Computational Finance

Description

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We offer research supervision for our PhD Computational Finance in the following fields: agent-based modelling of financial markets; computational risk management; high-frequency finance; and the use of computational-intelligence methods for investment decision making. We provide a vibrant research environment so our PhD students publish papers in prestigious international conferences and often attract the attention of industry and government; one of our PhD students was recently invited to present their research on term structure models to the Bank of England and many others get the opportunity to directly apply their research through internships at investment banks and hedge funds.

Our graduates have gone on to become quantitative analysts, portfolio managers and software engineers at various institutions, including major investment banks like HSBC and Mitsubishi UFJ Securities.
Please note, part-time research study is also available.

Contents

Your research degree gives you the chance to investigate your chosen topic in real depth and reach a profound understanding. In communicating that understanding, through a thesis or other means, you have a rare opportunity to generate knowledge. You develop new high-level skills, enhance your professional development and build new networks. A PhD can open doors to many careers.

Your supervisor

Within CCFEA, our PhD students are normally jointly supervised by academic staff in two of our constituent departments, in order to give you an interdisciplinary perspective to your topic of research. How you will study

The aim of undertaking your PhD within CCFEA is to become trained as am independent researcher who can critically assess other research work, and have a comprehensive knowledge of their subject area.
Our PhD programme is usually three to four years duration and all our students are initially registered as Mphil/PhD students, then transferred to the PhD in the first half of their second year of study if they have made satisfactory progress. In your second and third years, you work towards your PhD. Finalising your PhD

Within CCFEA, your PhD thesis is generally completed within three to four years and has a length of around 80,000 words.
Your PhD is awarded after your successful defence of your thesis in an oral examination, in which you are interviewed about your research by two examiners, at least one of whom is from outside Essex. Seminars and conferences

Within CCFEA, we host advanced workshops and seminars by experts in the area of computational finance and economics, so you have the opportunity to attend lectures given by practitioners, including senior staff from HSBC, Olsen Ltd, Royal Bank of Scotland and the Financial Services Authority.

Requirements

For research study within CCFEA, we normally require a good Masters degree, or equivalent, in a relevant discipline. A well developed research proposal is also essential.
If English is not your first language, then we will require you to have IELTS 6.0 or equivalent.

English Language Requirements

IMPORTANT NOTE: Since April 2014 the ETS tests (including TOEFL and TOEIC) are no longer accepted for Tier 4 visa applications to the United Kingdom. The university might still accept these tests to admit you to the university, but if you require a Tier 4 visa to enter the UK and begin your degree programme, these tests will not be sufficient to obtain your Visa.

The IELTS test is most widely accepted by universities and is also accepted for Tier 4 visas to the UK- learn more.

Funding

For up-to-date information on funding opportunities at Essex, please visit: