MFE Program with Computer Science BSc

[awc]

Hello there,

I am currently a first year undergraduate studying Computer Science at the University of Manchester. Unfortunately, I have not enjoyed the program as much as I thought I would have, due to its significant lack of mathematics. I tried to swap to Mathematics & CS however have been unable.

I know it is early on, but I am very passionate about pursuing a career in quantitive finance. I also thoroughly enjoy many aspects of mathematics, and received top grades at A-Levels (high school).

I have taken a look at many of the MFE programs, the majority of international programs will be infeasible due to the cost, so would likely be looking at something in the UK.

However I’m very concerned that my course will not be sufficient to get onto one of these programs at an elite institution such as Oxford/Imperial. It seems that they required more mathematical undergraduate courses, involving calculus, differential equations, etc. Of course my course covers some of these, e.g. stochastic process as part of the ML modules.

All the modules I can take are found here:

BSc Computer Science - course details (2024 entry) | The University of Manchester

Research. Teaching and learning. Social responsibility. Discover more about The University of Manchester here.

www.manchester.ac.uk

I am more than happy to self teach myself many of the mathematical concepts that these courses require, but I’m not sure if that will suffice? Can I realistically expect to have a chance of getting into these courses without haven taken these modules?

Any insight will be greatly appreciated.

Thank you very much in advance,

Anon

 

[micawberw]

Can I realistically expect to have a chance of getting into these courses without haven taken these modules?

In my subjective opinion it's perfectly possible. You will need good grades (ideally not just a first - above 80%) and an internship to have the best chances. Typically most candidates have either a maths, computer science or physics background.

If you want an empirical judgment, you can always create a freedom of information request to see if they have admitted many with your exact degree/institution (I'm not sure if any currently exists for Imperial's M&F/Oxfords MCF courses, but see here for an example).