University of Warwick - MSc in Mathematical Finance

I have been reading many reviews from the UK universities, and even though they're very useful, I still think people need a more crude, honest review to assess whether money is being invested or wasted. Let me be the first to do it with this MSc in which I am a current student of. This will be the first part, as I think people would love to know one's opinion when it starts (admission, induction, some courses, etc.) and after it finishes (job offerings, course difficulty, exams, etc.).

First, let me tell you how I arrived here so that you can imagine how. I was an Economics student in Pompeu Fabra University in Spain. This is one of the greatest Economics programmes worldwide, but also has something very special: it has a minor in Math that allows students to be more or less prepared for more technical programmes. I did it, and I also took another advanced undergraduate programme in BSE. Moreover, I came here to Warwick as a visiting student for 6 months. Then, I got into the MSc in Statistics and Operations Research at UPC, the best polytechnic school in Spain. There, I did some research assistantships and obtained various scholarships, and I also started an MSc in Mathematical Engineering online at the same time so that I can end up with two technical MSc's. All of this was planned to have a chance to enter at the UK good MSc's in Financial Mathematics. I have relevant industry experience too at Deloitte as a Quant Credit Risk Analyst and in a small dutch crypto market-making firm. I applied and got accepted to LSE, Edinburgh and Warwick. The latter gave me a 25% scholarship and is one of the best programmes, so I accepted it. For people who do not have that much money: this is also a very good choice because the yearly living costs are like half of London, and due to Warwick's ties to London and the train connections, it is easy still to go there for whatever.

Am I telling this to you to brag? No, is for all european (or other) students to see what it took me to got admitted coming from economics. Surely I could have gotten easier if I have did mathematics or some engineering degree, but I do not regret my path as I feel I have a great mix. Other students are mathematics, statistics, physics, 1 from Comp. Sci., aeronautical engineering and just 1 other from Warwick Economics. So as you can see, admission is tough (27 people in the programme this year). Moreover, I only applied to the UK instead of France, Italy, Switzerland, etc. because of personal reasons but also because London and USA tend to be the go-to destinations, so better be at some uni recognized by them, don't you think? Still ETH and other unis are recognized, so please apply if needed for a cost-effective option.

This is all for admission. When it comes to the start of the course, Warwick allows access to a pre-msc page which allows you to obtain preparation for the course, how to adapt to UK job market, resources that the uni offers, etc. This is really good. However, the preparation videos before arriving could be better, as the level seems okay until you really start the course. And then, level skyrockets.

First week, you do 1 full week (4-6 hours a day) of measure theoretical probability and then you have an exam Monday next week. The contents are not difficult if you got your right dosis of measure theory before starting. If not, well, you can always put double the effort. After that week, courses start and you can see that the most important but the most difficult is Stochastic Calculus, as Warwick's teachers are all relevant in that area and is their main research focus, so you could expect a very tough course. It is not the toughest in existence, but the pace is what makes it difficult. Students struggle to keep up with it, because you also have Financial Statistics, Asset Pricing, ML & Simulation and C++ Programming, which are not as difficult but are time requiring. Additionally, all of the modules have problem sets each week that you are highly encouraged to solve (not to get lost) but are quite long. Therefore, the amount of work and the intensity is very high.

In my opinion this is very good: not too many programmes are these intense with that good teachers, and I think that corporate life would not be way easier than this, so you have to get used to it. However, the only word of caution, mostly for international students and experienced students: you do not have that much time to apply for jobs the first term, which is the time at which they open. How can you solve this? Multiply yourself or double-down and get everything done. There is not too much to it if you want to start 2026 with a job. Nevertheless, most people wait for next cycle and keep getting good grades and using other opportunities they have available. In fact, international students can get the Graduate Visa to stay here in the UK, so situation is not that bad as in USA.

All in all, I think this programme is super good given the quality of teachers, their research and the centres they work for, the connections to London and other universities (Oxbridge, Imperial), and the education they give, specially in Stochastic Calculus. However, not everything is nice as pace is super fast and requires a lot from you. Must of us we do not have that much of a social life. But that depends on you. In the future, when this is over, I will try to give a more honest review on the outcomes of all I did. Hope this is useful!

As a current student in the MSc Mathematical Finance program at the University of Warwick, I can confidently say that my overall experience has been quite positive. The mathematical and statistical modules stand out for their excellent quality, supported by outstanding professors who are both knowledgeable and approachable. These aspects have significantly enhanced my learning experience and provided a solid foundation in the subject matter.

The modules offered by the business school, while making efforts to be more mathematically focused, still fall short of expectations in some areas. The structuring of these modules can sometimes be subpar, which affects the overall learning experience. Despite this, the campus environment and the cohort are great, contributing positively to university life.

However, the responsiveness of the university staff and lecturers to student issues leaves room for improvement. Their proactive engagement in addressing concerns has not been as effective as expected, which can be a drawback for students seeking timely resolutions.

The university has a very strong reputation as a top math and stats school both in academia and among industry professionals. This makes the certificate highly recognisible and valuable, thus the alumni are normally able to pass the CV screening to almost all top banks and funds rather easily.

Statictical and stocastical modules are delivered by the Statistical Department of the University, computational modules by the Mathematical and financial modules by WBS, which gives a unique exposure to quantitave finance. The quality of the professors is competitive to other top schools in the UK like Oxford and Imperial.

Finally, the university is a gem for those who finds beneficial living in the rural area enjoying the pace of the countryside.