Fast-Track BBM QF-MQF Programme

Lee Kong Chian School of Business (LKCSB) has launched a Fast-Track BBM-MQF Programme. This integrated programme allows students in the Bachelor of Business Management (BBM) programme with the Quantitative Finance (QF) major to enrol in the MSc in Quantitative Finance (MQF) programme and graduate with both the BBM and MSc degrees in four years. QF Major students at Lee Kong Chian School of Business (LKCSB) with excellent academic performance can apply to be selected for this fast-track programme.

The objective of the programme is to provide an avenue for high-potential undergraduate students at LKCSB to accelerate their studies towards a master's degree. By integrating the UG and PG programmes, students can benefit from a holistic education by combining a broad-based undergraduate education with a highly specialised and technical postgraduate education.

What is Integrated BBM in QF and MQF?

Students can boost their career prospects through a holistic undergraduate business school education, coupled with a specialized quantitative finance master's degree, attaining both breadth and depth in their field of study. Graduates with quantitative finance, programming, and modelling skills are especially sought after now in the job market. This programme offers students a streamlined learning experience with a well-desgined curriculum.

A main objective of the programme is to meet Singapore's growing human resource demand for talented graduates with both financial markets and digital technology skills-the quantitative finance major is ideally suited to address this. High potential undergraduate students at LKCSB who meet the programme's entry requirements can now complete both a bachelor and master's degrees in four years, providing them with an attractive alternative to a double major. The programme also serves to provide top students the opportunity to enhance their technical skills, developing a pipeline of high-quality local graduates.

To learn more about how the programme benefits our students, click on SMU Blog for our exclusive interviews.

How is the "Fast Track" achieved?

The Integrated BBM in QF and MQF is designed to provide a seamless integration, while ensuring an excellent learning experience for our students. Academic progression is achieved by mapping related courses offered at both the BBM (introductory) and the MQF (advanced) levels. Students eligible for the integrated programme will take mapped courses at the MQF level, which will simultaneously count towards the BBM's degree requirements as well as the MQF degree's graduation requirements.

Students are expected to have cleared all 3 QF major core modules by the end of year 3. In year 4, students will spend both terms taking MQF courses :

Year 4, Terms 1 & 2 Þ take MQF courses to fulfil QF electives and free electives (BBM), and to meet MQF's degree requirement.
Year 4 upon completion of BBM Þ return for a special term from April to July to complete 4 remaining electives to fulfil MQF requirements

*Please refer to the Proposed course structure below

Who can apply?

LKCSB students from intake AY2020 onwards intending to major in quantitative finance will be eligible to apply for the Fast-Track BBM-MQF Programme.

Eligibility

LKCSB students in Year 2 intending to declare their major in quantitative finance may apply to the integrated programme. If shortlisted, they will receive a conditional offer subjected to a minimum cGPA of 3.4.

The actual offer of a seat in the programme will only be confirmed in Year 3 if students achieved a minimum of A- for all three QF core modules (QF101 Quantitative Finance, QF102 Investment Statistics, and QF205 Computer Technology for Finance), while maintaining a minimum cGPA of 3.4.

How to apply?

Students may apply to the integrated programme at the end of their second year when they declare QF as their major.
At the point of application students will have to submit a detailed course plan to the UG Programme Office, with the following details:

To list 8 CUs in year 4 which will be mapped to 8 MQF courses, in which,
- 3 CUs must be reserved for mapping to QF major electives in T1 and T2
- 5 CUs must be reserved for mapping to Free Electives in T1 and T2

Please note that Year 2 and Year 3 are reserved to fulfil the courses in the QF core and other course requirements in the categories of Core Curriculum and Business Core.

To apply now, click here.

Course Fees

Students will pay full BBM fees for the completion of their undergraduate (UG) degree.
Students admitted to the integrated programme will pay the postgraduate (PG) fee with a discount of more than 20% for the MQF degree. Due to annual adjustment for both the BBM and MQF course fees, the exact fee discount amount might be subjected to minimal variation over different cohorts. Interested students are advised to seek clarification with the programme office on the fee discount applicable to their cohort based on enrollment date.

Who should i contact for further details?

