Our MSc Financial Technology (Fintech) focuses on the multi-disciplinary skills and expertise at the foundations of the highly innovative Fintech sector.
Fintech provides the latest information in computing, financial theory, ethical and regulatory constraints, and business skills, throughout complementing theory with a hands-on approach. It is taking over the banking and finance industry, with applications in several other sectors. The way we handle money is changing, a new concept of digital identity is emerging and the role of data and its safety and privacy requirements are key. New applications and potential markets are being explored, including central bank digital currencies (CBDC), cryptocurrencies, peer-to-peer lending platforms and open-banking services.
The whole industry is taking note - from international banks to backroom start-ups, and a new kind of multidisciplinary expertise is in high-demand. To do well in fintech, you need to understand technology, finance and business creation.
Our MSc Financial Technology (Fintech) 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
An introduction to blockchain
Cybersecurity and data protection
Bank Theory, operations and strategy
An introduction to corporate finance
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
Top reasons to study with us
Companies such as HSBC, Sainsbury's Bank, JP Morgan and MBN helped us shape the course with employability firmly in mind, with links to industry, institutional stakeholders and The Data Lab innovation centre
96% of our postgraduate leavers are in employment or further study within fifteen months of graduating (Graduate Outcomes Survey 2020, HESA)
We equip our graduates with the latest knowledge and skills required to work in the new and emerging fintech sector, with a multi-disciplinary approach open to students with both computing/engineering and finance/economics background
Course objectives
The aim of the course is to give you the cutting-edge knowledge and skills required to work in the new and emerging fintech sector. Many fintech companies are small start-ups so business and entrepreneurial skills are important. Fintech is a disruptive technology, bringing great changes to the ways that banks and insurance companies operate, but also enabling new applications, business models and markets in various fields. You’ll be taught innovation management techniques to immediately make a difference in any organisation or company you work for.
Of course, fintech is also about technology. Being rooted in a computing department, the course enables our graduates to understand the role of software applcations in fintech and contribute to their design and implementation, such as services exploting the new open banking regulations, or disruptive applications supported by blockchain technology. You’ll also have the data analytics and machine learning skills required by new data driven models of financial services provision.
Work placements
As part of the course students develop a substantial project (1/3 of the overall course). Several of these projects are being carried out in collaboration with industry, both innovative start-ups and larger corporates, e.g. in the banking sector.
Flexible learning
The MSc in Fintech can be attended both as a one-year full time course or part-time over a period of two years. Learning is organised around materials provided online, contact teaching and tutorial hours, and an “open-door” approach allowing students a direct contact with lecturers, providing for great flexibility in the organisation of study.
If you’re interested in studying a module from this course, the Postgraduate Certificate or the Postgraduate Diploma then please email Graduate Admissions to discuss your course of study.
Faculty facilities
State-of-the art computing facilities are available to Fintech students, with a 24/7 access policy. University facilities are also open on extended hours, often 24/7, including the library where students can book spaces for individual study and group work. A high-speed internet connection is available throughout the whole campus, and remotely via a secure connection.
Research overview
The MSc in Fintech, one of the first in Scotland, is rooted in the Mathematics and Computing Science division, drawing from its reasearch on data analytics, blockchains and cryptocurrencies, security and mobile technologies.
It is also supported by the University of Stirling Management School, rated among the top 25 in the UK for research impact, according to REF 2014. In Scotland, the School was ranked in the top five.
90% of our research in computing science and mathematics is classified as internationally excellent in terms of originality, significance and rigour, with the top 5% judged as world leading.
The course is accessible to students with both a computing/engineering and financial/economics background.
Typically (for instance for UK students), a minimum of a second class Honours degree or equivalent, in either a numerate subject such as maths, computing and engineering, or a business and finance subject is required.
Some experience of computer programming is also required. It may take several forms such as Python, Java, C, C++. If you don’t have these formal qualifications but have relevant work or life experience, you’re still encouraged to apply, and specific cases can be considered on a case-by-case basis.
Other routes of entry
If you don’t currently meet the academic requirements for this course, INTO University of Stirling offers a variety of preparation programmes that can earn you the qualifications and skills you need for direct entry.
Explore INTO Stirling programmes to see the pathway and pre-masters routes available for this course and others at the University of Stirling.
Due to disruption in English Language testing caused by COVID-19, we are accepting alternative English Language tests (including online English Language Tests).
