Postgraduate Course
MSc Finance and Data Analytics
Overview
The details
Finance and Data Analytics
October 2019
Full-time
How does big data influence financial and statistical modelling? Will the future of finance be driven by our ability to apply quantitative, statistical and technical skills to analyse information?
The finance industry needs students who can understand statistical modelling in the context of the growing, and increasingly complex, data available to financial firms. Our MSc Finance and Data Analytics prepares you to work in the financial services organisations of the future, by equipping you with the quantitative, statistical and technical skills needed in a world powered by big data.
You master areas including:
- portfolio analysis
- empirical financial methods
- data analytics
- trading global markets
The University of Essex is at the forefront of the UK’s big data network.
Essex Business School, where this course is taught, is home to the ESRC Business and Local Government Data Research Centre, which helps local authorities and businesses across the UK to leverage data more effectively. Our School’s brand new virtual trading floor ensures you gain practical experience of using industry-standard terminals and real-world business information. You’re taught by academics who are actively involved in researching big data and advising businesses on how to make best use of it.
You may be eligible to apply for scholarships and discounts offered by the University of Essex. Postgraduate loans for Masters courses are now available from the Student Loans Company, worth up to £10,000, for students from the UK and EU.
Why we're great.
- We are home to the Data Research Centre for Smart Analytics, creating cutting-edge research into big data
- Our Financial Market Labs give you access to market-leading Bloomberg business data
- We’re in the UK’s top 25 for research excellence (REF 2014)
Our expert staff
Our finance group is one of the largest in the UK. Essex Business School is in the top 25 in the UK for research excellence (REF 2014), with our research having informed debate at the Bank of England, the European Central Bank and the Federal Reserve. We’re also home to Essex Finance Centre, which organises research seminars and conferences.
Our expert staff ensure you experience an education at the forefront of financial research. You learn from academics and practitioners who specialise in: business ethics and corporate social responsibility; organisation studies; leadership and strategy; finance and banking; risk management; and international management.
Specialist facilities
Essex Business School has some of the best facilities in the country at our building in Colchester, including:
- a virtual trading floor, using industry-standard Bloomberg Financial Market Labs
- modern seminar rooms and lecture theatres
- a winter garden with group working areas
- being in close proximity to the Parkside Office Village, offering potential networking opportunities with innovative Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs)
- the Student Services Desk, located close to our Bonds café
- study skills workshops
You benefit from a truly international experience and learn in the company of academics and students from across the globe; our current Masters students join us from more than 40 countries.
Your future
In 2017, 80% of our postgraduate taught students were in work or further study (DLHE 2017).
Our graduates can analyse complex data and use this to make effective business decisions. Many work for global employers and dynamic SMEs in financial analysis, management, public administration and accountancy, such as:
- KPMG
- Grant Thornton LLP
- Inter-American Development Bank
- European Central Bank
- HP
- Groupon
- Capital Markets Intelligence, a financial publisher
- Credit Data Research, a business funder
We’re also proud of our entrepreneurial spirit; many of our graduates succeed with their own businesses. Recent examples include international business incubator 0100Ventures and entrepreneurship website SlovakSTARTUP.
We encourage you to enhance your CV by gaining work experience, internships, placements and voluntary opportunities and we support you throughout this process. Our dedicated employability team and the University’s Employability and Careers Centre can provide you with support, advice and guidance. You can also access employer talks on campus.
“Big data is becoming increasingly important to businesses, so I chose this course so I can work in data analysis after graduation. I’ve also joined the University’s swimming team and hold the men’s record for the 4 x100 relay.”
Zhou Wei, MSc Finance and Data Analytics (2016)
Entry requirements
UK entry requirements
A 2:2 degree containing core modules relating to Mathematics (calculus), quantitative finance/methods or Econometrics (probability, statistics) (also see key modules)
- Key modules
- Behavioural finance, Computer science, Corporate Finance, Derivative instruments / Futures / Options, Economics, Empirical Finance, Engineering (Electrical engineering better than civil/mechanical), Foundations of Finance, Finance/International Finance (NOT Financial Reporting), Financial Economics, Financial Modelling, Mathematics, Operational Research, Portfolio Analysis, Pricing of Securities and Futures, Risk Management, Statistics
International & EU entry requirements
We accept a wide range of qualifications from applicants studying in the EU and other countries. Get in touch with any questions you may have about the qualifications we accept. Remember to tell us about the qualifications you have already completed or are currently taking.
