Jacksonville University’s Davis College of Business & Technology will offer two new programs in financial technology when the fall semester begins Aug. 8.
The Bachelor of Business Administration program is adding a major in fintech and the Master of Business Administration a fintech concentration.
“Jacksonville is a burgeoning FinTech city, and as more companies move to the city and expand their operations across the country, there’s truly no better time to be launching this program for our students,” JU Provost and Senior Vice President of Academic Affairs Christine Sapienza said in a news release.
JU said the program is the first of its kind in Northeast Florida, a hub for companies such as Fidelity National Information Services, a Fortune 500 company and one of the largest fintech companies in the world, as well as Black Knight, Deutsche Bank, SoFi and Dun & Bradstreet.
According to JAX Chamber, more than 62,000 people in the region are employed in fintech. That number has grown in the past several years, with companies including Dun & Bradstreet, Nymbus, SoFi and SS&C Technologies relocating headquarters and employees to Jacksonville.
“This is a program that both students and industry partners have been requesting with growing frequency,” Barbara Ritter, dean of the Davis College, said in the release.
“This major will provide a distinctive experience for students that prepares them for the workforce of the future and builds expertise to fill a need in our community.”
Students will be able to use the new FinTech Lab in the university’s STEAM Center, which is under construction and expected to be completed in the fall.
The FinTech Lab will provide an experiential setting where students apply software, mobile applications and other technologies that support wealth management, banking and financial services.