If English is not your first language you must have one of the following qualifications as evidence of your English language skills:
IELTS Indicator 6.0 with a minimum of 5.5 in each sub-skill
Cambridge C1 Advanced (CAE) 169 overall with a minimum of 162 in each sub-skill
Cambridge C2 Proficiency (CPE) 180 overall with a minimum of 162 in each sub-skill
Pearson Test of English (Academic) 60 overall with a minimum of 59 in each sub-skill
IBT TOEFL 78 overall with a minimum of 17 in listening, 18 in reading, 20 in speaking and 17 in writing
IBT TOEFL Special Home Edition Test 78 overall with a minimum of 17 in listening, 18 in reading, 20 in speaking and 17 in writing
Trinity ISE II Pass overall with a Pass in each sub-skill, ISE III Pass overall and in all sub-skills, ISE IV Pass overall and in all sub-skills
Aptis (4 skills) CEFR B2 overall and B2 in all sub-skills
Duolingo 95 overall with a minimum of 90 in all sub-skills
LanguageCert International ESOL B2 Communicator - Pass with minimum 33 in each sub-skill
Last updated: 1 February 2021
If you are from India, Ghana or Nigeria please also check your country/region specific page for any additional, or changes to, English language requirements.
For more information on ways that you can meet our English language requirements, including options to waive the requirement, please read our information on English language requirements.
If you need to improve your English language skills before you enter this course, our partner INTO University of Stirling offers a range of English language courses. These intensive and flexible courses are designed to improve your English ability for entry to this degree.
This Masters course is taught by the Division of Computing Science and Mathematics, in the Faculty of Natural Sciences. You will be carrying out a dissertation project (60 credits) as an idependent, but supervised piece of work. The project may be of your own design, suggested by an academic supervisor, or (where possible) as part of a placement or consultancy project for a company. An articulation to our Professional Doctorate in Data Science is in place and may allow qualifying students to a second year entry in the doctorate programme.
You can study the MSc Financial Technology (Fintech) full-time over one year or part-time over two years.
These are the subjects you’ll learn about on the course:
Blockchain
Blockchain technology
Crypto currencies
Decentralised applications
Smart contracts
Applications and case studies
Cyber Security
Privacy, anonymity and cryptography
Access control
Network security
Forensics
Bank Theory, Operations and Strategy
Representing and Manipulating Data
Python scripting
Tabular, JSON and XML formats
Data Analytics
Machine learning and analytics
Text and sentiment mining
Data mining project management
Financial Apps and Open Banking
Mobile app development on Android and web
Building open banking apps
Investment Regulation and Ethics
Self-regulation in financial markets
CFA ethics, standards and codes
Behavioral Finance
Bias and heuristics in investment behaviour
Investment and inefficient markets
Innovation Management
Innovation culture
Managing innovation
Team working
New Venture Creation
Business start-up theory and practice
Business planning
Opportunity recognition
Professionalism, regulation and ethics in banking
Please note that some of the above subjects are optional, and may be updated according to the evolution of the field.
Modules
The module information below is intended only as an example of what you may study and features details for the current academic year (2021/22). Modules are regularly reviewed and are subject to future changes.
You'll learn from lectures and practical labs during the first two semesters from September to April, or January to August, depending on your start date.
You’ll be assessed by a variety of assessment strategies, including written assignments, exams, individual projects, collaborative and group work, lab work, presentations and reports and a dissertation project. Assessment will be tailored to students’ special needs, where appropriate.
A semester consists of 60 credits, with full modules of 20 credits and half modules of 10 credits. Depending on the organisation of each module, classroom hours may consist of lectures, tutorials, lab, group work or presentations, and vary in number.
Fees shown are for a full-time, one-year Masters course.
If you need to extend your period of study or repeat study, you will be liable for additional fees.
If you are studying part time, the total course fee will be split over the years that you study. The total fee will remain the same and will be held at the rate set in your year of entry.
For more information on courses invoiced on an annual fee basis, please read our tuition fee policy.
Tuition fee loans
Scottish students may be eligible to apply to the Students Award Agency for Scotland (SAAS) for loans of up to £10,000 to cover tuition fees and associated living costs.
Welsh students can apply for financial support of up to £18,025 as a combination of grant and loan from Student Finance Wales.
Northern Irish students can apply for a postgraduate tuition fee loan of up to £5,500 from Student Finance NI.
Students from the Republic of Ireland
Fees shown are for a full-time, one-year Masters course.
If you need to extend your period of study or repeat study, you will be liable for additional fees.
If you are studying part time, the total course fee will be split over the years that you study. The total fee will remain the same and will be held at the rate set in your year of entry.
