Outline

Overview

The aim of Financial Mathematics is to establish a theoretical background for building models of securities markets and provides computational techniques for pricing financial derivatives and risk assessment and mitigation. Specialists in Financial Mathematics are widely sought after by major investment banks, hedge funds and other, government and private, financial institutions worldwide. This course is foundational for honours and masters programs in Financial Mathematics. Its aim is to introduce the basic concepts and problems of securities markets and to develop theoretical frameworks and computational tools for pricing financial products and hedging the risk associated with them. This unit will focus on two ideas that are fundamental for Financial Mathematics. You will learn how the concept of arbitrage and the concept of martingale measure provide a unified approach to a large variety of seemingly unrelated problems arising in practice. You will also learn how to use the wide range of tools required by Financial Mathematics, including stochastic calculus, partial differential equations, optimisation and statistics. By doing this unit, you will learn how to formulate problems that arise in finance as mathematical problems and how to solve them using the concepts of arbitrage and martingale measure. You will also learn how to choose an appropriate computational method and devise explicit numerical algorithms useful for a practitioner.

Unit details and rules

Unit code	MATH4511
Academic unit	Mathematics and Statistics Academic Operations
Credit points	6
Prohibitions ?	None
Prerequisites ?	None
Corequisites ?	None
Assumed knowledge ?	Familiarity with basic probability (eg STAT2X11), with differential equations (eg MATH3X63, MATH3X78), achievement at credit level or above in MATH3XXX or STAT3XXX units or equivalent
Available to study abroad and exchange students	Yes

Teaching staff

Coordinator	Zhou Zhou, zhou.zhou@sydney.edu.au

Type	Description	Weight	Due	Length
Final exam (Take-home short release)	Final Exam Written exam for mathematical calculation/proof.	60%	Formal exam period	2 hours
Outcomes assessed:
Assignment	Assignment 1 Written assessment for mathematical calculation/proof.	13.33%	Week 05	1 week
Outcomes assessed:
Assignment	Assignment 2 Written assignment for mathematical calculation/proof.	13.33%	Week 09	1 week
Outcomes assessed:
Assignment	Assignment 3 Written assignment for mathematical calculation/proof.	13.34%	Week 13	1 week
Outcomes assessed:
= Type D final exam ?

Assessment summary

Assessment will be based on the completeness and coherence of the solutions.

Final exam: If a second replacement exam is required, this exam may be delivered via an alternative assessment method, such as a viva voce (oral exam). The alternative assessment will meet the same learning outcomes as the original exam. The format of the alternative assessment will be determined by the unit coordinator.

Assessment criteria

The University awards common result grades, set out in the Coursework Policy 2014 (Schedule 1).

As a general guide, a high distinction indicates work of an exceptional standard, a distinction a very high standard, a credit a good standard, and a pass an acceptable standard.

Result name	Mark range	Description
High distinction	85 - 100	Representing complete or close to complete mastery of the material.
Distinction	75 - 84	Representing excellence, but substantially less than complete mastery.
Credit	65 - 74	Representing a creditable performance that goes beyond routine knowledge and understanding, but less than excellence.
Pass	50 - 64	Representing at least routine knowledge and understanding over a spectrum of topics and important ideas and concepts in the course.
Fail	0 - 49	When you don’t meet the learning outcomes of the unit to a satisfactory standard.

For more information see sydney.edu.au/students/guide-to-grades.

For more information see guide to grades.

Late submission

In accordance with University policy, these penalties apply when written work is submitted after 11:59pm on the due date:

Deduction of 5% of the maximum mark for each calendar day after the due date.
After ten calendar days late, a mark of zero will be awarded.

This unit has an exception to the standard University policy or supplementary information has been provided by the unit coordinator. This information is displayed below:

Late submission is not permitted, except for approaved special consideration.

Academic integrity

The Current Student website provides information on academic integrity and the resources available to all students. The University expects students and staff to act ethically and honestly and will treat all allegations of academic integrity breaches seriously.

We use similarity detection software to detect potential instances of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breach. If such matches indicate evidence of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breaches, your teacher is required to report your work for further investigation.

You may only use artificial intelligence and writing assistance tools in assessment tasks if you are permitted to by your unit coordinator, and if you do use them, you must also acknowledge this in your work, either in a footnote or an acknowledgement section.

Studiosity is permitted for postgraduate units unless otherwise indicated by the unit coordinator. The use of this service must be acknowledged in your submission.

Learning support

Simple extensions

If you encounter a problem submitting your work on time, you may be able to apply for an extension of five calendar days through a simple extension.  The application process will be different depending on the type of assessment and extensions cannot be granted for some assessment types like exams.

Special consideration

If exceptional circumstances mean you can’t complete an assessment, you need consideration for a longer period of time, or if you have essential commitments which impact your performance in an assessment, you may be eligible for special consideration or special arrangements.

