BS in Financial Mathematics and Statistics

Overview

Modern financial industry is one of the largest and most sophisticated institutions in the world. It demands graduates with diverse quantitatively oriented skills who possess deep knowledge of mathematics, statistics, statistical and computational techniques, complemented by background in economics, finance, and public policy.

UCSB's curriculum leading to the Bachelor of Science (BS) in Financial Mathematics and Statistics is one of few such programs in the nation and unique to the West Coast. It is offered jointly by the Department of Statistics and Applied Probability and the Department of Mathematics, in cooperation with the Department of Economics. This demanding major is intended for students interested in the role that mathematics, probability and statistics play in pricing and hedging securities in the financial markets.

Students graduating in Financial Mathematics and Statistics have open to them a wide range of career choices including commercial banking, corporate finance, financial planning, investment banking, money management, and real estate or pursue. This program is also an excellent choice for students who wish to continue their education with graduate study.

For students interested in applications of mathematics and statistics to risk management and insurance, the Department offers a separate specialized degree of BS in Actuarial Science.

Degree Requirements

This major is intended for students who are interested in the applications of mathematics, probability, statistics and modern finance. To be admitted to this demanding major, students must complete all pre-major courses with a 2.5 or higher grade-point average. Computer Science 10 or 5 (any section) is excluded as part of the pre-major grade-point average computation. Entrance into the pre-major does not guarantee admission into full major status. Upon satisfactory completion of pre-major requirements, students may submit a Change of Major petition to be accepted into full major status.

The following requirement guidelines are for students transferring to UCSB:

  1. If a student transferring to UCSB has two or more mathematical finance pre-major courses to complete at UCSB, the student must complete these courses with a GPA of 2.5.
  2. If a student transferring to UCSB has only one pre-major course to complete at UCSB, the student must complete this course with a minimum grade of C+ and complete one upper-division major course required for the major with a minimum grade of C.
  3. If a student transferring to UCSB has completed all the pre-major courses, the student must complete two upper-division courses required for the major with a minimum grade of C in each course.

All students must meet with a faculty advisor to discuss career opportunities and upper-division course electives. Admission to the major will be granted only after this meeting has been documented on advising form available in the Department of Mathematics. (For this purpose, any tenure track faculty member in the Departments of Mathematics and Statistics and Applied Probability may act as the faculty advisor.) Student records will be housed in both departments. The Staff Undergraduate Advisors will develop a system to insure both offices have copies of all student records.

Recommended Preparation for the Major:

High School students are recommended the following in preparation for the major:

  • 2 years of algebra
  • courses in plane geometry and trigonometry

Join Our Listserv

The Undergraduate Office maintains a listserv that is used to disseminate information to Financial Mathematics & Statistics Students. To subscribe to the Financial Mathematics & Statistics majors listserv simply join the FMS major mail list:

Contact

E-mail Undergraduate Program Advisor for more information

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