Financial Mathematics MSc

Course overview

This degree provides you with knowledge of advanced finance concepts, while developing your quantitative, mathematical and research skills.

Taught by experienced academics based in both Leeds University Business School and the School of Mathematics, you’ll cover key topics including financial derivative pricing, discrete and continuous time models, risk management, statistical and machine learning and portfolio optimisation.

You’ll be equipped with a rare combination of mathematical and business finance knowledge, a skillset highly sought after in the financial sector by banks and investment companies.

This course is ideal if you’ve previously studied mathematics or statistics, finance, economics, physics or computing, and are interested in applying your skills to financial markets. It’s also excellent preparation if you’re interested in pursuing further academic research.

Course Highlights

• This course is shaped by the latest knowledge and critical thinking through the work of our advanced specialist research units, including the Centre for Advanced Studies in Finance, the International Banking Institute, the Credit Management Research Centre, and the Financial Mathematics group.

• Benefit from our strong relationships with finance, credit and accounting professions, connecting you to the latest practitioner and policy developments.

• You’ll have access to our two, on-campus trading rooms, and the world’s top financial databases, such as Bloomberg, WRDS, CSMAR, Refinitiv Eikon and Datastream.

• Guest lectures from high-profile, industry speakers or regulatory bodies share current trends and valuable real-world insight. Recent speakers have included the Chief Risk Officer from the Royal Bank of Canada, and the Deputy Governor of the Bank of England.

• On all Masters courses at Leeds University Business School you’ll have an opportunity to apply for a place on a week-long international study tour which will include company visits, guest lectures and networking events, as well as an opportunity to visit local places of interest. Previous study tours have included visits to Berlin, Frankfurt, Milan and Zurich.

This course is jointly taught by Leeds University Business School and the School of Mathematics.

Find out more about studying your Masters at Leeds University Business School.

Accreditation

Leeds University Business School has triple accreditation from the three leading bodies AACSB, AMBA and EQUIS.

Course details

In your first semester, you’ll develop a broad understanding of corporate finance and how financial theory relates to practice in business and financial markets. This will put your mathematical studies into context, while developing your skills in applied statistics and probability, statistical and machine learning methods and discrete time stochastic processes in finance.

You’ll study topics such as continuous time stochastic processes, risk management and computational methods. You’ll also gain specialist knowledge in topics that suit your career ambitions, such as risk and investment and behavioural finance.

The course will improve your research skills and allow you to explore different research methodologies, including those employed by our own leading academics. This will prepare you for your dissertation – an independent research project on a topic of your choice that you’ll submit by the end of the year.

Course structure

The list shown below represents typical modules/components studied and may change from time to time. Read more in our terms and conditions.

For more information and a full list of typical modules available on this course, please read Financial Mathematics MSc in the course catalogue

Year 1 compulsory modules

Year 1 optional modules (selection of typical options shown below)

Learning and teaching

You’ll be taught using a range of methods including lectures, tutorials, seminars and workshops. The rest of your time will be spent in independent learning, allowing you to develop your skills in research and analysis.

Our Virtual Learning Environment will help support your studies. This is a central place where you can find all the information and resources for the School, your course and modules.

On this course you’ll be taught by our expert academics, from lecturers through to professors. You may also be taught by industry professionals with years of experience, as well as trained postgraduate researchers, connecting you to some of the brightest minds on campus.

Assessment

Assessment methods emphasise both knowledge and essential skills development. This may include formal exams, group projects, reports, computer simulation exercises, essays and written assignments, group and individual presentations and reflective logs. This diversity enables you to develop a broad range of skills as preparation for professional life.

Applying

Entry requirements

A bachelor degree with a 2:1 (hons) in a related subject such as finance, economics, mathematics, physics, computing or engineering.

International qualifications

We accept a range of international equivalent qualifications.

English language requirements

IELTS 6.5 overall, with no less than 6.0 in any component. For other English qualifications, read English language equivalent qualifications.

