The one-year full-time course, MSc in financial computing, is unusual in offering project placements with financial organisations Credit Suisse, Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs and Merrill Lynch, who also helped develop the course's content.

University College said the course is tailored to the needs of graduates from less technical disciplines, such as the arts and sciences. It has also drawn many women looking for a career in investment banking technology; 40% of applicants so far are women.

Adrian Pearce, EMEA head of global business technology at Merrill Lynch, says: "Technology is a great place to be, particularly when applied to a fast-paced, global working environment like investment banking, working alongside the most demanding clients and delivering solutions at the cutting edge of technology."

Jon Saxe, CIO for Europe at Morgan Stanley, added: "IT is viewed at Morgan Stanley as being one of our key strategic assets and a critical element in our ongoing success. We look forward to welcoming students from a variety of backgrounds into the programme, and expect that they will have many exciting career options within the bank after completion of their degree."

Stephen Feline, a consultant at The Kaizen Partnership, says that recruiters welcomed the new course, adding: "These types of courses are always useful."

Another good course, says Feline, is Imperial College London's computing science MSc, which has a computational finance module in its second year. "It makes things practical, teaches people what bonds and equities are and how you code systems for them. I know a lot of the employers like that module," says Feline.

He also recommends Birkbeck's MSc in financial engineering, and Imperial-linked Tanaka Business School's MSc in risk management and financial engineering.