University College London (UCL)
Financial Mathematics MSc
London, United Kingdom
MSc
DURATION
2 years
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time, Part time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
EARLIEST START DATE
Sep 2026
TUITION FEES
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
The MSc in Financial Mathematics is designed to give students a solid understanding of the mathematical and statistical tools used in finance. The program covers key topics like stochastic processes, financial derivatives, risk management, and numerical methods. It emphasizes practical applications, helping students develop skills to model and analyze financial markets, manage risks, and make data-driven decisions. The course ensures students are prepared for careers in banking, investment management, or financial consulting by combining theory with real-world examples.
Students can also choose from optional modules that allow them to concentrate on areas like quantitative finance, computational techniques, or insurance. The program supports independent research and often involves a project or dissertation, giving students hands-on experience. The structure aims to build both foundational knowledge and specialized expertise, making it suitable for those wanting to advance in financial mathematics or related fields. Throughout, the focus is on developing skills that are directly applicable in today’s financial industry, with opportunities for support from experienced faculty.
UCL Scholarships
There are a number of scholarships available to postgraduate students, including our UCL Masters Bursary for UK students and our UCL Global Masters Scholarship for international students. You can click the link below to search via the scholarships finder for awards that you might be eligible for. Your academic department will also be able to provide you with more information about funding.
External Scholarships
Online aggregators like Postgraduate Studentships, Scholarship Search, Postgraduate Funding and International Financial Aid and College Scholarship Search contain information on a variety of external schemes.
If you have specific circumstances or ethnic or religious background it is worth searching for scholarships/bursaries/grants that relate to those things. Some schemes are very specific.
Funding for disabled students
Master's students who have a disability may be able to get extra funding for additional costs they incur to study.
Teaching and learning
The Financial Mathematics MSc is a taught postgraduate programme requiring students to take eight modules, four of which can be selected from a list of electives. In addition, students are required to write a research dissertation on a topical project during the summer months. The MSc project is supervised by an academic or a suitable industry practitioner. Some of the MSc modules include a coursework component. All modules include exercise sets allowing students to practice the taught material regularly.
The programme is delivered through a combination of lectures, practical classes, tutorials and problem-solving exercises. Assessment is through written papers, coursework, examinations and the research report and presentation.
Typically, each taught module has 30 hours of lectures. About 20-25 hours a week are recommended for independent study. In addition, students are encouraged to use office hours provided by the lecturers. Research projects require a similar amount of time although the work is mostly individual accompanied by regular meetings with the project supervisor.
For full-time students, typical contact hours are around 12 hours per week. Outside of lectures, seminars, workshops and tutorials, full-time students typically study the equivalent of a full-time job, using their remaining time for self-directed study and completing coursework assignments.
In terms one and two full-time students can typically expect between 10 and 12 contact hours per teaching week through a mixture of lectures, seminars, workshops, crits and tutorials. In term three and the summer period students will be completing their own research project, keeping regular contact with their supervisors.
Modules
Full-time
The course is equivalent to 180 UCL credits. The programme normally consists of 4 compulsory components (60 credits), 4 optional components (60 credits), plus an individual project (60 credits).
Part-time
Part-time students will follow the same timetable as full-time students, just taking 2 modules per term across 2 years.
Compulsory modules
- Financial Mathematics Dissertation
- Asset Pricing in Continuous Time (Masters level)
- Finance and Numerics
- Market Risk and Portfolio Theory
- Statistical Methods and Data Analytics for Finance
Optional modules
- Stochastic Processes
- Mathematics and Statistics of Algorithmic Trading
- Interest Rates and Credit Modelling
- Mathematical Climate Finance
- Applied Computational Finance
- Forecasting
- Quantitative Operational Risk Modelling
Please note that the list of modules given here is indicative. This information is published a long time in advance of enrolment and module content and availability are subject to change.
Students undertake modules to the value of 180 credits. Upon successful completion of 180 credits, you will be awarded an MSc in Financial Mathematics.
What this course will give you
- UCL Mathematics is among the top departments in the UK for this subject area: UCL is consistently placed in the global top 20 across a wide range of university rankings - and is currently 6th in the UK in the QS World University Rankings 2024 for Mathematics.
- Our internationally renowned department carries out excellent individual and group research applying modelling techniques to problems in financial, industrial, biological and environmental areas.
- The department hosts a stream of distinguished international visitors. In recent years four staff members have been elected fellows of the Royal Society, and the department publishes the highly-regarded research journal Mathematika.
- A notable aspect of this applied Master's programme is that students will be educated to an advanced level in statistics and computing.
The foundation of your career
Graduates from our programmes predominantly secure employment in the financial sector, including roles in banking, insurance, consulting, investment, and data analysis. They have achieved mostly highly-skilled positions both in the UK and internationally. Additionally, some of our graduates pursue academic excellence, obtaining doctoral positions at prestigious institutions worldwide.
Employability
This programme provides graduates with the skills and knowledge for a wide range of career prospects, particularly in the financial services industry, which requires quantitative finance professionals who are able to analyse data, to programme, and who are experts in mathematics and computational statistics.
Networking
The Financial Mathematics MSc offers several networking opportunities throughout the year. For example, students are welcome to attend the London Mathematical Finance Seminars, the Industry Practitioner's Seminar, and benefit from the Financial Mathematics Group's industry network. Each year, Financial Mathematics MSc students at UCL have an opportunity to participate in the annual Financial Mathematics Team Challenge (FMTC), usually held during the month of July. The FMTC gives students a chance to work on a topical research project in an international student team that is mentored by an academic or an industry practitioner.