Improve your English

International students who do not meet the English language requirements for this programme may be able to study our postgraduate pre-sessional English course, to help improve your English language level.

This pre-sessional course is designed with a progression route to your degree programme and you’ll learn academic English in the context of your subject area. To find out more, read Language for Economics and Finance (6 weeks) and Language for Business: Economics and Finance (10 weeks).

We also offer online pre-sessionals alongside our on-campus pre-sessionals. Find out more about our six week online pre-sessional.

You can also study pre-sessionals for longer periods – read about our postgraduate pre-sessional English courses.

How to apply

Application deadline:

We operate a staged admissions process for this course, and we give preference to applications that exceed our entry requirements. Once your application is received it will be reviewed by our admissions team who will aim to decide on your application within eight weeks.

If we are unable to make you an offer in the stage you applied in, we may hold your application and carry it forward for consideration in the next stage. We will let you know if we plan to do this.

Please see our How to Apply page for full details and the application deadlines for each stage.

The ‘Apply’ link at the top of this page takes you to information on applying for taught programmes and to the University's online application system.

If you're unsure about the application process, contact the admissions team for help.

Documents and information you need

• a copy of your degree certificate and transcript, or a partial transcript if you’re still studying
• contact details for two academic references
• a personal statement
• an up-to-date CV
• your approved English Language test* (if applicable)
• a letter of sponsorship, if you need one.

* Applicants who have not yet completed an approved English language test may apply for a Masters course prior to taking a test.

Read about visas, immigration and other information in International students. We recommend that international students apply as early as possible to ensure that they have time to apply for their visa.

Admissions policy

University of Leeds Admissions Policy 2025

This course is taught by

Leeds University Business School
School of Mathematics

Contact us

Postgraduate Admissions Office

Email: masters@lubs.leeds.ac.uk
Telephone:

Fees

UK: £18,750 (Total)

International: £37,000 (Total)

Read more about paying fees and charges.

For fees information for international taught postgraduate students, read Masters fees.

Additional cost information

There may be additional costs related to your course or programme of study, or related to being a student at the University of Leeds. Read more on our living costs and budgeting page.

Scholarships and financial support

We’re offering up to 50 Business School Excellence Scholarships to UK and International students starting one of our Masters courses in 2025. These scholarships offer a 50% fee reduction and will be awarded to particularly deserving applicants who demonstrate excellent academic, professional and personal achievements.

You do not have to submit a separate application for our Excellence Scholarships – you will be automatically considered when your course application is reviewed.

International Excellence Scholarships (International applicants)

Masters Excellence Scholarships (UK applicants)

Read more about Masters Funding and Scholarships

Career opportunities

From day one, we encourage you to think beyond your time at Leeds and reflect on a meaningful career. You have a wide range of opportunities open to you as a Financial Mathematics graduate, including quantitative analysis, risk management, investment banking, financial consultancy, insurance, accounting and academia.

Previous graduates have gone on to secure employment with a range of organisations, including Allianz (London), AstraZeneca, Barclays, CITIC Group, Deloitte, Gaz de France, KPMG, PricewaterhouseCoopers and the UK Government Actuary’s Department.

Careers support

Careers support and professional development activities are built into your course. You can access advice and guidance on your career choices, help in identifying and applying for jobs, and support to boost your employability. You’ll also receive coaching on developing the professional skills needed to start a successful career, and how to evidence these to prospective employers.

As part of the Accounting and Finance Department, you can benefit from commercial awareness networking events and guest lectures from high-profile speakers from industry or regulatory bodies. Students have had the opportunity to develop their knowledge of financial markets through a one-week trading simulation with Amplify Trading.

You’ll also benefit from the University’s award-winning Careers Service, where you can access range of support to help you plan your career and make well-informed decisions, even after you graduate.

Read more about our careers and professional development support.