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English language requirements
If English is not your first language, we require IELTS 6.5 overall with a minimum component score of 5.5Additional Notes
The University uses academic selection criteria to determine an applicant’s ability to successfully complete a course at the University of Essex. Where appropriate, we may ask for specific information relating to previous modules studied or work experience.
Structure
Example structure
Most of our courses combine compulsory and optional modules, giving you freedom to pursue your own interests. All of the modules listed below provide an example of what is on offer from the current academic year. Our Programme Specification provides further details of the course structure for the current academic year.
Our research-led teaching is continually evolving to address the latest challenges and breakthroughs in the field, therefore to ensure your course is as relevant and up-to-date as possible your core module structure may be subject to change.
Portfolio Management
Understand the process of portfolio management. You cover the main concepts such as efficient diversification, managing risk exposures, and the valuation of financial assets that are at the core of managing investment portfolios, and pay special attention to the practicalities of the implementation of these concepts.
Trading Global Financial Markets
Gain theoretical knowledge and a practical understanding of financial markets, trading strategies, risk and money management and trader analytics at the highest level. You study a mix of classroom-based instruction, case studies and practical trading exercises where you trade on real-time simulated global markets through the use of industry-strength proprietary trading software in the trading lab.
View Trading Global Financial Markets on our Module Directory
Data Analytics in Finance
Big data - where datasets are so large they cannot be processed using traditional techniques – is useful to financial organisations. This module explores how to analyse big data and covers areas such as predictive analytics, risk modelling and corporate finance. You also learn about the application of data analytics in high frequency finance, fraud and personal finance.
Research Methods in Finance: Empirical Methods in Finance
This module equips you with the econometric tools and necessary experience to conduct empirical research in finance. You review statistical and basic econometric models and learn to apply econometric techniques in finance by considering topics such as (G)ARCH models, unit roots and cointegration.
View Research Methods in Finance: Empirical Methods in Finance on our Module Directory
MSc Finance and Investment: Dissertation
Your dissertation is the culmination of your Masters programme, where you apply the knowledge gained on your course to produce a 10,000 word independent piece of work. You generate an original idea, analyse literature and current knowledge and produce a coherent argument that shows your ability to relate theory to practice. Your dissertation will help you develop vital skills for the workplace, as well as the ability to analyse real problems through an academic lens. You're assigned a supervisor for the duration of your project.
View MSc Finance and Investment: Dissertation on our Module Directory
Financial Modelling
Consider the use of modern econometric techniques in the analysis of financial time series. You cover multivariate models for stationary and non-stationary processes, such as Vector Autoregressive models, consider appropriate models for volatility, and study Markov processes and simulation methods used for financial modelling.
Risk Management
The recent financial crisis and credit crunch have demonstrated that risk management was too narrowly defined. In this course you examine the Value at Risk (VAR) measure of financial risk developed in the 1990s, before discussing the new post-crisis Regulatory environment.
Derivative Securities
Master the pricing of financial derivatives and their use for hedging financial risks. You study the basics of futures and options, analyse the Black-Scholes and binomial option pricing models, and consider various numerical techniques for pricing financial derivatives. Futures and options are then utilised in the context of hedging financial risks, and you are introduced to the concept of volatility trading and the treatment of volatility as an asset class.
Corporate Finance
This module offers you a standard introduction of the field of corporate finance at postgraduate level. You consider the classical areas of Modigliani-Miller irrelevance, Taxes and capital structure, Trade-off theory and Pecking order theory of capital structure, before exploring the more modern areas, which are essentially based on contract theory.
Asset Pricing
Gain a formal introduction to asset pricing theories and empirical findings. You review the fundamental theories of the expected utility, asset pricing kernels, and risk-neutral valuation, covering the Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM), and linear factor models arising from the Arbitrage Pricing Theory (APT). You also discuss empirical asset pricing studies.
Behavioural Finance
Behavioural finance rejects crucial tenets of mainstream finance such as the Efficient Market Hypothesis (EMH) on the basis that agents are less than fully rational, and that arbitrage fails to eliminate mispricing. Instead it identifies market anomalies or regularities such as holiday effects that are at odds with the EMH. You learn to use ideas from cognitive psychology, such as overconfidence, and aspects of imperfect arbitrage to explain these.
