In the University of Essex MSc Algorithmic Trading, they equip students with the core concepts and quantitative methods in high frequency finance, along with the operational skills to use state-of-the-art computational methods for financial modelling. Essex enables students to attain an understanding of financial markets at the level of individual trades occurring over sub-millisecond timescales, and apply this to the development of real-time approaches to trading and risk-management. The course includes hands-on projects on topics such as order book analysis, VWAP & TWAP, pairs trading, statistical arbitrage, and market impact functions. Students have the opportunity to study the use of financial market simulators for stress testing trading strategies, and designing electronic trading platforms.

In addition to traditional topics in financial econometrics and market microstructure theory, Essex puts special emphasis on areas: statistical and computational methods; modelling trading strategies and predictive services that are deployed to hedge funds; algorithmic trading groups; derivatives desks; risk management departments.

Essex's Centre for Computational Finance and Economic Agents is an innovative and laboratory-based teaching and research centre, with an international reputation for leading-edge, interdisciplinary work combining economic and financial modelling with computational implementation. They are supported by Essex’s highly rated Department of Economics, School of Computer Science and Electronic Engineering, and Essex Business School. More than two-thirds of their research rated ‘world-leading’ or ‘internationally excellent'.

Essex has an extensive network of industrial contacts through their City Associates Board and their alumni, while the expert seminar series gives students the opportunity to work with leading figures from industry.

Recent graduates have gone on to become quantitative analysts, portfolio managers and software engineers at various institutions, including: HSBC, Mitsubishi UFJ Securities, Old Mutual, and Bank of England.