ObjectivesThis programme is designed primarily as a conversion course for able students from other backgrounds who wish to switch to economics and finance, and who would be able to cope with the intellectual rigour of an MSc in economics or finance, but lack the prior knowledge and training. Specifically, the aim of the programme is to equip you with sufficient working knowledge of the core mathematics employed in finance and financial engineering. You will be introduced to the basic principles of finance: the key pricing models, corporate finance and market efficiency. Topics of computational finance are introduced using the high-level programming language MATLAB, and a thorough grounding in the C++ programming language is provided, with particular emphasis upon financial applications.
Entry requirementsEntry requirements Second-class honours degree or better, or equivalent qualifications. Students with a third-class degree may be considered and offered a place if there is clear evidence of underperformance, relative to potential, in the first degree. The programme will proceed at an intense pace, and the workload will be heavy, so we expect only the most able students to opt for the one-year option, rather than the two-year.
Academic titleIT for Finance (Graduate Diploma)
Course description-A pre-sessional mathematics course begins in September. It is highly recommended that students who have only a basic knowledge of mathematics, or who have not used their mathematical skills for some time, attend the entire course. However, it is essential that all students attend the first lecture of this course.
-Quantitative Techniques: aims to equip you with sufficient working knowledge of all the mathematics employed in the programme.
-Introduction to Programming with C++: by the end of the course, you will understand the principal concepts common to many programming languages, especially object-oriented ones, and be able to write basic software applications.
-Financial Markets: introduces you to the basic principles of finance. Finance is essentially about pricing, and a large part of the course is spent understanding the two basic pricing models in finance – the Capital Asset Pricing Model and Option Pricing Theory.
-Computational Techniques for Financial Engineering: you will learn how to use the MATLAB software package, and its programming, for fundamental computational techniques in financial engineering. By the end of the course, you will understand the principal concepts of programming in MATLAB, and will be able to write basic software applications.
-Financial Programming in C++: you will learn how to program using the C++ language. By the end of the course, you will understand the principal concepts common to many programming languages, especially object-oriented ones, and be able to write basic financial software applications. The module also provides hands-on experience with common tasks for finance.
Teaching
Lectures are supported by classes where problem sets and programming exercises are worked through and discussed.
Assessment
For most modules, you will do coursework and sit examinations. Coursework includes problem sets for those modules involving quantitative techniques and programming exercises for computing modules.