Computational Finance - University of Washington

Graduate Certificate in Computational Finance

Note: This program is restricted to currently matriculated UW graduate students

Graduate Certificate Curriculum

The Graduate Computational Finance Certificate will be awarded to matriculated graduate students who complete six courses from the curriculum described below plus a capstone event that typically consists of a research seminar presentation. A Ph.D. General Exam with a finance focus will fulfill the latter requirement.

CORE CURRICULUM
Summer Quarter
Intro. to Computational Finance and Financial Econometrics ECON 424
Fall Quarter
Investment ScienceAMATH 541 *
Options and DerivativesSTAT 547
Winter Quarter
Financial Data Modeling and Analysis in RAMATH 542 *
Stochastic Calculus for Option PricingMATH/STAT 492
Spring Quarter
Portfolio Construction and Risk ManagementSTAT 549
Management of Financial RiskFIN 562

* Course application is in process, and course is currently offered as AMATH 500

Students must take 6 of the above 7 courses, including either ECON 424 or AMATH 541, except that a substitute may be made for one or two of the above courses if requested by a student to fit their special interests and approved by program Co-Director Prof. Eric Zivot. The following table lists some recommended substitute courses.

ADDITIONAL CURRICULUM COURSES
Statistics
Statistical Computing IISTAT 535Autumn
Statistical Computing IIISTAT 538Winter
Finance
Financial MarketsFIN 520Winter
Financial Futures and Options MarketsFIN 561Spring
Doctoral Seminar in Financial EconomicsFIN 580Autumn
Doctoral Seminar in Capital Market TheoryFIN 590Winter
Doctoral Seminar in Financial ResearchFIN 592Spring
Economics
Econometric Theory II: Time SeriesECON 584Winter
Advanced Applied Time Series AnalysisECON 586Spring
Mathematics
Linear OptimizationMATH 407Autumn
Nonlinear OptimizationMATH 408Winter

Application Process

You can download the Graduate Computational Finance Certificate application form at GCFC Application (docx) or GCFC Application (pdf). Please complete the form and email it along with your grade transcript to:

  • Eric Zivot
  • Robert Richards Chaired Professor of Economics
  • Computational Finance Co-Director
  • Department of Economics
  • Tel: (206) 543-6715
  • ezivot@u.washington.edu
Computational Finance and Risk Management, University of Washington, Guggenheim Hall #414, Box 352420, Seattle, WA 98195-2420 USA
Email 'compfin' (at uw.edu) Phone 206-543-5493 Fax 206-685-1440