Graduate Certificate in Financial Technology (FinTech)

The Graduate Certificate in Financial Technology program prepares students for positions across the financial services industry. Upon completion of the program, graduates will be able to:

• Understand the drivers of the development of the FinTech industry.
• Be thoroughly familiar with the theory and implementation of distributed ledger technology.
• Be familiar with advanced concepts in Bayesian statistics.
• Have a thorough understanding of advanced machine learning theory and practice with particular reference to applications in finance.
• Be proficient in employing standard tools for manipulating large financial datasets.
• Be able to develop computational solutions to implement a variety of data analysis techniques.
• Understand the unique challenges for machine learning posed by smaller financial datasets.

Requirements

To earn the Graduate Certificate in Financial Technology, students must complete four of the following six courses:

• QST MF 740 Economics of FinTech
• QST MF 810 Advanced Programming: Data Structures and Algorithms
• QST MF 815 Advanced Machine Learning Applications for Finance
• QST MF 821 Algorithmic and High-Frequency Trading
• QST MF 840 Data Analysis and Financial Econometrics
• QST MF 850 Advanced Computational Methods

Courses applied toward the MS in Mathematical Finance degree may not be double-counted toward the Graduate Certificate in Financial Technology.

Academic Standards

For the certificate to be conferred, a student must achieve a minimum cumulative grade point average (CGPA) of 2.70 (on a 4.0 scale). Students are not permitted to take additional credits beyond the certificate program in order to improve grades (CGPA) or restart enrollment, nor can they withdraw and re-enroll.

The Mathematical Finance Program Development Committee (PDC) has final responsibility for decisions regarding academic performance and conferral of the certificate. Students with a CGPA below 2.70 at the conclusion of the program will be referred to the PDC for review. Students will be informed of their academic position via their BU email address. Students must meet with their Specialty Master’s & PhD Center advisor (in person or by telephone) within 48 hours of receipt of this communication. Students may submit a Student Statement to the PDC within 72 hours of the academic performance notification. It is the student’s responsibility to comply with the 72-hour period within which to submit a statement.

Student Statement

The Student Statement is voluntary, though it is strongly encouraged, as it offers the sole opportunity for student input into PDC decisions. The statement is self-reflective and provides the student’s explanation for their poor academic performance. The statement is due within 72 hours of notice of poor performance by the Specialty Master’s & PhD Center. The statement is the student’s individual work product and must be prepared accordingly.

Certificate Completion

To qualify for the Graduate Certificate in Financial Technology, students must:

• Successfully complete all required courses, for a total of 12 credits.
• Have a cumulative GPA of at least 2.70.
• Have no “I” grades or no “MG” grades in courses counting toward the certificate.