Financial Technology (FinTech)

Overview

The MSc Financial Technology (FinTech) at the University of Stirling  is one of the first offered in the UK and provides you with the latest developments in computing technology, financial theory, ethical and regulatory constraints, and business skills. It’s an innovative course designed for those looking to enter a career in the fintech industry.

Fintech includes the technology from big data and analytics, mobile computing and modern financial services. Some of the activity in the sector is being carried out by the large, existing financial institutions, but a strong drive comes from small companies who are developing disruptive technologies.

The course covers:

• Manipulating data and scripting in Python
• Cybersecurity and data protection
• Bank Theory, operations and strategy
• Data analytics and machine learning
• Fintech app development
• Investment regulation and ethics
• Heuristics and bias in behavioural finance
• Innovation management and disruptive technology
• Business startup planning
• Professionalism, regulation and ethics in banking

Career opportunities

Fintech is a growth sector in its own right at the moment and there are opportunities across the career spectrum, from new and exciting start-up companies to established banks and insurance companies, and increasingly in new sectors, such as decentralised finance, provenance, open banking and open finance, digital identities, cryptocurrencies and blockchain technologies, digital money, regulatory and legal businesses (regtech), which spawn out of or are fostered by the developing fintech area.

London is still the UK's largest fintech hub and there are a lot of fintech jobs at the moment. Edinburgh is now the UK's second largest city in terms of fintech opportunities and the Scottish government is funding initiatives to help build the Scottish fintech sector, e.g. Fintech Scotland. The Scottish Central Belt (across Glasgow, Stirling and Edinburgh) is now an area of major development in Fintech with a strongly integrated public/private eco-system. We expect the number of jobs in fintech in Scotland and world-wide to continue to grow dramatically over the coming years.

In addition, the mix of computing, analytics and business skills you’ll learn on the course will prepare you for a job in data science. Employment rates among our students are very high and careers requiring expertise  in fintech and data science are extremely varied. Beyond specific fintech companies, graduates are working in banks, the NHS, marketing companies, the oil industry and in government.