Special consideration applications will not be affected by a simple extension application.

Using AI responsibly

Co-created with students, AI in Education includes lots of helpful examples of how students use generative AI tools to support their learning. It explains how generative AI works, the different tools available and how to use them responsibly and productively.

Weekly schedule

WK	Topic	Learning activity
Multiple weeks	Black-Sholdes model	Lecture and tutorial (12 hr)
	Fundamental theorem of asset pricing and Martingale approach	Lecture and tutorial (14 hr)
	Incomplete market and currency derivatives	Lecture and tutorial (8 hr)
	Optimal stopping theory and American options	Lecture and tutorial (8 hr)
	Extensions of Black-Scholes model	Lecture and tutorial (8 hr)

Study commitment

Typically, there is a minimum expectation of 1.5-2 hours of student effort per week per credit point for units of study offered over a full semester. For a 6 credit point unit, this equates to roughly 120-150 hours of student effort in total.

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes are what students know, understand and are able to do on completion of a unit of study. They are aligned with the University's graduate qualities and are assessed as part of the curriculum.

Outcomes
Graduate qualities

At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:

LO1. Demonstrate a coherent and advanced knowledge of the concept of arbitrage and martingale measure and how they provide a unified approach to a wide variety of problems in finance
LO2. Formulate real-world financial problems in mathematical terms and determine the most suitable framework to analyse the resulting mathematical problem
LO3. Generate analytic and computational solutions to diverse problems of finance
LO4. Communicate mathematical analyses and solutions to mathematical and practical problems of financial mathematics clearly in a variety of media to diverse audiences
LO5. Take responsibility for their own learning by seeking out and using material from the research literature and elsewhere to extend their knowledge of methods of financial mathematics

Graduate qualities

The graduate qualities are the qualities and skills that all University of Sydney graduates must demonstrate on successful completion of an award course. As a future Sydney graduate, the set of qualities have been designed to equip you for the contemporary world.

GQ1	Depth of disciplinary expertise Deep disciplinary expertise is the ability to integrate and rigorously apply knowledge, understanding and skills of a recognised discipline defined by scholarly activity, as well as familiarity with evolving practice of the discipline.
GQ2	Critical thinking and problem solving Critical thinking and problem solving are the questioning of ideas, evidence and assumptions in order to propose and evaluate hypotheses or alternative arguments before formulating a conclusion or a solution to an identified problem.
GQ3	Oral and written communication Effective communication, in both oral and written form, is the clear exchange of meaning in a manner that is appropriate to audience and context.
GQ4	Information and digital literacy Information and digital literacy is the ability to locate, interpret, evaluate, manage, adapt, integrate, create and convey information using appropriate resources, tools and strategies.
GQ5	Inventiveness Generating novel ideas and solutions.
GQ6	Cultural competence Cultural Competence is the ability to actively, ethically, respectfully, and successfully engage across and between cultures. In the Australian context, this includes and celebrates Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, knowledge systems, and a mature understanding of contemporary issues.
GQ7	Interdisciplinary effectiveness Interdisciplinary effectiveness is the integration and synthesis of multiple viewpoints and practices, working effectively across disciplinary boundaries.
GQ8	Integrated professional, ethical, and personal identity An integrated professional, ethical and personal identity is understanding the interaction between one’s personal and professional selves in an ethical context.
GQ9	Influence Engaging others in a process, idea or vision.

Outcome map

Learning outcomes	Graduate qualities
Learning outcomes

Responding to student feedback

This section outlines changes made to this unit following staff and student reviews.

Assessment weights are reallocated.

Additional information

Disclaimer

The University reserves the right to amend units of study or no longer offer certain units, including where there are low enrolment numbers.

To help you understand common terms that we use at the University, we offer an online glossary.

Current students

Overview

Overview

Unit details and rules

Teaching staff

Assessment

Assessment

Assessment summary

Assessment criteria

Late submission

Academic integrity

Learning support

Learning support

Simple extensions

Special consideration

Using AI responsibly

Weekly schedule

Weekly schedule

Study commitment

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes

Graduate qualities

Outcome map

Responding to student feedback

Responding to student feedback

Additional information

Additional information

Disclaimer

On this page

Useful links

Media

Student links

About us

Connect

Current students

MATH4511: Arbitrage Pricing in Continuous Time

Semester 1, 2022 [Normal day] - Remote

Overview

Overview

Unit details and rules

Teaching staff

Assessment

Assessment

Assessment summary

Assessment criteria

Late submission

Academic integrity

Learning support

Learning support

Simple extensions

Special consideration

Using AI responsibly

Weekly schedule

Weekly schedule

Study commitment

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes

Graduate qualities

Outcome map

Responding to student feedback

Responding to student feedback

Additional information

Additional information

Disclaimer

On this page

Useful links

Media

Student links

About us

Connect