The STA Home Study Course© (HSC) is for students who wish to learn at their own pace rather than wait for the annual online course.
The STA Home Study Course© is the STA’s proprietary e-learning written course (ebook style). Although website based, it is fully downloadable and may be used online or offline by PC, Mac, iPad or Android machines. The course, which covers the syllabi for both the STA Part 1 and 2 exams, offers 15 subject teaching units written specifically for it by leading market technicians. Each unit includes exercises to self-test progress. In addition, the course offers an exam preparation module and a set of past Part 2 exam papers, as well as a supplement containing advice on technical analysis report writing. The 15 topics include: Chart types, Point & Figure charts, Candle Charts, Dow Theory and Market Breadth, Moving Averages, Momentum Indicators and Oscillators, Cycles, The Elliott Wave Principle, Gann Theory, Market Profile, Ichimoku Charts, Psychology and Money Management, Managing Risk and constructing a Quantitative Trading System and Behavioural Finance.
You must be a member of the STA to use the HSC or sit STA exams, so you must join the society here before purchase. It costs £85 for 12 months associate membership.
The HSC costs £1,395.00
The HSC with exams package is £2,199.00. This package of the course plus the two exams offers a discounted price over the purchase of individual items.
Please note that for copyright reasons it is not possible to print out copies of the course.
The STA Home Study Course is perfect for anyone who does not wish to wait to attend the annual STA Diploma Part 1 and 2 courses – but wish to get started at any time of the year and learn at their own pace. Like the taught courses, it is aimed at traders, brokers, dealers, fund managers, portfolio managers, market analysts, other investment professionals, private investors and students of finance/economics and related subjects.
You must be a member of the STA to use the HSC or sit STA exams, so you must join the society here before purchase.
Hear what past students say:
“I have had a great experience studying and becoming a member with the Society of Technical Analysts. Directed by industry experts, the STA provides a world-renowned home study course and community for anyone looking to pursue a professional career in technical analysis.” Akif Din, HSC student and joint winner of the 2020 Bronwen Wood Prize.
“I found the STA Home Study Course well-structured and of the highest level of quality. The flexibility of learning at the time and pace that worked best for me was really an impressive experience” Abbas Ariff, HSC student who earned a Distinction in 2021
“The content provided in the HSC was excellent and detailed, but really what stood out was the support provided by the STA. Whenever I had a question, there was always a quick response from Katie (STA). Before and during the exam, the process was made incredibly smooth adding no extra stress to what was already a nervous time. I would thoroughly recommend that for someone that wants to get started and learning technical analysis, the STA’s HSC is definitely the place to start.” Jamie Pakenham-Walsh, HSC student who earned a Distinction in 2021
The units are presented using text and graphical information. In total, the 15 teaching units contain over 350 images, and close to 100,000 words – all presented in ‘digestible’ sections. Each teaching unit is introduced by a video resumé, and each contains an animated focus chart. Each unit provides access to a store of multiple choice questions and answers in ‘Exambuilder’ to self-test progress, and to test understanding of each topic before sitting the STA examinations. The multiple choice format is also useful practice for the Part 1 exam. The exam prep module then offers further Part 1 guidance in its first section, with the second, much longer, section dedicated to detailed advice on how to approach the higher level Part 2 examination.
As in any study programme, students are advised to read further. A link to the STA Reading List is to be found at the end of this section. The titles on this list are also recommended in the ‘Further Reading’ sections in the HSC, but information here goes a little further, with reference text guidance and a larger selection of further reading provided at the end of each unit. Additional reading is likely to be particularly useful for the advanced level Part 2 examination, as well as offering inspiring further insights into the wide world of technical analysis.
Please note that you must be a member of the STA to use the HSC or sit exams. If you are not a member already, then click here to join.
You must be a member of the STA to use the HSC or sit STA exams, so you must join the society here before purchase.
The HSC comprises the following units. (For more detail on the authors, please click on their names).
1. Foundation – Michael Smyrk; Luise Kliem
Fundamental, quantitative and technical analysis compared; support and resistance; chart patterns and trend lines; Fibonacci targets; time frames.
2. Chart Types – Michael Smyrk; Luise Kliem
Construction of the five main chart types; detailed coverage of line charts (including relative strength) and bar charts; price and volume; equivolume charts; scaling.
3. Point and Figure Charts – Jeremy du Plessis
In-depth tuition in the construction and application of point and figure charts; point and figure-based relative strength, market breadth and moving averages.
4. Candle Charts – Adam Sorab; Luise Kliem (other Japanese charting techniques)
In-depth tuition in candlestick construction and interpretation; over 80 candle lines/patterns illustrated and explained; section on Heikin-Ashi, 3-line Break, Renko, and Kagi charts.
