Career opportunities are available in financial institutions such as banks, securities firms, insurance companies, investment companies, IT firms that support the financial institutions and multinationals. Graduates could find jobs such as financial product development and pricing, risk management, derivatives pricing, hedging and trading, quantitative modeling, IT support for derivatives trading and risk management, investment decision support, quantitative portfolio management and asset management and wealth management.

Our programme is uniquely positioned to meet this demand because we are the only comprehensive university in Singapore that has strengths in all the above areas. We offer the first and the most established quantitative finance programme in Singapore.

Quantitative finance courses enable students to have an integrated overview of how mathematical methods and computing techniques are applied to finance. Students will learn how to use quantitative tools using our state of the art systems in the computing laboratory. The system in the laboratory is the same as what practitioners use. Hence students will have a real life experience of the financial markets.

With rapid developments of new financial products requiring quantitative skills, the curriculum also provide students a solid financial product knowledge and how to create new structured financial products.

The programme is conducted jointly by the Faculty of Science, School of Business and School of Computing. 

To be admitted to read a major in Quantitative Finance, you will first need to apply for admission to the Faculty of Science. After you are successfully admitted, you may then apply for admission to the Quantitative Finance programme by the stipulated deadline. There is only one intake (in August) each Academic Year and admission to the programme is on competitive basis (with quota restrictions). Applicants may be required to attend a face-to-face interview; phone interviews will not be conducted.

Applicants should have a good H2 pass or equivalent in Mathematics/Further Mathematics. Students with IB Math (Standard Level) need to pass MA1301 before reading MA-coded modules that have H2 Mathematics as prerequisite.

(The schedule below is usually updated by early March)

The timelines for the AY2020/2021 admission exercise are:

Applicants who missed Round 1 application deadline may apply in Round 2.

Online form for Round 2 will open after the deadline of Return of Acceptance in Round 1 has past.

Before you apply:

1. You must have been offered a place in the Faculty of Science at NUS.
   
2. You'll need to prepare the following for submission with the application form:
   • A one-page essay on why you are interested in pursuing QF as your major (in PDF format); and
   • A copy of your A-level (or equivalent) results (in PDF format); and
   • A passport-sized photo (in JPEG format - width 400-600 pixels, height 500-800 pixels, file size 30KB-300KB).
   • Max file size for the above documents plus the application form must not exceed 2MB.
3. Applicants may be required to attend a face-to-face interview to ascertain their suitability for the programme, thus, they should try and make time for it. No phone interview wil be conducted.
4. Successful applicants will be notified via email.
5. Late applications will not be accepted.

Apply online

Applicants who have been offered a place will be informed via email. They should, therefore, provide valid email addresses and check for correspondence diligently.

Those being offered admission are required to confirm acceptance via email within a stipulated period. If the Department does not receive any response after the deadline, the offer will lapse and the vacant place will be offered to an applicant at the top of the waiting list. The applicant who has failed to respond in time will lose his place in the programme and appeals will not be considered.

Successful applicants who accept the offer would be allocated with the programme code before module registration starts. The programme code cannot be dropped at will - those who change their minds and wish to drop out of the programme must write to the Department for permission and assistance to drop the programme code.

It is a student's responsibility to ensure that the graduation requirements applicable to his/her cohort will be satisfied within the given candidature. As modules offered by the Department of Mathematics may vary from year to year, it would be in a student’s interest to have several options for his/her study plan.

There are no recommended study plans for this programme as it already has a fairly well-defined structure.

Students will follow the requirements that correspond to their year of admission:

• 2013/2014
• 2014/2015
• 2015/2016
• 2016/2017 (updated 30 Jun 2017)
• 2017/2018 or after

What is the difference between mathematics and quantitative finance?

While both the majors in Mathematics (MA) and Quantitative Finance (QF) target students who are mathematically inclined, the QF major is specifically designed for students who want to pursue a career in the finance industry. The MA curriculum contains core modules in various areas of mathematics while the QF curriculum contains core modules in foundation mathematics, and mathematical finance in addition to a number of finance modules offered by the Business School. Furthermore, the QF major is a restricted major with a limit to its cohort size. This means that interested students need to go through another application process after successful admission to the Faculty of Science.

What kind of personality is suitable for this major?

We select students who are strong in mathematics and are interested in banking and finance. Basically, students need to be broad-minded to understand courses offered by five different departments.

How would I know for sure that I stand a chance in being admitted? Based on my results?

