The University of Sussex is the first university in England offering an undergraduate degree in Fintech.
The new BSc Finance and Technology (Fintech) degree, which is also the first in the UK to include the option of a placement year in industry, is already open to applications and will take its first cohort of students in September 2019.
Carol Alexander, Professor of Finance in the University of Sussex Business School, said: “By 2020 the fintech industry is expected to create hundreds of thousands of jobs in the UK alone. It is already worth £7bn to the UK economy and its strategic importance has recently been emphasised by the Chancellor Philip Hammond.
"However, this potential can only be realised if the talent pool exists. Students need to graduate with the skills for careers in this rapidly evolving sector. We are confident that our BSc will meet this need and help the UK retain its position as a global innovator in fintech.”
The course design follows Sussex’s tradition of interdisciplinary education. It is jointly provided by the University of Sussex Business School and the School of Engineering and Informatics. Students will have unique opportunities to obtain cross-disciplinary experiences in finance, business, informatics, computing, analytic methods and ethics. They will have access to real-time data from Bloomberg and Thomson Reuters databases to challenge students with real-world challenges.
Sussex’s BSc Finance and Technology will prepare students for a range of careers ranging from blockchain technology for Web 3.0, Robo-advising for long term asset management, high-frequency trading, smart contracts for derivatives and mathematical models for risk analysis. Students would also have the option of extending their studies at Sussex with our already-established MSc in Fintech, Risk and Investment Analysis.
Dr Malgorzata Sulimierska, the BSc Finance and Technology course director, said: “The finance industry is changing at an incredible rate and the impact of innovation in financial technology on jobs within traditional financial sectors is likely to be immense. Our course aims to equip students with the skills they need to gain employment in this new work environment.”
The University has been highly praised by the industry for developing this course.
Sam Baker, managing director of trading company OSTC Brighton, who will teach two of the modules, said: “As an employer in the fintech space, OSTC are always looking for graduates with skills that set them apart from the crowd. In an increasingly competitive market students that take on this unique course at the University of Sussex will find themselves graduating with practical industry skills and knowledge, giving an edge in the fastest growing sector in finance.”
More details on the BSc in Finance and Technology at Sussex are available here.