5. Dow Theory and Market Breadth – Michael Smyrk
Development and principles of Dow Theory; use of market breadth measures, including various advance-decline measures, stocks vs their moving averages and net new highs.
6. Moving Averages – George MacLean
Construction and application of different moving average types; envelopes; Bollinger Bands; the Coppock curve.
7. Momentum Indicators and Oscillators – Elizabeth Miller
Construction and application of momentum indicators and oscillators including RoC, RSI, Stochastics, MACD, Parabolic SAR, ATR, Directional Movement, CCI.
8. Cycles – John Cameron
Background history to time cycles; construction and application of cycles in financial markets.
9. The Elliott Wave Principle – Murray Gunn
Philosophical foundations; the fractal structure; psychology; nomenclature; motive and corrective waves; channelling; phi; the alternative waves issue.
10. Basic Elements of Gann Theory – Constance Brown
Gann’s swing chart; retracements; ‘magic’ squares; fan lines.
11. Market Profile® – Daniel Gramza
Background methodology; plotting Market Profile®; key components; the market’s auction process; day structures; early evaluation of the day’s trading action; alternative formats.
12. Ichimoku Charts – David Linton
Cloud chart construction and interpretation; multiple time frame analysis.
13. Market Psychology, the Trading Plan and Money Management – Julian McCree
Market psychology and investor sentiment; trading plans and money management; money management formulae.
14. Managing Risk and constructing a quantitative Trading System – Malcolm Pryor
More on money management including using technical analysis to control trading risk; the construction, testing, evaluation, optimization and management of technical systems.
15. Behavioural Finance – Steven Goldstein
Case study: the 2007 financial crisis; EMH; behavioural economics and behavioural finance; behavioural biases and non-conscious behaviours; prospect theory.
Exam Prep – Luise Kliem
Guidance on the Part 1 exam; advice on Part 2: what examiners look for, timing plan, annotating charts, different ways to structure the answer to Question 1, an example of chart annotation and report writing.
Report Writing – Anne Whitby
Advice on writing professional technical analysis reports and commentaries.
Students also get access to an exam preparation video.
For copyright reasons it is not possible to print out copies of the course.
You must be a member of the STA to use the HSC or sit STA exams, so you must join the society here before purchase.
Q: HOW LONG DO YOU RECOMMEND STUDENTS TAKE TO PREPARE FOR THE STA QUALIFICATION?
A: We recommend that a student allows 2-3 months to prepare for the examinations, spending 10-15 hours per Home Study Course (HSC) unit (depending on the size of the unit concerned and prior knowledge of technical analysis). Students may need to allow more time to read some of the books from the recommended reading list on the STA website. However, you are welcome to take as long as you like with the HSC, there is no time pressure.
Q: HOW WELL ALIGNED TO THE IFTA SYLLABUS AND EXAMINATIONS IS THE HOME STUDY COURSE?
A: The STA used to write (and mark) all IFTA examinations before IFTA took over doing them in-house. As such, the exams are to this day quite similar. Since the HSC 2 was written based on the IFTA syllabus, it is an ideal learning tool for the CFTe I and II examinations. Moreover, IFTA advertise the IFTA syllabus compliant Home Study Course on their website as a route for self-study.
If you are choosing to use the Home Study Course to prepare for the CFTe exams, please make sure that you read some of the books from the recommended reading list on the IFTA website www.ifta.org [1]
Q: ARE WE ABLE TO PRINT OUT THE PAGES TO MAKE NOTES?
A: Unfortunately, due to copyright restrictions, we are unable to allow students to print out the HSC.
Q: DO YOU RECOMMEND A CHART SERVICE TO COMPLEMENT THE LEARNING PACKAGE?
A. Today given the wide range of free chart services available on the web, to complete the course, it’s not necessary to purchase a chart service or software package. A selection of Free EOD chart services may be obtained using Google.
Q: WHAT SOFTWARE WAS USED TO PRODUCE THE CHARTS IN THIS COURSE?
A. The following providers were used to produce the charts in the course: Alpha Terminal, Aspen Graphics, MetaStock Pro, ShareScope, StockCharts.com, Thomson Reuters, Trade Navigator, TraderMade and Updata.
Q: MY UNIT TEST QUIZZES ON EXAMBUILDER NO LONGER APPEAR. WHAT DO I DO?
A: If your test quizzes no longer appear it is likely to be because you have successfully completed the quiz or have had more than 9
unsuccessful attempts at it. If you wish to have this count reset, please contact info@technicalanalysts.com
You must be a member of the STA to use the HSC or sit STA exams, so you must join the society here before purchase.
