Quant Guide 2022: University of Oxford

Oxford, UK

 

 

The University of Oxford’s MSc in Mathematical and Computational Finance course has expanded over the past year, with 43 full-time students in its latest intake, versus 36 in the 2021. This follows a similar rise from 24 students in 2020.

The growth trend is also evident in the number of applicants to the degree, increasing from 265 last year to 732 this year. The university extended 70 offers, dramatically boosting the programme’s exclusivity score.

By contrast, many US institutions have seen numbers of applicants and full-time students fall by a half or more compared with last year.

Employment routes and average salaries for Oxford graduates are unchanged from last year. A majority of the graduates of the programme still head into asset management and banking, with a small portion taking fintech roles. Programme fees have stayed the same, too, at £34,970.

The 10-month course is led by associate professor of mathematics Justin Sirignano. Instructors include: Rama Cont, the head of Oxford’s mathematical and computational finance group, and a specialist in mathematical modelling for finance and data science; mathematics professor Ben Hambly, formerly of the University of Cambridge; and Alvaro Cartea, a former director of the programme, who researches high-frequency and algorithmic trading.

At the start of the programme, all students spend a week completing a set of introductory courses covering Python, financial markets and instruments, partial differential equations and probability and statistics. Next, core topics include stochastic calculus, financial data analysis, deep learning and quantitative risk management.

Students can also choose from a selection of elective courses, including classes in stochastic volatility, market microstructure and algorithmic trading, and asset pricing. Two computing courses, focusing on C++, are also included. In the third and final term, students complete a master’s dissertation, which they can combine with an industry internship.

View this institution’s entry in the 2021 guide

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