MSc in Software Engineering for Financial Services
ObjectivesFinancial services are not only one of the most dynamic sectors of the economy but also one of the two largest customers of IT! This MSc is offered together with the Department of Economics in order to give you both a command of the software technologies that financial institutions require to "embrace the challenge of change" and of the business context and organisational structures that IT systems need to support. This MSc programme concentrates on architectures for building scalable financial software systems, thus preparing software engineers for a plethora of jobs in the financial industry. In particular it considers technologies and techniques that are particularly relevant for the challenges of the financial market, predominantly a need to migrate from mission-critical, monolithic legacy systems to more flexible architectures that allow speedy reaction to customer and business partner’s needs. The technical aspect must be seen in the context of the business environment, where software engineers typically interact with a world of financial jargon and departments with specialised roles and needs.
Entry requirementsEntry requirements Normally at least a good second class honours BSc degree or qualification of equivalent standard recognised by the University in a subject with a substantial element of Computing. Applications are treated on an individual basis, however, and so alternative qualifications may be considered, especially in the case of candidates with relevant work experience.
Academic titleMSc in Software Engineering for Financial Services
Course descriptionCourse modules
This specialist course consists of five core modules and three option modules. For the MSc there is also a project.
Core Modules
-Corporate Finance
-Financial Information Systems
-Personal and Group Skills
-Service-Oriented Architectures
-System Re-engineering
Option modules are chosen from the following list:
Option modules
-Advanced System Design
-Advanced Web Technologies
-Algorithms for Bioinformatics
-C++ Programming and Advanced Algorithm Design
-Discrete Event Systems
-Domain Specific Languages
-Game Theory in Computer Science
-Generative Development
-International Money and Finance
-Networking and Distributed Computing
-Principles of Banking
-Semantic Web
-Service-Oriented Architectures
-Software Process Engineering
-Software Reliability
-System Re-engineering
-Analysis and Design of Algorithms*
-Applied Numerical Mathematics*
-Communication and Concurrency*
-Compression Methods for Multimedia*
-Cryptography and Information Security*
-Distribution Systems and Applications*
-Financial Mathematics
-Formal Software Specification
-Operations Research
-Programming Secure and Distributed Systems
-Software Measurement and Quality Assurance
-Wavelets and Signal Processing
-Web Technologies
Teaching and assessment methods
Teaching is by a variety of methods including lectures, seminars, self-paced learning and practicals. Assessment of taught modules is by coursework and examination. Coursework consists of a mixture of computer-based practicals, essays and small group projects. The compulsory Personal and Group Skills module combines attendance of seminars, group discussions and collective essay writing on topics selected for the seminars, as well as attendance at a series of workshops on transferable skills and career planning. The project is assessed separately.