Financial Engineering
Pūhanga Tahua
Qualifications
Overview
Financial engineering is a cross-disciplinary field combining financial and economic theory with the mathematical and computational tools needed to design and develop financial products, portfolios, markets, and regulations. Financial engineers manage financial risk, identify market opportunities, design and value financial or actuarial products, and optimise investment strategies.
For students with a good background in mathematics and statistics, the Master of Financial Engineering (MFEng) will equip you with industry-level skills and knowledge, and provide opportunities to apply those skills. By directly linking real-world problems in financial engineering to an underlying theoretical framework, graduates will be capable of high-level performance in the financial industry.
The MFEng is part of a suite of qualifications for students who want to gain a breadth and depth of technical skills and knowledge across the key disciplines of finance and economics, mathematics and statistics, and computer science and software engineering.
To complete the Master of Financial Engineering, students are required to take 180 points, made up of coursework and an applied research project.
The programme is taught over two semesters, followed by the project work. It can take between 12–18 months to complete, or up to 3 years part-time.
Every student enrolling in the Master of Financial Engineering should have:
- qualified for a university degree with a B+ Grade Point Average in 300-level courses; and
- completed specified 200-level MATH and STAT courses (or equivalent courses); and
- been approved by the Academic Dean of Science.
Students who have minimal statistics and finance backgrounds may be required to take FIEC 601 Quantitative Finance and Economics in January–February before enrolling.
Compulsory courses
- STAT 456 Time Series and Stochastic Processes
- MATH 412 Optimisation
- FINC 612 Derivative Securities
- FINC 623 Advanced Derivative Securities
- COSC 480 Computer Programming
Further courses
- 30 points from MATH and STAT 400-level courses
- 15 points from FINC 624, FINC 628, FINC 629; or other FINC 600-level courses as approved by the Head of the Department of Economics and Finance
- 15 points from MATH, STAT, or FINC 400 or 600-level courses
Research project
For full details see the Regulations for the Master of Financial Engineering.
UC Master of Financial Engineering graduates will be ready for the international workplace in the finance industry and related fields. They will also be well prepared for further study in Financial Engineering in order to attain positions at higher technical levels.
Employers range from private industries, such as banking, investment, capital industries, security, data analysis, risk management, and insurance, to the public sector (eg, Reserve Bank | Te Pūtea Matua, The Treasury | Kaitohutohu Kaupapa Rawa, or regulatory bodies).
Contact us
Te Kura Pāngarau | School of Mathematics and Statistics
Phone +64 3 369 2233
Email MathStatsEnquiries@canterbury.ac.nz
Location
Level 4, Jack Erskine building – see campus maps
Postal address
Te Kaupeka Pūtaiao | Faculty of Science
Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha | University of Canterbury
Private Bag 4800
Christchurch 8140
New Zealand
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