PhD Computational Finance at University of Essex

Programme overview

PhD in Computational Finance in the School of Computer Science and Electronic Engineering, with research supervision in agent-based modelling of financial markets, computational risk management, high-frequency finance and computational-intelligence methods for investment decision making. Students work within the Centre for Computational Finance and Economic Agents; full-time and part-time study are available.

Faculty: School of Computer Science and Electronic Engineering | Department: School of Computer Science and Electronic Engineering | Duration: 3 - 4 years full-time | Intake: October 2027 | Study mode: full-time; part-time | Location: Colchester, England, United Kingdom

What you will study

Research degree without a taught structure: you carry out an independent research project under supervision and write a thesis.

Career pathways

Graduates of the Centre have gone on to become quantitative analysts, portfolio managers and software engineers at institutions including HSBC and Mitsubishi UFJ Securities; students have held internships with City institutions such as HSBC, Old Mutual and the Bank of England.

Official programme page

Application information

Entry requirements

Good Masters degree, or equivalent, in a related subject; a well-developed research proposal is essential; experience in at least one high-level programming language (such as Matlab, Java or Python). An interview (including by video call) is normally required, and acceptance is subject to research expertise in the department. English language (if first language is not English): IELTS 6.0 with a minimum of 5.5 in each component, or equivalent.

Domestic applicants: GBP 5,238 a year. Home/UK fee; fees increase for each academic year of study. Source

International applicants: GBP 20,625 a year. International fee; fees increase for each academic year of study. Source

Intake: October 2027

Duration: 3 - 4 years full-time

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