The selection of students depends very much on the number of students who express interest to read and apply for this major. We are unable to give a definite answer until all applications are reviewed.

Are all applicants required to be interviewed?

Not necessarily. The review committee may shortlist some students for interview depending on the selection criteria, which may not be the same for every intake as it depends on the number and quality of applications received.

If I were unsuccessful in gaining admission, can I appeal for reconsideration or apply again in the following year?

In general, appeals or reapplications would not be considered.

What sort of career prospects would I have in Singapore?

We expect students to have good opportunities in the finance and banking sector. Career prospects would be better as Singapore becomes the financial and IT centres in Asia and the demand for graduates in quantitative finance background increases.

What starting salary should I expect upon graduation with this major? In terms of job prospects, how does this programme compare with other degree programmes that may not be related to the banking industry?

Your job prospects and salary structure would be determined by the market. If you are considering reading other degree programmes, you should consult the relevant academic advisors and decide for yourself, a path that best suits your interest and needs.

Do I have to register for the compulsory business and computer science modules?

Yes.

I have timetable clashes with the available business module tutorial time slots. What should I do?

As the time slots are given to us by the School of Business with fixed quota, we are unable to request for more places in each slot. You should, therefore, try to work around the available time slots.

If there are no suitable time slots despite making adjustments, you may have to consider reading the module in another semester.

Why are the tutorial timetables for some business modules in 3-hour blocks?

These modules adopt sectional teaching, meaning lectures and tutorials are conducted at the same time in the 3-hour block. The lecture and tutorial blocks will match on the timetable. You only need to register for one block for online module registration and tutorial.

Am I allowed to count towards UEM (unrestricted elective modules), the core and elective modules from other faculties that are required in this major?

As long as the modules are not offered by Faculty of Science, these modules may be used to count towards UEM. However, the credits of modules taken from other faculties may only be counted ONCE for either UEM or to fulfill the major requirements.

There are so many versions on CS1101. Which one should I be reading?

CS1101C and CS1101S are different versions of CS1101 that are offered to selected group of students. Their course content vary slightly from CS1101.

CS1101X/Y/Z are simply different lecture groups of CS1101 and students may choose to read any of these groups. While students with experience in programming or who are confident to be in a class of students with experience in programming may register for CS1101X, those without experience should go for CS1101Y or CS1101Z.

From AY2010/2011, they are replaced by CS1010/CS1010E/CS1010S.

I’d like to read a primary major in Quantitative Finance with a second major in Statistics. Are there any special conditions to fulfil?

You must satisfy all the following conditions:

For students who were admitted in 2012/13 and 2013/14,

1. You may use the following six modules to count towards the graduation requirements of both majors:
   • CS1101/CS1101C/CS1101S/CS1010/CS1010E/CS1010S,
   • MA1101R,
   • MA1102R,
   • MA2108/MA2108S,
   • MA2216/ST2131,
   • ST3131;
2. You are not allowed to use modules other than those listed above to count towards the graduation requirements of both majors;
3. You must read three additional MA or ST modules at level 2000 or above and 1 additional ST module at level 3000 or above, all of which are not overlapping with any other modules used to satisfy the respective primary major or second major requirements. The additional MA or ST modules must belong to the elective lists of the primary major or second major.
   

For students who were admitted in 2014/15 or later,

1. You may use the following six modules to count towards the graduation requirements of both majors:
   • CS1101/CS1101C/CS1101S/CS1010/CS1010E/CS1010S,
   • MA1101R,
   • MA1102R,
   • MA2108/MA2108S,
   • MA2216/ST2131,
   • ST3131;
2. You are not allowed to use modules other than those listed above to count towards the graduation requirements of both majors;
3. You must read two additional MA or ST modules at level 2000 or above, all of which are not overlapping with any other modules used to satisfy the respective primary major or second major requirements. The additional MA or ST modules must belong to the elective lists of the primary major or second major.

I’d like to read a primary major in Quantitative Finance with a minor in Statistics. What are the common modules that I can use to fulfil both sets of graduation requirements?

Only MA1102R and ST2131/MA2216 can be used to satisfy both major and minor requirements.

Will I get a change to do industrial attachment in the banking and finance industry to enhance my prospects?

Industrial attachment is not a graduation requirement. Nevertheless, students who have completed at least four semesters of study may be recruited as interns - some companies request for the department to nominate students to take part in their internship programmes during May-July vacation period.

I can’t find answers in the FAQs above.

Check the FAQ page by the Faculty of Science. If you still can’t find the answers, drop us an email.