BSc (Hons) Mathematics with Finance

• Benefit from outstanding teaching: in the 2016 National Student Survey 95 per cent of our final year students said that 'Staff are good at explaining things' and 92 per cent felt that 'The course is intellectually stimulating'.  
  
• 'Overall, I am satisfied with the quality of the course': 95 per cent of our final year students agreed with this statement in the 2016 National Student Survey.
  
• Seize the opportunity to be taught by staff with expertise in financial mathematics and statistics from both the Centre for Mathematical Sciences and Plymouth Business School.
• Learn from leading mathematicians and statisticians: in the UK 2014 Research Excellence Framework 68 per cent of our research papers were classified as World Leading or Internationally Excellent.
  
• Sharpen your knowledge with high level mathematical and statistical techniques from the core of our mathematics degree, and financial applications ranging from accountancy to financial markets and investment management.
• Become a confident, effective communicator, able to present your ideas visually, verbally and in writing. Small group tutorials help you acquire these skills. In the 2016 National Student Survey 93 per cent of our final year students said that “As a result of the course my communication skills have improved”.
• Progress in your final year with modules on quantitative finance, which introduce techniques in stochastic calculus for modelling fluctuating financial markets. Other important mathematical material for financial markets include partial differential equations, time series and optimisation techniques.
  
• Model and simulate financial products with the professional computing skills you gain on the course such as Bloomberg Professional service and R.
  
• Expand the ways you study with access to an extensive set of online support materials, including podcasts and eBooks, that you can freely access via your provided tablet PC.
• Benefit from a degree accredited by the Institute of Mathematics and its Applications, setting you on a path to Chartered Mathematician (CMath) status.
• An optional but strongly recommended placement between the second and final years gives you excellent career prospects. Recent placement providers include Vauxhall Motors (finance division) and reinsurance giant Swiss Re.
  
• An impressive track record of graduate positions, with our graduates working for Ernst and Young, Whitbread PLC, Francis Clark Chartered Accountants, Rightmove, Wellers, Ricoh UK and Lloyds Banking Group.

• Year 1
• In your first year, you’ll study the same modules as students on BSc (Hons) Mathematics. As well as mathematics, you will study probability and statistics, which underlie much of modern finance such as risk analysis. Modules include calculus, linear algebra, mathematical reasoning and numerical methods. Plymouth Business School lecturers introduce you to financial accounting.

  Core modules

  • ACF1002PP Understanding Financial Markets

    This module explores the role of financial markets in a capitalist economy. The module provides an introduction to the nature and operation of financial markets and the risks and opportunities that investors face when using financial markets including banks and insurance companies. The module will also cover, at a basic level some key financial concepts, including risk and return and market efficiency.

  • BPIE113 Stage 1 Mathematics Placement Preparation

    This module is aimed at students who may be undertaking an industrial placement in the third year of their programme. It is designed to assist students in their search for a placement and in their preparation for the placement itself.

  • MATH1601 Mathematical Reasoning

    This module introduces the basic reasoning skills needed for the development and applications of modern mathematics. The importance of clear logical thinking will be explored in various mathematical topics. This will include fundamental properties of prime numbers, their random generation and use in cryptography.

  • MATH1602 Calculus and Analysis

    This module covers key topics in calculus and analysis and prepares students for the rest of their degree. It has a greater emphasis on proof and rigour than at A-level and introduces some multi-dimensional calculus together with the reasoning skills needed for the development of modern mathematics. The rigorous underpinning of analysis will be developed and applied to limits of sequences, series and functions.

  • MATH1603 Linear Algebra and Complex Numbers

    This module explores the concepts and applications of vectors, matrices and complex numbers. The deep connection between algebra and geometry will be explored. The techniques that will be presented in this module are at the foundation of many areas of mathematics, statistics, physics, and several other applications.

  • MATH1605 Probability with Applications

    An understanding of uncertainty and random phenomena is becoming increasingly important nowadays in daily life and for a variety of fields. The aim of this module in probability is to develop the concept of chance in a mathematical framework. Random variables are also introduced, with examples involving most of the common distributions and the concepts of expectation and variance of a random variable.

  • MATH1606 Numerical and Computational Methods

    This module provides an introduction to the Maple and Matlab software, computational mathematics and creating simple computer programs. Students will use Maple/Matlab interactively and also write procedures in the Maple/Matlab computer languages. The elementary numerical methods which underlie industrial and scientific applications will be studied.

• Year 2
• In Year 2, you'll study a range of modules including vector calculus, differential equations and Monte Carlo methods where random sampling is used to solve numerical problems. You'll also examine financial markets, institutions, and instruments including interest rates, exchange rates, forward rates, options, swaps and hedging with derivative securities. The second year also provides you with skills in operational research, the mathematical techniques underlying management and decision making.

  Core modules

  • ACF201 Financial Institutions and Markets

    This module deals with financial markets, instruments, and institutions. The coverage includes the bond market, the stock market and the foreign exchange market. The module will also introduce investment banking and mutual funds.

  • BPIE213 Stage 2 Mathematics Placement Preparation

    This module is aimed at students who may be undertaking an industrial placement in the third year of their programme. It is designed to build on the Level 1 module (BPIE111) and to assist students in their search for a placement and in their preparation for the placement itself.

