Heriot-Watt University International University of the Year

The course

UCAS code
GGC3
Duration
Up to 4 years
Location
Edinburgh
Delivery type
Full-time
Find out how to apply More about this subject area

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Overview

If you are looking for a career in the world of finance and love mathematical challenges, then Financial Mathematics is the degree for you. Just as civil engineering deals with the design, construction and maintenance of buildings and roads, financial mathematics is concerned with the design, construction and maintenance of financial products. It is well known that careers in financial mathematics offer some of the best salaries of all professions and graduates working in this area thrive on being offered many interesting challenges on a day-to-day basis.

Our Financial Mathematics programme develops the skills and knowledge required by the modern investment and asset management industry, where structured finance and relative value trading strateges dominate. The emphasis is on developing a range of practical skills relevant to the increasingly mathematical and ever-changing world of contemporary finance.

Financial Mathematics isn't just for aspiring bankers. The UK Government is the single biggest user of structured finance, through the Private Finance Initiative. Graduates are also attractive to the treasury function of international corporations and to the trading arm of commodities companies.

Students on the Financial Mathematics degree follow the same programme as Actuarial Science students for the first two years. The programmes diverge in third year and in the fourth year Financial Mathematics students will be able to study courses alongside Master's students on the Quantitative Finance and Mathematics programme. The aim is for Financial Mathematics graduates to achieve a skill set comparable to those graduating with a Master's degree.

Teaching excellence and student satisfaction

96% of our 2018 graduates reported in the National Student Survey that they were satisfied overall with their course.

What Financial Mathematicians do

  • They manage financial risk and design new financial products
  • They are experts in deciding which assets to choose to fit the investment needs of their clients
  • They do this by analysing the past and modelling the future
  • They apply financial mathematics, probability, statistics, economics, and finance to solve problems in banking and investment

Investment banking is the main destination of financial mathematicians, however the skills developed on the programme are desirable to all businesses, and there are many research opportunities. Due to the high mathematical ability required in this industry, there is always a limited number of well-trained financial mathematicians available, meaning that graduates are much in demand.

A feel for the work of financial mathematicians can be gained from the following websites:

Accreditation

Accredited by the Royal Statistical Society.

Course content

Detailed course guide

Year 1

Introduction to Statistical Science; Calculus; Introduction to University Mathematics; Professional Development Planning; Finance; Economics and practical work.

Year 2

Probability and Statistics; Actuarial and Financial Mathematics; Linear Algebra; Real Analysis; Multivariate Calculus; Numerical Analysis and practical work.

Year 3

Portfolio Theory and Asset Models; Derivative Markets and Discrete-Time Finance; Stochastic Processes; Statistical Modelling; Vector Analysis; Numerical Analysis; Bayesian Inference and Computational Methods.

Year 4

Advanced Derivative Pricing; Continuous-Time Finance; and options from a wide choice, including Statistical Machine Learning, Optimisation, Risk Theory and Time Series.

More in-depth information on the content of the courses listed above, how they are assessed and the learning outcomes can be accessed via our current student portal.

Unistats course data

Employability

Work and study

This is what our BSc (Hons) Financial Mathematics students are doing six months after graduating:

  • 65% are working
  • 20% are studying
  • 5% are working and studying.

Managerial/professional position

  • 85% of those working are in a professional/managerial position six months after graduating.

Salary

  • The average salary of students six months after graduating: £25000
  • The average UK salary of students six months after graduating from a similar course: £23000

Jobs

These are the most common jobs students go into six months after graduating:

  • Business, research and administrative professionals
  • Business and public service associate professionals
  • Information technology and telecommunications professionals .
  • Elementary occupations
  • Administrative occupations
  • Sales occupations

Entry requirements

Year 1

  • Highers AAAB including Mathematics at A
  • A-Levels AAB including Mathematics at A
  • Int. Baccalaureate 28 points with higher level Mathematics at 6
  • BTEC Extended Diploma (QCF) Level 3 at DDD including sufficient Mathematics

Year 2

  • A-Levels AAA including Mathematics
  • Advanced Highers AAB Including Mathematics at A plus excellent Highers or Scottish Baccalaureate
  • Int. Baccalaureate 30 points with higher level Mathematics at 7
  • BTEC Extended Diploma (QCF) Level 3 at DDD including sufficient Mathematics 

Additional information

  • To find out about the difference between the 3 and 4 year honours courses, please watch our video to help you decide which route is best for your qualifications and experience so far.
  • We also accept the BTEC Subsidiary Diploma (QCF) at D in place of one A-Level, however it cannot replace a subject specific requirement unless relevant.
  • English language requirements - If your first language is not English, it is important that you gain an acceptable language qualification before joining our undergraduate courses. The minimum requirement for English language for all our undergraduate Actuarial Mathematics and Statistics courses is IELTS 6.5. We also offer a range of English language courses to help you meet the English language requirement prior to starting your undergraduate course.

Fees

Tuition fees for 2019 entry (by residency status)
Status* Scotland / EU** England / Northern Ireland / Wales*** International
Fee Paid by SAAS £9,250 £14,640

* Your residency 'status' is usually defined as the country where you have been ordinarily resident for the three years before the start of your course. Find out more about tuition fees.

** European Union countries (not including England, Northern Ireland or Wales).

*** 'Rest of the UK' (RUK) students entering at Level 1 receive a fee waiver of one year's tuition fee. Normally this will be the final year, or a year during which students study abroad (either at a partnership institution, or at one of Heriot-Watt's overseas campuses).

Scholarships and bursaries

Featured scholarships

Bursaries for students from England, Northern Ireland or Wales starting undergraduate degree courses in 2018

In addition to government maintenance loans and grants towards the costs of fees and living costs, we are offering generous financial support to attract and support eligible students from England, Northern Ireland or Wales:

View our full range of undergraduate scholarships.