The Competition

The UChicago Trading Competition is the nation’s premier algorithmic trading competition. Senior members of the Financial Markets Program develop case studies designed to challenge participants in multiple aspects and themes of trading. Participants are asked to develop algorithms to make automated trading decisions, and will have their technical programming skills, financial acumen, and ability to adjust based on algorithm performance tested.

I learned a lot about how to setup an algorithm, something I wasn't taught in class. It was a really rewarding experience and taught me to think outside the box!”

—2020 Student Participant

Benefits

Last year the competition awarded over $15,000 in prize money, and a similar amount of prize money is anticipated this year.

Teams will have the opportunity to network with over a dozen trading and financial firms throughout the two-day competition. Competition events, hosted by Platinum sponsors, will begin on Friday afternoon.

Respected Participants

Many of the colleges and universities represented at the UChicago Trading Competition are celebrated for providing students with robust educations, especially in fields related to finance and business. Some of the colleges and universities that have participated in the competition include:

The competition was exciting and the trading and teamwork skills I developed will help me with my career goals.”

—2021 Student Participant

Past Trading Competition Winners

2023

1st Place:
University of Colorado, Boulder 2

2nd Place:
University of Chicago 2

3rd Place:
Johns Hopkins University

2022

1st Place:
University of Chicago

2nd Place:
University of Michigan

3rd Place:
Duke University

2021

1st Place:
Purdue University

2nd Place:
University of Michigan

3rd Place:
University of Colorado Boulder

2020

1st Place:
Rice-UC Berkeley-MIT

2nd Place:
University of California San Diego

3rd Place:
Washington University in St. Louis

2019

1st Place:
The University of Texas at Austin

2nd Place:
University of Michigan

3rd Place:
University of Colorado Boulder

2018

1st Place:
University of Notre Dame

2nd Place:
Cornell University

3rd Place:
University of California Berkeley

Questions about student participation? Read the Student FAQ »