Quant Finance Boot Camp
Summer 2025
May 8, 2025
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Aug 15, 2025
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Registration Deadlines
May 8, 2025
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Summer 2025 Cohort participants
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Category
Launch, Certificate Program
Overview
This boot camp is designed to provide participants with a solid grasp of fundamental probabilistic techniques applied in financial markets.
Relevant Resources:
Basic Probability: Introduction to Probability by Grinstead and Snell (Available online for free)
Financial Mathematics:
Stochastic Calculus for Finance I and II by Steven Shreve
Mathematics for Finance An Introduction to Financial Engineering by Capiński and Zastawniak
Economics:
Market Microstructure Theory by O'Hara
Asset Pricing by John Chrane

Click here to be invited to the slack organization: The Erdős Institute
Click here to access the slack channel: #slack-channel
Click here to download the Events & Deadlines .ics calendar file
Organizers, Instructors, and Advisors
Thomas Polstra
Assistant Professor of Mathematics
Office Hours:
Wednesday 12:00-1:00 central
Email:
Preferred Contact:
Slack
Do not hesitate to reach out with any questions you may have through Slack @Thomas Polstra
Objectives
By the end of this course, students will be able to:
Use probabilistic techniques to predict stock movement volatility using historical data. Use volatility predictions to evaluate a portfolio's value at risk and to price European option contracts using Monte-Carlo methodology. Create accurate European option price predictions by enhancing Monte-Carlo simulations through the use of control variates. Accuracy will be measured against closed-form solutions to option contracts provided by Black-Scholes option pricing equations. Adjust Monte-Carlo simulations of European contracts for the purpose of pricing more complicated option contracts whose expected value does not have a closed form solutions. Such option contracts may include American, Asian, lookback, and barrier option contracts. Develop hedging strategies which minimize risk and improve expected profit distributions of an option investment strategy. Backtest a trading strategy using historical stock prices.
Disclaimer:
By enrolling in this course you agree that in no event shall the Erdős Institute, its affiliates and their respective employees, agents, representatives and content providers or service providers be liable for damages of any kind, including, without limitation, direct, indirect, compensatory, special, incidental, punitive and consequential damages even if made aware of the possibility of such damages, whether in an action under contract, negligence or other theory, arising out of or in connection with the use, inability to use or performance of any course content, materials or services.
First Steps/Prerequisites
Program Content
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Course materials are available on github through the following link:
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Textbook/Notes
Note: our video player does not support playback speed options. You can find a third party browser extension which will allow you to modify video playback speed. For example, this one works for Chrome: video-speed-controller. If you would prefer to avoid a browser extension you can manually modify the playback speed in the javascript console as well: Speed up any HTML5 video player!
Lecture 12
The Heston Model and Market Data
Overview of Monte-Carlo methods and the Heston model. Also contains a demonstrating of calibrating a Heston model to market option data.
Lecture 9
Advanced Monte-Carlo Methods
Explores Monte-Carlo accurate simulation of call option prices through Delta based control variants. The same principles are used to explore expected payoffs of regularly delta-hedged portfolios.
Lecture 6
Call/Put Options and Black-Scholes
Intro to Call/Put Options and how to derive fair market value under the standard Black-Scholes assumptions.
Lecture 3
Random Walks
Random Walks and Modeling Random Walks in a Python Environment.
Lecture 11
Introduction to the Heston Model
An overview of the Heston model and its use in option portfolio management.
Lecture 8
Delta Hedging Call Options
Impact of hedging an option portfolio through buying/selling stock.
Lecture 5
Stock path models
Lecture is on deriving the Geometric Brownian Motion model of a stock path as a limit of binomial trees.
Lecture 2
Correlation, Covariance Matrices, and volatility
Overview of volatility and the effect of diversification.
Lecture 10
Exploring volatility trends with real data
We look at historical volatility data in comparison to Black-Scholes assumptions. We also look at real-time market prices of options and paper trade options to see the effect of delta hedging.
Lecture 7
Intro to delta hedging
Review of Black-Scholes Option pricing, risk-free pricing method, and introduction to delta heding.
Lecture 4
Random walks and binomial trees
Overview of binomial tree method to random walks and towards geometric brownian motion.
Lecture 1
Review of Probability
Review of probability and the use of probabilistic methods in Python.
