Accredited by the Actuaries Institute, The Master of Actuarial Science is an innovative and immersive program that combines elements of economics, finance, statistics, data analytics and advanced mathematics to develop techniques for the management of risk and business decision making. The Master of Actuarial Science will be taught via smaller classes for personalised attention and unparalleled access to Bond University's Macquarie Trading Room and Bloomberg data-sourcing terminals. The program will develop skills in the challenge of crunching 'big data' numbers to create practical solutions for real world problems. Employment opportunities include working as an investment analyst, portfolio manager, actuarial consultant, insurance actuary, superannuation actuary, risk analyst, big data analyst, liability manager and high level manager. The University has applied for accreditation with the Actuaries Institute. Once this is granted, successful completion of the program at an appropriate level of performance will lead to Part I qualification with the Actuaries Institute.
The Master of Actuarial Science will prepare students for rewarding careers in a range of disciplines, including:
Master of Actuarial Science students must complete the following eleven subjects:
Plus one elective subject.
Students may also choose one of the following opportunities to use your elective subject to have an international experience or an Internship opportunity provided you meet the requirements. Please discuss with the Enrolment and Student Engagement Officer in the Student Business Centre.
This Masters degree provides you with knowledge of advanced finance concepts, whilst 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 and portfolio optimisation, as well as statistical methods for finance.
You will be equipped with a rare combination of mathematical skills and the latest business finance knowledge, which is highly sought after in the financial sector by banks, investment and consultancy companies. It’s also excellent preparation if you’re interested in pursuing further academic research.
This course is ideal if you’ve previously studied finance, economics, mathematics, physics or computing, and are interested in applying your skills to financial markets.
Academic excellence
As a student, you will be able to access the knowledge of our advanced specialist research units, which also have strong links with leading institutions in the US, Europe and Asia. These include the Centre for Advanced Study in Finance (CASIF), the Institute of Banking and Investment (IBI) and the Credit Management Research Centre (CMRC).
This research makes an important contribution to your learning on the MSc Financial Mathematics; you will benefit from a curriculum that is informed by the latest knowledge and critical thinking.
You will also benefit from our strong relationships with the finance, credit and accounting professions. This provides a connection to the latest practitioner and policy developments, giving you a masters degree that is relevant to the contemporary environment.
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 you develop your skills in applied statistics and probability, optimisation methods and discrete time finance.
You’ll build on these skills in topics such as continuous time finance, risk management and computational methods. You’ll also gain specialist knowledge in topics that suit your career ambitions such as risk and insurance, actuarial science and behavioural finance.
The programme will improve your research skills and allow you to study 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.
Compulsory modules
Optional modules
You'll also take two optional modules.
For more information on typical modules, read Financial Mathematics MSc in the course catalogue
We use a variety of teaching and learning methods to help you make the most of your studies. These will include lectures, seminars, workshops, online learning and tutorials. Independent study is also vital for this course allowing you to prepare for taught classes and sharpen your own research and critical skills.
In addition to the assessed modules and research dissertation, you benefit from professional training activities and employability workshops. Thanks to our links with major companies across the business world, you can also gain a practical understanding of key issues.
Recent activities have included CV building and interview sessions, professional risk management workshops and commercial awareness events. For example, students have developed their knowledge of financial markets through a one-week trading simulation. Read more about professional development activities for postgraduate finance students.
Assessment methods emphasise not just knowledge, but essential skills development too. They include formal exams, group projects, reports, computer simulation exercises, essays and written assignments, group and individual presentations.
This diversity enables you to develop a broad range of skills as preparation for professional life.
You have various 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 Allianz (London), AstraZeneca, Barclays, Cathay Life Insurance, CITIC Group, Commerzbank, Deloitte, First Direct, Gaz de France, HSBC, KPMG, Moody’s, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Royal Bank of Scotland, RSA and UK Government Actuary’s Department.
