current students
Teaching @ CCFEA
MSc in Financial Software Engineering
Aims and objectives of the scheme
The innovative MSc in Financial Software Engineering will complement and build on the successful CCFEA
Masters in Computational Finance. CCFEA has acquired a reputation of being a leading edge interdisciplinary
centre for combining economic and financial modelling with computational implementation. This advanced 12
month MSc is targeted at students with a 2.1 or distinction first degree in Computer Science, Engineering or a
BSc which provides high level of programming expertise such as in C++ and/or .NET. The rigorous training the
student receives in this Masters programme on software engineering for large, dynamic and automated financial
systems and finance models, with over half of the degree focussing on software design in a number of real-world
financial systems and expert lectures, will enable the student to be a leader in this field.
The main objective of this degree scheme is to enable students to attain a high degree of competence in
software development in the area of financial software engineering for implementation in an electronic market
environment. The degree aims at introducing the student to information and communication technology and
automation that underpins financial systems. These include design issues relating to parallel and distributed
networks, encryption, security and real time constraints especially in the context of Straight Through
Processing (STP). The student is given training on the structure, instruments and institutional aspects of
financial markets, banking, payment and settlement systems. There is the option to acquire rigorous training in
quantitative finance. A case study approach will be used to familiarise students with financial software
architecture which include Reuter’s technology (TIBCO), multi-lateral trading facilities (MTFs), examples of
electronic markets such as LSE SETS, electronic trading engines and commercial financial decision support
software. A highlight of this degree scheme is the seminar module where visiting experts on financial systems
and their software development give focussed coverage on core issues. Students will base their summer projects
on topics covered there.
Duration of the scheme
The MSc is a 12 month programme with a project in the summer that is oriented toward developing software for
real world financial software systems. The MSc consists of 180/185 credits with each 10-week lecture module
constituting 15 credits (unless otherwise stated).
Target students
This advanced 12 month MSc is targeted at students with a 2.1 or distinction first degree in Computer
Science, Engineering or a BSc which provides high level of programming expertise such as in C++, JAVA and .NET.
Our expertise and reputation
Computational Finance at University of Essex has established its international reputation as a centre that
closely integrates finance and computing. A search on "Computational Finance + UK" in Google and many
Internet search engines will find us amongst the top two entries. The recent high quality workshops and
international conferences hosted by CCFEA give a good measure of our national and international standing.
The market
London is now the major financial centre of the world. The City’s institutions rely on a myriad of
interconnecting financial computer systems, and depend on speedy, reliable and efficient transfer and analysis
of data. There is an ever-increasing need, not only of computer power, but also the requirement for
computationally skilled personnel who understand the workings of financial markets. The financial and banking
system is a computationally intensive sector and with increased automation of trading and execution in financial
and payment transactions, software development here requires highly domain specific knowledge.
The course modules
The MSc consists of 180 credits. There are 8 taught course modules of which 6 are compulsory and 2 are
optional and a MSc project in the summer oriented toward developing software for real world financial software
systems.
Compulsory modules
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CE806
Distributed Computing or
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CE839
Software Design and Architecture
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CE821
Underlying Technology in Financial Systems
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CE833
Advanced Relational and Object Oriented Databases
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CF961 Introduction to Financial Market Analysis
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CF966
Financial Engineering and Risk
Management
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CF968
Industry Expert Lectures in Finance
Optional modules
Optional modules, up to a total of 30 credits, to be taken from the following (the list is not exhaustive):
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CE708 Computer Securtiy
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CE802 Machine Learning and Data Mining
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CE811 Development of Large Software Systems
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CE835 Agent Technology for E-Commerce
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CE864 Pervasive Computing and Ambient Intelligence
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CE883 Heuristic and Evolutionary Computation
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CE884 Constraint Satisfaction for Decision Making
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CF963 Learning and Computational Intelligence in Economics
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CF964 Introduction to Java and Agent-Based Economic Platforms
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CF965 High Frequency Finance and Empirical Market Micro-Structure
Further information
Applying
Apply online