Listen to our academics talk about quantitative finance:

• Introduction to the course (mp3 file)
• Our applicants' background (mp3 file)  
• Skills gained during the course (mp3 file)
• Information on research dissertations (mp3 file)
• Research background of MBS academics (mp3 file)

Manchester Business School and the School of Mathematics have combined their academic strength and practical expertise to deliver the MSc Quantitative Finance course which has two distinct pathways:

• Financial Engineering
• Risk Management

Ensuring that the mathematics element is accessible, the programme offers a good balance between mathematics and finance. They are particularly suitable for students with a degree in Finance, Financial Economics, Actuarial Science, Engineering, and Mathematics (see entry requirements ), as well as relevant work experience (non-compulsory). It is also suited to those wishing to gain salary enhancements, or students wishing to pursue advanced studies in quantitative finance.

The course provides an advanced knowledge and understanding of the main theoretical and applied concepts in quantitative finance and financial engineering, delivered from a genuinely international and multicultural perspective, and with a `current issues' approach to teaching. The course is particularly useful for careers that involve designing new financial instruments and managing trading in them.

The course consists of both compulsory and optional taught units. Compulsory course units include: Foundations of Finance Theory; Stochastic Calculus; Scientific Computing; Derivative Securities; Financial Econometrics; Interest Rate Derivatives; and Computational Finance. Optional course units include: Mathematical Modelling of Finance; Real Options in Corporate Finance; and Credit Risk Management.

For the dissertation, you will carry out an original piece of research on a subject relating to the programme. Our MSc dissertation topics are aligned with the research interests of leading financial institutions from the City of London and internationally. A number of the dissertation topics are proposed by these organisations and supervised by our academic staff. Students who want to work on the industry linked topics for their dissertations are subject to certain strict selection criteria (for example, strong CV and first semester exam performance). Other dissertation topics are proposed by academic staff focusing on cutting edge research issues in these industries.