We help you to achieve your career ambitions by providing professional development support and training as part of the course. You benefit from the support of a professional development tutor, who will work with you to develop the important professional skills that employers value.
Read more about our careers and professional development support.
The University of Leeds Careers Centre also provides a range of help and advice to help you plan your career and make well-informed decisions along the way, even after you graduate. Find out more at the Careers website
This course is designed to build on your existing mathematical skills and allows you to both broaden and deepen your understanding of the branch or branches of mathematics which most interest you.
The flexibility of this course allows you to either keep your studies quite broad, learning a range of mathematical techniques or specialise in areas of pure mathematics, applied mathematics or statistics depending on your interests.
If you do not meet the full academic entry requirements then you may wish to consider the Graduate Diploma in Mathematics. This course is aimed at students who would like to study for a mathematics related MSc course but do not currently meet the entry requirements.
On completion of the Graduate Diploma, students who meet the required performance level will be eligible for entry onto a number of related MSc courses, in the following academic year.
There are a range of taught modules to choose from which provide the opportunity to combine mainstream, advanced mathematical topics and innovative methods selected from the research interests of the School of Mathematics.
You must enrol on 180 or 185 credits in total, made up from both taught modules and an individual research project.
Compulsory modules
For more information on typical modules, read Mathematics MSc in the course catalogue
Teaching is by lectures, tutorials, seminars and supervised research projects. Extensive use is made of IT and a wide range of materials is available to enable students to study at their own pace and in their own time to enhance and extend the material taught formally.
Assessment is by a range of methods, including formal examination, in-class tests, example sheets, problem solving, project work and verbal presentations.
The research project will be assessed based on 85% from the written report, and 15% from an oral presentation. It will contribute 60 credits to the overall total.
There is a high demand for mathematicians and statisticians across a range of sectors such as the petroleum and nuclear industries, medicine and IT, as well as many forms of engineering and different government departments.
Further study at Masters level can be useful for some maths-related careers such as operational research, medical statistics in pharmaceutical companies, meteorology, engineering design, finance and IT-based roles.
Common Careers paths for Maths graduates include:
Actuary
Actuaries evaluate, manage and advise on financial risks. They use their knowledge of business and economics, together with their understanding of probability theory, statistics and investment theory, to provide strategic, commercial and financial advice.
Operational Research
Operational researchers use analytical and creative skills to assist organisations in developing better systems and operational procedures. By examining an organisation's operations and using mathematical modelling, computer software or other analytical approaches, they find more effective ways of working.
Corporate investment banker
Corporate investment bankers provide a range of financial services to companies, institutions and governments. They manage corporate, strategic and financial opportunities, including:
Corporate investment bankers also advise and lead management buyouts, raise capital, provide strategic advice to clients, and identify and secure new deals
Quantity Surveyor
A quantity surveyor manages all costs relating to building and civil engineering projects, from the initial calculations to the final figures. Surveyors seek to minimise the costs of a project and enhance value for money, while still achieving the required standards and quality.
Meteorologist
Meteorologists study the causes of particular weather conditions using information obtained from the land, sea and upper atmosphere. They use computerised and mathematical models to make short and long-range forecasts concerning weather and climate patterns.
Further study
This MSc in Mathematics will provide you with excellent preparation for research for an MPhil or PhD. At Leeds we have a range of research opportunities available and in some cases you can progress to a PhD on the basis of a specified performance in the MSc.
The quality of the School’s research was recognised in the 2014 Research Excellence Framework (REF) where Mathematics at Leeds was ranked equal 8th overall and equal 9th for research impact in the UK.
Read about postgraduate research in the School of Mathematics.
We encourage you to prepare for your career from day one. That’s one of the reasons Leeds graduates are so sought after by employers.
The Careers Centre and staff in your faculty provide a range of help and advice to help you plan your career and make well-informed decisions along the way, even after you graduate. Find out more at the Careers website.
