Opportunities in Financial Mathematics

Our economy depends heavily on the expert use and management of information. In the field of wealth management, the delicate interrelationships among government policies, stakeholder expectations, global market forces and unexpected events make investment and risk analysis two areas that should be managed by experts. Complexity is compounded as institutions and markets evolve through innovation and competition; to survive, they must adapt quickly to the changing environment and new regulations. Specific training in Mathematics and related disciplines is needed to manage the complex issues involved. The financial industry employs large numbers of workers with advanced and sophisticated knowledge; a background in advanced Mathematics and software programming is needed to access key positions in the financial industry. The proposed undergraduate program in Financial Mathematics will provide the following fundamental knowledge and skills to undergraduate students:

• Managerial, investing and analytical finance
• Derivative and securities modeling
• Statistical and computational techniques
• Use of software packages and programming techniques
• Risk analysis
• Credit modeling
• Portfolio management
• Communication skills

Advanced mathematics is at the center of many standard models used by the financial industry. Mathematical concepts are used to describe financial markets, and are the language employed by large parts of the financial community. Students graduating from the program will have a solid foundation to develop careers in the financial industry. They will have all the required tools to further their studies; for example, they will be trained to complete required industry certificates. More importantly, they will have the foundation to adapt to a highly mobile work environment. The program will prepare students for a wide variety of financial roles, including but not limited to:

• Computational finance
• Financial engineering
• Investment banking
• Risk management software
• Trading system development
• Securities trading and financial risk management
• Derivatives trading and risk management
• Collateralized debt obligation
• Credit default swaps

Following the financial crisis in 2008-2009, banks and other institutions have developed a renewed interest in hiring highly qualified personnel with quantitative backgrounds. It is reasonable to expect that this trend will continue in the coming years. Therefore, the B.Sc. in Financial Mathematics will put graduating students in a notably advantageous position in the financial job market or in the pursuit of further studies. Given the flexibility of the program in Financial Mathematics, students can tailor their course of study to their individual goals. With the possibility of taking eight elective courses, students can follow various paths based on their individual desires.

• Students wishing to go on to further study in Financial Mathematics at the graduate level can take elective courses in advanced mathematics.
• Students wishing to pursue advanced business degrees (MBA) can take electives from the Business School.
• A number of professional certifications are possible after completing the program: the Professional Risk Manager exam, organized by the Professional Risk Managers' International Association (PRMIA), and the Finance Risk Manager exam offered by the Global Association of Risk Professionals (GARP). Our courses offer training sessions for both certification programs. In addition, the textbook used in these courses are those used to prepare for the exam in Financial Risk Manager Certification.

Employment rates for Mathematics graduates are strong, as summarized in the following table.

Program Area	Employment Rate 2 years (%)	Emploment Rate 6 months (%)
Mathematics	97.5	98.7
Computer Science	97.6	97.6
Engineering	98.8	98.0
Biological Science	94.4	86.7

Employment Rates of 2006 Graduates in Undergraduate Programs Source: Ministry of Training Colleges and Universities and Institutions