Join NUSA

Become part of Northeastern's premier quantitative finance community

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Why Apply?

NUSA’s JRAP program (Junior Research Analyst Program) is a 4-month intensive, academy-style curriculum covering finance foundations, programming fundamentals, mathematical concepts, and advanced quantitative finance topics. You’ll learn how quants manage risk, how portfolio managers build trading algorithms, and gain deep technical insight into market mechanics.

JRAP members receive exclusive access to industry speaker events, networking socials, game nights, and office hours—culminating in becoming a quantitative research analyst in our QR track or quantitative developer in our QD track, where you'll participate in a real quant research or development as an official NUSA Researcher. No prior finance or advanced math knowledge is required—just a smart, passionate mindset and basic programming familiarity.

Hands-On Projects

Algorithm development & risk management exercises to hone your skills

Continuing Development

Oppurtunity to participate in a live quant research or development project the following semester

Workshops and Resources

Exclusive industry speakers, game nights, office hours, and technical workshops

Choose Your Track After JRAP

Quantitative Researcher

Available Fall 2025

As a QR you’ll join one of our research pods:

  • Lead alpha-generating research projects
  • Develop and backtest statistical models
  • Construct and optimize multi-factor portfolios
  • Present findings to club leadership & industry partners

Quantitative Developer

Coming Spring 2026

As a QD you’ll build the engines behind our research:

  • Design robust data ingestion pipelines
  • Implement backtesting and execution frameworks
  • Automate risk-reporting and live monitoring
  • Collaborate with QR teams to productionize models

Fall 2025 Applications

Applications Open: August 26, 2025

Applications Due: September 9, 2025 (Tuesday)

Office Hours: First week of September (dates TBA)

What We Look For:

  • Intellectual curiosity and passion for quantitative finance
  • Basic programming knowledge (experience is a plus)
  • Willingness to commit 5–10 hours/week and attend weekly meetings
  • Collaborative mindset and eagerness to learn

Application Process:

  1. Complete the online application form
  2. Submit the take-home assessment (introductory coding challenge)
  3. Attend the Super Day interview (90 minutes, technical & behavioral) between September 11–16, 2025
Apply Now Take-Home Assessment (Python)

Note: Select applicants may be offered a fast-tracked version of JRAP based on their application performance.

Interview Transparency

Our application and interview process isn't designed to trick you or catch you off guard. In our Super Day interviews, we want to:

  • Walk through your resume and understand your relevant experience
  • Review your take-home assessment and walk through your code
  • Solve a live coding challenge on data structures or simple algorithms [leetcode easy]
  • See how you may solve logic puzzles/riddles
  • Discuss how you’d manage edge-cases and risk in a trading strategy
  • Chat about your teamwork style and how you learn new concepts
  • Discuss your interest in quantitative finance and NUSA

Afterwards, we share anonymized feedback themes so you know where you stood and how to improve.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need to apply to be in the club?

No! The JRAP program is an exclusive program for those wanting to level-up their skills and participate in real research. Anybody is welcome to our general body meetings, keep your ears open at FallFest!

Do I need prior finance experience?

No! We welcome students from all backgrounds. Strong quantitative skills and enthusiasm to learn are more important than prior finance knowledge.

What's the time commitment?

Members attend weekly 2-hour meetings and contribute 5–10 hours per week to projects and learning.

When will I hear back?

Interview invitations go out by September 10, and final decisions are released by September 22, 2025.

How competitive is it?

We review all applications holistically, looking for students who demonstrate strong potential and genuine interest in quantitative finance. JRAP is designed to be an intensive, close-knit cohort experience.