Quant Guide 2022: City, University of London (Bayes Business School)

London, UK

 

 

Bayes Business School – the name by which City, University of London’s business school is now known, dissociating itself from Sir John Cass – continues to offer three quant finance master’s degrees. Dirk Nitzsche directs all three: the MSc in Quantitative Finance, MSc in Financial Mathematics; and MSc in Mathematical Trading and Finance.

The number of full-time students across all three courses is 47. This is down on the equivalent figure of 72 in 2020, the last year the school appeared in the guide. Average class size is 45 students, versus the previous entry’s 67.

These lower numbers reflect the significant downturn in the number of applications – from 593 in 2020 to just 389 two years later. There was also a fall in the number of offers made, from 225 to 181. Perhaps as a result of the reduced number of applicants, the school is less choosy about making offers, with 47% of applicants granted offers, versus 38% last time around.

By contrast, the number of teaching staff has grown from 11 to 18 this year, as all teaching will be in person. Fees, meanwhile, have increased from £25,500 to £28,500 ($34,912 to $39,018) over the period. Nitzsche points out that, while the programme has returned to face-to-face teaching, staff will continue to make use of the resources developed by the programme during lockdowns: lecturers will stream their sessions for any students who are not in London.

Although some modules saw grading averages rise with the advent of online learning, Nitzsche notes that most grades were similar to pre-pandemic scores. Students are not required to be vaccinated, but are encouraged in that.

Students continue to be interested in cryptocurrencies, machine learning and fintech, says Nitzsche. He cites industry demand for “versatile students who understand finance, financial markets, financial instruments, and can program”, and emphasises the importance of technical competence within asset management in particular. Students use Python and Matlab in the core curriculum, and can also take an elective in VBA (Visual Basic for Applications).

The programme has one careers officer focused on quant finance master’s students, alongside a team dedicated specifically to business school students. The services they offer include careers events, workshops, a database of company profiles, internships, mock interviews, assistance with CV writing and meetings with a careers adviser.

View this institution’s entry in the 2020 guide

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