Generally speaking, when a business school or a school of management offers a major in finance, it tends to cultivate students' ability to analyze the value and investment of financial products, as well as investment risk management analysis. That is to say, value and investment analysis can be realized with the help of existing models, software and mature investment theories. Courses offered usually include corporate finance, investment management, securities and financial markets.
Based on mathematics and computer language, financial engineering focuses on financial derivatives and fixed-income products, such as options, futures and bond investments. The complexity of these financial products in risk management, yield and portfolio determines that they need to be realized by modeling and computer language. This major is almost offered by engineering colleges, and applicants with engineering background are preferred. Courses offered usually include: financial engineering, computer finance, investment strategy &; Analysis) and so on.
Financial mathematics is more based on advanced mathematics, even advanced calculus, and solves the pricing process of financial products through complex mathematical algorithms. Colleagues, the investment risk management of financial products is also based on mathematics. Financial mathematics majors are generally set up in mathematics departments or science colleges, and a few are set up in business schools. Master's courses usually include: asset pricing, stochastic process, financial modeling, fixed income and derivatives.
The difference between the three directions can be summarized in one sentence: finance pays attention to value exploration and investment analysis, financial mathematics pays attention to pricing and risk assessment of financial products, and financial engineering pays attention to investment analysis of financial derivatives and fixed-income products.
Different professional settings will inevitably lead to different academic requirements for applicants. Relatively speaking, the application conditions for financial majors are the lowest, and certain basic mathematics courses and some economics courses are enough. Students can apply for finance if their undergraduate courses include calculus, linear algebra, probability theory, statistics, macroeconomics and microeconomics. If you plan to apply for financial mathematics, besides the courses required by finance, you need to have courses such as multivariate differential equations, partial differential equations, econometrics and stochastic processes. The application of financial mathematics is relatively difficult, so ordinary undergraduates need to pay attention to the study of mathematics courses. Because students who apply for this major usually have a strong mathematical background, it is relatively easy for many students of science mathematics to apply. Undergraduate students with a background in mathematics or computer can consider applying for financial engineering, and ordinary engineering students can also apply for it if they have a good background in mathematics and computer.