The University of North Florida will begin offering undergraduate and graduate programs in financial technology this fall.
The bachelor’s in computing and information sciences from UNF’s School of Computing will offer a new fintech concentration, and there will be a new fintech master’s program under the Coggin College of Business.
Coggin also opened a master’s in business analytics with a fintech concentration last fall.
UNF hopes to prepare students to enter the growing fintech industry and says these programs will “[equip] students with the skills needed to navigate the intersection of finance and technology.”
The programs will cover financial modeling, data mining, machine learning, financial data analytics and more.
William Klostermeyer is a computer scientist and dean of the UNF College of Computing, Engineering and Construction. He says training students in computing and finance will improve their employment prospects.
Klostermeyer said the popular online payment apps Venmo and Zelle are good examples of what fintech entails, and Jacksonville is becoming a hub for the industry.
JaxUSA lists Fidelity Information Services, SS&C, SoFi and VyStar Credit Union as the leading fintech companies in Northeast Florida.
Klostermeyer describes the programs as computer science and finance hybrids, stressing how essential both are to preparing students for fintech careers.
“[Graduates need to be] fluent in both of those worlds,” he said. The UNF FinTech Academy webpage has information on all fintech programs and career opportunities for UNF students. Both new programs will be available this fall.
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