Artificial Intelligence for Trading

Program overview: Why should I take this program?

• Why should I enroll?

  Demand for quantitative talent is growing at incredible rates. Data-driven traders are now responsible for more than 30% of all US stock trades by investors (or about $1 trillion USD worth of investments, up from 14% in 2013). This scenario represents incredible opportunity for individuals eager to apply cutting-edge technologies to trading and finance.

  Whether you want to pursue a new job in finance, launch yourself on the path to a quant trading career, or master the latest AI applications in trading and quantitative finance, this program will give you the opportunity to build an impressive portfolio of real-world projects. You will build financial models on real data, and work on your own trading strategies using natural language processing, recurrent neural networks, and random forests. You’ll also enjoy direct access to leading experts in the field, and get personalized project and career support.

  To create the curriculum for this program, we collaborated with WorldQuant, a global quantitative asset management firm, as well as top industry professionals with prior experience at JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley, Millennium Management, and more. If your goal is to learn from the leaders in the field, and to master the most valuable and in-demand skills, this program is an ideal choice for you.

• What jobs will this program prepare me for?

  Graduates of this program will have the quantitative skills needed to be extremely valuable across many functions, and in many roles at hedge funds, investment banks, and FinTech startups.

  Specific roles include:

  • Quantitative analyst
  • Quantitative researcher
  • Investment analyst
  • Data intelligence analyst
  • Risk analyst
  • Desk quant
  • Desk strategist
  • Financial engineer
  • Financial data scientist

• How do I know if this program is right for me?

  If you’re a programmer, data analyst or someone with a strong quantitative background, this program offers you the ideal path to pursue a quant trading career and prepares you to seek out data science jobs across the financial ecosystem.

Enrollment and admission

• Do I need to apply? What are the admission criteria?

  No. This Nanodegree program accepts all applicants regardless of experience and specific background.

• What are the prerequisites for enrollment?

  The Artificial Intelligence for Trading Nanodegree program is designed for students with intermediate experience programming with Python and familiarity with statistics, linear algebra and calculus. In order to successfully complete this program, you should meet the following prerequisites:

  Python programming

  • Basic data structures
  • Basic Numpy

  Statistics

  • Mean, median, mode
  • Variance, standard deviation
  • Random variables, independence
  • Distributions, normal distribution
  • T-test, p-value, statistical significance

  Calculus and linear algebra

  • Integrals and derivatives
  • Linear combination, independence
  • Matrix operations
  • Eigenvectors, eigenvalues

• If I do not meet the requirements to enroll, what should I do?

  We have a number of short free courses that can help you prepare, including:

  • Intro to Data Analysis
  • Intro to Statistics
  • Linear Algebra

Tuition and term of program

• How is this Nanodegree program structured?

  The Artificial Intelligence for Trading Nanodegree program is comprised of content and curriculum to support eight (8) projects. We estimate that students can complete the program in six (6) months working 10 hours per week.

  Each project will be reviewed by the Udacity reviewer network. Feedback will be provided and if you do not pass the project, you will be asked to resubmit the project until it passes.

• How long is this Nanodegree program?

  Access to this Nanodegree program runs for the length of time specified above. If you do not graduate within that time period, you will continue learning with month-to-month payments. See the Terms of Use and FAQs for other policies regarding the terms of access to our Nanodegree programs.

• Can I switch my start date? Can I get a refund?

  Please see the Udacity Program FAQs for policies on enrollment in our programs.

Software and hardware: What do I need for this program?

• What software and versions will I need in this program?

  To successfully complete this Nanodegree program, you’ll need to be able to download and run Python 3.7.