For more information on courses invoiced on an annual fee basis, please read our tuition fee policy.
European Union students
Fees shown are for a full-time, one-year Masters course.
If you need to extend your period of study, you will be liable for additional fees.
If you are studying part time, the total course fee will be split over the years that you study. The total fee will remain the same and will be held at the rate set in your year of entry.
For more information on courses invoiced on an annual fee basis, please read our tuition fee policy.
Fees shown are for a full-time, one-year Masters course.
If you need to extend your period of study, you may be liable for additional fees.
If you are studying part time, the total course fee will be split over the years that you study. The total fee will remain the same and will be held at the rate set in your year of entry.
For more information on courses invoiced on an annual fee basis, please read our tuition fee policy.
Additional costs
There are some instances where additional fees may apply. Depending on your chosen course, you may need to pay additional costs, for example for field trips. Learn more about additional fees.
Scholarships and funding
Commonwealth Shared Scholarships
These scholarships are for candidates from developing Commonwealth countries, looking to study selected postgraduate Masters courses. Find out if you could be eligible for a Commonwealth Shared Scholarship.
If you have the talent, ability and drive to study with us, we want to make sure you make the most of the opportunity – regardless of your financial circumstances.
If you’re domiciled in the UK, you can typically apply to your relevant funding body for help with living costs. This usually takes the form of student loans, grants or bursaries, and the amount awarded depends upon your personal circumstances and household income.
European Union and overseas students won’t normally be able to claim living support through SAAS or other UK public funding bodies. You should contact the relevant authority in your country to find out if you’re eligible to receive support.
We aim to be as flexible as possible, and offer a wide range of payment methods - including the option to pay fees by instalments. Learn more about how to pay
96% of our postgraduate leavers are in employment or further study within fifteen months of graduating (Graduate Outcomes Survey 2020, HESA).
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, crytocurrencies 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.
HigherEd Global Talent Portal
As a Management School student, you have access to the HigherEd Global Talent Portal where you’ll find internship, trainee positions, apprenticeships and graduate positions from companies around the world. It helps international students looking for placements back at home and local students that want to explore an international experience.
The global talent portal is in addition to all other existing initiatives and resources available for you through the Careers and Employability Service, and the Target Connect vacancy and events system.
Testimonial quotes
"Studying at Stirling has been more than just further academic studies. The FinTech and Big Data courses are run in partnership with The DataLab."
Richard Bradley, Scotland, MSc Financial Technology (FinTech)
"The course contents were perfectly angled to cover both the financial and more technical aspects"
Nicholas Cetoupe, Seychelles, MSc Financial Technology
"I was very good at maths at school and developed a knack for programming. I chose FinTech as it was a perfect combination of the two. I also liked Stirling's approach to the course which is very practical in every module."
Yash Ajay Vikhankar, India, MSc Financial Technology (FinTech)
Employability skills
When we designed our new MSc Financial Technology (Fintech) we spoke to banks and financial recruitment agencies and asked, “what are the ideal skills for finding a job in fintech?” Companies such as HSBC, Sainsbury's Bank, JP Morgan and MBN helped us shape the course with employability firmly in mind.
Here at the University of Stirling, you're also offered workshops on CV writing, interview technique and how to secure that dream job. Our relationship with employers and recruiters is strong and they regularly attend events at the University with the intention of recruiting staff.
As a consequence, 96% of our postgraduate leavers are in employment or further study within fifteen months of graduating (Graduate Outcomes Survey 2020, HESA).
The MSc in Fintech is partially supported by The Data Lab innovation centre forstering innovation across companies and academia. It offers both a fellowship programme to selected students and events open to a wider audience of great professional interest.
Companies we work with
Stirling is associated with The Data Lab, which is an Innovation Centre with the aim of developing the data science talent and skills required by industry in Scotland. The Data Lab collaborates with the University of Stirling to help deliver the course, and provide funding and resources for students. You can find out more about The Data Lab from their website.
We also develop our courses in partnership with global and local companies. HSBC have a development centre in Stirling and have provided some very interesting Data Science projects to our students. Amazon’s development centre in Scotland is close by in Edinburgh.
We also have a programme of invited speakers from industry who give the students a chance to ask questions of people who are doing data science every day. Recent companies have included MongoDB, SkyScanner and HSBC, as well as regulators like FCA.
Yash Ajay Vikhankar India MSc Financial Technology (FinTech)
I was very good at maths at school and developed a knack for programming. I chose FinTech as it was a perfect combination of the two. I also liked Stirling's approach to the course which is very practical in every module.