  • MATH2601 Advanced Calculus

    Partial differentiation is consolidated and applied to practical problems. Multiple integration is introduced. Vector calculus is introduced and its use in integration explored.

  • MATH2602 Statistical Inference and Regression

    The module provides a mathematical treatment of statistical inference, including confidence intervals and hypothesis testing. Methods of estimation are explored, focusing on maximum likelihood estimation. The module also demonstrates the underlying mathematical theory of the general linear model, through a variety of applications, using professional software.

  • MATH2603 Ordinary Differential Equations

    The module aims to provide an introduction to different types of ordinary differential equations and analytical and numerical methods to obtain their solutions. Extensive use will be made of computational mathematics packages. Applications to mechanical and chemical systems are considered as well as the chaotic behaviour seen in climate models.

  • MATH2604 Mathematical Methods and Applications

    Vector calculus is extended to higher dimensions and applied to a range of important scientific problems primarily from classical mechanics and cosmology. Differential and integral calculus is applied to the solution of differential equations and the orthogonal functions bases are constructed. The crucial mathematical concepts of integral transforms (Fourier and Laplace) and Fourier series are introduced.

  • MATH2605 Operational Research and Monte Carlo Methods

    This module gives students the opportunity to work on open-ended case studies in operational research (OR) and Monte Carlo methods, both of which are important methods in, for example, industry and finance. It allows students to work on their own and in teams to develop specific skills in OR and programming as well as refining their presentation and communication skills.

• Optional placement year
• An optional but highly recommended placement in Year 3 provides you with valuable paid professional experience and helps make your CV stand out. Recent placement providers include Vauxhall Motors (finance division) and reinsurance giant Swiss Re.

  Optional modules

  • BPIE331 Mathematics and Statistics Placement

    A 48-week period of professional training spent as the third year of a sandwich programme undertaking an approved placement with a suitable company. This provides an opportunity for the student to gain experience of how mathematics and statistics are used in a working environment, to consolidate the first two stages of study and to prepare for the final stage and employment after graduation.

• Final year
• In your final year you'll study financial institutions as well as stochastic calculus and time series both of which underlie the modelling of financial markets. You’ll choose from a range of modules including mathematical statistics and non-linear systems. Deepen your expertise with optional modules covering topics including partial differential equations, time series and optimisation techniques. You can also undertake a final year project on a topic of personal interest. Recent projects have included the Black-Scholes model and simulations of derivative pricing.

  Core modules

  • ACF302 Investment Management

    This module is designed to provide a broad understanding of equities and bonds as investments. It considers their pricing and use in investment management along with that of derivatives. In addition core concepts in finance are covered including market efficiency, diversification, risk, portfolio building and evaluation.

  • MATH3609 Optimisation, Networks and Graphs

    This module introduces the mathematics of continuous and discrete optimisation. It provides the theoretical background and practical algorithmic techniques required to model and solve a diverse range of problems.

  • MATH3623 Financial Statistics

    This module introduces students to the concepts and methods of financial time series analysis and modelling and to a variety of financial applications. The module reviews the necessary univariate and multivariate time series models and inferential techniques. Model selection, forecasting and curse of dimensionality problems are treated both at methodological and computational levels.

  Optional modules

  • MATH3603 Professional Experience in Mathematics Education

    This module provides an opportunity for final year students to gain experience in teaching and to develop their key educational skills by working in a school environment for one morning a week over two semesters.

  • MATH3605 Partial Differential Equations

    This module introduces Partial Differential Equations using real-life problems. It provides a variety of analytic and numerical methods for their solution. It includes a wide range of applications including heat diffusion and the Tsunami wave.

  • MATH3612 Dynamical Systems

    This module presents an introduction to the basic concepts and techniques needed to analyse nonlinear dynamical systems modelled by differential equations and difference equations. Both regular and chaotic dynamics will be explored.

  • MATH3613 Data Modelling

    This module provides an employment relevant tool box of statistical modelling techniques and a rigorous treatment of the some underlying mathematics. The Bayesian framework for statistical inference will be presented and compared with the classical approach. Relevant computational algorithms, including Markov chain Monte Carlo, will be described. Application rich modelling problems will be considered.

  • MATH3614 Medical Statistics

    The content includes the design and analysis of clinical trials, including crossover and sequential designs and an introduction to meta-analysis. Epidemiology is studied, including case-control and cohort studies. Survival analysis is covered in detail. Computer packages are used throughout.

  • MATH3616 Professional Experience in Industry

    This module provides an opportunity for final year students to gain experience in applying mathematics in a professional environment and to develop relevant key competencies by working in a commercial environment for one day a week.

  • MATH3624 Mathematical Finance in Context

    In this module students will perform structured investigations on a variety of advanced topics in mathematical finance. Written and oral presentations of the work will be made.

  • MATH3628 Project

    In this module students will work individually and independently, with help and advice from a supervisor, on a topic chosen by the student. This could range from a topic preparing for a particular career or a subject which the student is particularly interested in exploring in depth. Written and oral presentations of the work will be made.

Every undergraduate taught course has a detailed programme specification document describing the course aims, the course structure, the teaching and learning methods, the learning outcomes and the rules of assessment.

The following programme specification represents the latest course structure and may be subject to change:

BSc Mathematics with Finance 2517 Programme Specification September 2016 2517

UCAS tariff

120 - 128