PhD in Applied Mathematics - Mathematical Finance in Ithaca United States | Cornell University

Graduate study options cover all specialization areas represented by over one hundred faculty members across multiple disciplines. These professors come from fourteen departments spanning the College of Engineering, College of Arts and Sciences, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, and the Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management. Students can further broaden their education through minor subject selections. The Applied Mathematics program admits graduate students with diverse academic backgrounds featuring strong mathematical foundations, typically accepting only PhD candidates. Approximately forty students participate in this four-to-five year program.

Mathematical Finance applies advanced mathematics to analyze financial markets. This discipline examines trading systems (market microstructure), corporate financial decisions, investment strategies, and derivative instruments. Complex mathematical techniques like stochastic processes, optimization methods, differential equations, and simulation models support these analyses. For instance, stochastic calculus helps determine call option prices - financial contracts granting purchase rights for stocks at predetermined prices. These option valuations represent probabilistic forecasts of future payoffs, often calculated using numerical approaches like Monte Carlo simulations.