Topics in Mathematics with Applications in Finance
MIT's 18.642 introduces undergraduate and graduate students to the mathematical tools used across the financial industry, pairing each mathematics lecture with a session on how the concept plays out in practice. MIT mathematicians handle the theoretical material, covering topics such as stochastic processes, probability, and financial modeling, while industry professionals from the finance sector present lectures on real applications, from trading to risk management. The course includes lecture notes and recordings through MIT OpenCourseWare, along with an investment game offered as a supplementary learning resource so students can test concepts in a simulated setting. The course is designed to bridge abstract mathematics with the concrete problems practitioners face on trading floors and in financial institutions, making it useful for students who want to see why the math matters before they specialize further.