Program Overview

---

Is it possible to prevent another financial crisis? In a post-pandemic world, the global finance sector requires financial engineers and risk managers to work alongside its traders in order to develop robust security measures to maximise financial stability. MSc Financial Engineering and Risk Management aims to develop finance sector workers who are able to evaluate risk, act rationally and understand the economic impact of their actions in order to find solutions. While the trader is trying to make money, the risk manager is trying not to lose it and the financial engineer is building the tools to reduce associated risks. If you feel comfortable in pressurised environments and can rise to the challenge of making ethical and robust financial decisions, this could be the finance specialism for you. This course will enable you to follow advanced, contemporary study in financial engineering and risk management and develop a deeper understanding of the risks within modern financial securities. You will also become skilled in the design of powerful management systems to measure risk. Upon graduation, you should possess the skills and knowledge for a successful career in commercial, investment and central banks, hedge funds, regulatory authorities and rating agencies. You will master areas including:

• asset pricing
• derivative securities
• financial modelling
• risk management
• empirical analysis of financial data

MSc Financial Engineering and Risk Management is taught at Essex Business School , at our Colchester Campus . Our students and staff join us from all over the world and our teaching is grounded in contemporary issues and professional practice, supported by industry-standard facilities , such as our Bloomberg virtual trading floor. Essex Business School offers a limited number of scholarships for the CFA level one exam to exceptional Masters students. Discover our trading floor: Why we're great.

• We work with City traders to present you with real-life risk situations in order for you to hone your skills and put your theories into practice
• Graduate with the skills and knowledge for a successful career in commercial, investment and central banks, hedge funds, regulatory authorities and rating agencies
• Benefit from round the clock access to our Bloomberg Financial Data Trading Floor

Our expert staff

Finance research at Essex Business School is world-leading in a number of areas, including:

• banking
• corporate finance
• behavioural finance
• financial econometrics
• forecasting
• commodities markets

Our expert finance researchers work alongside the financial industry, regulators and policy-makers both in the UK (for example at the Royal Bank of Scotland and the Bank of England) and internationally (such as the European Central Bank, the Federal Reserve and the Bank for International Settlements). This ensures their research is having a genuine impact on people’s everyday lives. You’ll be taught by this team of experts, including Professor Alex Kontonikas . Professor Kontonikas’ main research interests are in the areas of asset pricing, liquidity, monetary policy and sovereign risk. Alex has acted as a research consultant for the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the Bank of Finland and has secured a number of large grants from prestigious funders, including the Leverhulme Trust and the Nuffield Foundation. All our finance researchers are members of the Essex Finance Centre (EFiC) , our research centre that promotes internationally renowned, high-quality academic research in areas such as asset pricing, banking, behavioural finance and financial modelling. Finance academics are also members of the Essex Centre for Macro and Financial Econometrics , our interdisciplinary research centre established in partnership with the world-class Economics Department at Essex. The Centre aims to conduct and publish world-leading research in macro and financial econometrics. The Centres run regular seminars that are open to all postgraduate students and which offer an opportunity for you to hear the very latest research and developments in the finance sector.

---

Specialist facilities

MSc Financial Engineering and Risk Management is based at our Colchester Campus . You’ll be studying at Essex Business School , home to the first zero carbon business school in the UK – demonstrating our sustainable approach to business first-hand. Set around a lush winter garden, with shared spaces to encourage collaborative working, you’ll find a wealth of inspiring teaching and study zones:

• a virtual trading floor with Bloomberg Financial Market Labs, where you’ll gain hands-on experience and learn how to model financial data in a practical setting
• learn in modern lecture theatres with ‘listen again’ recording to aid your study
• dynamic blended learning provision for uninterrupted study and engaging online lectures with virtual guest speakers
• utilise study booths in our winter garden and versatile break out areas for group working throughout the building
• study skills support provided by the Essex Business School Learning Team
• networking opportunities with visiting businesses and careers events
• Bonds café and adjacent foyer to enjoy on-site fresh food and drink

You'll also benefit from fantastic University facilities located close by, including our state-of-the-art Silberrad Student Centre, complete with an open-access 24-hour Learning Hub and a cutting-edge media centre. You benefit from access to a wide range of specialised banking and finance databases, textbooks and e-books and can book appointments with our subject librarian. Essex Business School students also have access to quantitative analysis software, such as MatLab, Stata and Eviews which can be accessed remotely and from all university computer labs. Our building is located on the Knowledge Gateway , home to some of the region’s most exciting enterprises in the science, technology and creative sectors. The Knowledge Gateway provides potential networking and career opportunities for students directly on campus.

---

Your future

Essex Business School is helping to create the business leaders of the future, those who are creative, innovative and ethically aware. Many of our graduates enjoy careers in financial analysis, management, public administration and accountancy at some of the world’s most well-known organisations and exciting SMEs, including:

• Groupon, a global e-commerce marketplace
• KPMG Group, a multinational professional services network
• Right Freight Pvt Ltc, an Independent freight forwarder
• Copal Partners, a financial consultation agency
• Capital Markets Intelligence, a financial publisher
• Credit Data Research, a business funder

Read Ludovico's story, and see how he benefited from his Masters degree. Our Student Support team work closely with the University’s Employability and Careers service to help you with careers information and advice and CV support. They will help you find work experience, internships, placements and voluntary opportunities and provide access to employer talks on campus. We also work closely with the Essex Startups team to support our budding entrepreneurs get their business ideas off the ground. ”My current experience of working for a hedge fund company has served to help make my ambitions clearer. I like my work and I like the hedge fund sector. In the future, I see myself doing a job which will be more related to the market analysis side. A job that also allows me to fully put into practice the knowledge and skills I gained during my Masters.” ”I can honestly state that my MSc in Financial Engineering and Risk Management at the University of Essex gave me all the knowledge and tools I needed, and that I still need to face the quite complex word of the hedge funds.” Ludovico Luce, MSc Financial Engineering and Risk Management (2019) Find out more about Ludovico's story .