The course trains you to apply the probabilistic, statistical and mathematical techniques that are used in the finance industry. It's based on our Statistics MSc course, but also includes key financial topics such as the Capital Asset Pricing Model, the Black-Scholes option pricing formula and stochastic processes. You’ll also develop a detailed working knowledge of more general statistical techniques and concepts, including linear and generalised linear modelling, Bayesian statistics, time series and machine learning. You’ll learn how to analyse and draw meaningful conclusions from data, and develop your programming skills using the statistical computing software R. Around one-third of the course is devoted to your dissertation. This may focus on investigating a data set, or a more theoretical or methodological topic. The aim is to give you skills to include on your CV, such as planning and researching a project, data acquisition, problem specification, analysis and reporting your findings. Dissertation topics are often provided by external clients – for example, pharmaceutical companies or sports modelling organisations. Distance learning students often come with projects designed by their employer.