This specialization is intended for aspiring learners and professionals seeking to hone their skills in the quantitative finance area. Through a series of 5 courses, we will cover derivative pricing, asset allocation, portfolio optimization as well as other applications of financial engineering such as real options, commodity and energy derivatives and algorithmic trading. Those financial engineering topics will prepare you well for resolving related problems, both in the academic and professional settings.

Courses included in the Financial Engineering and Risk Management Specialization:

  • Introduction to Financial Engineering and Risk Management
  • Term-Structure and Credit Derivatives
  • Optimization Methods in Asset Management
  • Advanced Topics in Derivative Pricing
  • Computational Methods in Pricing and Model Calibration

What you will learn:

  • Valuing options, swaps, forwards, futures, and other complex financial derivatives using stochastic models

  • Develop a systematic, data-driven approach to formulating modeled returns and risks for significant asset classes and optimal portfolios

  • Back test and implement trading models and signals in an active, live trading environment

Recommended Background:

Learners should at some point have taken intermediate to advanced undergraduate courses in: (i) probability and statistics, (ii) linear algebra, and (iii) calculus. With regards to programming, we have designed the course so that all required programming questions can all be completed within Excel and Python. That said, learners are welcome to complete the assignments using their software / programming languages of choice. It would also be very helpful if learners have had some prior exposure to an introductory finance course. In particular, learners should know what interest rates are, understand discounting and compounding, and have some basic familiarity with options, futures etc.

How to enroll:

You can register for the specialization on Coursera site.

Note to the learners:

These are non-credit bearing courses offered by ColumbiaX on Coursera. If you have any questions regarding enrollment, payment, financial aid or technical issues, please reach out to Coursera Help Center.