Project/Homework Instructions
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Schedule
Click on any date for more details
Phase 1 - Instruction and Project Completion: May 13 - Jul 2, 2025
Project Review & Judging: Jul 3 - Jul 9, 2025
Phase 2 - Intense Interview Prep & Career Connections: Jul 10 - Aug 15, 2025
Class 1
May 13, 2025 at 06:00 PM UTC
EVENT
Class 3
May 20, 2025 at 06:00 PM UTC
EVENT
Class 5
May 27, 2025 at 06:00 PM UTC
EVENT
Quant Finance Office Hour
May 28, 2025 at 05:00 PM UTC
EVENT
Quant Finance Office Hour
Jun 4, 2025 at 05:00 PM UTC
EVENT
Quant Finance Office Hour
Jun 11, 2025 at 05:00 PM UTC
EVENT
Quant Finance Office Hour
Jun 18, 2025 at 05:00 PM UTC
EVENT
Quant Finance Practice Interview, Option A (Link in Slack Channel)
Jul 10, 2025 at 04:00 PM UTC
EVENT
Quant Finance Practice Interview, Option A (Link in Slack Channel)
Jul 17, 2025 at 04:00 PM UTC
EVENT
Quant Finance Practice Interview, Option A (Link in Slack Channel)
Jul 24, 2025 at 04:00 PM UTC
EVENT
Quant Finance Practice Interview, Option A (Link in Slack Channel)
Jul 31, 2025 at 04:00 PM UTC
EVENT
Quant Finance Practice Interview, Option A (Link in Slack Channel)
Aug 7, 2025 at 04:00 PM UTC
EVENT
Quant Finance Practice Interview, Option A (Link in Slack Channel)
Aug 14, 2025 at 04:00 PM UTC
EVENT
Quant Finance Office Hour
May 14, 2025 at 05:00 PM UTC
EVENT
Quant Finance Office Hour
May 21, 2025 at 05:00 PM UTC
EVENT
Quant Finance Office Hour
May 28, 2025 at 05:00 PM UTC
EVENT
Class 6
May 29, 2025 at 06:00 PM UTC
EVENT
Class 8
Jun 5, 2025 at 06:00 PM UTC
EVENT
Class 10
Jun 12, 2025 at 06:00 PM UTC
EVENT
Class 12
Jun 19, 2025 at 06:00 PM UTC
EVENT
Quant Finance Practice Interview, Option B (Link in Slack Channel)
Jul 11, 2025 at 12:00 AM UTC
EVENT
Quant Finance Practice Interview, Option B (Link in Slack Channel)
Jul 18, 2025 at 12:00 AM UTC
EVENT
Quant Finance Practice Interview, Option B (Link in Slack Channel)
Jul 25, 2025 at 12:00 AM UTC
EVENT
Quant Finance Practice Interview, Option B (Link in Slack Channel)
Aug 1, 2025 at 12:00 AM UTC
EVENT
Quant Finance Practice Interview, Option B (Link in Slack Channel)
Aug 8, 2025 at 12:00 AM UTC
EVENT
Quant Finance Practice Interview, Option B (Link in Slack Channel)
Aug 15, 2025 at 12:00 AM UTC
EVENT
Class 2
May 15, 2025 at 06:00 PM UTC
EVENT
Class 4
May 22, 2025 at 06:00 PM UTC
EVENT
Office Hour
May 28, 2025 at 05:00 PM UTC
EVENT
Class 7
Jun 3, 2025 at 06:00 PM UTC
EVENT
Class 9
Jun 10, 2025 at 06:00 PM UTC
EVENT
Class 11
Jun 17, 2025 at 06:00 PM UTC
EVENT
Quant Finance Technical Interview Prep Overview
Jul 8, 2025 at 06:00 PM UTC
EVENT
Quant Finance Practice Interview, Option C (Link in Slack Channel)
Jul 11, 2025 at 01:00 PM UTC
EVENT
Quant Finance Practice Interview, Option C (Link in Slack Channel)
Jul 18, 2025 at 01:00 PM UTC
EVENT
Quant Finance Practice Interview, Option C (Link in Slack Channel)
Jul 25, 2025 at 01:00 PM UTC
EVENT
Quant Finance Practice Interview, Option C (Link in Slack Channel)
Aug 1, 2025 at 01:00 PM UTC
EVENT
Quant Finance Practice Interview, Option C (Link in Slack Channel)
Aug 8, 2025 at 01:00 PM UTC
EVENT
Quant Finance Practice Interview, Option C (Link in Slack Channel)
Aug 15, 2025 at 01:00 PM UTC
EVENT
Project/Homework Deadlines
May 8, 2025
03:59 AM UTC
Last chance to switch bootcamps
Email Amalya Lehmann at amalya@erdosinstitute.org if you would like to switch to a different bootcamp.
May 20, 2025
03:59 AM UTC
Last day to defer enrollment to a future cohort
Contact Amalya Lehmann (amalya@erdosinstitute.org) if you would like to unenroll this cohort and defer to a future cohort.
Jun 28, 2025
04:59 AM UTC
Mini Projects Due
See Project/Homework submission instructions


