights and expertise on the business problem or applied project
- Provide relevant data or resources that will aid in analysis
- Offer guidance, coaching and respond to student questions
- Meet with students at key milestones
Success Stories: From Project to Hire
Examples of past projects include sales optimization analysis for a cybersecurity company, wealth mapping data visualization for an investment management firm, and website conversion analysis for a digital marketing agency. Through this exciting program, many of our corporate partners have hired MQE students following their applied projects—either to implement the recommendations developed during the project or to continue and expand on the work beyond the project timeline. These outcomes reflect the quality of our students’ work and the real-world value they bring to organizations. The continued collaboration between partners and students highlights the long-term impact and success of these hands-on experiences.
You can hear directly from past partners on our Employers page.
Alumnus, Sam Borghese, shares his applied project experience and why applied projects are so impactful.