BSc (Hons) Mathematics for Finance Management
- UCAS code: G161
- Mode of study: Full time or sandwich with work placement
- Duration: 3 years full time, 4 years sandwich with work placement
- Entry requirements 2013: 260-300 points to include 160 points from a minimum of 2 A levels, or equivalent, one of which must be Mathematics.
- Please see details of the range of other qualifications that will also be considered on the 'Entry Requirements' tab below. Please do contact us for advice on other qualifications that aren't listed here.
Find out more:
Tel: +44 (0)23 9284 2555
Email: technology.admissions@port.ac.uk
Department: Mathematics
Course overview
This course will meet the educational requirements for Chartered Mathematician status, when it is followed by training and experience that satisfies the competencies specified by the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA).
The BSc (Hons) Mathematics for Finance Management is a mathematics degree, but the applications are biased towards the financial and business applications of mathematics. If you are fascinated by mathematics and have an interest in the business, rather than the scientific or engineering applications of mathematics, then this course is for you.
Our course aims to develop your theoretical understanding and practical, analytical and computing skills as a base for developing applied mathematical solutions. The course will teach you advanced problem-solving skills, which you will be able to apply in many different ways in a wide choice of potential careers.
Mathematicians are warmly welcomed in industry, business and commerce for their analytical ability and systematic, logical approach to unravelling complex issues. Our friendly and supportive staff will show you how fascinating, yet practical, maths can be.
Whilst studying mathematics at the University of Portsmouth you will:
- Study both a continuation of A Level mathematics, together with completely new approaches to the subject.
- Have access to ultra-modern computing facilities and advanced teaching and learning resources.
- Use specialist mathematical and statistical computing packages, for which you will receive full training.
- Develop advanced problem-solving skills.
- Explore ideas within a supportive environment.
- Acquire the skills needed for a successful career in industry, business and commerce.
- Have an opportunity to assist in a local school as a final-year option.
The flexibility of our course means that during the first year you will have the option to change between mathematics degrees. All these degrees have an optional sandwich year that involves working for a paid employer in the UK or overseas.
Career focused
The entrance criteria of this degree have been designed to comply with the requirements of major mathematics and finance management graduate programmes. Competent students can have the opportunity to apply their skills to real-life practical problems as part of the department’s partnership scheme with charities, local and global organisations. Please view the 'Career prospects' section for further details.
To find out more about placement opportunities in the Faculty of Technology, please visit our Placements Office pages.
Course content
One of the key features of the programme is the opportunity to study economics, accounting and finance alongside mathematics, computing and statistics. The mathematical content is carefully designed to underpin the more practical elements of the course. Maximum use is made of relevant IT, mathematical and statistical computer packages.
The first year of the course contains a broad mixture of mathematics, statistics and computing, including an introduction to economic modelling in the Mathematical Modelling unit. In the second year you will continue to develop skills in core mathematics, and will additionally study Operational Research and Mathematics for Finance. You will also have the option to further develop your knowledge in areas such as financial management, statistics, pure and applied mathematics and cosmology. The final year has compulsory units in Financial Derivative Pricing and Planning, Scheduling and Supply Chain Management together with a wide choice of particularly relevant options in areas of Advanced Financial Management, Operational Research and Applied Statistics. Options in pure and applied mathematics stretching from history and philosophy through to quantum mechanics and relativity are also available.
Teaching and assessment
You will be taught through a mixture of lectures, seminars, tutorials, laboratory and project work. Lecture classes can be large and you will have about 12 hours of this type of contact every week. A further two to three hours will be spent in small group seminars and tutorials, where you can get individual help in those areas in which you would like to know more or are perhaps experiencing some difficulty. Some lectures will also be provided via the internet so you can work at your own pace from any location.
Assessment is geared towards the subject matter in a way that encourages a deeper understanding and allows you to develop your skills. It takes many forms and includes examinations, coursework, multiple-choice tests, presentations and mini projects. In the final year, all students undertake a major piece of supervised independent work on a topic connected with mathematics.
Career prospects
Placement opportunities
In the Faculty of Technology we feel that students should be given as many opportunities as possible to gain meaningful work experience and build employability skills throughout their studies to make them more attractive to future employers.
Working with other University services, the Faculty’s Student Placement and Employability Centre (SPEC) ensure students have access to a range of volunteering and work experience opportunities, including year-long industrial placements, and provide support for the different types of application processes.
One example of a role our students have taken up as a placement role is:
- Assistant Financial Analyst at Panasonic
Types of placement roles that could be relevant to this course include:
- Quality Management Assistant
- Assistant Financial Analyst
To find out more about how you can gain work experience whilst studying BSc (Hons) Mathematics for Finance Management, please visit our Placements Office pages.
Graduate roles
A mathematics degree is very well respected in many areas of employment. Although many students find employment in traditional areas such as statistics, finance and mathematical modelling, former students have pursued careers in such diverse areas as the police, the armed services, marketing and retail management.
A number of students are also choosing to stay for a further year to complete a PGCE and to then help alleviate the well-publicised shortage of specialist mathematics teachers. Successful completion of the course could also lead to postgraduate studies, which often focus on particular applications of mathematics or statistics and can enhance employment prospects even further.
BSc (Hons) Mathematics for Finance and Management is arguably the most directly relevant of all mathematics degrees to the world of industry and commerce. Employment prospects are excellent, with most of our graduates securing well-paid posts within commerce, finance, investment analysis, accountancy, actuarial science or management.
Facilities and features
You will have easy access to modern computing laboratories equipped with a wide range of powerful hardware and software, including multimedia applications. All students will receive instruction in the use of the computer algebra package MAPLE and the numerical methods and matrix algebra package MATLAB. Statistical computing will use MINITAB.
Depending on your choice of pathway you will also use C++, MICRO SAINT SHARP, EVOLVER and MPL. You will certainly use the standard IT packages for word processing and spreadsheets, and almost all students now make use of PowerPoint for presentations. In addition, all students have full access to email and the web. Apart from this, the Department's main asset is the academic staff who are always at hand.
You will also have use of our library, which houses over 600,000 volumes in printed format and gives you access to thousands of ejournals and ebooks, as well as a full range of student services that can help you with finance, accommodation, careers and recruitment, and study in general.
Maths Café
The Maths Café is a daily drop-in facility, where ANY student of the University can receive help on any maths or statistics problem they encounter in their studies. We operate in a friendly, informal location which we hope will encourage students to visit us. Handouts on key topics are available to take away. Students can be shown how to use computer aided learning packages, which can be accessed from any computer attached to the University's computer network.