MSc mathematical finance @ York

[cappadonza]

Hi i recently got an offer at this course http://maths.york.ac.uk/www/MscfinStructure_full_time
does anyone have any opions on the quality of the course. some of the staff there have written some book on stochastic process (http://tinyurl.com/ybwnapq )and financial engineering (http://tinyurl.com/yakcv6g)
i dont have a first degree in mathematics but i have a degree in Electrical engineering, is this good enough background to get enter the quant world as a student

Thanks
Isaiah

[sruggiero]

Hi well I'm just about to start the course next week, so I think its OK.

The main reason why I choose York instead of other, "better" (according to most peope on these forums) courses was the tuition fee level for home students.

Having said that, when reading through the module descriptions and having talked to quants/traders from my internships it covers all the right things quite well.

My background is Theoretical Physics/Applied Maths, I haven't done any stochastic stuff which is why im doing the masters (the PDE approach is fairly easy). I dunno what you do in Electrical Engineering but if you have a decent level of calculus you should be fine.

I guess if you've got the cash/funding it would probably be better trying to get onto the Oxford/Warwick/Imperial course to get the name on your CV and they might teach more recent models.

If you want to be a quant you will probably have to do a phD, as its pretty much the law now for which the York course would provide a good foundation.

Oh and York is one of the nicest places to study in the UK for postgrads.

Let me know if you decide to come to York, hope ive helped.

[mj]

well i don't know that much about that course.

However, there are certainly some people who really understand math finance at York.

[cappadonza]

Thanks for your replies, it sounds very encouraging.
I dont have the funds to go to imperial/warwick/oxford even if got in. In electrical engineering i did a fair bit of calculus including pde and fourier series, some basic stochastic processes. Its been almost 7 years since i graduated so it doesnt mean i remember it all though, so in preperation i been going through some of the mit open courseware (http://tinyurl.com/2g3xhf) to brush up on my math.
I'm currently working full time as a software developer at a bank, so i'm more inclined to doing online version of the course.
I 'm very interested and enjoy the maths, but also love programming, so im looking more towards a quant dev path rather than say a pure quant analyst.


Thanks for your help

[linda]

Is the online MSc in York good?

I am thinking to apply for the part time MSc in MF with Oxford, or the distance learning one with York. For the Oxford one, there is a paper test. For the York one, I guess there will be some phone interview testing on maths as well. Any areas/books could you recommend to brush up the math before applying the MSc in MF?

Thanks.

[cappadonza]

Hi
i just completed half a year of the course, it is a good course in my opinion. there is an interview where they go through your mathematics background (unlike oxford i did not have a formal test) and your motivations for doing the course.
it really helps if you go have a good understanding of basic probability theory and atleast some measure theory.
I would highly recommend you go through "Probability Through Problems" by capinski and if you have time "Measure integral probability" (atleast ch1 to 3) also by Capinski
I'm have heard oxford course is very good also and obviously it has a much better reputation and prestige, but costs twice as much.

[linda]

Thank you for your reply!