Phd opportunities after a BSc in mathematics in Europe/Uk

[P_D]

Hi everybody! I'm new in this forum and I hope that my thread didn't break any rule.

I am an Italian student, 25 yo, and I currently hold a BSc in Econ and Finance. After two years of work I decided to pursue another career and enrolled in a BSc in Math. I would like to become a data scientist or a quant/researcher for a prop firm.

In order to fulfill my plans I am considering to pursue a Phd in computational finance/mathematical finance/data analytics in Europe/Uk. The point is that I will complete my BSc in a year from now and to start my career asap I would like to "skip" the MSc year, and hopefully get into a program that offers a MRes and a Phd jointly, or straight into Phd program. I know that in UK there are Centres for Doctoral Training that offers this kind programs, but unfortunately fundings are reserved mostly for British Citizens or EU Citizens that spent 3 years in the UK prior the admittance.

I would like to know if any of you guys could suggest me some PhD programs in which I could be admitted without a Master's degree and that could give me good opportunities to find a job in a prop trading firm.

Every suggestion is welcomed. Thanks very much.

Greetings from Italy

 

[yetanotherquant]

I would like to become a data scientist or a quant/researcher for a prop firm.

Why?

In order to fulfill my plans I am considering to pursue a Phd in computational finance/mathematical finance/data analytics in Europe/Uk.

Why do you think it will help you to fulfill your plan?
Data science is more an art than science and prop firms favor practical skills.
Have you ever tried a practical challenge? Something like "test whether the patterns of technical analysis work or not" or "create a market-neutral trading strategy for European stocks"?
If not, you should try (then you will see that what you learnt in the university is pretty far away from practice).

I would like to "skip" the MSc year, and hopefully get into a program that offers a MRes and a Phd jointly, or straight into Phd program.

No way in Germany. I cannot say for other countries.

 

[Daniel Duffy]

Does Germany do BSc? In The Netherlands degrees last(ed) 4-5 years and they call it an MSc.
And then 4 years PhD after that. Too long.

 

[yetanotherquant]

Does Germany do BSc?

Yes (they started about 10 years ago to move from Diplom to Bsc + Msc)

In The Netherlands degrees last(ed) 4-5 years and they call it an MSc.
And then 4 years PhD after that. Too long.

In Germany one can make an Bsc. in 3 or 4 years (depending on the major), then 1.5 - 2 years for Msc and then 3 years for Ph.D. (Dr. rel. <something>)

It is also possible to do a duales Studium (study and work)

 

[P_D]

Why?



Why do you think it will help you to fulfill your plan?
Data science is more an art than science and prop firms favor practical skills.
Have you ever tried a practical challenge? Something like "test whether the patterns of technical analysis work or not" or "create a market-neutral trading strategy for European stocks"?
If not, you should try (then you will see that what you learnt in the university is pretty far away from practice).


No way in Germany. I cannot say for other countries.

Hi, thanks for answering. Unfortunately, as I expected, getting into a Phd straight after a BSc is pretty an anglo-saxon thing . I think that it's true that you can acquire, to a certain extent, all the skills you need working by yourself but the thing is that Phd just like all other educational qualifications are useful to demonstrate to potential employers that you meet their requirements, since to gain a certain qualification you need to go through some steps that are more or less the same all across the world. On the other side I know some good programmers etc. that were hired without a Bachelor and whose level is comparable to those of top university students, but thing is if you have to invest your time it's better that the knowledge you acquire is "certified" in some way. To conclude I would like to thank you for your answer and tell you that I will definitely try to work out something in the data science field by myself!

 

[yetanotherquant]

On the other side I know some good programmers etc. that were hired without a Bachelor and whose level is comparable to those of top university students

You shall not compare programmers with data scientists and quants!
I, myself, hacked games to put infinite lifes on ZX Spectrum (using Z80 Assembler) in the age of 14 or 15. There was a guy in our high-school, who professionally programmed user interfaces and got paid for it...
Entrance threshold in data science is much higher and it is even higher for quantitative finance (I mean risk-neutral world). But a good bachelor + relentless self-studying should be enough.