Quant Guide 2021: City University of Hong Kong

Hong Kong, China

Photo: Wing1990hk

 

 

The Master of Science in Financial Engineering at City University of Hong Kong is one of a trio of programmes affiliated to institutions in Hong Kong in Risk.net’s Quant Guide for 2021.

The City University course requires students to complete eight core modules in topics ranging from corporate finance to options pricing and stochastic calculus. Students also choose two elective modules from a wide-ranging list, including credit risk management and financial econometrics. This year, the course added a new elective on quantitative asset management and hedge fund strategies.

The programme is completed over two semesters for full-time students, with part-time study also available.

The university says one of the more popular elements of the programme among the current cohort was an advanced module on international financial management. The module involves topics such as differences between regulatory structures in China and the US, the liberalisation of China’s capital account, and potential currency pegs of the Hong Kong dollar.

Quant finance master’s courses at Hong Kong institutions have a low number of foreign students compared with the international average. City University’s programme – led by Tao Li, a professor in the department of economics and finance – has 55 students in its latest cohort, none of whom are international.

As a result, the institution didn’t experience the problems with travel visas that afflicted US and European peers, when the coronavirus pandemic disrupted the plans for many prospective students in the 2020 intake.

In line with other universities, City University has adapted to new ways of learning in recent months. To help prepare for online assessments – conducted 100% remotely this autumn – the programme carried out a series of virtual practice exams ahead of the formal tests. These trial runs helped administrators identify and correct a number of potential issues, the university says.

For classes that took place on campus, City University established an ‘emergency response unit’ to provide students and teachers with updates and advice on virus-related matters. Other measures included reduced class sizes and enhanced cleaning.

While this year’s cohort is similar in size to the previous programme, the degree saw applications fall from 448 to 299 – perhaps partly in response to the uncertainty caused by the coronavirus. A higher number of offers were extended, in turn, with 149 this year versus 118 last year.

View this institution’s entry in the 2020 guide

View other universities and a guide to the metrics tables