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The course

This course, offered by the Department of Computer Science and the Department of Economics, allows you to specialise in modern quantitative finance and computational methods for financial modelling, which are demanded for jobs in asset structuring, product pricing as well as risk management.

Skills that you will acquire include the ability to:

• analyse, critically evaluate, and apply methods of computational finance to practical problems, including pricing of derivatives and risk assessment
• analyse and critically evaluate methods and general principles of computational finance and their applicability to specific problems
• work with methods and techniques such as clustering, regression, support vector machines, boosting, decision trees, and neural networks
• analyse and critically evaluate applicability of machine learning algorithms to problems in finance
• implement methods of computational finance and machine learning using object-oriented programming languages and modern data management systems
• work with software packages such as MATLAB and R
• work with Relational Database Systems and SQL

By electing to spend a year in business you will also be able to integrate theory and practice and gain real business experience. In the past, our students have secured placements in blue-chip companies such as Centrica, Data Reply, Disney, IMS Health, Rolls Royce, Shell, Society General, VMWare and UBS, among others.

• Benefit from strong industry ties, with close proximity to ‘England’s Silicon Valley’.
• Graduate with a Master's degree with excellent graduate employability prospects.
• Tailor your learning with a wide range of engaging optional modules.
• Refine your skills and knowledge with a year in industry at one of the country's top institutions.

Teaching & assessment

Teaching is organised in terms of 11 weeks each. Examinations are taken in April / May of each academic year, except for Data Analysis for which the exam is in January. Your 'Year in Industry' typically starts at the end of June or beginning of July and lasts for a maximum of one year. The individual project is taken over 12 weeks during the Summer after the placement.

A weekly seminar series runs in parallel with the academic programme, which includes talks by professionals in a variety of application areas as well as workshops that will train you to find a placement or a job and lead a successful career.

Assessment is carried out by a variety of methods including coursework, small group projects, and examinations, the proportions of which vary according to the nature of the modules. The placement is assessed as part of your degree (10% of the individual project).

Your future career

Demand for data scientists is buoyant, in the UK and worldwide, with salaries much higher than other IT professions and at least double the UK average full time wage. Our graduates have an excellent track record of finding jobs at the end of (if not during) their studies.

We bring several companies to our campus throughout the year, both for fairs and for delivering advanced topics seminars, which are an excellent opportunity to learn about what they do and discuss possible placements or jobs.

Together with the Royal Holloway Careers and Employability Service, we offer you workshops and one-to-one coaching that prepare you to find a placement or a job and lead a successful career.