BBM-related queries:

LKCSB Quantitative Finance Unit, quantfin@smu.edu.sg
Prof Zhao Yibao, ybzhao@smu.edu.sg

MQF-related queries:

Ms Audrey Lam, audreylam@smu.edu.sg

ANNEX 1: MQF Programme

The MQF Curriculum consists of 1 university core + 1 open module + 9 core + 4 electives, making a total of 15 courses.

Total 15 CU	Financial Data Science	Algorithmic Trading	Risk Analytics
PGP Core (1CU)	4 workshop topics during period of candidature
Programme Core (9 CU)	Asset Pricing Stochastic Modelling in Finance Quantitative Analysis of Financial Markets Programming & Computational Finance Derivatives Fixed Income Securities Risk Analysis Numerical Methods Econometrics of Financial Markets
Track Electives (4CU)	QF621 Quantitative Trading Strategies QF633 C++ for Financial Engineering QF632 Financial Data Science QF624 Machine Learning & Financial Application	QF621Quantitative Trading Strategies QF623 Portfolio Management QF633 C++ for Financial Engineering QF635 Market Microstructure & Algorithmic Trading	QF622 Credit Risk Models QF635 Market Microstructure & Algorithmic Trading QF632 Financial Data Science QF624 Machine Learning & Financial Application
Open (1CU)	1 from other approved PGP courses.

ANNEX 2: BBM-MQF Curriculum Mapping

This section outlines the academic progression of a BBM student who takes the intergrated BBM-MQF programme. BBM students will need 36 CUs to complete the BBM degree. To be eligible for the Fast-Track BBM-MQF programme, they must declare the QF major by the end of Year 2. They should also follow this course sequencing.

Complete the following degree requirements by end of Year 4 Term 1.
- Core Curriculum: 12 CUs
- Business Core: 11 CUs
- 2 out of 7 of the Free Elective CUs
  (note that the 5 other CUs of free electives required under the BBM programme will map to MQF courses in Year 4, see points 2b and 3a below)
Complete the following BBM QF major courses and MQF masters-level courses.
1. BBM courses to be taken in Year 2 or 3:
  1. QF101 Quantitative Finance + QF102 Investment Statistics ➔ fulfil QF600 Asset Pricing^
  2. QF205 Computing Technology for Finance ➔ fulfils QF627 Programming and Computational Finance^
  ^ denotes the MQF courses that BBM QF majors will get exemptions for by taking the listed BBM course(s).
2. MQF courses to be taken in Year 4 Term 1 (Aug-Nov):
  1. QF603 Quantitative Analysis of Financial Markets* ➔ fulfils BBM QF major elective
  2. QF620 Stochastic Modelling in Finance* ➔ fulfils BBM QF major elective
  3. MQF Open Module* ➔ fulfils BBM free elective
  * denotes the MQF courses that will be recognised for credit in both the BBM and MQF programmes.
Students will follow the MQF programme schedule from BBM Year 4 Term 2 after they complete all the above-listed courses.
1. MQF courses to be taken in Year 4 Term 2 (corresponds to PG Term of Jan-Apr):
  1. QF602 Derivatives* ➔ fulfils BBM QF major elective
  2. QF605 Fixed Income Securities* ➔ fulfils BBM free elective
  3. QF604 Econometrics of Financial Markets* ➔ fulfils BBM free elective
  4. QF607 Numerical Methods* ➔ fulfils BBM free elective
  5. QF609 Risk Analysis* ➔ fulfils BBM free elective
  Note that students would have completed all of the BBM requirements after completing the above.
  The below set of courses will then be taken to complete the MQF degree requirements.
2. To be taken in BBM Year 4 (PG term of Apr-Jul). Choose 4 electives from the following:
  1. QF621 Quantitative Trading Strategies
  2. QF622 Credit Risk Models
  3. QF623 Portfolio Management
  4. QF624 Machine Learning and Financial Applications
  5. QF633 C++ for Financial Engineering
  6. QF6003 Hedge Funds

Timeline: LKCSB undergraduate students who major in QF typically take 3 years and 8 months to complete their BBM degree, with their last term completing at the end of April. Upon completion, students enrolled in the integrated programme will proceed to take an extra term in the PG calendar from April to July to complete the additional MQF elective courses. As they will finish the entire programme (BBM+MQF) by the end of July, the fast-track programme will be completed in 4 years.

Fast-Track BBM QF-MQF Programme