Fixed Income Securities
Discover the concepts and tools that are useful to asset managers who want to use fixed income securities for investing, market-making or speculating. You first study fixed income markets and instruments, before going on to explore basic concepts of bond portfolio management and investigating the quantitative tools used to value bonds and manage bonds' portfolios.
Finance Research Techniques Using Matlab
This module introduces Matlab, software commonly used in financial organisations and academia to model portfolio construction and solve banking and finance challenges. You learn how to use Matlab programming language to solve financial problems. These may include finding optimal portfolio weights, calculating and simulating derivative prices and implied volatilities, and estimating and simulating GARCH models, amongst others.
View Finance Research Techniques Using Matlab on our Module Directory
Modern Banking
Explore the basics of the structure and environment of banking, and selected aspects of the applied economics of the modern banking firm. You study structure-conduct-performance, competition, bank efficiency, regulation, international banking and bank failures and crises.
Bank Strategy and Risk
Analyse the key strategic developments in banking and the main aspects of risk management in modern banks. You are introduced to the concept of shareholder value in banking, the main banking strategies to create shareholder value, the key risks in banking, and the most important tools required to manage bank risks.
Industry Expert Lectures in Finance
Taught exclusively by leading industry experts, this module offers you a unique opportunity to appreciate the latest developments and issues faced by leading practitioners in the areas of quantitative finance and risk management.
View Industry Expert Lectures in Finance on our Module Directory
Teaching
- Tailor the content of your course to more closely fit your interests and aspirations
- Courses focus on practical applications and links with industry
- We run an open seminar series
Assessment
- Regular assessment is by coursework, presentations, case studies, group work, tests and examinations
Dissertation
- You submit a 10,000 word dissertation
Fees and funding
Home/EU fee
£11,250
International fee
£17,560
Fees will increase for each academic year of study.
What's next
Open Days
We hold Open Days for all our applicants throughout the year. Our Colchester Campus events are a great way to find out more about studying at Essex, and give you the chance to:
- tour our campus and accommodation
- find out answers to your questions about our courses, student finance, graduate employability, student support and more
- meet our students and staff
If the dates of our organised events aren’t suitable for you, feel free to get in touch by emailing tours@essex.ac.uk and we’ll arrange an individual campus tour for you.
2019 Open Days (Colchester Campus)
- Saturday, March 9, 2019
Applying
You can apply for our postgraduate courses online. You’ll need to provide us with your academic qualifications, as well as supporting documents such as transcripts, English language qualifications and certificates. You can find a list of necessary documents online, but please note we won’t be able to process your application until we have everything we need.
There is no application deadline but we recommend that you apply before 1 July for our taught courses starting in October. We aim to respond to applications within two weeks. If we are able to offer you a place, you will be contacted via email.
Visit Colchester Campus
Home to over 13,000 students from more than 130 countries, our Colchester Campus is the largest of our three sites, making us one of the most internationally diverse campuses on the planet - we like to think of ourselves as the world in one place.
The Campus is set within 200 acres of beautiful parkland, located two miles from the historic town centre of Colchester – England's oldest recorded town. Our Colchester Campus is also easily reached from London and Stansted Airport in under one hour.
Virtual tours
If you live too far away to come to Essex (or have a busy lifestyle), no problem. Our 360 degree virtual tour allows you to explore the Colchester Campus from the comfort of your home. Check out our accommodation options, facilities and social spaces.
Exhibitions
Our staff travel the world to speak to people about the courses on offer at Essex. Take a look at our list of exhibition dates to see if we’ll be near you in the future.
The University makes every effort to ensure that this information on its course finder is accurate and up-to-date. Exceptionally it can be necessary to make changes, for example to courses, facilities or fees. Examples of such reasons might include a change of law or regulatory requirements, industrial action, lack of demand, departure of key personnel, change in government policy, or withdrawal/reduction of funding. Changes to courses may for example consist of variations to the content and method of delivery of programmes, courses and other services, to discontinue programmes, courses and other services and to merge or combine programmes or courses. The University will endeavour to keep such changes to a minimum, and will also keep prospective students informed appropriately by updating our programme specifications.
The full Procedures, Rules and Regulations of the University governing how it operates are set out in the Charter, Statutes and Ordinances and in the University Regulations, Policy and Procedures.
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