‘Fintech Is Remaking Finance’: Inside NYU Stern’s New Degree

NYU Stern School of Business has been at the forefront of education in financial technology for the better part of the last decade. Beginning next spring, Stern will become the highest-ranked B-school to offer a specialized master’s degree in the subject.

Stern’s Master of Science in Fintech, announced today (March 28), is a global, one-year, part-time, modular, specialized master’s for working professionals in tech or finance who want to hone their skills or transition to fintech leadership positions. It’s a degree, the school says, for those with a passion for fintech’s continued transformation of financial services.

“With the transformation of the global financial system, technology is now the language of business, and today’s finance leaders need to be fluent translators in order to drive change,” Stern Dean Raghu Sundaram says. “Students interested in the thriving fintech field will benefit from Stern’s legacy in fintech education led by world-renowned faculty experts, our deep ties to the fintech industry in New York City and around the world, as well as our experience in offering flexible modalities of learning.”

STERN: AHEAD OF THE FINTECH CURVE 

It’s not hyperbole to say that fintech continues to revolutionize finance — and that the Stern School, located in the world’s financial capital, was ahead of the curve in preparing its students. together with NYU Law, Stern was the first business school to offer a cryptocurrency MBA course in 2014, the first to offer a dedicated Fintech MBA specialization in 2016, followed by the establishment of a dedicated fintech interdisciplinary initiative in the school’s Fubon Center for Technology, Business and Innovation in 2017. The Stern School also introduced an annual Fintech Conference beginning in 2016, convening “top fintech academics, leading fintech investors, innovative fintech startups, and forward-looking financial institutions,” it says in its announcement.

The B-school’s pioneering work has matched the growth of the industry. By 2019, dozens of VC-backed fintech companies had achieved more than $150B in net worth; by the end of 2021, cryptocurrencies overall had reached $3 trillion in valuation. Fintech venture funding has “reached new highs in the tens of billions,” Stern says, “capping a decade of investment that has reshaped the financial services industry.”

Kathleen DeRose, clinical associate professor in finance and academic director of Stern’s new fintech program, declares that fintech is “remaking finance.” The sector, she says, is now mainstream — and graduate business education helped make it that way, and will continue to do so.

“Fintech is remaking finance. We have designed the curriculum for the MS in Fintech to ensure executives are prepared with the most relevant knowledge and tools to immediately become disruptors in the field,” says DeRose, who is also director of Stern’s Fubon Center for Technology, Business and Innovation, and director of Stern’s Fubon Center Fintech Initiative.

34-CREDIT PROGRAM HAS 22 COURSES IN BLOCKCHAIN, STRATEGY & MORE

Stern’s new MSFT program includes one live-online module followed by six on-site modules held in New York City and rotating global hubs. Courses will be taught by faculty primarily from the school’s top-ranked Finance Department and Technology, Operations, and Statistics Department. The 34-credit program offers a tailored 22-course curriculum with new coursework informed by academic scholars and industry experts, and will include real-world learning through a capstone project.

The part-time format “reduces the time away from the office to approximately seven weeks over the course of the year,” according to the program website. “Between modules, students complete an average of 20-25 hours per week of learning via online platforms.” The program is not STEM-designated.

“Whether students work at incumbent financial institutions, fintech startups, technology companies, or are simply interested in shifting into the fintech industry, the MSFT program will prepare students to be strategic architects of financial businesses of the future,” DeRose says. “Courses will cover topics including R programming for data, platform strategy in fintech, blockchain and cryptocurrencies, machine learning in finance, leadership in fintech, and more.”

FIRST APP DEADLINE: SEPTEMBER 1

The early decision application deadline for the MSFT class beginning May 2023 is September 1; the first regular decision deadline is January 15, 2023. A second regular decision deadline will be April 1, 2023. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis, as will admissions decisions.

The fee for the class starting in 2023 is $83,000, and includes tuition, course materials, some meals, and official events. A tuition deposit of $7,200 is required to secure a spot in the class starting in 2023 and is due upon acceptance to the program.

“NYU Stern’s suite of global master’s programs allows working professionals to retool and gain the latest breakthrough knowledge in key areas to advance their careers, immediately apply classroom learnings to their current roles, and expand their networks with seasoned peers from around the world,” says Robert Salomon, Stern’s vice dean for executive programs.

“Stern’s new MS in Fintech will offer all of these benefits to working professionals who are passionate about how fintech is revolutionizing the financial services industry and want to navigate technological advances to achieve their organizations’ most important business priorities.”

For more information on Stern’s MS in Fintech Program and admissions process, visit the website.

DON’T MISS MEET NYU STERN’S MBA CLASS OF 2023 and NYU STERN BECOMES THE LATEST MAJOR PLAYER IN THE ONLINE MBA SPACE