Program Overview

---

Through developing expert abilities in mathematics and discovering how these can be applied to financial situations, you will improve your capacity to make successful financial decisions and understand how you can turn risk into opportunity. Our BSc Finance and Mathematics course offers you modules in mathematics, accounting, economics and actuarial science. Our business-focused course equips you with the knowledge and skills that are in demand by employers, and in particular in financial markets or corporate careers that involve financial decision-making and problem-solving. You gain a thorough grounding in both finance and mathematics, investigating topics including:

• Corporate finance
• Portfolio management
• Applying mathematical, statistical and probabilistic techniques
• Programming and computation in languages such as Matlab and R
• Micro- and macro-economics

As part of our Department of Mathematical Sciences , you’re a member of an inclusive and approachable research community which allows you to explore topics in pure, high-level mathematics and applied mathematics. Why we're great.

• 85% of our Department of Mathematical Sciences graduates are in employment or further study (Graduate Outcomes 2023).
• As well as being world-class academics and researchers, we are award-winning lecturers.
• We are continually broadening the array of expertise in our department, giving you a wide range of options and letting you tailor your degree to your interests.

Study abroad

Your education extends beyond the university campus. We support you in expanding your education through offering the opportunity to spend a year or a term studying abroad at one of our partner universities. The four-year version of our degree allows you to spend the third year abroad or employed on a placement abroad, while otherwise remaining identical to the three-year course. Studying abroad allows you to experience other cultures and languages, to broaden your degree socially and academically, and to demonstrate to employers that you are mature, adaptable, and organised. If you spend a full year abroad you'll only pay 15% of your usual tuition fee to Essex for that year. You won't pay any tuition fees to your host university

---

Placement year

Alternatively, you can spend your third year with an external organisation, learning about a particular sector, company or job role, applying your academic knowledge in a practical working environment, and receiving inspiration for future career pathways. You will be responsible for finding your placement, but with support and guidance provided by both your department and the placements team. If you complete a placement year you'll only pay 20% of your usual tuition fee to Essex for that year.

---

Our expert staff

As well as being world-class academics, our mathematics staff are award-winning teachers. Many of our staff have won national or regional awards for lecturing, and many of them are qualified and accredited teachers – something which is very rare at a university. Our department is committed to providing you with the academic support you need to succeed. Our flexible policy means some staff are always available, whilst others maintain regular drop-in times. Staff are always happy to arrange appointments for longer discussions, and no issue is too big or too small. Our innovative research groups are working on a broad range of collaborative areas tackling real-world issues. Here are a few examples:

• Our data scientists carefully consider how not to lie, and how not to get lied to with data. Interpreting data correctly is especially important because much of our data science research is applied directly or indirectly to social policies, including health, care and education.
• We do practical research with financial data (for example, assessing the risk of collapse of the UK’s banking system) as well as theoretical research in financial instruments such as insurance policies or asset portfolios.
• We also research how physical processes develop in time and space. Applications of this range from modelling epilepsy to modelling electronic cables.
• Our optimisation experts work out how to do the same job with less resource, or how to do more with the same resource.
• Our pure maths group are currently working on two new funded projects entitled ‘Machine learning for recognising tangled 3D objects’ and ‘Searching for gems in the landscape of cyclically presented groups’.
• We also do research into mathematical education and use exciting technologies such as electroencephalography or eye tracking to measure exactly what a learner is feeling. Our research aims to encourage the implementation of ‘the four Cs’ of modern education, which are critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and creativity.

Our Essex Business School staff specialise in areas including: accounting and economic development in the public and third sectors; regulation and corporate social responsibility; finance and banking; accounting and finance in developing economies; and contemporary financial markets and their participants.

---

Specialist facilities

Take advantage of our extensive learning resources to assist you in your studies:

• We have a Maths Support Centre , which offers help to students on a range of mathematical problems. Throughout term-time, we can chat through mathematical problems either on a one-to-one or small group basis
• We have a dedicated social and study space for maths students in the department, which is situated in the STEM Centre

You also have access to our landmark new Essex Business School building , the first zero-carbon business school in the UK. Set around a lush winter garden, the Eden-style dome will give the building its own micro-climate. Our new building provides you with a stunning new work environment, offering:

• A virtual trading floor with Bloomberg Terminals offering direct use of Bloomberg data, information and analytics
• A light and spacious lecture theatre, with seating for 250 students
• Study pods and innovation booths for group working
• Dedicated office space for student entrepreneurs
• Networking opportunities with visiting businesses
• A café with an adjacent sun terrace

---

Your future

Clear thinkers are required in every profession, so the successful mathematician has an extensive choice of potential careers. Our graduates are highly employable in a wide range of places, working in business, pharmaceutical industries, banking and computing among others. The Council for Mathematical Sciences offers further information on careers in mathematics. Recent graduates from our BSc Finance and Mathematics have found employment as:

• Chartered accountants
• Investment consultants
• Accounts technicians
• Stock lending analysts

We also work with our University's Student Development Team to help you find out about further work experience, internships, placements, and voluntary opportunities. “I love the variety of work I complete in my current role as a Data and Systems Analyst. I work for a start-up company called Oddbox, which has 25 employees, so it is very hands-on and because of this I receive exposure to all aspects of how the business works. My job requires a very logical and analytical mindset, so these are two of the most useful skills I gained at Essex. My current role also requires a lot of investigative and problem-solving skills as I often have to look into issues employees are having with systems or spreadsheets and resolve them.” Emily Raftery, BSc Mathematics, 2015