Quantitative Financial Risk Management MSc/Diploma

4 scholarships of £2,500 will be awarded to outstanding applicants to our MSc in Quantitative Financial Risk Management. Find out more.

Risk is the BIG topic that dominates the financial industry, from complying with banking or insurance regulation to making sure the whizz-kids don't blow a hole in the balance sheet with their automated trading strategies.

The MSc in Quantitative Financial Risk Management (QFRM) is an excellent choice for graduates with good quantitative skills who are seeking a rewarding career as a risk manager in financial services. QFRM is an interdisciplinary subject that drawn on both finance and statistics and is aligned to the emerging professional syllabus in risk management. We aim to provide a rounded view if the subject, combining an appreciation of the practical application of risk management procedures in financial institutions with a rigorous grounding in the kind of mathematical models that underpin risk management, and a thorough coverage of risk regulation and the methodologies that are used in industry to measure and manage financial rules.

Graduates with such skills are highly desirable to employers who, typically, have developed their "rocket-science" based pricing systems and now want to focus on managing the risks of using them.

The QFRM MSc is

• mathematical, and a good degree in mathematics, or a mathematically based subject, is a pre-requisite.
• practical, the emphasis is on the use of mathematics rather than the theory.

Heriot-Watt boasts a leading international research group in financial and actuarial mathematics. Lectures will be given by highly experienced staff at our campus which is set in pleasant grounds in Edinburgh, Scotland's vibrant capital city.

There are strong links between the QFRM MSc and Edinburgh's significant investment industry, with one of the courses actually being taught by industry personnel. The degree is fully accredited by the Professional Risk Managers' International Association (PRMIA) and students who complete the appropriate courses, at the required level, will be eligible for exemption from PRMIA's Professional Risk Manager Certification (PRM™) Exams I and II. Other courses follow the Institute & Faculty of Actuaries professional syllabus.

This full-time MSc programme lasts for 12 months.